The 4th Turn ~ By Tom Boggie

If you’re looking for another installment of the Ken Tremont Jr.-Demetrios Drellos soap opera, you’ve come to the wrong place.

Tremont enjoyed one of the highlights of his career Thursday night when he was inducted into the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame in Weedsport. Let’s just let him bask in that spotlight for a while, and stop wading through the muck.

Besides, I just don’t care anymore. If Tremont opts to sit out the rest of the season at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, which social media says he will, that’s his choice. I go to the races to watch who’s there, not worry about who’s not there. Hey, Justify isn’t going to run in the Travers. That doesn’t mean I won’t go.

This isn’t the first case where a driver has left a speedway in midseason because of a disagreement with track management. I can think of three incidents right off the top of my head.

In 1993, Mike Romano left Fonda Speedway. On opening night that season, Romano won the modified feature, but was disqualified for being light at the scales in the now famous “is that a big block, a big small block or a small block?” fiasco. Instead of rolling the five miles down the hill from his home in Johnstown every week, he went to Canada, and started running at Granby on Friday nights and Drummondville on Saturday. And he didn’t come back to Fonda for four years.

In 1992, Bob Savoie walked away from the Champlain Valley Racing Association when then promoter C.J. Richards announced he was dropping the point fund. Savoie spent the rest of the year racing at Fonda on Saturday nights.

And in 2003, Dave Camara stopped running at Devil’s Bowl in midseason after he was fined for an incident in the pits.

If I want to see Tremont race, I know right where he is every Saturday night.

KENNY SPEAKS OUT

No, not Tremont. Defending Albany-Saratoga pro stock champion Kenny Martin.

With the DIRT Pro Stock series running at Albany-Saratoga Speedway last Friday, Martin decided to borrow Dave DePaolo’s car rather than run his own No. 93.

“Tonight is just show-up points [for the Albany-Saratoga regulars],” said Martin before racing began. “I’m not going to take a chance of wrecking my car racing for show-up points.”

Martin has been very vocal about the aggressive driving in the pro stock class this year, and would like to see it stop.

“There’s no respect, no give and take,” said Martin. “There are only five or six guys I know I can race with out there. It’s really getting out of hand.

“We don’t need to be losing anymore race cars,” he added. “I’d like to see them use the black flag more, penalize guys for rough riding. Everyone seems to forget that slower can be faster.”

BIG NIGHT AT FONDA

One of the biggest events of the year at Fonda Speedway will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 1 with the fourth annual tribute to Jack Johnson, the winningest driver in the history of the Track of Champions. Now just called “The Jack” (I really hate that title!), the 100-lap Super DIRT Series race will offer a guaranteed starting spot (the 12^th starting spot, a tribute to Johnson’s No. 12A) at Super DIRT Week in October.

Wednesday’s card will also include the Hondo Classic, a tribute to former pro stock driver Hondo Carpenter, who was killed in an ATV accident on July 4, 2005.

Racing is scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m.

STEWART’S CORNER

Stewart Friesen had another incredible week. We’ll begin on Thursday, when he won the Super DIRT Series race at Orange County Speedway in Middletown, taking home $10,000. Two nights later, he drove to his sixth victory of the season in the modified feature at Fonda Speedway.

Then it was on to Canada. On Monday, he won the Super DIRT Series race at Granby, his first series win ever at that track and just his second series win ever in Canada. The next night, he finished second at Drummondville behind Super DIRT Series points leader Matt Sheppard.

At Orange County, Friesen debuted a new color scheme that honored the New Jersey Devils.

AROUND THE TRACKS

Derrick McGrew Jr. recorded his sixth limited sportsman win of the season Sunday at Glen Ridge Motorsports, coming from the rear of the (small) field after getting a flat tire early in the race. Later in the night, McGrew made his debut with the Crate Modifieds, and finished third.

By the way, when I didn’t see McGrew Jr. at Albany-Saratoga on Friday night, I asked Derrick McGrew Sr. where he was. “He’s on vacation,” said McGrew Sr. “They [the limited sportsman class] don’t race for points here, so I told him there was no hurry to get back.”

Just when it looked like Brett Hearn was going to win Saturday night’s modified feature at Lebanon Valley, the engine in the Madsen No. 20 let go with eight laps to go. That gave Keith Flach his first victory of the year, and moved Ronnie Johnson, who finished third, into the points lead.

Two long winless streaks were broken last weekend, Bobby Varin won his first modified feature in six years at Utica-Rome Speedway on Sunday, but Mike Palmer wins the prize. His victory in Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s sportsman/modified feature Sunday was his first at the Vermont track in 26 years. Palmer, who began racing at the Bowl in 1986, dominated the pro stock division for years, and won the track championship in that class in 1988.

Albany-Saratoga Speedway will be running its “Stan Da Man” modified feature tonight, in honor of Stan DeVore, who died two years ago. Stan was the father of Albany-Saratoga Speedway promoter Lyle DeVore. The feature will pay $3,200 to win, and each modified heat race winner will receive $320, provided by Chris Grady Photos. There will be other bonuses in other divisions, as well.

Real tough break for Rocky Warner and car owner Jake Spraker at Fonda last Saturday. Warner was leading the feature when he slammed into a car that had come to a stop between the third and fourth turns. Eight cars were involved in the wreck.

It was nice to see Matt DeLorenzo’s mother in victory lane at Albany-Saratoga Speedway last Friday. She doesn’t get to the races much anymore, and that was the first time she’s seen Matt win at Albany-Saratoga in a long time.