~ By Tom Boggie

I made my way to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center Tuesday night for the Styx/Foreigner concert, and I’ll tell you, at the age of 70, Styx guitarist Tommy Shaw can still bring it. In my mind, he’s one of the most underrated rock and roll guitarists ever.

Where am I going with this? Nowhere, really. Just pointing out there’s more to do on a Tuesday night than sit in a recliner and watch FLO Racing.

BUT, if you really wanted to make a stretch here, we could use lyrics from a Styx hit to sum up what the George Huttig/Mike Mahaney racing team has been through this year. “The headlines read these are the worst of times,” according to Styx. And until last Friday, that about summed up the Huttig Racing Team’s summer.

A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to Huttig about the slump and he simply said, “We suck. It’s not a fun ride home when we’re finishing ninth or 10^th.”

Fast forward to last Friday, when Mahaney finally got his first modified win of the season at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

“We still suck,” said Huttig with a big smile. “But at least we won.”

The team had already had a long week. They had been in Canada on Monday and Tuesday, racing at Autodrome Drummond, where Mahaney finished 19^th and 10^th. The third leg of the Canadian series at Brockville was rained out on Wednesday, which gave the team time to get home and prepare their 358 car for Airborne Park on Thursday, where he finished third.

Mahaney admitted he had been disappointed in his performance at Drummond.

“At Drummond Monday, they had a big curb (cushion) and I thought I’d have a chance,” he said. “Then I got caught up in a tangle and that was that.”

Mahaney didn’t have a lot of time for tin work that week, so the Huttig No. 35 showed up at Malta Friday night still showing a lot of damage on the right side from the incident at Drummond.

“The left side still looked good,” said Mahaney. “That’s why I parked backward in victory lane.”

Yes, he did a 180 degree turn into victory lane on the front straightaway just so the good side of the car would be showing for the cameras.

When he was asked about his lackluster performances this season, Mahaney answered, “Everybody’s getting better. Guys keep improving on their setups and getting better, and we’ve got to get better, too. We’re making strides, but when the tracks are slick in the middle and on the bottom, we’re not there yet. Tonight, we were OK, but on other nights, we’re not so good. We haven’t had the finishes we’re used to, and after a while, that can beat you down.”

When Mahaney was interviewed by Mia Meehan on the track after his win, he dedicated the win to Joseph Huttig, the son of George and Julia who passed away last November.

“He came here every week, wanting us to win, and it means a lot to me to dedicate this win to him,” Mahaney said. “I don’t know if we had the best car tonight, but we made it happen.”

Mahaney’s father, Jim “Workshoe” Mahaney, who was a consistent winner on the highly competitive Outlaw circuit years ago, made his way out on the track to celebrate the win with his son.

Mike Mahaney also had some praise for Albany-Saratoga promoter Lyle DeVore.

“The track was awesome tonight,” Mahaney said. “I really didn’t have anything for the middle or the bottom, so our only chance was on the cushion, and it was there all night. For Lyle to keep this going, with all he’s going through himself, is amazing.”

MORE FROM MALTA

I wonder what Kim Duell was thinking when he saw his own car roar by him in the pro stock feature last week?

Scott Duell, who said later he hasn’t been behind the wheel of a pro stock for at least 10 years, finished third in the 25-lap pro stock feature, driving his father’s DIRTcar Series car, while Kim was back behind the wheel of the old reliable Curtis Lumber Wagon, which he had flipped earlier in the season (according to Kim, that chassis is now 9 years old).

Scott, a regular in the sportsman division, was getting some seat time in the Twister chassis in preparation for the big $10,000 to win Autism Awareness event, coordinated by pro stock driver Jordan Modiano, which is coming up in September.

“I was half-spinning out on every lap in the heat race,” said Scott while the pits were emptying out Friday night. “I was thinking, ‘Can I really do this?’ But then I started getting things figured out with the pedals, and the car was good in the feature. I was basically just pavement-driving it.”

I know Kim Duell has been thinking about his future as a driver and a chassis builder, so I asked Scott if Friday night was possibly the first step in the father and son working together on a pro stock team.

“I don’t know about that,” said Scott with a smile. “I really like racing the open wheel cars.”

Rich Crane, the 2023 pro stock division champion, got off the duck, as they say in thoroughbred racing, with his first pro stock win of the season last Friday, and earned $1,320 through Ron Mensing’s Native Pride program. “I’ve been struggling,” said Crane in victory lane. “Last year, when the track was tacky, we were good. We’ve really been struggling this year.”

Pete Stefanski, who makes the long haul in from North Tonawanda to race at Malta, officially finished 11^th in the pro stock feature, but it could have been a lot better. On a restart on lap 10, Stefanski and Brandon Emigh were in the second row, behind Crane and Shane Henderson. When Richie Petersen dropped the green flag, Stefanski got into the rear of Henderson, spinning him around, and Stefanski was sent to the rear of the field.

Zach Buff also recorded his first win of the year in the sportsman feature. Buff only had one win last year, that coming on April 21, so it had been a while since he had been to victory lane.

“This has been our worst year in the car,” said Buff. “I just wanted to make it through the heat race. Racing here is so nerve-wracking. There are a lot of good guys out there.”

“I want to thank my dad (former IMCA modified driver Kevin Buff),” Zach added. “He’s been working on this car a lot to get more speed out of it. This is one place I really love to race at. Lyle does a great job and to win on Stan Da’ Man Night made it even sweeter.”

Buff came right back on Sunday and won the 35-lap CDRA Sportsman feature at Glen Ridge Motorsports Park.

Demetrios Drellos had to settle for a second-place finish behind Mahaney, but that runner-up spot was a big improvement on the recent results for the Drellos Motorsports team. I had talked to Drellos early in the night last Friday and he was frustrated, to say the least.

“The last four weeks, we’ve really been off,” said Drellos. “We just have to work through it. That’s the only way to explain it.”

The previous week, Drellos only completed four laps of the feature. “I hit the inside barrier and flattened the left rear tire, and when I tried to get off, I got into (Kolby) Schroder.” Drellos said.

Can someone explain the substitute driver rule to me? Why does a driver who hasn’t raced in seven weeks get a substitute driver, and what good are those 20 show-up points going to mean in the overall scheme of things?

This Friday will be the annual John Grady Memorial Nostalgia Night, which means a lot of inflated purses for all divisions. The modifieds will run 43 laps, with $4,300 going to the winner and $2,300 for the runner-up. In addition, Chris Grady will have many of his father’s vintage photos on display and for sale, and there will also be an autograph session featuring stars of the past (that sounds a lot better than old-timers!).

AROUND THE TRACKS

Congratulations to Jay Castimore for reaching a milestone in his dirt track racing career. Last Saturday, Castimore, who is the tire specialist for Stewart Friesen, helped send a driver to victory lane for the 800^th time in his career. Hey, Jay, just think about how high that number would be if you hadn’t taken time off to be Ralph Compani’s race director at Fonda Speedway. Castimore racked up a ton of those wins for Brett Hearn before working with Keith Flach and now, Friesen.

Speaking of Friesen, he finished fourth in Glenn Styres’ sprint car last Sunday against the World of Outlaws at Weedsport. Friesen will be taking his final shot at getting into the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series playoffs this weekend at Richmond. He’s 12^th in points, after a disappointing 33^rd place finish at Indianapolis Raceway Park, but is just 16 points out of the final playoff spot.

Another big night at Lebanon Valley last Saturday, with Josh Marcus driving to his first career big block victory in the familiar Marcus 91M, the number that was campaigned for years in the sportsman division by Josh’s uncle George, a Lebanon Valley Speedway Hall of Famer who died in 2021. Josh Marcus destroyed a car last season and this year is behind the wheel of a new PMC chassis that longtime Valley sponsor Paul Wehnau purchased for him.

Tim Hartman Jr. remained undefeated in the sportsman division at the Valley last Saturday, getting his 11^th straight win, and 13^th in a row over two seasons. Hey, Tim. The more wins you get, the lower you drop in The 4^th Turn. Go figure.