~ By Tom Boggie

Last Sunday, I stopped in at Jumpin’ Jack’s Drive-In in Scotia to enjoy a final cheeseburger and order of Twister fries before the summer hot spot closes for the season. As I watched people go through the line to put in their orders, I noticed a man wearing a black T-shirt. On the back was a large number “27” with the words “The Gentleman” across the shoulders.

I had to smile. I didn’t know that Harry Peek shirts still existed. The things you see on a Sunday in August.

That brings me to another No. 27 … Jeremy Pitts.

Pitts recorded his third career win in last Friday night’s modified feature at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, and in doing some fact-checking, I realized that I had overlooked an important stat when Pitts chalked up his first modified victory three years ago.

Pitts is the only driver in the history of Albany-Saratoga Speedway to win features in the pro stock, sportsman and modified divisions. He is also the only driver who has won both pro stock and sportsman championships.

The pro stock class began in 1986, when former promoter CJ Richards updated the rules for his street stock division. Pitts won his first pro stock feature in August of 2008 and was the track champion in 2009, beating out Kim Duell by just seven points.

Not to get off track, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Dan Martin here. The veteran announcer was part of the original pro stock class in 1986, and was the track champion in 1987, picking up two of his three career wins that year.

Now, back to Pitts. He later moved up to the sportsman class, where he compiled 18 career wins and was a three-time champion (2013, 2014 and 2016). He was still competing in the sportsman division in 2019 when he blew the motor in his car. Rather than buy another crate engine, he opted to purchase a big block and move up to the premier class. During his sportsman days, Pitts also finished second to Rocky Warner during Super DIRT Week in Syracuse.

Pitts got his first modified win on April 23, 2021 on a night when some of Malta’s top drivers were taking advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to race on the NASCAR track at Bristol, after dirt had been put down on the paved surface.

His second win at Malta came on Sept. 2 last year, and No. 3 was last Friday. The win last Friday made him just the sixth modified driver who has at least one win in each of the last three seasons. That list includes Mike Mahaney, Peter Britten, Demetrios Drellos, Matt DeLorenzo and Jessey Mueller.

Pitts, who is part of the Next Generation Roofing team, knows how hard it is to win at Malta, and keeps his goals modest.

“I’d really like to get two wins in one season here, and I’d like to make the field at Oswego (during Super DIRT Week) this year,” he said after his win. “And I’d like to win again next week so I can get that bonus (the Madsen Overhead Doors Back-to-Back Bonus).”

MORE FROM MALTA

Three champions will be crowned Friday night, when the points season concludes for the modified, sportsman and pro stocks.

In the modified division, Drellos has a 23-point lead over defending champion DeLorenzo. Barring a bad wreck or a mechanical failure (don’t forget the fuel pump issue he had on June 23 that forced him to be pushed back into the pits while the modified field was being lined up for its feature), Drellos will win his first track title.

Same goes for the sportsman division, where Andrew Buff has a 35-point lead over four-time champion Tim Hartman Jr. Buff also holds all the cards as he tries to secure his first championship.

In the pro stock division, Rich Crane has a 22-point lead over Jay Corbin, with Jason Casey just 10 points behind Corbin. The pro stocks have put on some wild shows this year, and Crane has to make sure he stays out of trouble in order to come away with his first championship.

Lyle DeVore and his track crew deserve a lot of credit for getting the track ready to race last weekend. When I got there, the mud on the track and in the pits had the consistency of snot, and I thought there would be no way DeVore could get the soupy surface race-ready. But after about an hour’s delay, they were calling cars out for warmups, and the rest is history.

One of the drivers who probably wished the show had been rained out was Pat Jones. Jones trashed his sportsman in the “Flying Trowel 32” on Stan Da’ Man Night on Aug. 28, and hadn’t been back to the track since that night. But he showed up Friday, behind the wheel of the orange-and-white car that Ronnie Johnson began the season with. The car still had Johnson’s name over the door. But that didn’t change Jones’ luck. He was involved in a first-lap wreck with Mike Ballestero and Jeff Higham during the second sportsman feature, and was done for the night before completing a lap.

Speaking of Ronnie Johnson, he pulled out of his modified heat race on lap five, and his crew loaded up the car and headed home during the CRSA Sprint heats.

Josh Hohenforst, who has become a regular at Albany-Saratoga this summer, won his heat race last week and then followed Pitts across the finish line in the modified feature. Hohenforst has two sportsman wins at Albany-Saratoga, the last coming on June 8, 2009.

AROUND THE TRACKS

The Old Professor finally did it last Saturday night. Ken Tremont Jr. won the big block modified feature at Lebanon Valley Speedway for his first win of the 2023 season. That allowed Tremont to extend his streak of winning at least one feature to 42 consecutive seasons. Tremont, who will be retiring at the end of the season, will be honored at Malta Massive Weekend. The Super DIRTcar Series modified feature on Sept. 23 will be 115 laps in distance and will pay $11,500 to win, both numbers matching the iconic 115 that Tremont has run through his career.

Tremont’s victory on Saturday was his 175^th career win at the Valley. That number includes 142 big block wins. If you’re keeping score, Andy Bachetti, who secured the 2023 big block title last Saturday, is the next active driver on the all-time win list with 63 victories.

While Tremont kept his streak intact, another looks like it is about to end. Alan Johnson has won at least one feature for 48 consecutive seasons, but he’s winless so far this year and time is running out.

Lebanon Valley officials announced this week that the street stock division has been eliminated, and will be replaced in 2024 by what is bring called a “limited pro stock” class. Rules for the new division are still being finalized.

Luke Horning won last Sunday’s DIRTcar Pro Stock Series race at Glen Ridge Motorsports Park, his second win in the series this season.

Stewart Friesen was back in victory lane on Tuesday, winning the “Blast at the Beach” modified feature at Georgetown Speedway, which paid $6,000 to win. Albany-Saratoga regular Dylan Madsen chalked up his first career win at Georgetown in the sportsman portion of the “Blast,” earning $1,500.

Two major races are on tap this weekend. Lebanon Valley will be hosting the Mr. Dirt Track USA Super DIRTcar Series race on Saturday, with the winner earning $15,500. Then, Devil’s Bowl will be running the Vermont 200 on Sunday, with that winner getting $10,000, the biggest payday of the year for sportsman/modifieds. There is also a $2,000 bonus if the winner has been a weekly competitor at Devil’s Bowl this year. Tremont won the Vermont 200 last year, driving a car owned by John St. German Jr.