~ By Tom Boggie

There are three important dates in Demetrios Drellos’ racing history at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

The first is June 16, 2017. That was the night of Drellos’ first modified victory at Albany-Saratoga.

The second is Sept 21, 2019. That was the date of his first Super DIRTcar Series victory, which also came at Albany-Saratoga.

The third is Sept 1, 2023. That was the night he secured his first modified track championship.

What do those three dates have in common? He was booed in victory lane all three times.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked to Drellos in the last couple of years when he’s thrown in the phrase, “I don’t come here to make enemies.” And I think he’s sincere when he says it. But he’s young, aggressive, has top-notch equipment, loves to throw slide jobs in the corners and loves to win. That has resulted in him becoming the Driver That Fans Love to Hate.

But those same traits have also made him the Albany-Saratoga modified champion for the first time.

After a wild night last Friday, when he suffered a flat tire with five laps left in the feature, he rejoined the field and gained just enough spots with a late, banzai charge to finish 11^th and beat out defending champion Matt DeLorenzo by seven points.

But in all reality, he won the championship the previous week, when he was involved in a first-lap incident in the first turn that saw Marc Johnson’s modified land on the hood of Drellos’ car, damaging the carburetor. When Drellos’ car was towed to the pits, other teams around him chipped in, hastily made the necessary repairs and got Drellos back out on the track. He came from the rear to finish ninth, allowing him to retain the point lead.

“That night was the championship, it was a make-or-break night,” said Drellos after last Friday night’s feature. “We couldn’t have done it without the five or six guys from the other teams who helped us out that night. We could have ended up 40 points out if we hadn’t gotten the car back out on the track.

“I’ve been super overjoyed with our entire operation this year. I want to thank every person who’s put hands on this car this season. We put together a good piece, and it showed all year.”

Andrew Buff locked up his first sportsman title with a fifth-place finish in the sportsman feature, but he also faced adversity. He suffered motor problems in his primary car in his heat race, so he pulled out his Glen Ridge car for the feature (there aren’t a lot of sportsman drivers at Malta who can rely on a backup car) , which put him at the tail end of the 30-car field.

At the end of the 25-lap feature, Tim Hartman Jr. had his fourth win of the year, but Buff had his first title, beating Hartman Jr. by 23 points.

“The car has been really good all year,” said Buff. “We’ve been consistent everywhere we’ve gone. That’s been the key, to be consistent.

“It sucked to start so far back, but even with the backup car, I think we had a shot at winning.”

Hartman was more than happy to extend his track-record sportsman win total to 39.

“It’s my job to go out and win races,” he said. “We’ve been so good the last couple of months. It sucks to see my streak end (he was the two-time defending sportsman champion), but hopefully, we can start another streak next year.”

The other champion crowned last Friday was Rich Crane, who secured the pro stock championship for the first time. He said he never felt any pressure on his way to the title.

“I don’t worry about points. We just come here to have fun,” he said after locking up the title with a third-place finish. “I just do what I always do, run to win. Any of the 20 cars we have here could win. This is an awesome place.

“My daughter is in college and she still helps me out a lot with the car. She’s here tonight with some of her roommates. This is a family sport for us. We come here to have fun.”

Crane’s championship run overshadowed the first career win for third-generation driver Kyle Hoard. In victory lane, Hoard said 2023 has been a season of firsts for him.

“I’d never flipped before, never been on fire before and had never won a race. Now, I’ve done all three,” he said.

MORE FROM MALTA

Although the points season is over, there’s still a lot of racing left, and one of the most anticipated events of the season will be held on Friday, when pro stock driver Jordan Modiano puts on the Upstate Chevy Dealers “Dare to be Different” race for autism awareness. The 53-lap pro stock feature will pay $10,000 to win, and $5,000 for second. Every car that starts will make at least $325, and pro stock drivers will probably be coming out of the woodwork for a shot at 10 grand.

The racing card this Friday will also feature a 358 modified feature, which will pay $2,500 to win through sponsorship by DiCarlo Auto Body and will also include the weekly Malta divisions, including sportsman, which were added to the card earlier this week.

Crane won the autism awareness race last season, earning a total of $4,855, and he donated all of his winning to Modiano’s charities. I know it would be a nice gesture, but I can’t see a pro stock driver winning $10,000 and then donating all of it to charity.

Ronnie Johnson had a third different modified from his stable at Albany-Saratoga last Friday. This Bicknell was primarily orange, with white accents. He finished fifth in his heat, after jumping the cushion in the second turn on lap three, started 17^th and officially finished 23^rd, completing 21 laps.

Keith Flach had a wild night. He was hooked up in his heat race, running the top, and nosed out Matt Depew for the win. Then, in hot laps, he caught the cushion in the first turn, and barrel-rolled his car three times. After making some quick repairs, he came back out and finished 10^th In the feature.

AROUND THE TRACKS

Two of the area’s highest-paying races were held last weekend, and neither one saw a pass for the lead. Andy Bachetti started on the pole and led all 100 laps to win the Super DIRTcar Series race at Lebanon Valley Speedway, which paid $15,500 to win, on Saturday. That was Bachetti’s third straight win in the Mr. Dirt Track USA race.

Then, on Sunday, Matt Janczuk led all 200 laps to win the Vermont 200 at Devil’s Bowl in Vermont. By also winning all the lap money, Janczuk walked off with a $15,811 payday. He’s been untouchable in that TEO prototype chassis this year.

The Vermont 200 drew 80 cars, including Albany-Saratoga modified driver Jack Lehner, who was behind the wheel of Brandon Darrah’s No. 14B sportsman. Lehner finished second after starting sixth. According the reports, Lehner will also be driving Darrah’s car in the 358 Championship race next month at Super DIRT week in Oswego.

Hartman Jr.’s battle with Andrew Buff for the title at Albany-Saratoga this season reminded me of the old days at Glen Ridge Motorsports Park. You see, Hartman’s car is owned by Mike Parillo’s and Buff’s primary sponsor, Ray Sefrin’s West End Towing and Repair. Back in 2018, Parillo and Sefrin were co-promoters at Glen Ridge, Hartman was driving for Parillo and Dave Constantino was behind the wheel of Sefrin’s car. Constantino won 11 features that year, and Hartman Jr. had four wins and nine seconds. Late in the year, a bounty was put out for any driver who could beat those two. It finally happened on Sept. 9, when Brian Calabrese crossed the finish line first, with Hartman Jr. second and Constantino third. Calabrese earned a total of $1,800 that night.