MALTA – Joe Williams is proving that doing your homework can pay off.

After taking a season to get the intricacies of asphalt racing figured out, the Schenectady NY, driver has become the top dog at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

Williams continued his early-season hot streak Friday night, picking up his second straight win in the 35-lap NASCAR Modified feature at the historic Malta track.

Williams did a lot of his studying last season, running against the likes of Ken Tremont Jr. and Mike Bruno, and taking a lot of mental notes. During the 2010 season, he had four top-five finishes, including his first victory on asphalt, and those lessons are really paying off this year.

Luke Klob was the early pacesetter Friday night, but Williams was hooked up early, and came from his fourth-row starting position to take over second on lap nine.

But when the field bunched for a restart on lap 12, Williams quickly moved to the high side and took the lead when the green flag came back out.

Klob and Ron Proctor then hooked up in a wild battle for second. That battle continued right to the white flag lap, when Proctor ducked low and took over the No. 2 spot. That move shuffled Klob to the outside, and in one lap, he dropped all the way back to seventh.

With Klob stuck on the outside, Paul Dunham Jr. crossed the finish line third, his best finish of the year, while teenage sensation Bobby Hackel IV drove the wheels off his modified and came from 12th to finish fourth, his second top-five finish in three weeks. Cody Sargen finished fifth, also his best run of the early season.

Mike Bruno, who lost the modified point championship on the final night of the 2010 campaign, returned to the track for the first time Friday night, this time with a pro late model, and outran David Emigh to make his first trip to victory lane in the 2011 season.

Emigh went right to the front from his second-row starting position in the 30-lap feature, but Bruno, who had started eighth, only needed three laps to get up to second and then used a restart on lap eight to rocket into the lead.

Emigh hung right with the asphalt veteran, but Bruno’s experience showed, and when the checkered flag dropped, Bruno was still over a second ahead of Emigh.

Dan Petronis, a rookie in the division, crossed the line third, his second straight top-three finish, while two-time winner Darryl Carl was fourth and Chris Wilk was fifth.

Josh Coonradt recorded his first win of the year in the 25-lap Renegade feature, and Matt Pappa remained unbeaten in the Legends division, notching his third straight win. The Bomber Warriors were also in action Friday night, with Mark Lindblade becoming the third different winner in as many weeks.

Racing will resume at Albany-Saratoga on Friday, May 20, with a 50-lap enduro added to the card of NASCAR Modifieds, pro late models, Renegades, Legends and Bomber Warriors, sponsored by HomeTechShowroom.com. Racing will begin at 7 p.m.

Albany-Saratoga Speedway will be holding a NASCAR Foundation Car Wash for Kids on May 20-21. On Friday evening, May 20, drivers, crew members and NASCAR officials will be washing cars at the speedway from 5-6 p.m. Anyone getting his or her car washed at that time will be given two laps around the track to dry the car off.

The NASCAR Foundation event will continue on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the McDonald’s in Malta. The cost of that car wash will be $10, with $5 going to the NASCAR Foundation and $5 going to the family of Hannah Hughes, an 8-year-old from Ballston Spa, N.Y., who suffers from leukemia.

In the event of rain on May 21, the car wash will be held at McDonald’s on Sunday, May 22, at the same times. Additional information can be obtained from the Albany-Saratoga Speedway website at www.albany-saratogaspeedway.com.

NASCAR MODIFIEDS: JOE WILLIAMS, Ron Proctor, Paul Dunham Jr., Bobby Hackel IV, Cody Sargen, John Proctor, Luke Klob, Dave Manny, Fred Proctor, Justin Haas, Jason Rheome, Jacob Zakrzewski, Paul Braymer, Mike Bush.

PRO LATE MODELS: MIKE BRUNO, David Emigh, Dan Petronis, Darryl Carl, Chris Wilk, Brandon Emigh, Sheldon Martin, Mike Paquin, Jim Monroe, Carl Guilefuss, Kevin Van Chance, Randy Miller, Mike Scorzelli, Chad White.