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MALTA, N.Y. – Some of the top names in northeast Modified racing invaded the three/eighths mile Albany-Saratoga Speedway on Friday night for the General Motors presents CVRA vs. the World 100-lap event.
At the end of the night, none of them could dethrone the Sussex, N.J., driver Brett Hearn.
“I have to give Bruce (Richards) a lot of credit for having this race,” stated Hearn after the win. “This is great event for the racers and the fans and it was nice to have a big event at my home track.”
Hearn’s win was the 87th of his career at the Saratoga County oval and it earned him a whopping $8,000 for the win while moving him within three wins of Jack Johnson for most wins in the history of the speedway.
“This place has such a great history,” said Hearn. “Jack Johnson is a legend, but it just isn't Jack. It's the whole history of this track. If I could get the record it would be a real accomplishment for me.”
Hearn, driving Vinny Salerno’s Morrison powered Teo, started sixth in the 27 car starting field. He was very strong early on and worked forward to take the lead away from Stewart Friesen on lap 17.
He led the rest of the way but he was challenged briefly by Dave Camara until he lost his brakes while battling with Hearn for the lead on lap 52.
Camara, of Fair Haven, V.T., came home in second behind the wheel of a Enders powered PMC. Matt DeLorenzo, in an Enders powered Teo, was able to move up from his eighth starting position to finish in third.
Ronnie Johnson, of Duanesburg, N.Y., rebounded from an early race flat tire to finish in fourth while West Sand Lake, N.Y., driver, Kenny Tremont, finished in fifth.
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FROM THE POLE: Billy Decker led the field to the green flag and took the lead over Stewart Friesen from his pole starting position as they headed into turn one the first time. The duo battled for the top position until the first caution came out on lap 7 for Ronnie Johnson as he slowed with a flat tire.
OH CANADA: Decker held the lead on the restart but just one circuit later Friesen, from Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., was able to bolt to the outside of turns one and two to assume command of the race while Hearn moved into the top three.
THIS IS MY TRACK: Friesen continued to lead but Hearn was continuing his march forward. By lap 12 Hearn was in the runner-up position and then five laps later Friesen proved to be no match for Hearn as he went to high-side of turns three and four to take the lead.
“I changed lanes early looking for more grip,” said Hearn. “The top seemed to be strong but I was worried that I was going to overheat the right rear and get loose so after I got the lead I moved down to the middle.”
A NEW CHALLENGER: Hearn continued to lead and survived several restarts for various caution but he was slowly being chased down by Camara. By lap 40, Camara was in the runner-up position challenging Hearn for the race lead. Several times the two came off the corners side-by-side with Camara trying to get by down low, but Hearn was able to hold on.
“He (Camara) put a little bit of pressure on me,” commented Hearn about the battle with Camara. “I changed my line once I gained some on him and went to the bottom to try it out and to take his line away.”
HEADS UP: On the final lap of the event as Hearn raced through turns three and four he had to take some evasive measures as Jeff Trombley hit the inside retaining wall in turn four.
“I saw him (Trombley) hit the wall,” stated Hearn. “Luckily it was far enough in front of me that I could see it happen and was able to make adjustments.”
A BAD BRAKE: Hearn was the winner with Camara holding on to the runner-up position even though he lost his front brakes and then bounced off the inside wall in turn two.
“I think we had something for him before I lost my front brakes,” said Camara. “As I was adjusting them to turn off the front brakes and I didn’t pay close enough attention and I hit the inside wall off the turn.”
HOLDING ON TO A STRONG RUN: Once Camara lost his brakes he was unable to stay with Hearn. Instead of trying to catch him Camara decided to run the bottom and maintain the second place finish.
“I couldn’t be on the gas into the turn because I didn’t have the front brakes,” commented Camara. “I figured it is better to finish in second than to search around and give up a bunch of spots.
“It’s frustrating though because I think we had something for Hearn tonight.”
GOING WITH GOODYEAR: DeLorenzo, of Cropseyville, N.Y., crossed the line in third position. He was the first driver going completely with the Goodyear tires that are run weekly at the speedway.
“Last time we had a big race (Kenny) Tremont won it on Goodyear’s,” said DeLorenzo. “I figured that was the tire of choice tonight. I’m happy with the outcome. We’ve struggled a little since winning opening day but the car was much better tonight.”
QUALIFYING: Mike Perrotte set fast time in time trials with a lap of 16.261. Four heat races were held for the 47 cars in attendance with Ward, Hearn, Ronnie Johnson and Decker taking wins. Two B-Mains were held with Jack Johnson and Elmo Reckner scoring victories.
SUPPORT DIVISIONS: Pete Broderson captured the Pro-Street feature; Frank Hoard III won the Budget Sportsman event; Mark Burch won the Limited race; with Jason Dickson winning the Mini-Stocks.
MODIFIEDS - CVRA VS. THE WORLD (100 LAPS): BRETT HEARN, Dave Camara, Matt DeLorenzo, Ronnie Johnson, Ken Tremont Jr., Jimmy Phelps, Stewart Friesen, Jack Johnson, Mike Perrotte, Todd Stone, Billy Decker, Keith Flach, Jeff Trombley, Don Ronca, Pat Ward, Tony Kawalchuk, Rob Langevin, Chris Busta, Danny Varin, Gary Tomkins, Michael Storms, Frank Cozze, Elmo Reckner, Ryan Odasz, Marc Johnson, Ron Proctor, Frank Cozze Jr.
PRO-STREET STOCKS: PETE BRODERSON, Lori Langevin, Charles Towslee, Bernie Companion, Vinny Santoro, Jim Monroe, Phil DeFiglio, Kevin Van Chance, Kim Duell, William Smith IV, Ed Thompson, Jeremy Otis, Rob Yetman, Daryl Carl, Mike Paquin, Bob Schmidt, Ron Zagata, Jeff Washburn, Mike Minick, Jim Groncki, Greg McGill, Jake Losaw, Walt Brownell. DQ: Cale Kneer.
BUDGET SPORTSMAN: FRANK HOARD III, Cullen Howe, Fred Proctor, Bryan Davis, Peter Carlotta, Mike Budro, Al Williams, Ricky Quick, D.J. Brundige, Dennis Pennock, Seth Howe, Matthew Hyde, John Avery, Scot Straight, Jeremy Dygert, Shawn Cassidy, Chuck Dickinson, Mike Visconti, Scott Duell, No. 77, Randy Davis, Janelle Davis, Nick Hotaling, Jared McMahon, Mike Grogan, Jamie Nash, Rich LaMont, Ralph Denison, No. 30, Dan Boni. DQ: Frank Corradi, Paul Dunham.
LIMITEDS: MARK BURCH, Dan Petronis, John Filarecki, Dan Older, Jeff Monroe, Mike Ostrander, Mark Lester, John Morris Jr., Dan Carlton, Steve Burch, David Cook, Andy Durie, Mark Dwyer, Jon Miller, Megan Purstell, Yule Cook, Dave Billings, Nathan Dahoda, Brian Ashline, Curtis Condon, Ken Conroy, Jordan Jeffalone, Brian O'Reilly, Joshua Coonradt,.
MINI-STOCKS: JASON DICKSON, Elmer Montville, Ken Hollenbeck, Michelle Catone, Mike Cranston, Chris McCarthy, Charlie Stoddard, Dan Older Jr., Chris Murray, Jessica Rheome, Ray Galusha, Jonathan Hayes, Justin Comes, Josh Rheome.
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