By Ed & Betty Biittig
On Friday, we were at Albany-Saratoga, where Adam Pierson recorded his third win of the season at the Malta oval.
Point leader Demetrios Drellos was involved in an opening lap incident that red flagged the event and saw Marc Johnson’s car on top of the hood of Drellos’s No. 111. Drellos quickly exited the car, made his way to the pits, and the car was towed to the pits, where his crew, joined by other competitors’ crews, worked feverishly to repair the damage and get the car back on track before he lost a lap. With only two weeks left for points, Drellos leads the modified points, with Matt DeLorenzo in second and Adam Pierson in third.
Jordan Hill began racing when she was five in go-karts and racked up five championships before moving to the Limited Sportsman this season at the Great Race Place. Jordan’s crew members include her father and crew chief, Tim, along with Larry, Slugger, Bryan, Robby, and Kyle, and to help with expenses on her No. 51 Limited Sportsman is sponsored by John McEashron’s Relia-Tech Auto Service, Rounds Paving, Witz Roofing, and Anderson & Son Specialty.
Veteran Pro Stock driver Kim Duell made another trip to victory lane on Friday at Albany-Saratoga and now sits on top of the all-time win list at the Malta oval. In a recent post on his Facebook page, Kim stated that he will not be going to Super DIRT Week this year and will end his season at the World Finals in Charlotte.
With Fonda Speedway taking a break for the annual Montgomery County Fair, our racing was at Utica-Rome on Saturday, and local racer Danny Varin was the story. Varin went up against the Tezos All-Star Circuit of Champions 410 Sprints and picked up his first win in the national touring group. It was truly the biggest win of his career. And he did it before a packed house of fans.
The night did not start out well for Varin. His sprinter began shooting flames on the final lap of his time trial run. He and his crew were able to fix the problem, and he came back to win his heat, the dash, and led all 30-laps of the feature.
Varin was also behind the wheel of the BDR Speed No. 16 modified on Saturday and looked good in his qualifying event but fell out of the feature with motor problems.
The Thunder on the Thruway Series champions were crowned on Friday at Utica-Rome, and Alex Yankowski is the 2023 ToTT Champion in Modifieds; Payton Talbot is the Champion in 602 Sportsman; and Nick Stone is the Pro Stock Champion.
Tyler Bobar picked up the Limited Sportsman B-Main win at Utica-Rome on Saturday. Tyler became interested in racing through his friend Kadon Hohensheldt when he traveled to races with Kadon and his dad, Kurtis. Tyler also helped Jason Greco with his car before venturing into driving himself. Bobar drives the No. 12B Limited Sportsman at Fonda, where he also has one win, and a win each at Brookfield and Glen Ridge.
The Championship DIRTcar Sportsman Series visited Glen Ridge on Sunday, and Andrew Buff picked up his second win in the Fall Championship Challenge.
As a semi-retired Hall of Fame racer, how do you determine when you want to get back in the game? Danny Ballard has raced occasionally the past few years at Glen Ridge in the All-Star Slingshot division, and two weeks ago Ballard decided to take on the youngster, A. J. Albreada. At the end of the feature, Ballard stood in victory lane and collected a $100 bounty that was on Albreada’s head.
Ballard also prepares the track surface at Glen Ridge, and from what we’ve been told by many of the racers, it’s the best surface in the area. Several of the Late Model racers we spoke with two weeks ago said it was a very well-groomed surface, one of the best they had seen this season.
Until next week, please send all news and/or comments to biittig@yahoo.com.
