Chasin’ Racin’ – Great racing at the ‘Great Race Place’

By Mark Kane

“Batman” Peter Britten (#21A) picks up his first win since 2019 at Albany Saratoga Speedway (Photo courtesy of Chasin’ Racin’ Photos)

It hadn’t been since 2019 that 2017 Albany Saratoga Speedway Modified champion Peter Britten had won a feature event, and things so far in 2021 have not been going much better.

Well, that all changed with an early race charge to the front, working through lap traffic, taking the lead, and holding on for the long overdue win, his 12th at the “Great Race Place,” with another fine field of cars in all divisions in the pits along with fans in the stands enjoying a beautiful night for racing.

Along with the regular weekly card the Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modifieds made their way to the speedway so fans both new and veterans of racing got to see the race cars of the past come alive on the track with some spirited racing.

Once again the fans were treated to some great racing on the ever-changing surface, and teams needed to keep up as the night went on. The action-packed heats had plenty of wheel-to-wheel action in all divisions with plenty of two- and three-wide racing using the entire racing surface, and more in some cases.

Come feature time the track had seen many laps on a racing surface that has seen little rain and plenty of sun, great for flowers, racing surface not so much. As the track changed through the night it remained fast and smooth. With the aid of a very fast race car that went wherever he pointed it, Britten was on the move early from the 13th starting position in a very tough Modified field that went green to checker.

At the drop of the green it was Rich Ronca taking the early lead with Todd Stone on his rear bumper until making the move to the lead as the Ravena Rocket Keith Flach was racing third. Once out front, Stone pulled away from the field until he started to get into lap traffic. In the middle of the pack it was Nerf bar to Nerf bar racing as many of the top runners found themselves starting mid-pack and finding it hard to move forward – well, other than “Batman” Peter Britten who was quickly in the top five and still looking for more.

It was Stone having a great race and remaining out front but now in heavy traffic. Ronca and Flach worked their way back to the rear deck of Stone as Britten was coming and coming fast. Finding the high side to his liking, Anthony Perrago started to work his way into the top ten ten, toeing the outside and continuing the charge to finish sixth.

Using the low groove, Britten worked his way past Flach and set his sights on Ronca as the Stone was dealing with lap traffic, and his lead was going away fast. Using a great move and a lapped car, Britten would be the new second-place car and reeled in the leader Stone. As the two raced hard for the win Britten made a power move for the lead down the back stretch and would hold on for the win with impressive driving. Having a great ride was Todd Stone who held on for second with Keith Flach and another solid run at third. Also with strong runs were Jeremy Pitts and Neil Stratton rounding out the top five.

In other action Josh Coonradt was hooked up as he cruised to his second straight win in the Pro Stocks over a strong contingent of Jason Meltz, Chad Jeseo, Jay Casey and Rob Yetman rounded out the top five. The Sportsman found a first-time winner Drew Cormie grabbing the early lead and never looking back with a strong performance in the action-packed feature. Once out front Cormie was the class of the field hitting his marks lap after lap.

There is one thing for sure: There is no lack of young talent in the tough Sportsman division, and they are giving the veterans a run for their money.

Following Cormie to the line was Michael Wagner-Fitzgerald, Nick Lussier, Dan Grignon and Andrew Buff holding down the top five.

One of our local young guns Garret Poland had a solid night with a top 10 in the feature – finishing ninth – that started off an up-and-down weekend for the team.

On Saturday night the New Day Motors 17G made the trip to Lebanon Valley where things did not turn out as well after a hard crash in the feature that found Garret in the wrong place at the wrong time that gave the former Marc Johnson Troyer a write off.

You know how kids are: Come Sunday, and where is Garret? Tight back in the seat at Glen Ridge Motorsports Park in the backup car and finishing seventh. This team will bounce back as a new Bicknell is in the works for Garret, who has proven he has the talent behind the wheel along with a strong experienced team and great sponsors, making for a bright future for this well-spoken young man.

The limited Sportsman was not going to be outdone by any Modified class as it too went green to checker with Taylor Wason picking up the win as Matt Mosher was the Street Stock winner. Picking up wins in the MVVDM classes were Jim Fugal for Vintage, Steve Denton for Sportsman and Randy Delaney for Modified. The fans were treated to how racing was in the past. Old fans sit back and remember how it was, the drivers, the battles, friends we have made at the track and those same friends we have lost over the years. Clubs like this are needed to preserve the history of the sport and the stories they have and are willing to share. And can you imagine some of the stories these old cars could tell if they could talk? This type of racing is growing with many retired drivers now making their way back to the seat and having fun doing what they love to do.

It was back to Fonda Speedway for another great night of racing at the “Track of Champions.” For Mike Mahaney, who has taken a liking to Fonda over the years, it seems he has made the decision to call the Mohawk Valley half-mile home in 2021. No matter whether it is the Short Track Super Series or DIRTcar Series, Mahaney has been a force to deal with, and Saturday night at Fonda Mahaney found the right combination to pick up the win.

Mike Mahaney (#35) picks up his first win of 2021 at Fonda Speedway (Photo courtesy of Chasin’ Racin’ Photos)

No stranger to picking up wins as an invader, Mahaney has proven in the past that he can win at Fonda, with his first win coming in the spring of 2012 during the Ice Jam Season opener. He would come back that same year and win the 112-lap Jack Johnson Tribute race for a cool $12,000 in the family-owned ride with his crew chief and former driver Jim Mahaney, who ran in the Southern Tier as well as Central and Western New York throughout his career as Mike honed his skills behind the wheel turning left to become the highly competitive and professional dirt Modified driver he is today aboard the potent George Huttig owned Adirondack Auto #35.

At the drop of the SUNOCO Modified feature it was JaMike Sowle who had struggled in the Alton and Carole Palmer ride with the early lead with George Foley who has become a regular for the season and is getting faster each week.

Out front Sowle started to pull away as the Palmer 76 was fast using the high side as Brian Pessolano and Foley battled for second with Pessolano getting the spot. Behind the leader, the racing was heating up as Mahaney was showing his power, working his way through the pack and into the top five as was Ronnie Johnson who was in a battle mid-pack along with Josh Hohenforst and Craig Hanson who came into the night tied for the lead in points.

The field was brought back to the Sowle rear bumper as the caution was out for the first and last time for Dave Constantino. Once back to green Sowle was again out front, but it was Mahaney with a great move to be the new second-place car as he set his sights on Sowle, who had nothing but green-flag laps ahead of him. Mahaney, who seemed to be able to run anywhere, found bite on the bottom to close in on Sowle who was still pounding the top, and all it took was one slip by Sowle in turn 4 and Mahaney was right there to pounce to be the new leader, cruising to the win as Sowle held on for a strong second, showing the Palmer team is heading in the direction battling for the win.

Having another solid run was 2020 Fonda Track champion Mike Maresca who suffered early in the year with mechanical issues and now in the 247 ride was third followed by Ronnie Johnson with a good run from his sixth-row starting spot, as George Foley held on for his best finish rounding out the top five.

Well the Modifieds only had one caution, but the 602 Sportsman could not say the same. In all fairness between the cautions there was some great racing action and some charges from the back of the pack as everyone was looking to work his way to the front.

At the drop of the green it was Nick Scavia taking the early lead, but behind the leader they were quickly trading positions with Mark Mortensen and Chad Edwards moving quickly to the front and into the top three when the first of six cautions would fly.

On the restart we would have a new leader as Chad Edwards powered his John Kollar 10% to the front, a lead he would hold over the series of cautions. With Edwards out front there was some great racing and driving behind the leader as Brian Calabrese and Payton Talbot both worked their way into the top five after starting outside the top 20 and Addison Bowman could see the whole field at the green starting on the last row and working his way to sixth at the checkers. Also in the top five was Scavia holding on for second with Tim Hartman Jr. in for third.

It did not take long for Luke Horning and Nick Stone to make their way to the front of the Pro Stock feature after starting 10th and 12th. Once out front these two drivers put on a wheel-to-wheel battle, swapping the lead back and forth.

With all eyes up front all-time-win leader Kenny Gates was working his way into the top five after starting eighth, and hot off his Friday night win Josh Coonradt was on the move from his 15th starting spot.

The racing behind the leaders was good, but nothing like the battle that was still going on up front. With the white flag out they still raced side-by-side through turn two and down the backstretch, and it was now a side-by-side drag race, going through turns 3 and 4 they were fender to fender as they came to the line, with Luke Horning picking up the popular win by 0.043 seconds over Stone with Gates, Coonradt and Jason Morrison rounding out the top five. That is what dirt racing is all about, my friends: good hard racing from the drop of the green until the checker flags fly,

Limited Sportsman action found Jeremy Tyrrell go green to checker to pick up the win. In 4 Cyl action Ken Hollenback and Slappy White picked up the wins.

Other racing action had Andy Bachetti picking up the win at Lebanon Valley over J.R. Heffner, L.J. Lombardo, Kolby Schroder and Eddie Marshal rounding out the top five. The Sportsman feature had John Virgilio picking up the win as Jay Fitzgerald was the Pro Stock Winner.

Jessica Friesen (#1Z) grabs first-ever history-making Modified win of her career at Utica Rome (Photo courtesy of Chasin’ Racin’ Photos)

Out at Utica Rome Jessica Friesen picked up her first-ever Modified feature win holding off Matt Sheppard. No stranger to Utica Rome, Jessica is a past Sportsman champion. Following Friesen and Sheppard to the line was Andy Bachetti, Alan Johnson and David Schilling rounding out the top five.