All About Racing

By Ed & Betty Biittig

Once again rainy weather played a huge role in local racing this past weekend.

The immediate Capital District racing for us turned out to be Albany-Saratoga on Friday for the Super DIRTcar Series (SDS) event and the turnout was tremendous, 116 competitors filled the pit area, 51 Modifieds, 43 Sportsman and 22 Pro Stocks and the stands were filled with fans.

In 2024, Tim Hartman Jr. of Niskayuna had a nearly perfect season in the Crate Sportsman at Lebanon Valley, winning 13 out of 14 features. Last week, during opening night, at the Valley he started the 40-lap feature in the 15th position and won. Despite comments about the difficulty of passing, Tim Jr. has shown his driving skills with approximately 100 wins on four local ovals and in the STSS touring Sportsman.

Ron Proctor of Clifton Park is in competition again this season with the No. 52 car, which features a tribute on the rear of the car to his father, George, who passed away last fall. Ron is one of the veteran racers in the area and a NASCAR champion at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Vermont.

Mike Mahaney of Elizabethtown is focused on the upcoming season and anticipating becoming a father for the first time. He expressed satisfaction with his speed during hot laps and his performance in the heat, finishing fourth in the feature race in the SDS event.

Daniel Johnson Jr., driver of No. 27Jr., was asked if he would break his father's record in DIRT racing. His face said it all and he also said, “No”. Daniel is gaining experience each time he races and will begin his regular season at the Land of Legends on May 3rd.

Beau Ballard of Stamford won the first Pro Stock race of the season, at Albany-Saratoga demonstrating no decline in performance over the off-season. It was his fourth win at the Malta track and certainly showed he plans to defend his championship title from last season.

Other winners at Albany-Saratoga last Friday were SDS Modifieds, L.J. Lombardo and Chris Jakubiak was the winner in the Sportsman main event.

This past weekend, Jeff Trombley of Altamont made history when he moved to the number one spot on the All-Time Win List in CRSA Sprints. The win came when he took the checker at Outlaw Speedway in Dundee, NY, on Friday in the 25-lap feature. He now has 15 CRSA wins. The win broke the tie for first place on the list with Danny Varin, Scott Goodrich and Josh Pieniazek. Trombley first raced at Outlaw Speedway when he was racing a Mini Stock at the beginning of his racing career. Trombley’s career also includes several years racing Modifieds at local tracks.

Another familiar name at Outlaw Speedway on Friday was the multi-time Fonda track champion, Bobby Varin who was the winner of the 35-lap Modified main event. Varin makes the four-hour drive from his home in Johnstown each week to drive one of track owner Tyler Siri’s Modifieds and has done so for the past two seasons. He now has five wins at the track.

Fonda rescheduled the rained-out Jack Johnson event for this Wednesday, April 23.

Here's hoping for more racing weather in our future.

Until next week please send all news and/or comments to biittig@yahoo.com