Friday May 1, 2026 Results
Malta, NY – Ronnie Johnson beat Mother Nature and the field Friday night at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway. Johnson was one of six drivers to visit victory lane Friday night.
The night’s activities began with a tribute to the late Dick Hicks of HiCo Fabrication who passed away this past week at the age of 83. The pits were emptied of race cars, crews and officials, with the cars coming to a stop starting in turn one and ending at the exit of turn three. Dick Hicks was a good friend of not only the Albany-Saratoga Speedway but of all racers. He was a 2018 inductee into the NYSSCA Hall of Fame and was honored with the 2016 Spirit Award from the Albany-Saratoga Speedway.
Dylan Grogan and Josh Masterson led the DIRTcar Modified field to the green with Masterson taking the early lead over Grogan, C.G. Morey, Ronnie Johnson and Andrew Buff. Johnson wasted no time and moved past Morey for third on lap two.
Johnson then set his sights on rookie competitor Grogan. By lap five Johnson was alongside his fellow Mickles Automotive sponsored car and then passed him a lap later. Buff would push high on lap seven and slide through the field, ending up in the 13th position. He would finish ninth.
Rotterdam, New York’s Todd Ryan went over the banking between turns one and two on lap eight to bring out the caution flag.
On the restart Johnson took over the top spot with Felix Roy and Matt DeLorenzo chasing Masterson for second. Peter Britten made his way past Grogan for fifth. Roy cleared Masterson for the runner up spot on lap 11 with DeLorenzo following into third. A lap later Britten moved into fourth. Last week’s feature winner Marc Johnson took over the fifth position on lap 14.
As the race moved into the second half, the top five opened up some real estate between themselves and sixth place running Masterson. That advantage was erased on lap 19 when Justin Stone spun between turns one and two.
When racing resumed, Johnson had his first challenger since taking the lead in Roy. Roy ran along the inside rail with the third-generation driver out of Duanesburg running a lane or two higher. Behind them, DeLorenzo, Britten and Marc Johnson battled for the remaining positions inside the top five.
With ten laps to go Johnson had creeped out to a five-car length advantage over Roy, who had about the same over DeLorenzo. Rookie driver Nick Perez spun in turn four on lap 28, bringing out the caution flag.
The restart would see Johnson continue to lead over Roy, DeLorenzo, Marc Johnson and Britten. Mike Mahaney began to challenge Britten for fifth.
With two laps to go Johnson had opened up a large lead, a lead that he would never relinquish. Johnson picked up the win over Roy, DeLorenzo, Marc Johnson and Britten.
DKM Fabrication sponsored the DIRTcar Modified heat races in memory of Dick Hicks. Each heat race paid $200 to win. The heat races for the 24-car field were won by Buff, Ronnie Johnson and Roy.
J&M Automotive Services and James Meehan Racing donated $300 to the hard charger in the DIRTcar Modified feature event.
Michael Wagner-Fitzgerald won the 25-lap DIRTcar Sportsman feature event. Jordan Hill and Wagner-Fitzgerald led the field to the green with division rookie Hill taking the early lead. Wagner-Fitzgerald made the move to the inside of Hill coming down to complete the second lap and took over the top spot.
By lap five Wagner-Fitzgerald had opened up about a ten-car length advantage over Hill, Katrina LeClaire, Zach Buff and Joey Scarborough. Buff would take over the final podium position on lap ten.
Slower traffic would come into play on lap 12 as leader Wagner-Fitzgerald put a lap on Michael Ballestero. With ten laps to go Scarborough had worked his way into the third position with Buff and LeClaire rounding out the top five.
On lap 16 Scarborough moved past Hill for second with Buff looking to follow through for third. He would complete the pass on lap 18.
When the white flag waved over the field Wagner-Fitzgerald held more than a straightaway advantage over the field. He would bring home the win over Scarborough, Buff, Hill and LeClaire.
Heat races for the 36 entries were won by Hill, Wagner-Fitzgerald, Scott Bennett, Jr. and Buff. The consolation event was won by Connor Crane. The four lap, Four State Enterprises Dash was won by Scarborough.
Steve Kneer added an additional $150 to the winner’s share of the DIRTcar Sportsman feature event in memory of Dick Hicks. Third place finisher Buff received a $250 credit courtesy of Elmo’s Speed & Supply also in memory of Dick Hick’s.
Rich Crane won the DIRTcar Pro Stock feature event. Shane Henderson took early command of the 25-lap DIRTcar Pro Stock feature event. The Catskill, New York driver led until lap three when Chris Wemple went around between turns three and four, bringing out the caution flag.
When racing resumed a melee occurred on the backstretch due to close racing. On the restart Henderson held the lead as Crane and Kyle Hoard battled behind him.
On lap 11 Henderson and Hoard came together as they drove into turn one, each spinning. This gave the lead to Crane. Chuck Dumblewski spun on the first restart attempt.
Crane led the field back to green with Scott Duell and Ivan Joslin following. Chuck McSpirit and Devon Camenga came together in turn one, causing the caution flag to wave again.
On the restart Crane held the lead and would lead to the finish. Joslin finished second with Kim Duell third, Scott Duell fourth and P.J. Cram fifth.
G&R Motorsports donated $250 to each of the DIRTcar Pro Stock heat races in memory of Dick Hicks. The pair of events were won by McSpirit and Henderson.
Nick Arnold won the 20-lap Limited Sportsman feature event. Arnold picked up the win over Devon Palmer, John Santolin, Walter Cook and Dan O’Dell. With 26 drivers on hand, heat races were won by John Santolin, Nick Arnold and James Galarneau.
Elmo’s Speed and Supply donated a $250 credit to the third-place finisher in the Limited Sportsman feature event. That award went to Santolin. Dan from ONYX Industries donated $100 to the race winner and $42 to the second and fourth place finishers in the Limited Sportsman event. Those winners were Arnold, Palmer and Cook respectfully.
Tyler Irwin won the 20-lap Street Stock feature event. Irwin took the lead on lap ten and pulled away for the win. Andrew Fitzgerald finished second with Josh Hemming third, Shane Wetherington fourth and Jeff Meltz fifth.
Josh Reome picked up the win in the DIRTcar Four Cylinder feature event. John Mason finished second with Josh Ramsey third, Ben Ladd fourth and Danuel Joubert fifth. Reome was the first Dual Cam car across the line while Ladd was the first Single Cam.
The Albany-Saratoga Speedway returns to action on Friday, May 8th with all weekly divisions in action plus the DIRTcar 358 Modifieds. Pit gates open at 3pm, grandstand gates open at 5pm with hot laps rolling off at 6pm. Racing is set to begin at 7pm.
For more information on the Albany-Saratoga Speedway, please find us on our social media pages and our website – albany-saratogaspeedway.com.
Feature Results
NEXT GENERATION ROOFING DIRTcar Modified Feature (35 Laps): 1. 2RJ-RONNIE JOHNSON[4]; 2. 91-Felix Roy[9]; 3. 3D-Matt DeLorenzo[13]; 4. 3J-Marc Johnson[15]; 5. 21A-Peter Britten[11]; 6. 35-Mike Mahaney[14]; 7. 87-Neil Stratton[10]; 8. 21C-Brian Calabrese[12]; 9. 92B-Andrew Buff[6]; 10. 27-Jeremy Pitts[8]; 11. 111-Demetrios Drellos[18]; 12. 14B-Brendan Darrah[20]; 13. 1-Rich Ronca[7]; 14. 11X-Josh Masterson[2]; 15. 7-Don Ronca[16]; 16. 32C-James Meehan[19]; 17. 34-Dylan Grogan[1]; 18. 4B-Derek Bornt[5]; 19. 44T-Brandon Daley[24]; 20. 14P-Nick Perez[23]; 21. 14-CG Morey[3]; 22. 15X-Justin Stone[21]; 23. 2L-Jack Lehner[17]; 24. 19R-Todd Ryan[22]
DOUG WHOLEY’S IDEAL EXCAVATING DIRTcar Sportsman Feature (25 Laps): 1. 88-MICHAEL WAGNER-FITZGERALD[2]; 2. 11VT-Joey Scarborough[13]; 3. 01-Zach Buff[7]; 4. 51-Jordan Hill[1]; 5. 12L-Katrina LeClaire[4]; 6. 12-Jon Miller[9]; 7. 711C-Chris Crane Jr[20]; 8. 61-Alex Palmer Sawyer[8]; 9. 112-Dave Baranowski[14]; 10. 29V-Joe Venditti[10]; 11. 916-Nick Brundige[19]; 12. 22-Tim Hartman Jr[16]; 13. 3H-Cole Hentschel[15]; 14. 711X-Connor Crane[25]; 15. 2W-Brent Warren[12]; 16. 33M-Bodie Marks[21]; 17. 18-Jeff Wasburn[5]; 18. 26M-Derrick McGrew Jr[23]; 19. 313-Cam Van Zandt[18]; 20. 4-Elliott Lussier[11]; 21. 02-Cody Ochs[22]; 22. 23G-Chad Gregory[24]; 23. 42D-Daniel Grignon[27]; 24. 27M-Michael Ballestero[28]; 25. 1-Scott Bennett Jr[6]; 26. 98-Craig Wholey[29]; 27. 667-Andrew Cormie[17]; 28. 30-Floyd Billington[26]; 29. 69-Dakota Green[3]
SARATOGA MASONRY SUPPLY DIRTcar Pro Stock Feature (25 Laps): 1. 711-RICH CRANE[7]; 2. 49-Ivan Joslin[15]; 3. 14-Kim Duell[9]; 4. 14X-Scott Duell[5]; 5. 03JR-PJ Cram[13]; 6. 04-Jaxson Ryan[14]; 7. 76-Kyle Hoard[8]; 8. 7C-Caden Dumblewski[6]; 9. 4M-Jordan Modiano[3]; 10. 9-Shane Henderson[4]; 11. 110-Devon Camenga[12]; 12. 57-Charles Mcspirit[1]; 13. 07-Chucky Dumblewski[10]; 14. 771-Jim Duncan[16]; 15. 112-Chris Wemple[2]; 16. 2-Brandon Emigh[11]; 17. 2E-David Emigh[17]
HAUN WELDING Limited Sportsman Feature (20 Laps): 1. 1A-NICK ARNOLD[1]; 2. 8-Devon Palmer[7]; 3. 6-John Santolin[3]; 4. 47-Walter Cook[5]; 5. 1I-Dan Odell[11]; 6. 25JR-William Lussier Jr[14]; 7. 54-Adam Tranka[15]; 8. 395-Craig Coons[17]; 9. 24-Kirsten Swartz[20]; 10. 19X-Kyle Lanfear[9]; 11. 9J-James Galarneau[2]; 12. 10-Sloan Cherko[6]; 13. 74J-Jaden Pierce[24]; 14. 9-Bryan Jones[26]; 15. 723-Eric Dingman[19]; 16. 119-Will Palmer[22]; 17. 7-George Palmer[23]; 18. 14N-Noah Carlo[25]; 19. 99S-Alex Smith[21]; 20. 02B-Michael Baker[4]; 21. 117-Cordell Younger[18]; 22. 771-Lucas Duncan[8]; 23. 30-Mike Parodi[12]; 24. 9X-Colten Emigh[13]; 25. 2E-Derrik Emigh[16]; 26. 25-Sarah Arnold[10]
CORNELL’S AUTO PARTS Street Stock Feature (20 Laps): 1. 54T-Tyler Irwin[11]; 2. 5VT-Andrew Fitzgerald[1]; 3. 11-Josh Hemming[6]; 4. 54-Shane Wetherington[2]; 5. 5X-Jeff Meltz[9]; 6. 91M-Matt Mosher[13]; 7. 7-Chris Murray[10]; 8. 32-Damian Ward[7]; 9. 711-Jason Barrett[12]; 10. 69X-Bill Thwaits[14]; 11. 96-Derek Van Veghten[4]; 12. 88M-Jake Middleton[5]; 13. 2X-Josh Bussino[8]; 14. (DNS) 92-Mike Dugga
GREG’S TOWING 4 Cylinder Feature (15 Laps): 1. 129D-JOSH REOME[10]; 2. 03D-John Mason[5]; 3. 42D-Josh Ramsey[12]; 4. 38S-Ben Ladd[7]; 5. 66S-Daniel Joubert[6]; 6. 5D-Josh Ramsey Jr[2]; 7. 30S-Robert Garney[13]; 8. 79D-Jeremy Brownell[1]; 9. 56S-Lindell Condon[3]; 10. 711S-Chris Duffney Jr[8]; 11. 23D-Lucas Condon[9]; 12. 191D-chris j Danylyiko[4]; 13. 771D-Makenzie Esterby[11]