MALTA, N.Y. — Albany-Saratoga Speedway’s marquee event started with a familiar face in victory lane.
Mike Mahaney stormed around Felix Roy on lap 35 and drove away to score his first DIRTcar 358 Modified Series victory in Friday’s Malta Massive weekend opener.
“This car has been awesome all year,” Mahaney said. “To come here and get this win is phenomenal. I didn’t realize I hadn’t won in the 358 Series before. This is cool. And we get this belt again. This is my second Malta Massive weekend belt.
“I really want to thank all the fans for that ovation. You guys are awesome.”
Roy and defending race winner Mat Williamson brought the field to green in the 50-lap feature, with Roy gaining the advantage off turn two.
That advantage grew in the race’s first 10 laps, as the Quebec driver drove to a full straightaway advantage. However, that didn’t last long, as he reached traffic by lap 11.
Behind the 2023 Super DIRTcar Series Rookie of the Year, Williamson was rolling the inside of the racetrack, with Mahaney gaining momentum on the outside. The two drivers waged war as Williamson met Mahaney’s challenges at every turn.
Eventually, Mahaney’s perseverance prevailed as he crossed Williamson over in turns three and four, sliding in front of the No. 6 as they completed lap 32.
While Roy battled in traffic, Mahaney and Williamson slowly reeled him in, putting Mahaney in striking distance once he passed “Money Mat.”
Mahaney returned to the outside and needed two laps to catch Roy in traffic, pulling even with “Hollywood” as they raced into turns three and four on lap 34.
They stayed wheel-to-wheel as they raced down the backstretch. But when they again entered turns three and four, Mahaney found a burst of speed and thundered past Roy on the outside to take the lead on lap 35.
Despite a pair of cautions for Billy Dunn in the final 15 laps, Mahaney went untouched to earn the $5,000 victory.
With the long green-flag run to start the race, Mahaney said he didn’t realize how far ahead Roy was.
“I was just trying to get by Mat,” Mahaney said. “All of a sudden, the two of us reeled him in, and it was a three-car battle. It’s awesome to put on that kind of show. I’m really proud of that.
“This is a great confidence booster.”
Roy settled for second after leading the race’s first 35 laps.
“The more it slicked off, the car wasn’t as good,” Roy said. “With the lap cars, I didn’t really know where to go. I stayed on the bottom, and it seemed faster, but then Mike passed me on the top and I tried to follow him.
“He did a great job, and congratulations to him.”
Roy is the new DIRTcar 358 Modified Series points leader with his runner-up finish. He holds a two-point lead over veteran Lance Willix, who finished ninth.
Williamson rounded out the podium.
“The car never really fired,” Williamson said. “At the end, I felt like I was just running where I had to. It was a tricky racetrack. The cushion was pretty big. You could race all over it, and I think it’ll be really good with the Big Block tomorrow.”
Matt Delorenzo finished fourth, and Albany-Saratoga 358 Modified track champion Marc Johnson finished fifth.
Chris Crane crossed the finish line first ahead of brother Connor Crane after 35 straight laps of DIRTcar Sportsman Series action.
Series points leader Cody McPherson settled for third as the brothers drove off in a heated battle.
The finish:
Feature (50 Laps): 1. 35-Mike Mahaney[5]; 2. 91-Felix Roy[1]; 3. 6M-Mat Williamson[2]; 4. 3D-Matt Delorenzo[9]; 5. 3J-Marc Johnson[13]; 6. 92-Andrew Buff[4]; 7. 70A-Alex Payne[21]; 8. M1-David Marcuccilli[3]; 9. 31-Lance Willix[12]; 10. 35C-Chris Curtis[11]; 11. 15X-Justin Stone[10]; 12. 5-Amy Holland[18]; 13. 21A-Peter Britten[24]; 14. 6-Robert Bublak[23]; 15. 2RJ-Ronnie Johnson[15]; 16. 12-Darren Smith[22]; 17. 19C-Brandon Carvey[20]; 18. 22W-Noah Walker[6]; 19. 7S-Shaun Shaw[19]; 20. 77-Walter Hammond Jr[14]; 21. 28-Michael Trautschold[17]; 22. 88H-Walt Hammond[27]; 23. 39-Ryan Bartlett[29]; 24. 21R-Jeffrey Reis[26]; 25. 11S-Steve Lewis Jr[28]; 26. (DNF) 49-Billy Dunn[7]; 27. (DNF) 31B-Ryan Dolbear[16]; 28. (DNF) 9-Tyler Meeks[25]; 29. (DNF) 20-David Schilling[8]; 30. (DNF) 117-CJ Castelletti[30]