MALTA, N.Y. — The first fall stop of the season brings the Super DIRTcar Series back to where the championship battle began.
A “Shower of Big Block Power” heads to Albany-Saratoga Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 26, for the annual Malta Massive Weekend. Drivers will battle in a 75-lap feature paying $7,500-to-win.
Joining the Beasts of the Northeast at Albany-Saratoga on Saturday is the DIRTcar Pro Stock Series and the track’s Limited Sportsman division.
The weekend serves as a true Super DIRT Week preview, with Saturday’s action capping off a full weekend of racing that also features the DIRTcar 358 Modified Series and DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series on Friday, Sept. 25.
Rocketing Ahead
With seven races remaining on the 2026 Super DIRTcar Series schedule, points leader Alex Yankowski continues his charge toward his first championship.
After a runner-up finish at Can-Am Speedway two weeks ago, the Covington Township, Pa., driver holds a 98-point lead over defending champion Mat Williamson. Yankowski comes into Malta Massive Weekend as the only driver to finish in the top 10 of all 16 points-paying races this season, a streak that started at Albany-Saratoga Speedway in April.
“Kid Rocket” is searching for his fifth win of 2026, and ninth series victory, which would give him nine wins at nine different tracks.
Williamson, meanwhile, earned his lone points-paying victory of 2026 at Albany-Saratoga in April. The St. Catharines, Ontario, driver has finished in the top 10 in seven straight starts at Albany-Saratoga, where he’s won on three occasions.
The last time Williamson won the first race at Albany-Saratoga in 2024, he backed that up by winning during Malta Massive Weekend. A victory this weekend would be his 40th career Super DIRTcar Series triumph.
Sheppard’s Quest
The last time the Super DIRTcar Series visited Albany-Saratoga during Malta Massive Weekend, 10-time champion Matt Sheppard stood in victory lane, leading every lap.
In 2026, the Savannah, N.Y., driver is searching for his first Series win of 2026, which is the latest he’s gone in a season without earning a victory since 2007. Not only is “Super Matt” searching for a victory, but he’s also aiming for a late-season charge to return to the podium in the standings.
Sheppard enters the weekend sixth in points, but trails Jimmy Phelps by 10 points for fifth, Jack Lehner by 12 points for fourth, and Alex Payne by 48 points for third.
A win this weekend would be Sheppard’s 104th series victory.
The Last Home Game
Saturday’s trip to Albany-Saratoga Speedway marks the final time in 2026 that a few stars get to race at their home track.
Lehner leads the charge of the three Albany-Saratoga regulars who run the Series and has been the most consistent car over the past month, except for Yankowski. The Saratoga Springs, N.Y., driver has finished in the top 10 in eight of his last 10 series starts, including two podium finishes at Weedsport Speedway and Can-Am Speedway.
The “Ginga Ninja” won the regular season finale at the track on Labor Day weekend and finished fourth in April.
Mike Mahaney, who finished second in the track’s standings, also reached victory lane at Albany-Saratoga during the season and aims to get a win at a place he’s found success. Two of the Elizabethtown, N.Y., driver’s three series triumphs have come at the three-eighths-mile oval. However, he hasn’t earned a series win there since 2022.
Despite finishing behind both Mahaney and Lehner in points, Justin Stone had the most wins between the three of them at Albany-Saratoga in 2026. The Middlebury, VT driver scored three victories throughout the season and aims for his first career Series triumph this weekend.
Stone’s best series finish came during Malta Massive Weekend in 2023, when he crossed the line third.
Malta Faithful
While Lehner, Mahaney, and Stone battled each other on Friday nights, they also dealt with a strong group of track regulars who want to end their season with a victory at home.
That starts with 2026 track champion Matt Delorenzo, who led the first half of the 61st Season Opener in April before ultimately finishing second to Williamson. The Cropseyville, N.Y., driver earned his first win of the season last weekend and backed it up with 12 podiums in 17 starts.
Delorenzo has finished second twice in series events at the track but is looking for his first series win.
Another track regular who’s narrowly missed out on a series win at home is the track’s 358 Modified champion and former Series regular, Marc Johnson. Johnson earned four victories this season in a Big Block but finished fourth in this year’s track standings.
Series stars will also have to contend with a familiar face, the No. 21A of Peter Britten. The “Batman” scored three wins at the track this season but has yet to earn a series win at his Friday night home. Britten has five top fives and 13 top 10s in 20 Series starts at Albany-Saratoga.
A win on Saturday would be his sixth series victory.
