MALTA, N.Y. — Had they known the results of the DIRTcar modified feature beforehand, Albany-Saratoga Speedway officials could have billed Friday night’s program as International Night, as the winner of the 35-lap finale was Canadian Felix Roy while Australia’s Peter Britten was a tight second.
The $2,500 score marked Roy’s first big block win after two 358 modified triumphs in his first season at Albany-Saratoga.
“The car was really nice,” declared the Quebec resident. “We changed a lot this week and we should be good now for the rest of the year. I was worried when I saw Britten alongside me for that late restart but I held my line and didn’t make any mistakes. The caution laps let my tires cool down and I was even better after the restart. I didn’t know what to expect when we started but I love it down here!”
James Meehan led early on off the pole with Rich Scagliotta and Matt DePew in hot pursuit. But the fifth-starting Roy advanced to third on the second tour of the thre-eighths-mile oval and by lap seven blew around Scagliotta to grab second.
The leaders caught the tail of the field on lap 12, with Roy quickly closing on Meehan as he struggled to lap the backmarkers. But before he could dispose of the leader, Roy had Britten, up from seventh, alongside. He then turned up the wick and ran even with Meehan for two laps before taking command on lap 20.
Britten got close once in traffic but a lap 29 yellow to retrieve Kris Vernold and Matt DeLorenzo after they went over the backstretch banking got Roy out of the lapped cars and he easily held the lead for the final six laps after scooting away from Britten on the restart.
“Felix is a good kid from a good family and while I obviously wanted to win myself, I’m happy for him,” summed up Britten. “We started way closer to the front than usual, which was nice, but we were there because we’ve been struggling. It’s good to be fighting for the win again!”
Meehan traded third with Scagliotta a few times but eventually prevailed over the New Jersey based racer. Vermonters Adam Pierson and Neil Stratton were fifth and sixth, respectively, with 14th starting Mike Mahaney seventh ahead of Jack Speshock, Chris Curtis and Jack Lehner.
Jordan Modiano was also a first-time winner, taking the Pro Stock feature over Kim Duell and Pete Stefanski while teenager Connor Crane claimed the Sportsman finale from deep in the field, running down Andrew Cormie with the checkers in sight. Joey Scarborough was a tight third.
