MALTA, N.Y. — Ronnie Johnson, who smilingly described himself as “one of the old guys now,” notched his first DIRTcar big block modified win of the season Friday night at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway.
Youth was served as well, however, as young Canadian Felix Roy battled Johnson from lap 10 on and almost got the lead on a lap 20 restart only to have the start called back. Johnson didn’t get snookered the second time and led Roy and 13th starting Matt DeLorenzo to the checkers.
“Felix might have gotten me on that restart if it had been good but he also showed me a better line and when we went green again, I beat him to it,” summed up Johnson, the son of legendary modified racer “Jumpin’ Jack” Johnson. “The track was black but it was just slick and not taking rubber, so you had to keep the car under you. As I get older, every win is a big one.”
Josh Masterson got the drop on polesitter Dylan Grogan on the initial break but the fourth-starting Johnson advanced to second on lap five, then disposed of Masterson on a lap eight restart. Roy soon duplicated the feat and the battle was on, as DeLorenzo had arrived from mid-pack with Peter Britten in tow to show third and fourth.
The aforementioned yellow just past halfway in the 35-lapper saw Roy scoot around Johnson on the restart only to have it called back.
“I had him if they’d let it go but Ronnie had a good car and that was my only real chance,” explained Roy. “We were equal in speed after that and he is really good on restarts.”
Behind the leaders, last week’s top finishers, Marc Johnson and Mike Mahaney, had been clawing their way through the field from the seventh row. Marc Johnson managed to edge Britten for fourth but the rim riding Mahaney had to settle for sixth behind Britten. Neil Strattton, Brian Calabrese, Andrew Buff and Jeremy Pitts rounded out the top ten.
Early on, DeLorenzo had visions of getting the lead but it wasn’t to be. “It was really slippery in three and four,” he tipped. “There was nothing there but I gave it a good try on the outside until I got tight and had to run the bottom. Ronnie was good one lane up but I couldn’t run there.”
Michael Wagner-Fitzgerald edged Joey Scarborough in the Sportsman finale, with Zach Buff, Jordan Hill and Katrina Leclaire rounding out the top five. Rich Crane prevailed in the Pro Stock feature, besting Ivan Joslin and the father and son team of Kim and Scott Duell.
