Terry Guest
Special to the Record
Saratoga Speedway hosted yet another great doubleheader weekend on May 21-22, with 64 cars (one of the best car counts in years) on the track.
Monster trucks California Kid and Rockstar put on an amazing show, destroying motor homes, buses and getting some amazing air.
Wet conditions once again affected qualifying on Saturday. Fast time in the Roadrunner class went to #28 Andrew Buchanan with 24.518. Buchanan carried over his winning ways from opening night, taking the lead early in the heat race and eventually taking the win.
The 15-lap main saw #11 Derrik Senft take the lead early and hold it until lap nine when Buchanan passed him on the back stretch en route to the win. Third went to #19 James Moore, who was filling in for Weston Lane on the night.
An impressive field on 14 Bomber cars were out Saturday. Fast time of 22.443 went to #98 Kerry Steen. The B heat Went to #5 Darren Larson and the A to #87 Brandon Steen. The 30-lap main saw #72 Travis Stevenson take the lead on lap one and hold off Steen for the win. Steen's dad Kerry was third.
Fifteen Crash to Pass cars filled the pits Saturday. Fast time of 24.244 went to #2 Glenn Pinto. The B heat went to #31 Brandon Young and the A to #88 Troy Tarbuck.
The 20-lap main saw “Mr. Ugly” Gregg Sagmoen dominate the field, leading every lap and hitting everything in his site. On lap eight, our first rollover of the year happened; #63 “Smokin'” Joe Libatore took a hard hit in the back stretch which sent him airborne. Smokin' Joe came out unharmed but his car needed major repairs.
The Hornet cars made there second appearance of the year Saturday, with fast time of 21.790 set by #13 Jason Fraser. The D heat went to #59 Ted Dimitrov, the C to #14 Kyle Fallowfield, the B to #08 Daryn Cahill, and the A to #01 Kevin Lawrenuk.
The B main saw #20 William Boyes move up from last to first in two laps, eventually taking the win. Second went to #91 James Nesbitt and third to #33 Tristin Gait.
The 30-lap A main saw #21 Gord Fraser take the lead on lap four and hold it until lap 16 when #57 Corey Sanderson took over and never looked back. Fraser finished second and #01 Kevin Lawrenuk took home third.
Great Racing
Dry conditions made for some great racing on Sunday. Fast time in the Roadrunner class once again went to #28 Andrew Buchanan with a 19.047. He went on to win the heat. The 15-lap main saw #19 Weston Lane lead flag to flag for his first race win of the year. Second went to Buchanan and third to #25 Andrew Cannon.
A field of nine Bomber cars hit the track Sunday night. Fast time of 18.030 went to #24 Charlie Ackerman. Some drama occurred in the heat race; #5 Darren Larson had been leading until the last lap when Ackerman was challenging on the outside. Larson didn’t want to give up the lead, causing him to cut off Ackerman, leading to a black flag for Larson and giving Ackerman the win.
The 30-lap main saw Ackerman dominate the
field, lapping all but five cars. Second went to Darren Larson and third to Darrell Larson.
Fourteen Crash cars hit the track on Sunday. Fast time of 18.520 went to #88 Troy Tarbuck. The B heat went to #24 Cody Young and the A to #13 Tom Dunn. The 20-lap feature saw #89 Gregg Sagmoen once again lead the pack and eventually take the win.
Twenty-five Hornets filled the pits on Sunday. A track record was set in qualifying with #21 Gord Fraser's 18.122 beating the old record of 18.195 set by
#02 Daryl Cahill last season. The C heat went to #59 Ted Dimitrov, the B to #22 Jennifer Lawrenuk, and the A to #21 Gord Fraser.
The B main saw Dimitrov lead until the final lap when #81 Jeremy Stormo took the lead. Dimitrov would finish second with third going to #22 Jennifer Lawrenuk.
The 30-lap A main saw #08 Daryn Cahill take
the lead on lap eight and never look back. #02 Daryl Cahill finished second and #21 Gord Fraser took third.
EXTRA LAPS The monster trucks return July 30-31 with four trucks projected to be coming ... the IMCA Modifieds, Dwarf cars, and Motorcycles will be making their first appearances at the speedway this weekend ...