Technicality costs Tremont another title

PHOTOGRAPHER: Tom Boggie

Share on Facebook

Save

That’s it. Ken Tremont Jr. is officially off my people-to-call-in-a-pinch list.

Tremont is always a good source, so I figured it would be easy to get him a little riled up this week. After all, he lost what would have been his 13th modified point championship at Albany-Saratoga Speedway on a technicality. Might as well poke the bear.

You know what he said when I asked him about watching Brett Hearn win a championship that was rightfully his?

“I didn’t give it much thought,” he said.

Didn’t give it much thought? That’s like saying Mark Sanchez hasn’t given Geno Smith much thought, or Tim Tebow hasn’t given the Canadian Football League much thought.

So I kept adding fuel to the fire, and finally got something back.

“I knew ahead of time how it was going to be, so I didn’t give it a lot of energy,” Tremont said.

I guess that’s better than nothing.

Official records will show that Hearn finished with 708 points, topping Tremont by 32 points.

But let’s not forget the night of Aug. 16. That was the night of the Alex Friesen Memorial Summer Nationals at Ransomville Speedway. In a gesture of cooperation (both Albany-Speedway general manager Lyle DeVore and leasee Howie Commander were good friends of Friesen’s), it was decided that there would be no modified points awarded for the feature at Albany-Saratoga on Aug. 16. All modified drivers who showed up would receive 20 appearance points. That way, anyone who wanted to support the race at Ransomville could, without being unjustly penalized.

There was no question that Stewart Friesen, a Friday night regular at Albany-Saratoga, was heading to Ransomville. So was Hearn, who races for a living, and would be after a top prize of $13,000 at Ransomville, compared to $1,500 at Albany-Saratoga.

So while Hearn was at Ransomville, Tremont was finishing second at Albany-Saratoga. Normally, that would be worth 56 points, but instead, he got his 20 show-up points.

Add those 36 points to Tremont’s total and he finishes with 712, beating Hearn by four.

But when I talked to Tremont on Wednesday, that was already a moot point. He finished second, and had moved on.

So much for a good story.

Big night at the Ridge

Glen Ridge Motorsports Park will be hosting the “Sowle 60” on Saturday night, and this one should be a doozie.

Sponsored by Mike Sowle, the 60-lapper for modifieds will pay $4,007.11 to win, and is going to draw a good number of outsiders.

Matt DeLorenzo has already confirmed that he’ll be at the Ridge on Saturday, as will Tremont, who won the point championship at the quarter-mile bullring in 2011. Jeff Heotzler is also going to be there, driving one of Elmo Reckner’s team cars.

“I like going there,” said Tremont. “It gets me away from my regular routine.”

The grandstands will open at

4 p.m., with racing at 7. General adult admission is $15.

Promoter Pete Dmitraszek

deserves a lot of credit for keeping the Ridge going. He’s maintained a consistent car count in the modified and sportsman division throughout the year, and the track surface has been excellent.

Flach injured

After Lebanon Valley canceled racing Saturday because of rain, Mark Flach Jr. went to Canandaigua Speedway, and was involved in a serious accident during the feature.

According to reports, he got tangled up with two other cars, wound up on his side, and another car slammed into the top of the rollcage, breaking Flach’s C7 vertebra. Their was no damage to his spinal cord, but he underwent nine hours on surgery Sunday, and is now on a long road to recovery.

Get well cards should be sent to Mark Flach, 402 County Route 101 Apt. 9, Selkirk, New York 12158.

Around the tracks

Rain washed out two big races over the Labor Day weekend. The Stars and Stripes Classic at Rolling Wheels on Sunday was halted after 24 laps, and will resume on Tuesday, Oct. 8, during Super DIRT Week. Billy Decker has the lead.

The New Yorker 200 at Utica-Rome on Monday was canceled because of rain. That’s too bad for Bobby Varin, who seems to use the New Yorker as his personal ATM.

Rocky Warner won the Industrial Tire Sportsman Series race last Friday at Brewerton, but had his motor confiscated after the race. But the engine was deemed legal when inspected and put on a dyno. Why can’t people realize Warner has talent?

Rob Yetman wrapped up the pro stock championship at

Albany-Saratoga last Friday with his eighth win of the season. That’s the second-highest single-season total ever, as Lucas Baker won nine in 1998. Ron Langevin took the checkered flag nine times in 2008, but was disqualified once for not going right to the scales.

Although the modified won’t be running at Albany-Saratoga tonight, a $1,000-to-win, 50-lap run-whatcha-brung for sportsman highlights the card, which also includes a $1,000-to-win, Warrior Series pro stock race and the CRSA sprints.