Rich Vleck, MALTA, N.Y. (May 8, 2009) - With rain in the forecast and a history of bad luck at Albany-Saratoga, Jason Barney did not even want to go to the Lucas Oil ASCS Patriot Season Opener on Friday, but he is sure glad he did.
Jason Barney outlasted a 28-car field that had to endure an hour-long rain delay and a number of challengers to win just before more precipitation fell.
The Constantia, NY driver picked up the 2009 Season Opener held at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, NY. He led all but one lap in the feature, but it was far from easy.
Barney had to survive a multitude of challenges from sophomore sprint driver Bubba Broderick early on and then had to battle wheel-to-wheel with 2008 Series Champion Bryan Howland in the final laps to hang on to score his third career Patriot Win.
“I didn’t even want to be here tonight,” stated Barney in Victory Lane. “My guys were the ones that wanted to be here and they work so hard and gave me a great car tonight.”
When Mike Stelter took the early lead from the pole at the drop of the green flag in the A-Main, Barney, who started in fourth, quickly moved to second and began to apply pressure to Stelter for the lead. A lap later, the Charles Tibbets Masonry/ Walton’s Farm and Auto Repair No. 87 was in front. Barney had company with Bubba Broderick chasing him up to the front as both drivers used the top of the track.
Broderick stayed within two car lengths of Barney through lapped traffic and in open air until a lap 14 caution changed the complexion of the event.
Broderick was forced to stop under the yellow flag to reconnect his safety belts, forcing him to fall to the back. It would end the winning chances for the Brownie’s Towing/ Northeast Carpet No. 5, but it would allow Bryan Howland a run at ‘Racin Jason’.
Howland pulled to the outside of Barney in turn one on the two ensuing restarts, but was unsuccessful. On the third and final restart behind the No. 87 on lap 22, Howland made his Filtrec Corp. No. 51 stick on the top of the track and begin a drag race with Barney down the tree-lined backstretch. It would be a short lived battle, however, as Barney drifted up and forced Howland over the banking, making the defending champion regroup with only two laps left.
“I hadn’t really heard anyone battling that close to me until (Howland) jumped to the outside of me,” explained Barney after the event. “I didn’t know who it was at that point and I didn’t think he was up there (off of turn two). I wish this track had a scoreboard so I knew who it was back there.”
Even after the two came close together on lap 23, Howland still had something for the Barney. He put a wheel underneath the No. 87 coming to the white flag but when he tried the same maneuver on the final lap, Barney was prepared, running the low line and hanging on to pick up the win.
“I almost ran out of fuel,” added Barney. “We decided to put an extra gallon in at the last second, and I’m glad we did.”
Howland’s second place showing starts his quest for a third Patriot Regional Title off on the correct foot. The Auburn, NY resident was the only driver that finished the top-10 of the final 2008 point standings that had prior A-Main experience at Albany-Saratoga.
Alain Bergeron, of Saint Pie, QC, won National Parts Peddler Heat No. 2, the third heat race in a row he has won at Albany. He parlayed that run before the rainfall into a solid third-place showing with a car that he said afterward was too tight.
Steve Poirier, the winner of the last 360 sprint race at Albany-Saratoga before Friday, moved up steadily after starting 10th to place in fourth. Jared Zimbardi, who won the Four Laps of Fame Dash, would win the “Battle of the JZ’s” to the finish line, crossing in fifth, just ahead of local favorite Jessica Zemken.
Trevor Lewis was relegated to the B-Main after cutting a tire in his heat race. He won the B-Main and would move his way forward, finishing in seventh. Justin Barger, Doug Emery and Don Adamczyk would complete an impressive top-10.
Within 10 minutes of the completion of the A-Main, rain began to fall again in Malta, NY, eventually forcing the postponement of other features at Albany-Saratoga, which now holds the honor as the easternmost site to host an ASCS event.
For more information, visit www.ASCSpatriotsprints.com or www.ASCSracing.com.
Lucas Oil ASCS Patriots Results: 5/8/09, Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Malta, NY.
A-Main (25 Laps)- 1. Jason Barney (87), 2. Bryan Howland (51), 3. Alain Bergeron (8B), 4. Steve Poirier (28FM), 5. Jared Zimbardi (35), 6. Jessica Zemken (1z), 7. Trevor Lewis (21L), 8. Justin Barger (32), 9. Doug Emery (33), 10. Don Adamczyk (21), 11. Gordy Button (714), 12. Bubba Broderick (5), 13. Cory Sparks (7), 14. Tommy Wickham (75), 15. Warren Alexson (3A), 16. Dave Wickham (80), 17. Gary Troutman (44), 18. Chris Muhleisen (10M), 19. Bobby Breen (9), 20. Anthony Cain (15c), 21. Chris Weiss (29), 22. Mike Stelter (36).
Lap Leaders- Stelter 1, Barney 2-25.
B-Main (12 Laps, Top 6 Transfer to A-Main)- 1. Trevor Lewis (21L), 2. Bobby Breen (9), 3. Chris Muhleisen (10M), 4. Doug Emery (33), 5. Gary Troutman (44), 6. Chris Weiss (29), 7. Mark Zemcik (22z), 8. Jay Shypinka (138), 9. Andy Noto (19), 10. Ray Preston (22), 11. Scott Kreutter (52), 12. Michael Parent (25).
Four Laps of Fame Dash (4 Laps)- 1. Jared Zimbardi (35), 2. Steve Poirier (28FM), 3. Gordy Button (714), 4. Cory Sparks (7), 5. Tommy Wickham (75), 6. Dave Wickham (80).
National Parts Peddler Heats (8 Laps Each)-
Race 1: 1. Justin Barger (32), 2. Jared Zimbardi (35), 3. Cory Sparks (7), 4. Gordy Button (714), 5. Tommy Wickham (75), 6. Warren Alexson (3A), 7. Mark Zemcik (22z), 8. Bobby Breen (9), 9. Scott Kreutter (52), 10. Jay Shypinka (138).
Race 2: 1. Alain Bergeron (8B), 2. Jason Barney (87), 3. Steve Poirier (28FM), 4. Anthony Cain (15c), 5. Dave Wickham (80), 6. Chris Weiss (29), 7. Andy Noto (19), 8. Doug Emery (33), 9. Ray Preston (22), 10. Michael Parent (25).
Race 3: 1. Jessica Zemken (1z), 2. Bryan Howland (51), 3. Bubba Broderick (5), 4. Mike Stelter (36), 5. Don Adamczyk (21), 6. Trevor Lewis (21L), 7. Chris Muhleisen (10M), 8. Gary Troutman (44).
Contingency Awards-
Keizer Aluminum Wheels Passing Points Award- Barger
M&W Aluminum Products Top-5 Award- Bergeron
Ultra-Shield Race Products Top-10 Award- Lewis
Rod End Supply 21st Anniversary Award- Weiss
Jason Barney outlasted a 28-car field that had to endure an hour-long rain delay and a number of challengers to win just before more precipitation fell.
The Constantia, NY driver picked up the 2009 Season Opener held at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, NY. He led all but one lap in the feature, but it was far from easy.
Barney had to survive a multitude of challenges from sophomore sprint driver Bubba Broderick early on and then had to battle wheel-to-wheel with 2008 Series Champion Bryan Howland in the final laps to hang on to score his third career Patriot Win.
“I didn’t even want to be here tonight,” stated Barney in Victory Lane. “My guys were the ones that wanted to be here and they work so hard and gave me a great car tonight.”
When Mike Stelter took the early lead from the pole at the drop of the green flag in the A-Main, Barney, who started in fourth, quickly moved to second and began to apply pressure to Stelter for the lead. A lap later, the Charles Tibbets Masonry/ Walton’s Farm and Auto Repair No. 87 was in front. Barney had company with Bubba Broderick chasing him up to the front as both drivers used the top of the track.
Broderick stayed within two car lengths of Barney through lapped traffic and in open air until a lap 14 caution changed the complexion of the event.
Broderick was forced to stop under the yellow flag to reconnect his safety belts, forcing him to fall to the back. It would end the winning chances for the Brownie’s Towing/ Northeast Carpet No. 5, but it would allow Bryan Howland a run at ‘Racin Jason’.
Howland pulled to the outside of Barney in turn one on the two ensuing restarts, but was unsuccessful. On the third and final restart behind the No. 87 on lap 22, Howland made his Filtrec Corp. No. 51 stick on the top of the track and begin a drag race with Barney down the tree-lined backstretch. It would be a short lived battle, however, as Barney drifted up and forced Howland over the banking, making the defending champion regroup with only two laps left.
“I hadn’t really heard anyone battling that close to me until (Howland) jumped to the outside of me,” explained Barney after the event. “I didn’t know who it was at that point and I didn’t think he was up there (off of turn two). I wish this track had a scoreboard so I knew who it was back there.”
Even after the two came close together on lap 23, Howland still had something for the Barney. He put a wheel underneath the No. 87 coming to the white flag but when he tried the same maneuver on the final lap, Barney was prepared, running the low line and hanging on to pick up the win.
“I almost ran out of fuel,” added Barney. “We decided to put an extra gallon in at the last second, and I’m glad we did.”
Howland’s second place showing starts his quest for a third Patriot Regional Title off on the correct foot. The Auburn, NY resident was the only driver that finished the top-10 of the final 2008 point standings that had prior A-Main experience at Albany-Saratoga.
Alain Bergeron, of Saint Pie, QC, won National Parts Peddler Heat No. 2, the third heat race in a row he has won at Albany. He parlayed that run before the rainfall into a solid third-place showing with a car that he said afterward was too tight.
Steve Poirier, the winner of the last 360 sprint race at Albany-Saratoga before Friday, moved up steadily after starting 10th to place in fourth. Jared Zimbardi, who won the Four Laps of Fame Dash, would win the “Battle of the JZ’s” to the finish line, crossing in fifth, just ahead of local favorite Jessica Zemken.
Trevor Lewis was relegated to the B-Main after cutting a tire in his heat race. He won the B-Main and would move his way forward, finishing in seventh. Justin Barger, Doug Emery and Don Adamczyk would complete an impressive top-10.
Within 10 minutes of the completion of the A-Main, rain began to fall again in Malta, NY, eventually forcing the postponement of other features at Albany-Saratoga, which now holds the honor as the easternmost site to host an ASCS event.
For more information, visit www.ASCSpatriotsprints.com or www.ASCSracing.com.
Lucas Oil ASCS Patriots Results: 5/8/09, Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Malta, NY.
A-Main (25 Laps)- 1. Jason Barney (87), 2. Bryan Howland (51), 3. Alain Bergeron (8B), 4. Steve Poirier (28FM), 5. Jared Zimbardi (35), 6. Jessica Zemken (1z), 7. Trevor Lewis (21L), 8. Justin Barger (32), 9. Doug Emery (33), 10. Don Adamczyk (21), 11. Gordy Button (714), 12. Bubba Broderick (5), 13. Cory Sparks (7), 14. Tommy Wickham (75), 15. Warren Alexson (3A), 16. Dave Wickham (80), 17. Gary Troutman (44), 18. Chris Muhleisen (10M), 19. Bobby Breen (9), 20. Anthony Cain (15c), 21. Chris Weiss (29), 22. Mike Stelter (36).
Lap Leaders- Stelter 1, Barney 2-25.
B-Main (12 Laps, Top 6 Transfer to A-Main)- 1. Trevor Lewis (21L), 2. Bobby Breen (9), 3. Chris Muhleisen (10M), 4. Doug Emery (33), 5. Gary Troutman (44), 6. Chris Weiss (29), 7. Mark Zemcik (22z), 8. Jay Shypinka (138), 9. Andy Noto (19), 10. Ray Preston (22), 11. Scott Kreutter (52), 12. Michael Parent (25).
Four Laps of Fame Dash (4 Laps)- 1. Jared Zimbardi (35), 2. Steve Poirier (28FM), 3. Gordy Button (714), 4. Cory Sparks (7), 5. Tommy Wickham (75), 6. Dave Wickham (80).
National Parts Peddler Heats (8 Laps Each)-
Race 1: 1. Justin Barger (32), 2. Jared Zimbardi (35), 3. Cory Sparks (7), 4. Gordy Button (714), 5. Tommy Wickham (75), 6. Warren Alexson (3A), 7. Mark Zemcik (22z), 8. Bobby Breen (9), 9. Scott Kreutter (52), 10. Jay Shypinka (138).
Race 2: 1. Alain Bergeron (8B), 2. Jason Barney (87), 3. Steve Poirier (28FM), 4. Anthony Cain (15c), 5. Dave Wickham (80), 6. Chris Weiss (29), 7. Andy Noto (19), 8. Doug Emery (33), 9. Ray Preston (22), 10. Michael Parent (25).
Race 3: 1. Jessica Zemken (1z), 2. Bryan Howland (51), 3. Bubba Broderick (5), 4. Mike Stelter (36), 5. Don Adamczyk (21), 6. Trevor Lewis (21L), 7. Chris Muhleisen (10M), 8. Gary Troutman (44).
Contingency Awards-
Keizer Aluminum Wheels Passing Points Award- Barger
M&W Aluminum Products Top-5 Award- Bergeron
Ultra-Shield Race Products Top-10 Award- Lewis
Rod End Supply 21st Anniversary Award- Weiss
