The 4th Turn: July 31, 2025
~ By Tom Boggie
I can’t remember a season where tragedy has been as prevalent as this year has been.
It began in March, when Jason Herrington, one of the most popular 358 modified drivers in the Capital Region, died suddenly at the age of 52.
It continued in April, when Zach Seyerlein, who raced street stocks and pro stocks at Lebanon Valley Speedway, was killed on April 15 when the vehicle he was driving collided with a dump truck. He was 26.
The month of July was especially grim. First, on July 15, Noah Chaffin suffered a serious spinal injury during a botched stunt at the “Eve of Destruction” at Lebanon Valley. Two days later, the dirt track racing world was again shocked with the announcement that Bobby Chalmers, the founder of Race Pro Weekly, had died from pancreatic cancer. He was 46.
Then, last Monday, Stewart Friesen, one of the best dirt track modified drivers ever, suffered serious injuries in a horrific crash during a Super DIRTcar Series race at Autodrome Drummond in Canada. Friesen, who celebrated his 42nd birthday last Friday, fractured his pelvis and his right leg, and now faces a long and arduous recovery.
I don’t know about you, but that’s more than enough tragedy in one year for me.
MOVING ON
Let’s move on to more positive things.
In horse racing, it’s good when there is a Triple Crown on the line, when all eyes turn to the Belmont Stakes for a chance to see history.
In basketball, it’s good for the NBA when either the New York Knicks or Los Angeles Lakers are in the playoffs. More eyes will be on the sport when the two storied franchises are still playing.
And in dirt track racing, it’s good when Ronnie Johnson is winning big block races.
Spirits get lifted when RJ is standing in victory lane. It’s like the world is back to normal. Longtime fans are brought back to the glory days when they watched his father, Jumpin’ Jack, winning races throughout the Northeast in the iconic orange-and-white 12A, and the younger generation crowds victory lane to get a picture taken with Ronnie.
Things got back to normal last Friday night when Ronnie won his first big block feature at Albany-Saratoga Speedway in two seasons. When Jack Speshock jumped the cushion in the second turn on the final lap of the Stan Da’ Man Night 32-lap modified feature, Ronnie went low, outran Speshock to the checkered flag and came away with his first big block win at Malta since July 14, 2023.
After the victory lane celebration, which included Marc Johnson’s son getting a picture taken with Ronnie, Ronnie talked about his love for racing. “I’ve been doing this for a long time,” said Johnson, who will turn 52 in November. “My father paved the way to do this. He created something, and we’re still running with it.
“I’ve got great people behind me. Chris Persons, Gary Mickle, Frank Witz, they’ve been with me since I started and I couldn’t do this without them. It’s been a while since I’ve won a race here, and it feels good to be back.”
Until Speshock’s slip, it looked like Johnson would have to settle for second. But after the race, he said he wasn’t even sure if he was going to get that high, despite starting seventh.
“It took me a while to get going,” he said. “(Matt) Depew was blowing a motor and spewing oil all over my shield and for a while, it was hard for me to see.”
But Ronnie was in the right place at the right time when Speshock missed his marks on the final lap.
“I saw he was getting in hot and sliding up,” said Johnson. “I just had to calm myself. I told myself to slow down and hook the bottom, and that’s what I did.”
As the interview after the race was winding down, someone asked Ronnie if he would be going to Weedsport on Saturday for the Hall of Fame 100. “It’s hard for me to travel,” he said. “I’ve got responsibilities at home with my wife and my stepdaughter. If I was running better, I might think about traveling, but I’m not going to tow for four hours and not run well.”
MORE FROM MALTA
Tim Hartman Jr. is starting to discover the price of success. As he climbed out of his car on the front stretch after winning the “Flying Trowel 32” for sportsman last Friday, some people in the stands were voicing their displeasure, and Hartman Jr. made sure he let them know he heard the boos.
“I’d like to thank the people who still cheer for me,” he told track announcer Mia Meehan. “And I hope to get a couple more (wins) before the end of the season.
Hartman Jr.’s victory was his 48th career win at Malta, and he followed that up with his sixth win of the season on Saturday at Lebanon Valley.
It would be tough to find a better finish than Rich Crane’s battle with Chris Stalker in the pro stock feature. Crane went around the outside of Stalker coming out of the fourth turn on the final lap and beat Stalker to the finish line by inches. Crane picked up $1,032 for the win.
“I’ve really got to thank Lyle (promoter Lyle DeVore) for putting this on, and for getting out there and giving us a second lane,” said Crane after the win, referring to DeVore’s decision to bring out the grader and groom the track prior to the features, something he rarely does. “That was awesome. It’s fun racing like that with Chris. I’ll take a race like that any night, no matter if I finish first or second.”
In recent weeks, a number of drivers have seen victories slip away, and had to settle for second or third. Speshock fit into that category last week, when he had his best finish of the season, despite making that one miscue on the last lap.
“I know I’ve been fast,” he said. “But the last couple of weeks, I was starting to question myself. I was in the back, battling with guys I should have been passing easily. Maybe this will help me get some confidence back.”
Friday will be Native Pride Night at Albany-Saratoga, with the modifieds competing for $3,000 to win. The card includes the fifth leg of the DiCarlo Auto Body 358 Shootout Series, which will pay $2,000 to win. Drivers will by greeted by a brand new racing surface, which DeVore began putting down on Saturday morning.
AROUND THE TRACKS
Prior to his accident at Autodrome Drummond, Friesen had already had an emotional week. Last Friday, on his 42nd birthday, he made his 200th career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start, and finished third at Indianapolis Raceway Park. But after the race, his truck failed to meet minimum front heights requirements, and he was disqualified.
The Halmar team appealed the ruling on Saturday. “We believe the postrace heights disqualification was caused by a part malfunction that occurred during the race by circumstances out of our control,” the team posted on Facebook.
Friesen went to Weedsport on Saturday and won the Super DIRTcar Series Hall of Fame, which paid $10,000 to win. Then, NASCAR’s appeal panel upheld Friesen’s DQ at IRP, stating, “There was a part failure that is not known if it was intentional or unintentional, resulting in failure of the front ride height.”
Andy Bachetti won the “Flying Farmer 31” to honor Herrington last Saturday at Lebanon Valley. Over $11,700 in bonus money was handed out.
There were a couple of other stories that shared top billing at the Valley. Chris Curtis won the big block feature and finished second to Bachetti in the small block feature while Neil Stratton, making a rare appearance at the Valley, finished fourth in the big block feature (after starting 17th) and third in the small block race. If I’m not mistaken, that just the second time Stratton has raced at the Valley this season.
Stratton is having one of the best seasons of his 19-year career. He’s already chalked up a career-high six top-five finishes and is sitting seventh in the big block point race at Malta, which would also be a career-best. His first career win came in a big block feature at Lebanon Valley on July 2, 2011, and ironically, his father Hector finished 17th that night. His other two career wins were recorded at Devil’s Bowl, one in 2014 and the second in 2018.
There is no racing at the Valley this weekend, as the Monster trucks will be in for their two-day event.
With the three-race Canadian Series earlier this week (King of the North 1 and 2 at Autodrome Drummond on Monday and Tuesday, and the Canadian Classic at Brockville on Wednesday), some of Malta’s regulars have gotten in a lot of racing. Mike Mahaney ran for seven straight nights, going back to last Thursday, when he finished fifth at Airborne Park. He then finished seventh at Albany-Saratoga last Friday, eighth in the SDS race Saturday at Weedsport, third in the non-points race at Weedsport on Sunday, 16th and 22nd at Autodrome Drummond on Monday and Tuesday and sixth at Brockville on Wednesday.
Felix Roy took Sunday off, but still raced Thursday (eighth at Airborne), Friday (eighth at Malta), Saturday (16th at Weedsport), Monday and Tuesday at Drummond (26th and ninth) and Wednesday at Brockville (fifth).
Jack Lehner, Peter Britten and Justin Stone also made the three-day Canadian Swing. Britten’s best finishes were a ninth at Brockville and a 10th at Drummond on Tuesday, while Lehner finished 10th at Brockville. Stone, who was involved in Friesen’s wreck on Monday, didn’t crack the top 10 on any of the three nights.
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