Friday August 8, 2025 Results
MALTA – Jessey Mueller giveth, and Jessey Mueller taketh away.
After watching a potential victory slip away the previous week because of what could only be described as overly aggressive driving, Mueller drove a nearly flawless race Friday night to hold off a determined charge from Felix Roy to win the 35-lap modified feature at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.
The win was Mueller’s first of the season, and made him the 10th different winner in the big block division at the historic Malta track this season.
“Hey, I didn’t screw up this time,” said Mueller with a smile in victory lane.
He couldn’t afford to, not if he wanted to come away with a victory, as Roy was all over him in the closing laps of the race.
The previous week, Mueller had the lead for most of the feature, but couldn’t stop bouncing over the new racing surface in the third and fourth turns. He eventually lost the lead, and dropped to fourth at the finish.
There was a lot of wild action before Mueller even became a contender in Friday night’s modified feature. Rich Ronca set a torrid early pace, as the race stayed green for the first 11 laps, until Todd Ryan brought out the first yellow for a flat tire on lap 12.
All eyes at that time were on Mike Mahaney, whose wife Mandee gave birth to the couple’s first child, a boy, on Wednesday. Mahaney had started 10th but after the initial restart had worked his way up to third. That restart also allowed Brendan Darrah, who had started fifth, to make a big move, taking the lead away from Ronca coming out of the fourth turn on lap 14.
Another yellow flew on lap 16, this time for an incident that left Marc Johnson with a crushed front end. But on that restart, Mahaney got too low in the fourth turn, bounced off the concrete barrier and ricocheted into Adam Pierson, essentially ending Mahaney’s shot at a win.
That incident helped Mueller move into second and he quickly went to the top and took off after Darrah. It only took three more laps for Mueller to get the lead, and Roy then dropped Darrah to third.
Mueller almost made a big mistake on lap 24, as he wheel-hopped through the third and fourth turns, allowing Roy to get within a couple of car lengths. But Mueller then settled down, worked his way through a couple of slower cars and survived one more restart, on lap 34, to get the win.
“I knew I had a good car and knew if I could keep it straight and not jump the cushion, I’d be all right,” said Mueller later. “I did bounce that one time. But when I slowed down and hit my marks, it really caught.”
Roy had to settle for second, with Justin Stone, Jack Lehner and Demetrios Drellos completing the top five. That trio all got by Darrah in the final two laps, as his right rear tire sealed up after the final caution.
Stone won the Four States Enterprises Dash for Cash, earning a $200 bonus.
Scott Bennett Jr. chalked up his first career victory in the 25-lap sportsman feature. Bennett started on the outside pole, had the lead after just three laps and held off a late charge from Chad Gregory to get the win. “I wasn’t prepared for this,” he said in a victory lane interview with Mia Meehan. “I thought I would never be here.”
Gregory, who started sixth, hugged the bottom for most of the race, and took the number two spot away from Jeff Washburn on lap 18. But Gregory was never able to make a serious run at Bennett. Following Gregory across the finish line were Cody Ochs, Michael Wagner-Fitzgerald and Washburn.
Kim Duell sat in victory lane for the first time this season, winning the 25-lap pro stock feature. The win was Duell’s 31st career victory at Albany-Saratoga. He is second on the all-time win list, trailing just Rob Yetman, who upped his career win total to 33 last season.
Duell started fourth in the feature and took the lead away from Brandon Emigh on lap 9, when Emigh pushed up in the fourth turn, allowing Duell to duck underneath. Jason Casey made a late run at Duell and got up on his rear bumper with five laps to go, but Duell held on for the victory.
The limited sportsman ran a pair of features. Sloan Cherko chalked up her second career victory in the first event, which had been stopped by rain after three laps on May 16, and Dan Seguin celebrated his 50th birthday by holding off teenager Bodie Marks in the second 20-lapper.
In the heldover feature, Cherko started with the lead and never gave it up, finishing ahead of Alex Smith and Cordell Younger.
In the second feature, three late yellows gave Marks his shot at overtaking Seguin, and after Sarah Arnold brought out a yellow on lap 19, Marks poked his nose ahead of Seguin in the third turn and the two made contact. But before Marks could complete the pass, another caution came out, creating a single-file restart, helping Seguin keep Marks at bay.
Dan Madigan came away with his first win of the year in the 20-lap street stock feature. This race also was plagued by late cautions, but Madigan was able to maintain the lead and finish ahead of PJ Cram Jr., who has dominated the division this season.
Madigan looked like he was on his way to an easy win, leaving Matt Mosher, Chris Murray and Cram to battle for second. But three late cautions turned this one into a nail-biter. On a restart on lap 19, Murray tried to squeeze under Madigan in the fourth turn, but before he could complete the pass, Ashton Pierson brought out another yellow, creating a single-file restart, and that’s all Madigan needed.
NEXT GENERATION ROOFING MODIFIEDS: JESSEY MUELLER, Felix Roy, Justin Stone, Jack Lehner, Demetrios Drellos, Brendan Darrah, Peter Britten, David Schilling, Mike Mahaney, Adam Pierson, Ronnie Johnson, Kolby Schroder, Matt DeLorenzo, Jeremy Pitts (subbing for James Meehan), CG Morey, Josh Masterson, Tommy D’Angelo, Rich Ronca, Walter J. Hammond, Neil Stratton, Jack Speshock, Todd Ryan, Brian Calabrese, Don Ronca, Derek Bornt, Matt Depew, Marc Johnson, Brendon Daley, Kris Vernold.
DOUG WHOLEY’S IDEAL EXCAVATING SPORTSMAN: SCOTT BENNETT JR., Chad Gregory, Cody Ochs, Michael Wagner-Fitzgerald, Jeff Washburn, Jon Miller, Joey Scarborough, Mike Benson, Chris Crane Jr., Dylan Madsen, Chris Jakubiak, Tim Hartman Jr., Connor Crane, Daryl Nutting, Elliot Lussier, Dave Baranowski, Nick Brundige, Taylor Wason, Zach Buff, Alex Palmer-Sawyer, Rocco Constantino, Derrick McGrew Jr., Colby Kokosa, Michael Ballestero, Ashton Pierson, Brent Bouplon, Dakota Green, Drew Cormie, Dan Grignon.
SARATOGA MASONRY SUPPLY PRO STOCKS: KIM DUELL, Jason Casey, Brandon Emigh, Chris Stalker, Pete Stefanski, Rich Crane, Shane Henderson, Jay Casey, Jimmy Duncan, Jordan Modiano, Dean Charbonneau, Chris Wemple, Kyle Hoard, Pete Vila, Scott Duell, Caden Dumblewski, PJ Cram Jr.
HAUN WELDING LIMITED SPORTSMAN (HELD OVER FROM MAY 16): SLOAN CHERKO, Alex Smith, Cordell Younger, Bodie Marks, Nick Arnold, William Lussier Jr., Sarah Arnold, James Galarneau, Dan Sequin, Jordan Hill, Mike Baker, Lucas Duncan, Dan Odell, Devon Palmer, Steve Burch, Colton Emigh, Dave Zelker, Damon Anderson, Craig Coons, Raelin Dunham, Kevin Groff, Bobbi Hults, Steve Lehner, George Palmer, Kirsten Swartz.
HAUN WELDING LIMITED SPORTSMAN (REGULAR FEATURE): DAN SEGUIN, Bodie Marks, Steve Burch, William Lussier Jr., Mike Baker, Lucas Duncan, Jordan Hill, Adam Tranka, James Galarneau, Dan Odell, Devon Palmer, Dave Zelker, John Santolin, Derrik Emigh, Yule Cook, Sloan Cherko, Matt Humes, Zach Delaney, Nick Arnold, Dylan Shippee, Sarah Arnold, Noah Carlo, Cordell Younger, Alex Smith (DQ).
CORNELL’S AUTO PARTS STREET STOCKS: DAN MADIGAN, PJ Cram Jr., Chris Murray, Matt Mosher, Derek Van Veghten, Dana Van Veghten, Josh Hemming, Mike Duggan, John Filarecki, Andrew Fitzgerald, Fred Shippee, Jason Barrett, Shane Wetherington, Jake Middleton, Mitchell Tucker Seguin, Ray Pierre Jr., Tim McFarland, Mark Burch.
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