RPW Exclusive: Albany-Saratoga’s 60th Anniversary Kick Off Proved To Be Worth The Price Of Admission

Column By: TOBY LAGRANGE / RPW – MALTA, NY – Regardless of the sport, opening day is always a special one. There is nothing like opening day of Major League Baseball or the first weekend of College Football and local motorsports is no different.

The Albany-Saratoga Speedway made their 60th season opener a very special one as the Super DIRTcar Series for Big Block Modifieds came to town for a 60 lap, $7,500 to win showdown that rightfully attracted a very talented 51 car field and to no one’s surprise, a near standing room only crowd.

I called the Great Race Place home for more than half of my 23 years as a member of the motorsport’s media world. During that time I have been a writer for multiple news outlets and a staff member, but beyond that I have always been a fan.

It was the fan in me that came out on Friday night.

Sure, I was there as a member of the media, doing videos, interviews and gathering information for this article but once I got out of my car, signed in and walked through those pit gate, the fan in me got that special opening day feeling.

The 60th Anniversary Celebration had something that many bigger events these days lack…that big event feel.

With a packed pit area, a packed grandstand, the unmatched smell of food and racing fuel in the air and the golden voices of Danny Martin and Super DIRTcar Series Announcer Mike Warren filling the airwaves, the 2025 kickoff along NY State Route 9 had it all.

Oh, and the racing was pretty darn good too.

Connecticut’s LJ Lombardo earned his second career Super DIRTcar Series win when the checkered flag waved. His first win came at the Lebanon Valley Speedway a few seasons back. The win was also his first career win, in any division, at Lyle DeVore’s speedway.

Alex Yankowski led early, holding the top spot until Vermont’s Neil Stratton spun between turns three and four on lap 31.

In the words of Danny Martin, Lombardo went “High, wide and handsome” to the front on the restart. He took the lead on lap 32 and led the remainder of the event for the win.

Yankowski finished second with Tim Sears, Jr. earning his second consecutive third place finish in series competition at the track. Mike Mahaney, who finished in the fifth place in both the DIRTcar Modified and DIRTcar 358 Modified point standings at the track in 2024, came home fourth while western New York’s Erick Rudolph finished fifth.

“Alex took the lead early and I kind of thought we would run second,” Lombardo said. “But I started to reel him in, in lapped traffic. It’s tough here in lapped traffic as it’s either a dominant top or bottom.”

Despite the caution, LJ was confident that he could have caught the Pennsylvania hot shoe.

“I got to within five or six car lengths and I really thought that I was going to get to him but the caution came out,” Lombardo explained.

After speaking with LJ, it was clear that the run he got on the lap 31 restart was the key moment of the race.

“He chose the bottom and tried to roll the bottom like he was before the caution,” LJ said. “I just got a hell of a restart on the top and really got lucky banging the cushion the whole time.”

Banging that cushion was helped by the hard work from the team, in the shop leading up to the event.

“A shout out to my guys for putting in a huge effort to build a car that can handle me beating on it, on the top,” Lombardo said.

My full interview with LJ Lombardo is posted on the Race Pro Weekly YouTube page. With the loudness of the events going on, you may need to turn the volume up a little bit.

The DIRTcar Sportsman division was also in attendance on Friday night. The event was not a series event and drew an impressive 54 car field.

Ballston Spa, New York’s Chris Jakubiak picked up the win in the 25-lap event. Jakubiak finished fifth in track points in 2024 and is looking to improve on that this season. Quebec’s Donovan Lussier finished second with second generation driver Joey Scarborough third, defending Albany-Saratoga Speedway and Lebanon Valley Speedway Track Champion Tim Hartman, Jr. was fourth and Dylan Madsen fifth.

I also have a full interview with Chris Jakubiak up on the Race Pro Weekly YouTube page. Like my interview with LJ Lombardo, you may need to turn that volume up.

The DIRTcar Pro Stock division completed the nights card. This was also not a series event and brought in a healthy 22 car field.

When all was said and done defending Albany-Saratoga Speedway Track Champion Beau Ballard picked up the win over veteran Kim Duell, Shane Henderson, Pete Stefanski and runner up in points one year ago – Brandon Emigh.

With opening day now in the books at the Great Race Place, we can sit back and enjoy as the cars and stars who call the Saratoga County track home compete for those coveted track championships.