RPW Exclusive: Friday Was Simply “Amazing” For LJ Lombardo; A “Super” Drive At Albany-Saratoga

Column By: DYLAN FRIEBEL / RPW – MALTA, NY – When asked to describe his Friday night at Albany-Saratoga Speedway where he picked up his second career Super DIRTcar Series triumph, LJ Lombardo categorized it with one simple word.

Amazing.

Lombardo turned some heads early in the night on Friday after going quick time in Group A Qualifying.  He then started on the pole for his heat race…and event he won.

That set him up for the redraw where he pulled the no. 1 spot.  However, the guy who drew no. 2 was pretty good Friday as well.

That was Alex Yankowski in the Petruska no. 66 machine.  Yankowski grabbed the lead from the drop of the green and held the top spot for the first 30 circuits.  That’s when the caution came out for Neil Stratton who spun in turn three.

Lombardo was still hanging tough, running second at the time Dave Farney threw the first caution.

That put ‘The Outlaw’ right back along side ‘Kid Rocket’ for the restart.

“I was surprised Alex gave me the top, to be honest,” Lombardo said.  “I figured he was going to do what I did in the heat race when he picked the bottom. He had a jump anyway and had me cleared, I thought he was going to go into turn one, slide up, hit the cushion and drive off.”

That is not what he did, however.  Yankowski rolled the bottom and gave LJ the top lane entering the first corner and held it exiting turn two.

“I was going to try to set up and give him a slider in turn three,” he said.  “When I saw his right rear lock up going into the corner I said to myself that he’s gonna stop and go to the bottom.”

Lombardo knew this was his chance.

“That’s when I put it to the wood,” he said.  “Let me tell you.  I was hitting the rev limiter going into one. I was either going to put it on my lid or I was coming off that corner with the lead.”

He did in fact get the top spot from Yankowski.  However, once he got the lead, it wasn’t smooth sailing.  Lombardo couldn’t rotate the bottom as well as others could and the cushion started fading.

That’s when you could see that the berm on the high side became razor thin in turns three and four.

“It was treacherous getting into turn three,” he said.  “I could get turn one okay but sometimes I’d drive it in a little too hard.  My door is caved in from the ruts up top. If you hit the rut with the car square entering three, it would hop up to the cushion.”

It was then that LJ changed how he attacked the track.

“I had to do what I never wanted to do,” he said.  “I had to back up the corner.  It doesn’t seem fast but you had to do it.  I started doing that and got some really good laps.”

Then came those two dreaded words that ever leader isn’t a fan of…lap traffic.

“I threw a slider on the 08 (Jack Speshock) and I saw him come back under me,” he said.  “I thought please give me the room.  I knew if I cleared him I was going to have enough room to keep my space ahead of Alex.  I then was watching the flagger tell me how much of a gap I had.  It all helped out.”

While this is LJ’s second ever Series victory, this one was tougher to get than his first, the King of Spring 100 at Lebanon Valley Speedway in 2022.

“I’m racing against professionals that run on slick tracks weekly,” he said.  “At Lebanon Valley, you can get out and go.  They might go five times a week to a slick track while I go five times a year.  They run the whole tour.”

This year, Lombardo is teamed up with the Cordova family and they’ve been working hard in the shop to get the type of results they received on Friday.

“My whole team got down and dirty and we really found speed in our whole program over the last three or four months,” he said.  “I owe it all to the whole Cordova family.  Man, they believe in me.  Dave is my best friend.  He’s literally 50 years old and I’m 30 and we talk everyday. For him to believe me like this is a dream come true.”

LJ also had nothing but glowing remarks to talk about Yankowski and the others he raced against on Friday night.

“It’s a lot to say this about the younger drivers,” he said.  “It’s not like I’m old or anything, but to be that young and give the room and respect Alex did, was amazing.  Timmer (Tim Sears, Jr.) gave me a slider in one and I threw one back at him in turn three.  We never touched.  It was just hard, fun racing.”

Lombardo stated that you can see the level of professionalism that runs the Super DIRTcar Series.

“These guys have so much respect for each other,” he said.  “That’s why I love running the Series. Professional guys that really want to make you better as a driver as well.  It’s something I want to do.”

The dream came true for LJ on Friday night after taking 2024 away from full-time competition.  At the Great Race Place, The Outlaw was able to experience a wide range of emotions as he captured the 60th Anniversary season Opener there and his first ever win at the Malta oval.

“It’s just amazing,” he said.  “I don’t use that word a lot. There’s a lot of things that can go wrong in life but let me tell you.  This wasn’t even running through my brain.  We went to New Egypt for the Series opener and didn’t even make the show.  I had to swallow my pride and told my guys that we have to bounce back after a tough night. I’m happy we were able to.”

It wasn’t just bouncing back.  With the time out the seat last year, and only racing a limited schedule, LJ rolled up his sleeves and went to work to get better.

“I really, really, really put my head into the setup part of this whole deal,” he said.  “From the setup to the shocks, the technology, building these cars, their structure.  I do it all.  I do all the setup stuff and work on the cars like the rest of my guys do.  I drive the hauler here and home.”

However, sometimes, taking a step back can help you move forward.

“It was a lot on me mentally,” he said.  “Stepping out of the driver’s seat made me realize there’s so much more behind the scenes I’ve been missing.  I put myself first for the first time in my life and I’m so happy I did.  It got me to where I needed to be.”

Two races into his first season back in a Big Block Modified and LJ Lombardo is a winner again, capturing one of, if not the biggest, wins of his career.  He truly had an ‘amazing’ night.