Joey Scarborough Strikes First With CDRA Spring Shootout Win At Albany-Saratoga Speedway Chasing L.D. Bossman Championship Trophy

Column By: Rob Hazer  – CAPITAL DISTRICT RACING ASSOCIATION – MALTA, NY –Brandon, VT hot shoe Joey Scarborough wasted no time in making his case for title contention after picking up the Spring Shootout feature win at Albany-Saratoga Speedway in the JAM Performance & Consulting CDRA series presented by Elmo’s Speed Supply. Chris Crane Jr. and Craig Wholey joined him rounding out the podium finishers after 25-laps of competition.

Scarborough and Ballston Spa, NY second generation talent Derrick McGrew Jr. would lead the 30-car starting field to Rich Peterson’s green flag with Scarborough taking the early lead leaving McGrew to battle with Bolton Landing, NY racer Craig Wholey, Canaan, CT racer Chris Crane Jr., and Middlegrove, NY racer Taylor Wason.

First caution came on lap five after inadvertent contact resulted in defending series champion Tim Hartman Jr. out of Glenville, NY with a flat tire and body damage. He would return to the event, however Johnsonville, NY racer Dave Baranowski would not be as fortunate and would be done for the evening.

On the restart Scarborough went back to work leading, and other racers went back to work battling for position throughout the field. One of those drivers would be Malta, NY driver Jon Miller who was having a solid run racing inside the top 10 battling with Wason, Round Lake, NY racer Nick Brundige, and Gansevoort, NY racer Michael Wagner-Fitzgerald.

By the halfway point of the Spring Shootout points paying event for CDRA, there were a few drivers turning in impressive runs during the season opener starting with Warrensburg, NY lady racer Jordan Hill who spend a majority of the event racing for position inside the top ten, as she vies for the NOTY for season three.

Other racers who were making noise and putting in work by the midway point were Amsterdam, NY racer Zach Buff, Canaan, CT racer Connor Crane who started deep in the field, and Warwick, QC racer Kaven Poliquin. The top 10 at the midway point were Joey Scarborough, Chris Crane Jr., Craig Wholey, Derrick McGrew Jr., Nick Brundige, Taylor Wason, Michael Wagner-Fitzgerald, Zach Buff, Connor Crane, and Jordan Hill.

Scarborough survived late race restarts and challenges from Chris Crane Jr. to win the 2026 Spring Shootout at Albany-Saratoga. Crane Jr. crossed the finish line second with Craig Wholey, Nick Brundige, and Derrick McGrew Jr. rounding out the top five.

Making up the top ten were Taylor Wason, Michael Wagner-Fitzgerald, Jordan NY racer Savannah Laflair, Montgomery, NY racer Cole Hentschel, and defending series champion Tim Hartman Jr. of Glenville, NY.

“The night really went our way 100%. We got luck in the heat race and caught some breaks, real lucky in the redraw, and again luck went our way on the restarts,” Scarborough said to Rich Vleck in G&R Motorsports victory lane.

He continued with saying, “I hit the setup perfectly for the feature, didn’t miss my line once which I was surprised by that, and everything just worked out. Car was great, which made me look great. There’s a lot of guys who work hard back there so I can do this out here. Shoutout to Jake watching from home. His little pep talks before the race really got me hitting my line and do what I do.”

CDRA NOTES: Three drivers who had massive runs putting in work behind the wheel start with Round, Lake NY racer Nick Brundige. The 2025 NOTY award winner drove from 15th to finish strong in 4th.

Jordan, NY lady racer Savannah Laflair raced impressively on a technical racetrack to an impressive 8th place finish after starting 26th.

Finally, Canaan, NY racer Connor Crane who came from the 28th starting spot to earn a 13th place finish respectively.

CDRA TITLE WATCH: Three points of note in the title watch begin with the obvious, Joey Scarborough. Less than a week after declaring his intent to race full-time chasing the L.D. Bossman Championship Trophy with CDRA, he parked it in victory lane at Albany-Saratoga winning his first series race.

Secondly, defending champion Tim Hartman Jr. faced adversity in his title defense opener. But the champ overcame what could’ve been a bad night filled with ups and downs to earn a top ten finish.

Finally, Craig Wholey of Bolton Landing, NY has injected himself into the title conversation after the Spring Shootout. It’s not his first podium finish during CDRA races. We know after pre-registrations, Chris Crane Jr. has his eyes on title town, but Wholey is just the wild card that could make the points battle that much more dramatic.

UP NEXT FOR CDRA: CDRA visits Lebanon Valley Speedway next on Tuesday June 16th as part of the Super DIRTcar Big Block Modified Series program for Mr. Crate Track USA. This is a crown jewel event on the series schedule valued on a higher point scale.

CDRA is a nostalgic throwback to CVRA days. Each season consists of a diverse schedule based around storied dirt tracks in the Capitaland such as Albany-Saratoga, Lebanon Valley, and Glen Ridge. Drivers who participate have the opportunity to earn hardware and monetary rewards for their efforts.

04/17/26 JAM Performance & Consulting CDRA Racing Presented By Elmo’s Speed Supply | Spring Shootout Sportsman Modified A-Main Feature Results At Albany-Saratoga Speedway (25 Laps): 1. 11VT-Joey Scarborough[1]; 2. 711C-Chris Crane Jr[3]; 3. 98-Craig Wholey[4]; 4. 916-Nick Brundige[15]; 5. 26M-Derrick McGrew Jr[2]; 6. 07W-Taylor Wason[5]; 7. 88-Michael Wagner Fitzgerald[13]; 8. 16X-Savannah Laflair[26]; 9. 3H-Cole Hentschel[12]; 10. 22-Tim Hartman Jr[17]; 11. 02-Cody Ochs[29]; 12. 03-Joshua Jock[14]; 13. 711X-Connor Crane[28]; 14. 51-Jordan Hill[9]; 15. 35R-Justin Comes[23]; 16. 216-Phil Arnold[27]; 17. 61-Alex Palmer Sawyer[30]; 18. 25JR-William Lussier[19]; 19. 313-Cam Van Zandt[21]; 20. 12-Johnathan Miller[6]; 21. 92-Tanner Coon[22]; 22. 1VT-Marty Hutchins[25]; 23. 27M-Michael Ballestero[16]; 24. 01-Zach Buff[20]; 25. 97K-Kaven Poliquin[18]; 26. 50-Bill August[24]; 27. 18-Jeff Wasburn[11]; 28. 33M-Bodie Marks[10]; 29. 23G-Chad Gregory[8]; 30. 112-Dave Baranowski[7].