Sports - Ketchum captures closer at Speedway

With a heads-up staring procedure being used, heat race winners Mike Tholin and Joe Santoro led the 24-car starting field to the Green.

Before a lap could be completed, Chris Busta piled into the back of Dave DePaulo, which caused extensive damage to the Busta mount. The next start went without incident and Tholin pulled out to an early lead.

On Lap 4, Santoro drove around Tholin, and just before the Caution Flag, flew for a spun Bill Bokus.

On the restart, Tholin got the jump on Santoro and brought fifth-starting Mike Ketchum with him. As they made their way through turns 3 and 4, Ketchum snuck past Tholin and into the lead.

Ketchum pulled out to a comfortable lead until late in the race when lapped cars, not heeding the “move over” flag, nearly allowed Tholin to get back by him.

At the finish, Ketchum crossed the finish line just 0.375 seconds ahead of Tholin to capture his third win of the year driving the Kollar No. 10.

Santoro crossed the line third with Ken Anatriello and Matt DePew rounding out the top five.

An unnamed diver, from another speedway, led all 30 laps in the Budget Sportsmen feature. The speed of the competitor drew the attention of speedway officials and after post-race inspections, was disqualified handing the win over to Fred Proctor.

It was Proctor’s second win of the year and his first since opening night. Jared McMahon finished second ahead of Mike Visconti, Kris Bradbury and Matt Hyde.

Carl Vladyka led all 25 laps in the Pro-Street Stock feature. The win was long overdue for the three-time track champion as it was his first win since September of the 2003 season.

Pete Broderson came on strong in the closing laps to make a race of it but had to settle for second. Jim Monroe, Sr., Kevin VanChance and, Fonda Speedway regular, Nick Stone completed the top five.

In the hotly contested 30-Lap Limited feature, Jack Swinton led the first three laps before Bill Duprey motored around him, Duprey held the lead until Lap 8 when Fonda Speedway invader Luke Horning drove around him.

After a Lap 11 caution for last week’s winner Mike Ostrander, whose car broke on the backstretch, the race really heated up as leader Horning was now being challenged, door-to-door, by Nick Lussier.

The two ran side-by-side for some 10 laps before Lussier completed the pass. Soon after losing the lead, Horning dropped from the race with mechanical problems. Lussier pulled away over the final laps and had a three-second lead at the finish over Duprey, Andy Durie, Dan Petronis and John Filarecki.

Jamie McCarthy won the 20-Lap Mini-Stock feature after a race long battle with last week’s winner, Jason Dickson. Shane Marks, Dan Older, Jr. and Jameson Tromans completed the Top Five.

Last Friday’s races completed the regulars season at Albany Saratoga Speedway with only the Oct. 20 Halloween Havoc left on the schedule. Four wild Enduros are planned for that day with racing getting under way at 2 p.m.