Albany-Saratoga Speedway Concludes 60th Season: Malta Massive Weekend Results

MALTA — The 2025 Albany-Saratoga Speedway season, the 60th in the track’s history, concluded on Sept. 20 with the “Massive Malta Weekend” event. Here are the results from two packed days of racing.

Friday, Sept. 19 Results

Marc Johnson has won a lot of races and taken home a lot of trophies during his modified racing career. But on Friday night, he finally got his belt.

Johnson charged from his 15th starting position, took the lead away from “Money” Mat Williamson on lap 35 and came away with a victory in the 50-lap DIRTcar 358 Series race that highlighted opening night of the season-ending Malta Massive Weekend at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

Johnson took home $4,000 for the win, but more importantly, also earned one of the pro wrestling-inspired belts that are awarded to winners during Malta Massive Weekend.

“It’s about time,” said Johnson after chalking up the first DIRTcar 358 Series victory of his career.

Since Malta Massive Weekend was created in 2022, Johnson had finished in the top five in all three 358 races, with back-to-back thirds in 2022 and 2023, and a fifth last year.

But now, he’s got his belt.

“I just kept digging,” said Johnson after the win. “I really didn’t know if the bottom or the top was better. When Lyle (promoter Lyle DeVore) went out and watered and tilled the track before the feature, I thought, this is going to hurt me. But the track was so racy. This place hasn’t been this good for a long time.”

• Connor Crane won the 35-lap DIRTcar Sportsman Fall Championship Series race, finishing ahead of invader Richard Murtaugh in a battle that kept fans on the edge of their seats during the final laps. Crane was able to pull away to record his third win of the season, and his first during Malta Massive Weekend.

• The sportsman feature also was the final race of the Capital District Racing Association Series, and Tim Hartman Jr. locked up the CRDA championship by finishing 10th.

• Chris Stalker held off Tyler Irwin to win the 20-lap street stock feature and received $400 in bonus money from Croteau & Sons Service Center and Ghent Wood Products. The race was slowed by five late cautions, but each time, Stalker got a good launch on the restarts and was able to stay in front of Irwin.

• Josh Reome won the 15-lap four-cylinder feature, holding off JP Corrow, who started 15th in the 18-car field. Track champion Adam Montville finished third, while Damian Ward was fourth overall and had the first single-cam car across the finish line.

Saturday, Sept. 20 Results

Even though Matt Sheppard had two bumpers on his car Saturday night, the only one most of the competitors at Albany-Saratoga Speedway got a good look at was the one on the rear of his car.

After getting the pole position in the redraw, Sheppard put on a dominant show, leading flag-to-flag to win the 100-lap Super DIRTcar Series race that highlighted the second night of Malta Massive Weekend.

Sheppard took home the top prize of $10,000 for the win and became the first two-time modified winner during Malta Massive Weekend, as he also won the 100-lap season-closer in 2022.

Because Sheppard already had a guaranteed starting spot in the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 next month at Oswego, that reward went to Jimmy Phelps, who finished second after a race-long battle with Anthony Perrego, who earned the final spot on the podium.

“We had talked about it earlier, how the track was going to change, and it did a little but not as much as I thought,” said Sheppard after the win. “It slicked up, and I couldn’t steer through the middle of one and two, so I was just driving it in and taking it to the top. I had good speed all night.”

Invaders occupied the top five spots in the final rundown, and all of them started in the top six. Peter Britten, the 2024 Albany-Saratoga champion, came from 10th to finish sixth while Matt DeLorenzo finished seventh, after starting 16th.

Tim Sears Jr. set fast time during time trials, earning a $100 bonus. Andy’s Speed Shop put up $100 bonuses to the modified heat winners, and those bonuses went to Sears Jr., Alex Payne, Phelps, and Sheppard.

The list of drivers who failed to qualify for the 100-lap feature included Ronnie Johnson, Jack Speshock and Don Ronca, who all won modified features at Malta during 2025.

• Brandon Emigh held off Kyle Hoard to win the 30-lap DIRTcar Pro Stock Series race. The win was Emigh’s second of the year. Following Emigh and Hoard across the finish line were Chris Stalker, who had started 10th, Marc Lalonde, and Duell.

• The limited sportsmen were also on the Saturday night card and were racing for a $1,000 bonus in the memory of Amy Lee Jennings, courtesy of Scott Jennings and the Mesothelioma Warrior Alliance. Running the final race on a slicked-over track, the limited sportsman looked like Bambi trying to cross a frozen pond. Because of one yellow and one red, 13 minutes passed before one lap was even completed. Alex Smith took advantage of the multi-car, red-flag incident, which involved pole-sitter Adam Tranka, to get the lead on the first lap and that’s where he stayed to win the 30-lap feature and the top prize of $1,000. Sloan Cherko took advantage of her front-row starting spot to finish second, while Mike Block Sr. finished third after starting ninth.