A 358 DIRTCAR SERIES WIN FOR BRIAN CALABRESE AT GLEN RIDGE (26th June 2025 BLOG)
Last weeks BLOG ended on Thursday the 19th of June.
My long time friend Lynn had arrived the day previously from the UK and already we’d been out and about. Lynn and I have been friends since our teenage years.
Friday the 20th of June , my local Mohawk International Raceway was on our agenda, but we left home earlier than normal so she could see a bit of the area.
We started off by checking out some Antique stores, before heading to the Massena Ship Lock .
We arrived just in time to watch a ship go through.
Then we watched as an Osprey fed her newly hatched chicks.
From there we visited the nearby beach .
We then had supper at the Twin Leaf diner before driving to the track .
It was a regular nights show of 358 Mofifieds, Sportsman, Limited Sportsman Pro Stocks and Mini Stocks.
We were there early enough to wander the pits so I could and introduce her to some of my friends.
Here she is with Billy Cook, who’s still racing at the age of 81.
Once the racing began I took my usual position on the middle to take pictures while Lynn sat in the stands with a few of my friends.
As for the winners, Chris Raabe won the Modified feature.
Donovan Lussier won in the Sportsman.
Dakota Sharp won the Pro Stocks.
Limited Sportsman winner was Bryan Tarbell
and Emily Massy got the Mini Stock win
The show was all over by 10-30 and we were back over the bridge at my place before 11-00.
With an overdose of Sprint Car racing happening at my local Brockville and Cornwall tracks, at the weekend , it was a golden opportunity to have a change of scenery (especially as I had a guest staying with me )
We left Cornwall about 10-00 on Saturday morning and began heading South.
Our destination was the Lake George area of New York.
By 3-00pm we were booked into the Red Roof Inn at Queensbury. Our plan for the evening was to visit the Devils Bowl Speedway at West Haven, Vermont which was about an hour away.
It’s a track I havn’t visited for 20 years . Back in 2005 it was one of two dirt tracks in this area operated by Bruce Richardson’s CVRA ( Champlain Valley Racing Associoation) . Richardson’s other track being the Albany-Sarratoga Speedway at Malta NY.
Winner on that night was Gene Munger.
Back to the present , and today the promoter is Mike Bruno who also operates the Airborne Park Speedway NY. On arrival it was nice to see his wife, Alayne Bruno at the sign in desk.
There were a lot of divisions on the program and the pits were full.
We were there for the Modifieds and luckily it was one of the first features. We didn’t want a long night, as we had the drive back to Queensbury.
Early leader was Joey Scarborough, but once Mike Mahaney got past , he stayed up front to the end.
When the checkers fell , it was Mahaney, from Felix Roy and Tim Fuller, with Scarborough staying near the front to get fourth.
After I’d got my Victory Lane pics, we were out of the gate and heading back to Queensbury and the Red Roof Inn.
On Sunday we had plenty of time to kill before our evening event so after breakfast we headed towards Corinth NY, to check out the Saratoga, Corinth & Hudson Railway. It’s a local attraction where you can take short train rides through the Adirondacks.
We took a good look around but decided against taking a ride. We then drove into Saratoga to visit the horse racing museum.
Lynn has been a horse lover all her life so she found it quite interesting.
After taking a look around the town it was time to head to our racing event of the day.
We were going to the Glen Ridge Raceway at Fultonville NY.
It’s another track I hadn’t been to for along while and they were hosting a round of the Dirtcar 358 Modified Series.
We were there just after 4-00 pm so had plenty of time to wander the pits before hand.
It was a bit breezy up on the ridge, so Lynn borrowed my Charlie Sworder hoodie.
A few of my locals had made the trip too.
Jarrett Herbison from Mallory Town was there,
When things got started I took my position on the middle.
I tried various shooting spots but settled for turn three and four.
Like the previous night at Devils Bowl, there were a bunch of other divisions , including Pro Stocks and Sportsman.
Like before, logistics meant we were only there for the modifieds
When the heat races were done it was break time.
After about 30 minutes of track prep we were ready for the big race.
It turned out to be one of the best races I’ve seen this year.
Once under way , it wasn’t long before the two most likely winners, Mike Mahaney and Felix Roy were up front battling for the lead.
This was a great spectacle to watch as the two hot shots dueled for the lead.
This situation was to get even better when local driver Brian Calabrese came on the scene, and got on the tail of both of them.
While Mahaney and Roy were concentrating their fight in the middle and bottom, Calabrese went for the top. He found the traction and passed them both on the high groove with just a handful of laps to go .
By now it was too late for the other two, to try the top, and the race was over.
A surprise win for Brian Calabrese.
Mahaney came home second , while Jordan McCreadie passed Roy to take third.
We’d seen Modified’s we came to see and were soon making the one hour -fifteen minute drive back to Queesbury.
On Monday morning we had a lazy drive home via Lake George, and were back in Cornwall about 4-00 pm.
That was it for a few days, time to relax until Wednesday and the Cornwall Olde Car Cruise night down by the river
