Transforming Albany-Saratoga Speedway from a dirt track to a paved oval was relatively easy when compared to transforming dirt racers into blacktop racers.
The 50-year-old Malta racetrack switched to asphalt during the off-season a change that has led to mixed emotions from the racers that frequently compete there.
I like it,` said Scotia resident Joe Williams, who is in his first full season of racing in the modified division at Albany-Saratoga. `I’ve always wanted to race on blacktop, but the closest track to me was in Stamford, Conn. It didn’t make sense for me to travel that far.`
`It’s a whole different ballgame from the way you drive to the way you pass,` said Albany-Saratoga veteran Matt Depew of Argyle. `It’s very difficult to pass here.`
`[It’s] not what I expected so far,` said Clifton Park driver Don Ronca. `I can’t get the car consistent. One week it’s fast, and the next it’s terrible.`
Albany-Saratoga promoter Bruce Richards acknowledged that the change from dirt to asphalt led to the departure of some veteran drivers, but that other drivers have come in.
`We’ve received a lot of positive comments about it,` said Richards. `We’ve broken the hearts of some of the dirt racers, but we’ve gotten some new racers in.`
Richards said what makes racing on asphalt a viable alternative to racing on dirt is that there is a better chance of running on evenings when rain is in the area. Whereas rain on dirt leads to mud and canceled races, rain on pavement can dry in time to get the races in.
`We schedule only 25 races a year [between April and October], so now this gives you better odds [of getting the races in],` said Richards.
The new surface has also given Richards a chance to bring in other racing events at Albany-Saratoga. There is a monthly autocross event where drivers complete a course in vehicles equipped with an electronic transponder, and he has scheduled a drifting exhibition where drivers slide their racecars around turns.
`We’re able to make this a multi-use track,` said Richards.
The switch has led to some problems for the racers, such as changing track conditions.
`With dirt, you know what the track will be like,` said Williams. `The asphalt is much more temperature sensitive.`
`It changes the opposite of dirt,` said Ronca. `On dirt, as the evening progresses you keep losing bite [between the tires and the surface]. On this [asphalt], as it gets cooler you gain more bite.`
Those shifting track conditions force drivers and their pit crews to constantly make adjustments to their vehicles.
`When you make a change on the car, you can feel it immediately when you get on the blacktop,` said Depew. `You can tell if the car is too loose or too tight.`
If the racecars aren’t dialed in properly, wrecks can happen. And on a blacktop surface, drivers say those wrecks can do a lot more damage than if they happen on a dirt track.
`When you do wreck you can have quite a bit of driveline damage,` said Depew.
It’s also been tough for racers to pass on the new surface.
`If you get off the bottom [line], it’s very hard to go around somebody because they’re so much faster when they’re down there,` said Depew.
`Where you start is super important,` added Williams. `We’ve already won this year [the June 18 modified feature], and it’s a super good feeling just to know that I can be competitive.`
But as more drivers get used to Albany-Saratoga’s paved oval, the hope is that they will keep coming back, said Richards.
`You’ve got a good, solid core of the ones who have been here for a long time and some new ones,` said Richards. `The ones who wanted nothing to do with the pavement are now checking in and slowly coming back.`
That process has been slow, so far.
`It’s just not my cup of tea,` said Ronca. `These cars are not meant for this [asphalt]. They’re meant for the dirt.`
`I don’t like it more than the dirt, but I don’t mind it,` said Depew.
Still, the number of converts is starting to grow.
`It’s taken a while for everyone to get used to it, but they’re starting to get adjusted,` said Ballston Spa native Ken Duell, a 33-year veteran Albany-Saratoga driver. `We’ve got some new guys who have never been here, but it’s pretty much the same guys [from last year] and it’s steadily growing.`
Racing continues on a weekly basis at Albany-Saratoga Speedway through Sept. 10. Racing starts at 6:45 p.m. Fridays, and admission is $10 for adults, with children 12 and under free. For information, call 587-0220.“
