For Opinion, click here for View from the Racetrack Grandstand

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

MR - BACK TO BACK FIVE-BAGGERS FOR ALDRICH-MAROHN JR. POISED TO WIN DRIVING TITLE

Bruce Aldrich Jr. has picked up where he left off. After spending most of the year at his new home track, Saratoga Raceway, Aldrich has returned full time—at least while the Spa City oval is closed—to the Monticello Raceway where he won more races than any other driver during the first decade of the 21st Century.

At the Mighty M on Tuesday, December 18 Bruce Aldrich, Jr. scored his second consecutive five-bagger. The previous day he also won five races.
Aldrich’s first victory on Monday came behind  Kelly Roland’s Camwiser ($4.80) in 2:00.4 and win number two came in the fifth race  with S & P Racing’s,  No Gin ($12.00) in 1:57.4. Aldrich came right back and won the sixth with Mr. Delite (12.60) in a 1:59.2 clocking. Oddly, Aldrich’s victories with  No Gin and Mr Delite came after they started from the eight-hole.

He then won the ninth race with Norman Bradbury’s , J’s Foxy Express, ($9.90) in 2:01 and Aldrich’s final  victory for the afternoon was behind Paul Feisher’s , Multiple Choice ($4.40) in 1:58.4.
Aldrich also had four seconds and one third place finish to go along with his five driving victories on Tuesday.

“I feel real comfortable here at Monticello and I think I know this track as good as anyone ,” a mud-caked Bruce Aldrich Jr. said after his five-win afternoon  competing over the muddy racing surface.  “But I had a lot of power today and got lucky a couple of times, too.”
When Aldrich wasn’t winning races that afternoon, Jimmy Marohn Jr. was.  The talented  youngster, who is poised to win his first Monticello Raceway driving title,  added four more wins to his seasonal total here.

Two of Marohn’s wins came from the Dan Gill barn.  With Marohn’s driving prowess Gill is currently in a three-way tie for leading trainer honors with Gary Messenger and Peter Pellegrino, each with 113  winners.
Billy “Zeke” Parker Jr. missed the first three months of the season after prostate cancer surgery and  spotted Marohn some 70 wins before he got his season underway and little by little he worked his way to challenge Marohn.  A week ago Zeke was just six wins behind Marohn but the youngster  has had a hot- hand of late and now leads the veteran winner of 18 driving title here, by  13 wins.

“Whenever you get even close to Billy (in wins over a year) you’ve accomplished a whole lot,”  Marohn said. “He didn’t  get lucky  to win (almost) 11,000 races. And if I win the (driving) title beating him I’ll feel I really accomplished something.”