After finishing 10th in the 2024 Super DIRTcar Series standings, Mike Mahaney needed a better start to 2025.
The Elizabethtown, NY driver made that happen with a fourth-place finish at Albany-Saratoga Speedway—his first Series top five since the season finale at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in 2023.
“It was a good race,” Mahaney said. “It’s huge momentum for us. At New Egypt, we qualified really well and fell back in the Feature. But at Albany, it was a stout car count, and in Qualifying, you really had to be on the ball. I had a great Heat Race and went forward in the Feature, too. It was a great turnaround from New Egypt.”
Mahaney ran in the top five throughout the 60-lap Feature, narrowly missing out on a podium finish at his Friday night home track. However, a pivotal moment in the race may have cost him a chance at earning his third Series win at Albany-Saratoga.
When Neil Stratton spun to bring out the race’s only caution on Lap 30, Mahaney was in third, catching Alex Yankowski and eventual winner L.J. Lombardo in lap traffic. That lined him up on the inside lane for the race’s only restart, which allowed Sears to drive back around him on the outside.
“Momentum was on my side at that point,” Mahaney said. “The car just seemed like it was working really good on that long run. We just had a good car that was really versatile in traffic, too. The whole thing was kind of coming my way, and then the caution came out, and the restart on the bottom kind of hurt me. I think I needed to be on the outside. I guess I probably would’ve been better off if I never passed Sears.”
One of the keys to “Smooth Shoe’s” success at Albany-Saratoga is Qualifying well. In both Super DIRTcar Series championship races in 2025, he’s earned a front-row starting spot in his Heat Race, which he’s gone on to win on both occasions.
The driver of the George Huttig-owned No. 35 attributed that to the team’s attention to detail during the winter.
“I think we’ve really put a lot of work in during the offseason to have our ducks in a row,” Mahaney said. “Our equipment’s really nice this year. I have to thank Lance Maxon and Jacob Powell for putting all the time in during the offseason. So, we’re very prepared.”
With Albany-Saratoga’s event in the rear-view mirror, Mahaney is turning his attention to Georgetown Speedway, where the Super DIRTcar Series makes its next stop in May. He’s made 13 starts at the Delaware facility, earning four top fives, including two podium finishes.
But when he returns to Georgetown next month, it’s going to be different. It’s the first race for many drivers at the track on Hoosier Racing Tires.
“To me, it’ll be like going to a new track,” Mahaney said. “Most of us know the track, but the car just won’t drive the same with that package. I think it’ll be a learning experience for everyone. I think it’ll be a wild card race and should be a lot of fun.”
Mahaney and the Super DIRTcar Series return to action on Tuesday, May 13, for the Delaware Diamond 75 at Georgetown Speedway in Georgetown, DE.
The $10,075-to-win event is the first Super DIRT Week 53 Qualifier of 2025, meaning one driver will earn a guaranteed starting spot for the Billy Whittaker Cars 200.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all of the Super DIRTcar Series action on DIRTVision, either online or with the DIRTVision app.
