Cool Weather, Hot Racing: Upsets and a Championship Clincher at Lebanon Valley Dragway

On Saturday, October 10, 2026, Lebanon Valley Dragway in West Lebanon, New York hosted 1/8 mile gamblers races, NODRAMA (Northeast Old Drag Racers and Musclecar Association), NESSA (Northeast Super Street Association) and the 14^th Annual Albany Shakedown Shootout. It was a great day of testing for some but a great day of racing for all.

Kyle Armstrong of Hartford, NY took top honors in the 1/8 Mile No Box class when he defeated James Schmidt in the final. Hannah Bogusz of Montague, MA finished her day in the semi-finals.

In the 1/8 Mile Box class, John Ringuette of North Attleboro, MA took the win when he defeated Ned Mitchum of Wynantskill, NY. Alex Sawchyn of Norwich, CT.

The report from NESSA on their final race of the season: “2026 has come to an end , finally got race 8 in on a beautiful 60 degree day in October, we started off with Mike Falcone taking the #1 qualifier.  Frank Volpe III took the win over Mike Falcone . Mike Fitts and Steve VanCraeynest were the semi finalists. Thank you to Peter J. Sanca and Ken Moses racing transmission for their support.”

NODRAMA Event 10 as reported by DrJay- “After Mother Nature let us down at the annual epic Dover Reunion weekend for event 9, NODRAMA racers were primed to get back to work. Maybe somebody could lock up the 2026 Championship? We'll see,,,, Here we go!

Dr. Jay’s report on NODRAMA- SATURDAY SATURDAY SATURDAY! At The Valley of speed. Racers were scratching their heads seeing the early weather data in their warm ups. DA of minus 800ft to start! Everyone was gonna be flying. Knowing your tune and dial-ins inside out was defintely going to be a huge advantage.

With 2 events to go and the insane fast fall weather making an appearance, a massive 43 racers made the ladder for event 10. First round had a few matchups that were must see TV. NODRAMA OG and 2022 Champion Ritchie DeGraff Sr fired the first shot, putting current points leader Miichael Charron on the trailer in round one. That left the door open for Shane Shahinian to make move closer to top spot to set up a possible showdown at the final event in 2 weeks. BUT WAIT! Anything can happen on any given NODRAMA Saturday... and it did. Next pair, Aaron Matatt dropped the hammer on Shane giving Aaron the round one win taking out number 2 Shane Shahinian. That meant one thing, the top spot was locked up. CONGRATULATIONS to our 2026 NODRAMA Champion: Mad Stash Mike Charron !!!

Now, back to the event. Meeting in the finals, John Costello vs Luke Lacasse. Down came the tree and... the red light of death for John Costello!

Taking the win at NODRAMA event 10: Luke Lacasse. With the win, Luke made a huge move 5 spots up the ladder in the 4th spot. Another story to keep tabs on now is the battle at number 2. 2x Champion Jeff Kraenzle went deep on the day and knocked Shane down into number 3 while The King, quietly all season moved up the ladder one spot at a time, finishing event 10 at number 2.

We have another 2 weekend break ahead. Next up is the NODRAMA 2026 Season finale event, number 11, Saturday October 24.

Nobody is safe in the top 12. Spots 2 through 12 is going to be WILD Competition to close out the year.

As always, stay tuned...” -DrJay

The report from Doc Z on the 14th annual Albany Shakedown Shootout. “The Shakedown Shootout was another success. The weather was nice and the racing was tight with another year for the underdogs. Fred Kowalik took the win in the cruise class taking out last year’s winner Chris Little and Joe Musslewhite’s Nova to meet nothing other than an underdog Honda in the Finals who just got his car done the night before. No one wants to lose to a Honda and the prior competitors shook their heads in shame. Unfortunately, Pete Rametowski took too long to stage and got time out at the tree. The Outlaw RWYB class….no rules so no one can complain….was won by Joe Dunne in his clean 55 Chevy. Chris Lorette put up one hell of a fight making it to the finals taking out Stephen Hall in a surprise upset then meeting Joe Dunne Jr in the 67 Nova in the semi’s. His dad drove to the win last year just edging out Chris so this was a rerun of last year’s final with a different outcome. Joe Sr met Jim Wood in the quarter finals who was one of the few cars capable of taking him out but a double bulb and jump before the lights activated eliminated him unfortunately putting Joe in the semi’s with a bye into the final. Thanks to all who participated and special thanks to Wayne Delmonte and the entire crew of LVD, especially Derrick Lobban, for keeping the track in top shape before each round. Thanks to Dan Quinn for organizing the cruise….I could not do this without him. Thanks to JJ JJ Mare for helping organize the racers.