by John Manzi, publicity director, Monticello Raceway

Monticello, NY — Bruce Aldrich, Jr. was feted at Monticello Raceway on Tuesday afternoon (Oct. 23) and presented with a blanket which stated the Mighty M congratulates him for reaching, and passing, the 4,000 career win plateau.

Aldrich, who made Monticello Raceway home during the first decade of the 21st century, reined more winners here than any other driver — Zeke Parker included — during the years from 2000 through 2009.

Geri Schwarz photo

Bruce Aldrich, Jr. is congratulated at Monticello on his career milestone.

Now one of the leading drivers at Saratoga Raceway, Aldrich still competes at the Mighty M on Mondays and Tuesdays when Saratoga is dark. And although it was at Saratoga where Aldrich won his 4,000th, with more than 3,500 of those driving victories coming right here at Monticello, track management thought it would be apropos to present a memento to Aldrich on his career milestone.

“Actually, when we decided to get the keepsake blanket for Bruce there still was a chance that he’d score his 4,000th victory right here but that didn’t happen,” noted raceway GM Shawn Wiles. “And even though Bruce did it at Saratoga we still felt that his accomplishments here over the years warranted our tribute to him.”

Aldrich is a two-time Mighty M driving champion and currently has 4,009 winners in his illustrious career. This season he’s racked up 193 wins and it’ll be the ninth consecutive year that he’s reined 200 or more winners. His most prolific season was 2010 when he visited the winner’s circle 451 times.