By: Ron Szczerba

Fonda, NY – Stewart Friesen returned to Fonda Speedway on Saturday evening and dominated the $4,000 to win Sunoco Modified feature event. The event was the first of the Thunder on the Thruway Series of six events between the Fonda and Utica Rome Speedways with a great crowd on hand on a cold night by the Mohawk River.

 Other winners on Pig Skin Pros Night at Fonda were Jason Greco (Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman), Nick Stone (Algonkin Motel Pro Stocks), Kyle Dingman (Montgomery County Office for the Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman), Ken Hollenback (SOHC) and Slappy White (DOHC) in the Fonda Fair Four Cylinders.

The Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series were also on hand with John Flach (Modified), Stephen Denton (Sportsman), Bryan Scofield (Antique), and Curtis Condon (Late Models) taking the wins in the feature events.

After some great work by the track crew to get the track in shape after a rainy day and week, racing was on for Saturday with the invocation given by Fonda Speedway announcer Chris Moore followed by the singing of the National Anthem by victory lane announcer Mimi Lazzaro. 

Special thanks to Todd Cipperly of the Farmers Insurance Cipperly Agency of Central Bridge, NY for the giveaways to the fans at intermission and congratulations to the 50/50 winner, which was worth $1,413!

Drivers drew for starting positions in the 35-lap Sunoco Modified feature event with Bobby Varin and David Schilling on the front row. Varin was the leader at the drop of Joe Kriss’ green flag with third place starter Stewart Friesen close behind in second. By lap six Varin was already in lap traffic with Friesen still chasing behind as Mike Mahaney, Craig Hanson, and Ronnie Johnson were moving up after starting fourth, seventh, and 13^th respectively.

Friesen went by both Varin and a lap car in turn one on lap 10 to take a lead that he would never relinquish for the remainder of the event. With the race now for second the trio of Mahaney, Hanson, and Johnson continued their march to the front as they all got by Alan Johnson for positions in the top five behind Varin. 

With ten laps to go Friesen was a straightaway ahead of Varin while Hanson made his way by Mahaney for the third position. The one and only caution of the event was out on lap 28 for a smoking Rocky Warner who drove into the pit area in turn three out of harm’s way. Friesen stretched out his lead on the restart as Mahaney took the third position away from Hanson, but all eyes now were on invader Matt Sheppard who was making his way to the front after starting 19^th.

Friesen went on to his 70^th career win at Fonda and his second of the 2021 season at the “Track of Champions” followed by Varin, Mahaney, Hanson, Johnson, and Sheppard with a great run to finish sixth.

“I felt like I let all my local fans down last evening in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Darlington while running in the second position late in the race and getting caught up in a wreck,” Friesen told Fonda Speedway announcer Chris Moore in the Fuccillo Autoplex of Nelliston Mike Cole Memorial Victory Lane. “I love it here at Fonda, we have a great race team, and the track was hammer down fast tonight, the fastest it’s been in a long time.”

After a draw for starting positions, Chip Constantino and Jason Greco were the front row starters in the 25-lap Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman feature with Constantino taking the race lead early on. As Constantino stretched out his advantage just before the halfway point, the race for second was a four-car battle between Jason Greco, Tucker O’Connor, Tim Hartman Jr., and Cody Clark as Greco tried to hold the position and battle for the win.

Mark Mortensen started the event in the 16^th position and was in the top 10 late in the event when he was forced into the pit area when the transmission blew on the #1M. With less than five laps to go on lap 21 the yellow flag came out for Brett Mortensen who slowed on the front stretch with a flat right rear tire and came to a stop on the backstretch not able to make it to the pit area.

On the restart, Greco took the lead away from Constantino with Hartman gaining two positions to second as Greco went on to his first career win in the division in the Greco’s Auto & Truck Center NAPA sponsored #12J. Hartman, Constantino, Clark, and O’Connor completed the top five.

“This is amazing I can’t believe it,” Greco told Mimi Lazzaro in victory lane. “It is a dream come true for sure. Chip (Constantino) drove a flawless race and I definitely needed that caution to have a chance at the win.”

By the luck of the draw Steve Cosselman and Nick Stone were the front row starters in the Algonkin Pro Stock feature with Stone taking the lead at the drop of the green flag. Chuck Dumblewski and Kenny Gates both got by Cosselman for the second and third positions while Stone continued to stretch out his advantage in the caution free event.

At the halfway point, the top five consisted of Stone, Gates, Dumblewski, Jason Morrison, and Ivan Joslin. Back in the pack after starting fourth but losing positions early, Devon Camenga put on a show to get back into the top five as he, Joslin, and 16^th place starter Josh Coonradt were the drivers to watch late in the event as they gained positions to the front.

Stone crossed under the checkered flag for his 55^th career win in the division and his second in a row followed in the top five by Gates, Joslin, Camenga, and Coonradt.

“Two in a row, that’s what we come here to do,” Stone said in victory lane. “The track was definitely fast, and I want to thank my car owner Todd Hoffman and my own crew that help me with my own car on Friday nights for making this a great race team.”

Kyle Dingman led every lap in the 15-lap Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman feature for his first career win in the division followed in the top five by Jonathan Feagles, Clayton DuMond, Stephen Gray, and Carter Gibbons.

Ken Hollenbeck was the overall winner in the Fonda Fair Four Cylinder division claiming the single overhead cam victory while second place overall finisher Slappy White claimed the dual overhead cam victory. Brandon Tyler, Kerrie Hollenback, and Jeff Tubbs completed the top five in the 12-lap event.

Next Saturday, May 15 St. Lawrence Radiology presents “Dollar Night” with $1.00 grandstand admission. All regular divisions will be in action with a starting time of 7:00 p.m.

Since 1953, the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway has hosted the best in stock car racing. Under the management of BD Motorsports Media LLC, the speedway will operate weekly on Saturday nights from April through August plus several special events. Fonda Speedway is located on the Montgomery County Fairgrounds off New York State Thruway Exit No. 28 at 21 S. Bridge Street Fonda, NY 12068.

Fonda Speedway is on the web at www.thefondaspeedway.com. To learn more, call the office at 518.915.4395, like Fonda Speedway on Facebook www.facebook.com/thefondaspeedwy or follow the speedway on Twitter: @thefondaspdwy.

PIG SKIN PROS NIGHT

SUNOCO MODIFIED FEATURE – THUNDER ON THE THRUWAY SERIES RACE #1 – $4,000 to win – 35-laps – STEWART FRIESEN, Bobby Varin, Mike Mahaney, Craig Hanson, Ronnie Johnson, Matt Sheppard, Alan Johnson, Josh Hohenforst, Matt DeLorenzo, David Schilling, Jack Lehner, Jessica Friesen, Dave Constantino, Pep Corradi, Brian Gleason, Steve Akers, Rich Christman, JaMike Sowle, Dylan Scribner, Tim Fuller, Derrick McGrew Jr., Rocky Warner, George Foley, Keith Flach, Ancel Collins, Michael Maresca, Adam McAuliffe, Brian Pessolano, Aaron Jacobs 

Lap leaders – 1-9 Varin, 10-35 Stewart Friesen

Heat race winners – Warner, Schilling, Corradi

SWAGGER FACTORY APPAREL CRATE 602 SPORTSMAN FEATURE – THUNDER ON THE THRUWAY SERIES RACE #1 – $1,500 to win – 25-laps – JASON GRECO, Tim Hartman Jr., Chip Constantino, Cody Clark, Tucker O’Connor, Payton Talbot, Chad Edwards, Tony Farone, Addison Bowman, Brian Borst, Mike Ketchum, Nick Scavia, Tanner Warner, Troy Palmer, Kurtis Hohensheldt, Tim Dwyer, Ricky Quick, Bill August, Griffen Mansmith, Rocco Leone, Dan Santabarbara, Troy Zilles, Brett Mortensen, Mark Mortensen, Brendan Gibbons, Aaron Jacobs

Lap leaders – 1-21 Constantino, 22-25 Greco

Heat race winners – Scavia, Dwyer, Greco, Clark

Consolation race winner – Brett Mortensen

Did not qualify – Shane Larman, Dave Richer, David Manchester, Michael McCallion, Kevin Crave, Kathy Bellen, Don Bellen, Jason Reome

Greco’s NAPA Hard Charger – Brian Borst 10 spots from 20^th to 10^th

ALGONKIN MOTEL PRO STOCK FEATURE – THUNDER ON THE THRUWAY SERIES RACE #1 – $1,000 to win – 20-laps – NICK STONE, Kenny Gates, Ivan Joslin, Devon Camenga, Josh Coonradt, Chuck Dumblewski, Jason Morrison, Andy Graves, Beau Ballard, Shane Playford, Bill Knapp, Steve Cosselman, Gary Silkey, Randy Cosselman, Mike Kalkbrenner, Zach Sorrentino, Cliff Haslun, Luke Horning, Scott Townslee

Lap leaders – 1-20 Stone

Heat race winners – Stone, Steve Cosselman

MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICE FR AGING LIMITED SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 15-laps – KYLE DINGMAN, Jonathan Feagles, Clayton DuMond, Stephen Gray, Carter Gibbons, Taylor LaPlante, Jeremy Tyrrell, John Young, Ryan Sweet, Bill Port, John Anderson

Lap leaders – 1-15 Dingman

Heat race winner – Dingman

FONDA FAIR 4-CYLINDER FEATURE – 12-laps – KEN HOLLENBECK (SOHC), SLAPPY WHITE (DOHC), Brandon Tyler, Kerrie Hollenback, Jeff Tubbs, Todd Morey, Wayne Russell Jr., John Napoli, Zach McSpirit, Harris St. Andrews, Tyler White, Dale VanAllen, Shawn Hemstreet, David Peek-Britten, Billy Hillman, Jamie Warner, AJ VanHoesen

Lap leaders – 1-2 Tyler, 3-12 Ken Hollenback

MOHAWK VALLEY VINTAGE DIRT MODIFIED SERIES MODIFIED FEATURE – JOHN FLACH, Randy Delaney, Jon Kuleszo, Darral Hulbert, Phil Beaver, Jack Miller, Mark Hahn, Merv Blackwell, Stanley Wetmore, Gus Kamburelis

MOHAWK VALLEY VINTAGE DIRT MODIFIED SERIES LATE MODEL FEATURE – CURTIS CONDON, Adam Warner, John Roese, Will Reed, Brent Tardy DNS

MOHAWK VALLEY VINTAGE DIRT MODIFIED SERIES SPORTSMAN FEATURE – STEPHEN DENTON, Brian Gray, Tim Natalino, Mike Francisco, John Constantino, Dan Wood, John Marks, George Palmer, Carl Cram, Dan Karl, Mike Wheeler

MOHAWK VALLEY VINTAGE DIRT MODIFIED SERIES ANTIQUE FEATURE – BRYAN SCOFIELD, Jimmy Fugel, Chuck Scofield, Stew Pidasso, Ed Docskalik, Don Briggs, Joe Trudeau, Frank Blanchard

By: Ron Szczerba

 Fonda, NY – First career wins are special moments in a driver’s racing career. But to win in a car that has ties to the history of a racetrack makes it even more special to not only the driver but the race team as well. That is what took place on Saturday evening at the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway when Jack Lehner took the iconic family-owned Nelson Motorsports #85 to the Fuccillo Automotive Group Mike Cole Memorial victory lane.

“To get a win for me is special,” Lehner said in victory lane. “But to get a win for them (car owners Bill & Erik Nelson) makes it even better.”

Lehner became the 135^th different driver in the history of the Fonda Speedway to win in the Modified division in 1381 racing events! 

The Nelson Motorsport’s/Bloomfield’s Florist sponsored #85 has been a part of Fonda Speedway history for many years with both Bill and Erik behind the wheel of the car at Fonda, Erik with a win in the Open Sportsman division back on 7/30/2005. Demetrious Drellos also drove the Nelson Motorsports #85 to victory lane at Fonda for his first career win back on 6/16/2018.

Other winners on Southern Adirondack Night presented by O’Connor Motorsports were Brian Borst (Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman), Nick Stone (Algonkin Motel Pro Stocks), Stephen Gray (Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman), Tyler White (DOHC) and Shawn Hemstreet (SOHC) in the Fonda Fair Cruisers.

Former Miss Fonda Fair in 2006 and winner of the Fonda Fair Karaoke contest in 2016 & 2018 Amanda Valentine sang the National Anthem and Fonda Speedway announcer Chris Moore gave the invocation before the first green flag of the evening fell from starter Joe Kriss. Fans also took part in giveaways by Todd Cipperly of Farmers Insurance at intermission as Race Director Denny Tilison and Ed Biittig Sr. threw out items to the fans,

The Sunoco Modifieds started their 30-lap main event with Andel Collins and Jack Lehner on the front row decided by the luck of the draw. Lehner took the top spot at the drop of the green flag followed by third place starter Jessica Friesen with last week’s winner Rocky Warner up to the third position just before the first yellow of the event came out on lap three.

Lehner continued to lead on the restart with Matt DeLorenzo and defending track champion Michael Maresca just behind Warner after starting sixth and eighth, respectively. DeLorenzo and Maresca both got by Warner on lap seven with Lehner out to a straightaway advantage by lap 11 and two laps later he was in heavy lap traffic.

Friesen closed in on Lehner on lap 19 as Lehner was having problems getting by the lap cars of Jeff Rockefeller and Derrick McGrew Jr. who were racing side by side for position. When Lehner finally cleared the lap cars he again moved out to a comfortable lead. DeLorenzo moved into the second position on lap 24 after getting by Friesen with Maresca also getting by Friesen for the third spot.

Maresca’s great run came to an end with four laps to go when he came in contact with the inside wall in turn two and pulled into the infield on the backstretch out of the event. Seventh place starter Craig Hanson and 10^th place starter Tim Fuller were in the top five and on the move with only two laps remaining, but it was Lehner who went on to his first career victory at Fonda.

DeLorenzo, Hanson, Friesen, and Fuller completed the top five in the event.

“I got my start here at Fonda, so it holds a special place in my heart,” Lehner said. “I can’t think of a better place to get a win. Erik & Bill put everything into this so I’m happy to get as win for them. There is nothing like getting a win to build your confidence because thinking that you can win and knowing that you can win are two totally different situations.”

The first week of handicapping in the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman saw two former Rookie/Limited Sportsman campaigners Dylan Eldred and 2020 Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Track Champion Brett Mortensen on the front row with Mortensen taking the early lead.

By lap seven Mortensen was out to a straightaway advantage and five laps later he was in lap traffic. At the halfway point, the top five consisted of Mortensen, Eldred, fifth place starter Brian Borst, Anthony Cardamone, and forth place starter Tucker O’Connor. Eldred closed in on Mortensen in lap traffic just past the halfway point with 11^th place starter Cody Clark up to the fourth position on lap 18.

Borst was the new second place car with five laps to go and was able to get by Mortensen for the lead in lap traffic on lap 21. Clark also got by Mortensen for the second position but Borst was just too strong as he took his Midtel sponsored family owned #69 to victory lane for his second career win in the division after the event went caution free. Borst also has a total of 15 wins in the former “Open” Sportsman division at the “Track of Champions”.

Clark, Mortensen, Eldred, and ninth place starter Tony Farone completed the top five.

“We cooked a motor last week and this is our old motor in the car tonight,” Borst told Mimi Lazzaro in victory lane. “We hit the setup dead on tonight and when I saw the leader in lap traffic, I knew that I had to get up there and get him. I missed racing for 15 years, I couldn’t even come here to watch, but my family was able to talk me into it again.”      

The 20-lap Algonkin Pro Stock feature was worth $1,000 to the winner as it was race number one in the American Racer/Lias Tire Super Six Series and despite many cautions slowing the event nothing could take away from the side-by-side race to the win.

Bill Knapp led from the outside pole at the start of the event with third place starter Luke Horning in tow. Horning took the lead away from Knapp on a lap four restart with seventh place starter Ivan Joslin on the move early, sitting in the third position on lap seven after getting by Steve Cosselman for the position.

Joslin’s great run came to an end on lap eight as he spun in turn two after contact in the rear by Jason Morrison who was put to the rear for his actions. On the restart, 12^th place starter Nick Stone moved into the second position with Cosselman now the new third place car. While Horning was working the outside of the speedway, Stone was working the inside as the two raced side by side for the lead.

Stone took the lead away from Horning on the inside of the backstretch on lap 17 with the final caution of the event coming out on lap 18 with only two laps to go. Once the race was restarted Stone and Horning were side by side over the remaining laps, Horning leading lap 19 while Stone stayed low on the speedway to take the lead back on the final lap for his 54^th win in the division which is second on the all-time win list.

Horning, sixth place starter Josh Coonradt, 11^th place starter Kenny Gates, and 13^th place starter Beau Ballard completed the top five in the event.

“Thanks to Todd Hoffman who owns this car for this opportunity,” Stone said in victory lane. “I like to get a win early in the season, but we’ve had a lot of second place finishes so far wherever we ran. Winning gives you more confidence and that was one heck of the race. We raced hard (with Horning) but we’ve been racing together for a long time.”

John Young led the first eight laps of the 15-lap Montgomery County Office for Aging Limited Sportsman feature before third place starter Stephen Gray took over the lead at the line to complete lap nine. Gray went on to his second career win in the division followed by last week’s winner Carter Gibbons, Young, Kyle Dingman, and opening night winner Jeremy Tyrrell.

Brandon Tyler was the first driver to lead a lap in the 12-lap Fonda Fair Cruiser feature with seventh place starter Billy Hillman leading the second lap. 10^th place starter Tyler White took the lead away on lap three and never looked back as he took the overall win, his second win of the season in the DOHC class. Shawn Hemstreet finished fifth overall but was declared the SOHC winner.

Next Saturday, May 8 will be the first race in the Thunder on the Thruway Series between Fonda Speedway and Utica Rome Speedway both promoted by BD Motorsports Media. The Sunoco Modifieds will race for a $4,000 to win prize while the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman will race for $1,500 to win and the Algonkin Motel Pro Stocks $1,000 to win. There will be a separate point fund paid out at the end of the six-race series of three races at each track.

The Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman and the Fonda Fait Cruisers will also be in action on May 8 along with the Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series. Racing will begin at 7:00 p.m.         

Since 1953, the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway has hosted the best in stock car racing. Under the management of BD Motorsports Media LLC, the speedway will operate weekly on Saturday nights from April through August plus several special events. Fonda Speedway is located on the Montgomery County Fairgrounds off New York State Thruway Exit No. 28 at 21 S. Bridge Street Fonda, NY 12068.

Fonda Speedway is on the web at www.thefondaspeedway.com. To learn more, call the office at 518.915.4395, like Fonda Speedway on Facebook www.facebook.com/thefondaspeedwy or follow the speedway on Twitter: @thefondaspdwy.

O’Connor Motorsports Southern Adirondack Night

SUNOCO MODIFIED FEATURE – 30-Laps – JACK LEHNER, Matt DeLorenzo, Craig Hanson, Jessica Friesen, Tim Fuller, Josh Hohenforst, Rocky Warner, Ronnie Johnson, David Schilling, Dave Constantino, Mike Mahaney, Brian Gleason, Pep Corradi, Brian Pessolano, Ancel Collins, Steve Akers, JaMike Sowle, Rich Christman, Derrick McGrew Jr., Jeff Rockefeller, George Foley, Dylan Scribner, Michael Maresca, Bobby Varin, Adam McAuliffe

Lap Leaders – 1-30 Lehner

Heat Race Winners – Hanson, Collins, Warner

SWAGGER FACTORY APPAREL CRATE 602 SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 25-Laps – BRIAN BORST, Cody Clark, Brett Mortensen, Dylan Eldred, Tony Farone, Tucker O’Connor, Chad Edwards, Mark Mortensen, Brian Calabrese, Addison Bowman, Tim Hartman Jr., Aaron Burton, Mike Ketchum, Anthony Cardamone, Kurtis Hohensheldt, Troy Palmer, Nick Scavia, Ricky Quick, Tim Dwyer, Tanner Warner, David Manchester, Michael McCallion, Brendan Gibbons, Joe Orlando, Kathy Bellen, Dan Santabarbara

Lap Leaders – 1-20 Brett Mortensen, 21-25 Borst

Heat Race Winners – Mark Mortensen, Clark, Burton, Eldred

Consi Race Winners – Gibbons, Hartman Jr.

Did Not Qualify – Chip Constantino, Jason Reome, Fire Swamp, William August, Jason Greco, Don Bellen, Griffen Mansmith, Troy Zilles, Payton Talbot, Shane Larman, Brad Elger, Dana Camenga, EJ McAuliffe 

Greco’s NAPA Hard Charger – Hartman Jr. 11 spots, 22^nd to 11^th

ALGONKIN MOTEL PRO STOCK FEATURE – $1,000 to win – 1^st race in the American Racer/Lias Tire Super Six Series – 20-Laps – NICK STONE, Luke Horning, Josh Coonradt, Kenny Gates, Beau Ballard, Steve Cosselman, Bill Knapp, Chuck Dumblewski, Devon Camenga, Frank Hoard Jr., Cliff Haslun, Kyle Hoard, Gary Silkey, Mike Kalkbrenner, Terry Graves, Andy Graves, Jason Morrison, Shane Playford, Ivan Joslin, AJ Walters, Jim Normoyle, Randy Cosselman, Don Collins, Chris Cross 

Lap Leaders – 1-3 Knapp, 4-16 Horning, 17-18 Stone, 19 Horning, 20 Stone 

Heat Race Winners – Morrison, Stone, Silkey 

MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICE FOR AGING INC. LIMITED SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 15-Laps – STEPHEN GRAY, Carter Gibbons, John Young, Kyle Dingman, Jeremy Tyrrell, Clayton DuMond, Taylor LaPlante, Ryan Sweet, Jonathan Feagles, Bill Port 

Lap Leaders – 1-8 Young, 9-15 Gray

Heat Race Winner – Young

FONDA FAIR CRUISERS FEATURE – TYLER WHITE (DOHC), Billy Hillman, John Napoli, Kerrie Hollenback, SHAWN HEMSTREET (SOHC), Brandon Tyler, Wayne Russell Jr., Ken Hollenback, Zach McSpirit, Dale VanAllen, AJ VanHoesen, David Peek-Britten, Lee Horning, Slappy White

By: Ron Szczerba

Fonda, NY – Special, emotional, and memorable would be three ways to describe the ceremony held before the racing action began on Saturday evening at the Fonda Speedway to honor the late Jumpin’ Jack Johnson who was an icon at the “Track of Champions” throughout his career.

Jack’s son Ronnie, daughter Natalie, brother Jeff, and family friend Joe Bellomo all stood on victory lane to honor Johnson along with four of his former race cars that were also on display during the ceremony. There wasn’t a dry eye in the grandstand or bleacher area as one by one each of them told stories about Jack. More on the ceremony to come in a separate release.

Dominant was the one and only word to describe the Sunoco Modified feature as Stewart Friesen started on the pole by the luck of the draw and led every lap of the 30-lap event which saw $1212 added to the original winners share of $2400 by Fonda Speedway management in honor of Jumpin’ Jack Johnson for a total of $3612 to the winner.

Friesen started the evening by winning his heat race and setting a new track record of 17.74 seconds during the event. The old record was held by Anthony Perrego with a lap of 18.12 back on 9/20/2020.

Fonda Speedway announcer Chris Moore did a great job in his first night announcing at Fonda and did the invocation before Mimi Lazzaro performed her beautiful rendition of the National Anthem. Then it was time to start the 70^th consecutive season of competition at Fonda with excited fans in the stands eager to see some racing action.

Carole and Alton Palmer spent their 45^th wedding anniversary doing what they love by sponsoring the nights racing activities on Palmer’s Service Center Night.

Friesen took the lead at the drop of Joe Kriss’ green flag at the start of the 30-lap Sunoco Modified feature with Michael Maresca taking the second position away from Josh Hohenforst. Friesen was already in lap traffic by lap four with Maresca trying to keep pace with the leader. Coming down the front stretch one lap later a lap car made contact with Maresca but fortunately it was nothing major and both were able to continue on in the event.

Hohenforst took the second position away from Maresca on lap 12 after Maresca was blocked by a lap car and at the halfway point Friesen, Hohenforst, Maresca, Rocky Warner, and Demetrious Drellos held spots in the top five. Lap 16 saw Friesen leading by close to a half track but when a car slowed on the backstretch the yellow came out and took away his huge lead.

On the restart coming out of turn two, Hohenforst slid up in front of Friesen to take a brief lead but by the time the lap was completed Friesen took the lead back and quickly pulled away to a big lead. At the drop of the checkered flag Friesen was the winner by 8.3 seconds over Hohenforst, Maresca, Drellos, and Bobby Varin.

The win for Friesen was the 69^th of his career at Fonda and the fifth of his career on opening night.

“Special thanks to Jess (Stewart’s wife Jessica) who drew number one for me tonight and for all the Jumpin’ Jack Johnson fans who came out tonight,” Friesen said in the Fuccillo Automotive Group Victory Lane in Memory of Mike Cole. “It is great to see fans in the grandstands again, it is gonna be a great summer.”

“We had a great hot rod tonight,” Friesen said and when asked by Mimi Lazzaro in victory lane how it was in the day in the life of Stewart Friesen to fly into a race at Fonda after running an entire NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event Friesen added “it is pretty damn cool, when I was a kid, I dreamed of doing this.”

The 25-lap Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman feature began with Tim Dwyer leading from his pole position start with EJ McAuliffe in the runner-up spot. A yellow flag flew on lap four for two cars who suffered flat left rear tires, Brian Calabrese, and Troy Palmer. Both cars were able to restart at the rear of the field.

On the restart, Dwyer held the lead while seventh place starter Mark Mortensen went from sixth to fourth only to have the yellow come out again before any laps were completed. A single file restart was next with the top three of Dwyer, McAuliffe, and Edwards pulling away in a separate race for the lead while Mortensen made his way into the fourth position on lap seven.

On the outside of the backstretch on lap eight, McAuliffe was the new race leader while Edwards also got by Dwyer for the second position. At the halfway point in the event McAuliffe, Edwards, Mortensen, Dwyer, and 11^th place starter Tim Hartman Jr. filled the top five positions with another caution out one lap later.

Edwards took the lead on the restart and pulled away from Mortensen for the win with Mortensen, Hartman, 14^th place starter Cody Clark, and 16^th place starter Tony Farone completing the top five. In victory lane Edwards described his race night which wasn’t an easy one for him and his crew as his car had to be towed to victory lane because it was stuck in high gear and wouldn’t move after going over the scales.

“We broke a driveshaft in our heat race, and it mangled the linkage to the transmission,” Edwards said. “We kept working on it right up until feature time and got it back together, so I have to thank my crew for all of their hard work tonight. The track was in awesome shape tonight and I never lifted after that last caution.”

In victory lane Edwards dedicated the win to Deb Rullison, a family friend who passed away recently.

Chuck Dumblewski led from the pole position start in the 20-lap Algonkin Motel Pro Stock feature event with Devon Camenga second. An early yellow flag on lap two slowed the field and on the restart Dumblewski continued to lead with fifth place starter Jason Morrison the new second place car.

On the outside of the backstretch on lap five, Morrison took the lead away from Dumblewski with 12^th place starter Beau Ballard taking two spots from fourth to second on lap seven in turn one. Ballard’s car was working well on the inside of the speedway and on lap nine in turns one and two he took the lead away from Morrison. With five laps to go Ballard held a straightaway advantage over seventh place starter Andy Graves who was now the second-place car with positions in the top five changing many times over the final few laps.

When the checkered flag flew it was Ballard who won for the first time in the Pro Stock division at Fonda followed by 17^th place starter Nick Stone, Graves, Morrison, and 10^th place starter Steve Cosselman.

Beau Ballard and his father Danny are a big part of Fonda Speedway history as Beau has three wins in the IMCA division, the last one coming on 6/14/2008 while his father Danny has 27 wins in the IMCA division along with three IMCA championships in 2002, 2004, and 2006 to go along with 17 wins in the Pro Stock division and a championship in that division in 1994.

“It’s been 13 years since I’ve been here,” Beau Ballard told Mimi Lazzaro in victory lane regarding his last IMCA win. “We trashed a brand-new car in warm-ups last week here at Fonda and to come back and put our car together from last year and win from 12^th, somebody pinch me.”

Jeremy Tyrrell led every lap in the 15-lap Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. feature event for his first career win in the division at Fonda and was followed in the top five by Carter Gibbons, Stephen Gray, Taylor LaPlante, and Jonathan Feagles.

Defending Fonda Fair Cruiser Track Champion Ken Hollenback (SOHC) was the overall winner of the 12-lap feature event while Tyler White finished second overall after starting 12^th and was declared the DOHC winner. Slappy White, Kerrie Hollenback, and Billy Hillman completed the top five in the event.

Next Saturday, April 24 the 40-lap $12,000 to win Montgomery County Open will highlight the racing program sponsored by Andy’s Speed Shop. All other regular divisions will also be in action along with the Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series (MVVDMS). Events for April see gates opening at 3:30 with hot laps at 5:30 and racing at 6:30.

Since 1953, the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway has hosted the best in stock car racing. Under the management of BD Motorsports Media LLC, the speedway will operate weekly on Saturday nights from April through August plus several special events. Fonda Speedway is located on the Montgomery County Fairgrounds off New York State Thruway Exit No. 28 at 21 S. Bridge Street Fonda, NY 12068.

Fonda Speedway is on the web at www.thefondaspeedway.com. To learn more, call the office at 518.915.4395, like Fonda Speedway on Facebook www.facebook.com/thefondaspeedwy or follow the speedway on Twitter: @thefondaspdwy.

DATE – 4/17/2021 – Palmer’s Service Center Night

SUNOCO MODIFIED FEATURE – 30-Laps – $3612 to win – STEWART FRIESEN, Josh Hohenforst, Michael Maresca, Demetrious Drellos, Bobby Varin, Brian Gleason, Jack Lehner, Rocky Warner, Jessica Friesen, Ronnie Johnson, Craig Hanson, Mike Mahaney, David Schilling, Bobby Hackel IV, Brian Pessolano, JaMike Sowle, Patrick Dupree, Shane Jablonka, Rich Christman, George Foley, Matt DeLorenzo, Adam McAuliffe, Cory Lowitt, Ancel Collins, Steve Akers, Aaron Jacobs, Dave Constantino (DNS)

Lap Leaders – 1-30 Friesen

Heat Race Winners – Friesen, Varin, Gleason

In heat race one Stewart Friesen broke the track record with a lap of 17.74 the old record was set by Anthony Perrego on 9/20/2020 with a lap of 18.12 (corrected from the quick results sent out last evening).

SWAGGER FACTORY APPAREL CRATE 602 SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 25-Laps – CHAD EDWARDS, Mark Mortensen, Tim Hartman Jr., Cody Clark, Tony Farone, Tim Dwyer, EJ McAuliffe, Kurtis Hohensheldt, Dan Santabarbara, Brian Calabrese, Addison Bowman, Payton Talbot, Aaron Burton, Troy Palmer, Tanner Warner, Ricky Quick, Anthony Cardamone, Brian Borst, Brendan Gibbons, Chip Constantino, Joe Orlando, Michael McCallion, Jason Reome, Tucker O’Connor, Finch Fenton, Mike Ketchum

Lap Leaders – 1-7 Dwyer, 8-16 McAuliffe, 17-25 Edwards

Heat Race Winners – Dwyer, Fenton, Calabrese, Santabarbara

Greco’s NAPA Hard Charger Award contingent on Greco’s NAPA sticker is on the race car – Tony Farone 11 spots from 16^th to fifth.

ALGONKIN MOTEL PRO STOCK FEATURE – 20-Laps – BEAU BALLARD, Nick Stone, Andy Graves, Jason Morrison, Steve Cosselman, Chuck Dumblewski, Kenny Gates, Ivan Joslin, Josh Coonradt, Shane Playford, Frank Hoard Jr., Kyle Hoard, Jim Normoyle, Luke Horning, Devon Camenga, Bill Knapp, AJ Walters, Mike Kalkbrenner, Gary Silkey, Randy Cosselman, Terry Graves, Cliff Haslun DNS, Dan Krajewski DNS

Lap Leaders – 1-4 Dumblewski, 5-8 Morrison, 9-20 Ballard

Heat Race Winners – Dumblewski, Gates, Ballard

MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICE FOR AGING INC. LIMITED SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 15-Laps – JEREMY TYRRELL, Carter Gibbons, Stephen Gray, Taylor LaPlante, Jonathan Feagles, Clayton DuMond, Kyle Dingman, Jerry Cohn, Jeff Lutes, Ryan Sweet, John Young

Lap Leaders – 1-15 Tyrrell

Heat Race Winners – LaPlante, Gray

FONDA FAIR CRUISERS FEATURE – KEN HOLLENBACK (SOHC), TYLER WHITE (DOHC), Slappy White, Kerrie Hollenback, Billy Hillman, Dale VanAllen, PJ Bleau, Jeff Tubbs, John Napoli, Shawn Hemstreet, Brandon Tyler, Wayne Russell Jr., Lee Horning, AJ VanHoesen, Dan Haslun, David Peek Britten, Jamie Warner DNS, Zach McSpirit DNS

By: Ron Szczerba

Fonda, NY – Saturday evening was Championship Night at the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway and it was one to remember as Stewart Friesen and Michael Maresca put on a crowd pleasing dual for the fans watching on Dirt Track Digest TV, swapping the lead numerous times with only a few laps to go in the Sunoco Modified feature event.

When Joe Kriss’ checkered flag waved at the end of 30 laps it was Friesen who won for the eight time this season in nine events an incredible achievement. Another incredible achievement was made by Michael Maresca who joined four other drivers as a Modified Track Champion at Fonda without a feature win during the season.

The drivers who have won a Modified title at Fonda in the past without a win during the season include Jim Luke in 1955, Don Hendenburg in 1956, Pete Corey in 1965, Ray Dalmatta in 1979, and now Michael Maresca in 2020. Special thanks to Ed Biittig Sr. for those statistics.

Other winners on Championship Night at Fonda on Saturday were Tony Farone (Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman), Brett Mortensen (Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman), Nick Stone (Algonkin Motel Pro Stocks), Michael Arnold (Robert’s Towing & Recovery Street Stocks), Ken Hollenback (SOHC) and John Napoli (DOHC) (Four Cylinder Cruisers).

Also on hand in competition was the Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series with Chuck Scofield (MVVDMS Antiques), Randy Delaney (MVVDMS Replica Modified), Adam Warner (MVVDMS Replica Late Models), and Frank Hoard (MVVDMS Replica Sportsman) winning the feature events.

Other 2020 Track Champions crowned at Fonda on Saturday besides Maresca were Chad

Edwards (Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 division), Brett Mortensen (Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman division), Nick Stone (Algonkin Motel Pro Stock division), Jason Samrov (Robert’s Towing & Recovery Street Stock division), Ken Hollenback (SOHC Four Cylinder division) and John Napoli (DOHC Four Cylinder division).

2020 Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series Champions were also crowned with John Flach (Modified), Stephen Denton (Vintage Sportsman), Jimmy Fugel (Vintage Antique), and John Roese (Vintage Late Model).

For Edwards it was his second title in the division after winning it back in 2018 and the first championship for car owner John Kollar at Fonda. It was also the second title for Stone (2014, 2020), and Samrov (2019, 2020), while it was the first ever for Maresca, Mortensen, and Napoli. For Hollenback it was his seventh championship in the Four Cylinder SOHC class (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020).

2020 Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman Track Champion Brett Mortensen and his brother Mark (Crate 602 Champion in 2011) now join Ken Hollenback and his brother Kerrie Hollenback (2013 DOHC Four Cylinder Champion) as the only brothers to have ever won a championship in the history of the Fonda Speedway.

It was a great night for “Doc” Maresca and the guests of St. Lawrence Radiology to be at the track to witness their driver Michael win the Modified Championship in the Bill Schoon’s owned #24-7. Congratulations to them and all the other 2020 champions. Also, on hand were Mike Sowle and Tom Hall who put up $800 for an Algonkin Motel Pro Stock Dash won by Nick Stone. Thanks to them for their support of the Fonda Speedway!

The Ayers Memorial Animal Shelter in Sprakers, NY also put up a bonus of $100 to the winner of the Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman feature event which was won by Brett Mortensen along with a $50 to the second and third place finishers in the event won by Dylan Eldred and Carter Gibbons. Thanks to them as well for their support of the Fonda Speedway!

During opening ceremonies on Saturday at Fonda, Mimi Lazzaro mentioned how the entire Fonda Speedway staff was thinking of Fonda Speedway promoter Bret Deyo’s wife Heather who is recovering at home after a recent surgery. Get well soon Heather!

Joe Kriss sang the National Anthem and then the Dirt Track Digest cameras were ready to do a fantastic job streaming the event live as the grandstands and infield were closed to fans due to New York State regulations.

The 50/50 was won by Keith Dwyer from Johnstown, NY and was worth $913! Great job by 50/50 ticket sellers Julie Compani and Heather Marr!

Steve Akers and Dave Constantino started the 30-lap Sunoco Modified feature on the front row with Constantino leading at the drop of the green flag with David Schilling in tow. The first yellow flag of the event came out on lap six and on the restart, Constantino continued to lead with Josh Hohenforst and Michael Maresca the new second and third place cars after both were able to get by Schilling for position.

After another restart on lap 10, Maresca was the new second place car after getting by Hohenforst with 12^th place starter Stewart Friesen now in the top five. Maresca started pressuring the leader on lap 14 while Friesen was one of only a few drivers using the inside lane to gain positions to the front. By lap 18 Friesen used the inside groove to get by both Matt DeLorenzo and Hohenforst for the third spot.

Maresca went under Constantino in turns one and two on lap 20 and used a slide job to get the lead in the event going in to turn two with Friesen also getting by Constantino for the second position. From that point on Maresca and Friesen put on a great race to the checkered flag, swapping the lead three times until the checkered flag flew.

On the inside of the backstretch on lap 22, Friesen got by Maresca for the lead before Maresca returned the favor and got the lead back one lap later. Just as it looked as though Maresca was going to go on to the win, Friesen made another pass on the inside of Maresca on the inside of turn four with two laps to go and went on to his eighth win of the season and the 68^th of his career at Fonda in the Halmar #44 Bicknell car.

Maresca, Hohenforst, Constantino, and Jessica Friesen completed the top five in the event.

There was a $1,500 bounty called “Mimi’s Bounty” that was up for grabs for anyone who could defeat Friesen while he was still running on the track at the completion of the event. With the win Friesen received half of that amount with the other half set to go to the Crossroads Center for Children which is an Autism Awareness establishment in Schenectady, NY where Stewart and Jessica Friesen’s son Parker has attended. Friesen however chose to give the entire $1,500 amount to the Crossroads Center when he received it in victory lane from Mimi Lazzaro.

People and businesses that took part in “Mimi’s Bounty” include Mimi Lazzaro herself, Gary Yurgans, Amanda’s Scentastical Scents, James Carroll, Rick Eignor, David Herrick, Jeff Carter, Derrick McGrew Jr. Racing, Chris Moore, “Momma Squirrel” Deb Ward, Joseph Laska, Dirt Track Digest, Gillespie Automotive, Fonda’s own 50/50 Girls, Mike Bohling, TKS Painting Services, Mimi’s Mom Sheila, the Grossetti Family, JoJo & George Bills, JZ Loves Gasketcase, and Ed & Betty Biittig.

“The car was a little bit tight and the line changed quite a bit,” Friesen said in the Fuccillo Automotive Group Mike Cole Memorial Victory Lane. “But when it came down to the nitty, gritty the Halmar Team got it done for the win but just fell short of the title. Michael Maresca will be a great champion for the Fonda Speedway, I have a lot of respect for him and his family and what they have done for the sport. Also, thanks to everyone who gave money to the bounty that Mimi put together.”

The 25-lap Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman took two tries to get started but when it did David Manchester took the lead after starting on the outside pole position. Michael McCallion was the other front row starter and took the lead away from Manchester on lap two as the lap was completed.

Fourth place starter Tony Farone also got by Manchester at that point while Tim Dwyer got by Manchester for the third positions on lap six. Manchester’s great run came to an end on lap seven when he spun in turn one bringing out the caution for the first of only two times in the event.

On the restart, Farone was the new race leader while sixth place starter Mark Mortensen was the new second place car followed by Dwyer in third. Farone was running the middle to low groove on the track while Mortensen was running the extreme outside groove against the wall in between turns one and two for the remainder of the event with the final yellow coming out with five laps to go.

Mortensen stayed with Farone on the restart but as the laps went on Farone maintained a comfortable lead to get his first win of the 2020 season and the sixth of his career in the division in the Hometown Pub & Grub sponsored #18 Bicknell car over Mortensen, Dwyer, 12^th place starter Chad Edwards, and eighth place starter Brian Borst.

“We were jumping around this season between Albany Saratoga, Fonda, and Glen Ridge but Fonda is home and it always will be home,” Farone told Mimi Lazzaro in victory lane. “I’m glad to be here tonight and hopefully we can race again here this season but if not, I am already looking forward to 2021.”

Harold Robitaille led the first five laps from his outside pole position start with sixth place starter Brett Mortensen moving up to the second position by lap three after getting by Clayton DuMond for the spot. The first of four yellow flags came out on lap six with Mortensen getting the lead once the race was restarted on the inside of turns one and two with ninth place starter Dylan Eldred the new second place car.

At the halfway point, Mortensen held a straightaway advantage over Eldred but that closed up with another caution on lap 13. Mortensen and Eldred maintained the top two positions on the restart with 10^th place starter Johnny Young the new third place car with one final caution coming out on lap 17.

Mortensen held the lead on the single file restart and went on to his third win of the season and the fifth of his career in the division in the 518 Realty sponsored Teo car over Eldred, Young, 13^th place starter Troy Zilles, and Carter Gibbons.

In post-race tech both Young and Zilles were disqualified moving Gibbons up to third, Jeff Lutes up to fourth, and Kyle Dingman up to fifth.

“That was a tough race but we were able to come out on top,” Mortensen said in victory lane after celebrating on the roof of his car with a bottle of champagne that his brother Mark gave him as he exited the racecar. “I got the lead on the restart and knew I had to hold off Dylan (Eldred) for the win and we were able to do that.”

Andy Graves started the Algonkin Motel Pro Stock feature on the outside pole and led at the drop of the green flag. Jim Normoyle started the event in the eighth position and by lap six was the new second place car after getting by Jason Morrison for the spot. Nick Stone started 12^th and was in the top five by lap seven but one lap later he was going in between both Normoyle and Graves for the lead in turn two.

Stone maintained a straightaway lead with five laps to go with seventh place Luke Horning on the move in the closing laps, getting into the second position on the final lap while Stone went on to his seventh win in eight events in 2020 in the self-built, Hometown Pub & Grub sponsored #27.

Horning, Graves, Normoyle, and 10^th place starter Ivan Joslin completed the top five in the event.

“The car is good, especially when there are two grooves to work with,” Stone said in victory lane. “When I can work the entire race track the car is unbelievable, it’s hard not to get to the front.”

Michael Arnold started in spot number one for the Robert’s Towing & Recovery Street Stock feature and led every lap to get his first win of the season and the fourth of his career in the division over Al Relyea, Zach Sorrentino, Lou Gancarz, and Jason Samrov.

Wayne Russell, and Cole Lawton, took turns leading the first four laps of the Four Cylinder Cruiser feature before 11^th place starter Ken Hollenback took over the point on lap five on the inside of turns three and four. Hollenback led the remaining laps for the overall win in the SOHC class while John Napoli finished second overall and declared as the DOHC winner. Dan Haslun, David Peek-Britten, and Russell completed the top five.

Please go to the Fonda Speedway website, Facebook, or Twitter pages for further announcements on the remainder of the 2020 racing season.

Since 1953, the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway has hosted the best in stock car racing. Under the management of BD Motorsports Media LLC, the speedway will operate weekly on Saturday nights from April through August plus several special events. Fonda Speedway is located on the Montgomery County Fairgrounds off New York State Thruway Exit No. 28 at 21 S. Bridge Street Fonda, NY 12068.

Fonda Speedway is on the web at www.thefondaspeedway.com. To learn more, call the office at 518.915.4395, like Fonda Speedway on Facebook www.facebook.com/thefondaspeedwy or follow on Twitter: @thefondaspdwy.

SUNOCO MODIFIED FEATURE – 30-LAPS – STEWART FRIESEN, Michael Maresca, Josh Hohenforst, Dave Constantino, Jessica Friesen, Matt DeLorenzo, Rocky Warner, Adam McAuliffe, David Schilling, Bobby Varin, Danny Johnson, Jack Lehner, Brian Calabrese, Roger Henion Jr., Jeff Heotzler, Rich Christman, Ed Harris, Dylan Scribner, Darwin Greene, Steve Akers, Jim Introne Jr., Brian Gleason, Aaron Jacobs, Craig Hanson (DNS)

LAP LEADERS – 1-19 Constantino, 20-21 Maresca, 22 Stewart Friesen, 23-27 Maresca, 28-30 Stewart Friesen

HEAT RACE WINNERS – Constantino, DeLorenzo, Maresca

2020 SUNOCO MODIFIED TRACK CHAMPION – MICHAEL MARESCA

SWAGGER FACTORY APPAREL CRATE 602 SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 25-LAPS – TONY FARONE, Mark Mortensen, Tim Dwyer, Chad Edwards, Brian Borst, Tim Hartman Jr., Tucker O’Connor, JaMike Sowle, Cody Clark, Joe Williams, Brian Calabrese, Kevin Chaffee, Ricky Quick, EJ McAuliffe, Brendan Gibbons, Kurtis Hohensheldt, Michael Wagner-Fitzgerald, Thomas VanVorst, Griffen Mansmith, Joel Knudsen Jr., Dana Camenga, Michael McCallion, David Manchester, Anthony Cardamone

LAP LEADERS – 1 Manchester, 2-7 McCallion, 8-25 Farone

HEAT RACE WINNERS – McCallion, O’Connor, Mortensen

2020 SWAGGER FACTORY APPAREL CRATE 602 TRACK CHAMPION – CHAD EDWARDS

MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICE FOR AGING INC. LIMITED SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 20-LAPS – BRETT MORTENSEN, Dylan Eldred, Carter Gibbons, Jeff Lutes, Kyle Dingman, Yule Cook, Harold Robitaille, Stephen Gray, Pete Nowicki Jr., Clayton DuMond, Spencer Rapp, Johnny Young (DQ), Troy Zilles (DQ)

LAP LEADERS – 1-5 Robitaille, Mortensen

2020 MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICE FOR AGING INC. LIMITED SPORTSMAN TRACK CHAMPION – BRETT MORTENSEN

BONUS ON BEHALF OF THE AYERS MEMORIAL ANIMAL SHELTER

$100 to the winner Mortensen, $50 to the second and third place finishers – Eldred, Gibbons

ALGONKIN MOTEL PRO STOCK FEATURE – 20-LAPS – NICK STONE, Luke Horning, Andy Graves, Jim Normoyle, Ivan Joslin, Bill Knapp, Kenny Gates, Rich Crane, Beau Ballard, Randy Cosselman, Devon Camenga, David Emigh, Steve Cosselman, Shane Playford, Frank Twing, Gary Silkey, Don Collins, Justin Knight, Dan Krajewski, Jason Morrison, Tanner Warner

LAP LEADERS – 1-7 Graves, 8-20 Stone

HEAT RACE WINNERS – Gates, Horning, Stone

PRO STOCK DASH PRESENTED BY MIKE SOWLE & TOM HALL – NICK STONE ($300), Kenny Gates ($200), Luke Horning ($100), Jason Morrison ($100), Andy Graves ($50), Beau Ballard ($50)

2020 ALGONKIN MOTEL PRO STOCK CHAMPION – NICK STONE

ROBERT’S TOWING & RECOVERY STREET STOCK FEATURE – 15-LAPS – MICHAEL ARNOLD, Al Relyea, Zach Sorrentino, Lou Gancarz, Jason Samrov, Josh Samrov, Richard Walters

LAP LEADERS – 1-15 Arnold

2020 ROBERT’S TOWING & RECOVERY STREET STOCK TRACK CHAMPION – JASON SAMROV

FOUR CYLINDER CRUISER FEATURE – 15-LAPS – KEN HOLLENBACK (SOHC), JOHN NAPOLI (DOHC), Dan Haslun, David Peek-Britten, Wayne Russell, Kerrie Hollenback, Cole Lawton, Todd Morey, Zach McSpirit, Jeffery Tubbs, Shawn Hemstreet (DNS)

LAP LEADERS – 1-2 Russell, 3-4 Lawton, 5-15 Ken Hollenback

2020 FONDA SPEEDWAY FOUR CYLINDER CRUISER TRACK CHAMPIONS – KEN HOLLENBACK (SOHC), JOHN NAPOLI (DOHC)

MOHAWK VALLEY VINTAGE DIRT MODIFIED SERIES (MVVDMS) ANTIQUE FEATURE – CHUCK SCOFIELD, Mike Wheeler, Brian Scofield, Ed Dockskalik, Mike Cole, Mark Reardon, Phil Mitchell, Jimmy Fugel, Stew Padasso, Joe Trudeau, Mike Gray, Harley Sheppard, Larry Hoyt, Frank Blanchard

MOHAWK VALLEY VINTAGE DIRT MODIFIED SERIES (MVVDMS) REPLICA MODIFIED/LATE MODEL FEATURE – RANDY DELANEY MODIFIED), John Flach, Kyle Hoard, Darrall Hulbert, Jon Kuleszo, Phil Beaver, Stanley Wetmore, Adam Warner (LATE MODEL), John Roese, Jon Trudeau, Curtis Condon, Will Reed, Garrett Liese, Pete Corey

MOHAWK VALLEY VINTAGE DIRT MODIFIED SERIES (MVVDMS) REPLICA SPORTSMAN FEATURE – FRANK HOARD, Stephon Denton, Dan Wood, Mike Francisco, Brian Gray, John Constantino, Carl Cram, Mike Brown, George Palmer, Dan Karl, Dave Charczuk, Tony Kamborelis

2020 MOHAWK VALLEY VINTAGE DIRT MODIFIED SERIES TRACK CHAMPIONS – JOHN FLACH (Vintage Modified), STEPHEN DENTON (Vintage Sportsman), JIMMY FUGEL (Vintage Antique), and JOHN ROESE (Vintage Late Model)

By: Ron Szczerba

Fonda, NY – After being rained out this past Wednesday evening, the Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series (STSS) was in action on Sunday evening at the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway. Both the STSS North Region Modifieds and Sportsman were in action with a big payout in both divisions.

The event was the first major touring series event in New York State since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Fuccillo Automotive Group presented the racing activities for the evening with fans allowed in the grandstands following guidelines including social distancing and wearing masks as well. A big crowd also took advantage of the infield drive-in section to watch the exciting racing events.

When the racing program was concluded Stewart Friesen was the winner of the $10,000 Firecracker 50 while Chad Edwards was the winner of the $2,000 Sportsman main event. For Friesen it was his fourth victory of the season at Fonda, raising his career total at the track to 64 just one behind Bobby Varin for fifth on the all-time win list. Friesen is first on the STSS Modified win list with 23, with a total of 30 different winners in 89 events according to STSS history.

The win for Friesen was also his 11^th in events of 50-laps and over at Fonda, which ties him for fifth place on that win list with Mike Romano.

For Edwards it was his second victory of the season at Fonda bringing his win total in the division to nine which is seventh on the all-time win list in the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman division at Fonda. Edwards is now the 32^nd different driver in 43 events in STSS history to win a feature in the series.

STSS announcer Jeff Ahlum and DTD’s Mike Mallett announced the evenings action at the track and DTD TV broadcast the racing live on pay per view to the fans who could not attend.

During opening ceremonies Stephanie May sang the Canadian National Anthem while Fonda Speedway’s own Mimi Lazzaro sang the National Anthem.

Cipperly Agency, which is the local Farmers Insurance agent, was the intermission sponsor with prizes handed out to the fans in the grandstands.

The evening’s 50/50 was worth $2,860 and was won by Loren from Fultonville, NY.

After a redraw to determine starting positions in the Firecracker 50 and a four-wide salute to the fans, Michael Maresca and Sunoco Modified Rookie Adam McAuliffe started the event on the front row with Maresca the early leader. McAuliffe hung tough on the outside however and by the time lap one was completed he was the race leader.

McAuliffe held a straightaway advantage over Maresca by lap five with fifth place starter Stewart Friesen making moves to the front early, taking the third position away from Matt DeLorenzo on lap six and one lap later the second position away from Maresca. At that point McAuliffe held a three second advantage but lap after lap Friesen cut into it and by lap 10 it was down to 1.5 seconds.

On the inside of turn four coming down to complete lap 13, Friesen got by McAuliffe for the lead, but McAuliffe kept pace with Friesen with the caution out on lap 15 for Danny Varin who suffered a flat left rear tire. Friesen chose the inside for the restart and maintained the lead over McAuliffe with ninth place starter Larry Wight moving up to fifth on the restart using the extreme outside line to get to the front.

At the halfway point in the event, Friesen held a straightaway advantage over McAuliffe, Maresca, Wight, and DeLorenzo with the yellow out on lap 26 for Billy Decker who slowed in turn two with a right rear flat, nearly collecting Matt Sheppard who made contact with Decker but was able to continue on in the sixth spot.

Friesen led on the restart with Wight the new second place car after getting by both Maresca and McAuliffe and Sheppard now in the top five. Friesen was in heavy lap traffic from lap 33 on in the event but still maintaining a four second lead over Wight who was searching all over the track for the right line to catch Friesen.

With four laps remaining the final caution flag of the event was out for Billy Pauch Jr. who suffered a left rear flat. Friesen pulled away on the single file restart and went on to over a four second victory in the Halmar #44 Bicknell car followed by Wight, Maresca, McAuliffe, and 13^th place starter Jessica Friesen.

“So, honored to win a race in memory of our friend Mike Cole,” Friesen said in victory lane. “So special to win a race in honor of a great friend, a great race fan, and a great friend and fan of the Fonda Speedway. We have a lot of great guys on our race team who put in a lot of hard work and we really have something special here.”

“I said to Jess (Stewart’s wife Jessica Friesen) that if there was ever a place that I was glad that I figured out it’s Fonda because it’s close to home and that makes it a lot more fun. We will celebrate this one for sure and then we will be at Kentucky this weekend with the Halmar truck representing everyone here at the Fonda Speedway.”

“I definitely wanted to get the win here in the Short Track Super Series event here at Fonda but just didn’t have the right combination and came up a little bit short,” Wight said after a second place finish in the FX Caprara sponsored #99L.

The 25-lap STSS Sportsman feature began with invader Matt Mead and Fonda Speedway regular Ricky Quick on the front row with Meade the early leader. Chad Edwards started the event in spot number four and took the second position away from Quick on lap one with fifth place starter Brian Calabrese also getting by for the third spot.

On the outside of turn two on lap three, Edwards took the lead away from Meade who fought off the challenges of Calabrese for many laps before Calabrese was able to get by Meade for the second position on lap eight. At the halfway point, the top five in the event consisted of Edwards, Calabrese, Meade, Quick, and defending Fonda Speedway Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman Track Champion Tim Hartman Jr.

Calabrese had the fastest car on the track in the closing laps but ran out of time to catch Edwards who won the event in the John Kollar Motorsports #10% over Calabrese, Meade, Quick, and Hartman Jr.

“The car was perfect tonight in the feature, I found a nice ring of rubber on the track from the middle to the bottom,” Edwards said after the win. “The car wasn’t great in the heat races, but we made a lot of changes to it for the feature.”

“I wish that I could have gotten by Meade earlier,” Calabrese said in victory lane after his second-place finish in the L/M Mason Contracting sponsored #21C. “I was hoping for a caution so I could have challenged him for the win. I was just trying to stay calm in traffic and keep the car in one piece.

To learn more about the Short Track Super Series Fueled By Sunoco, visit www.shorttracksuperseries.com, e-mail bdmotorsportsmedia@gmail.com, check out ‘Short Track Super Series’ on Facebook or @ShortTrackSS on Twitter or Instagram.

Since 1953, the ‘Track of Champions’ Fonda Speedway has hosted the best in stock car racing. Under the management of BD Motorsports Media LLC, the speedway will operate weekly on Saturday nights from April through August plus several special events. Fonda Speedway is located on the Montgomery County Fairgrounds off New York State Thruway Exit No. 28 at 21 S. Bridge Street Fonda, NY 12068.

Fonda Speedway is on the web at www.thefondaspeedway.com. To learn more, call the office at 518.915.4395, like Fonda Speedway on Facebook www.facebook.com/thefondaspeedwy or follow on Twitter: @thefondaspdwy.

The Short Track Super Series is presented by American Racer/Lias Tire, Sunoco Race Fuel, Insinger Performance, Bob Hilbert Sportswear, Halmar International, Velocita-USA, Design for Vision/Sunglass Central, Rob Sherlock Roofing, ATL Racing Fuel Cells, Behrent’s Performance Warehouse, Beyea Custom Headers, Bicknell Racing Products, Dirt Track Digest, EIBACH Springs, Escape RV, Fast Axle, Fox Racing Shocks, Henry’s Exhaust, Hig Fab, HyperCo, Kirkey Racing Fabrication, Land Hoe Maintenance, K&N, MJK Home Maintenance, Precision Hydraulic & Oil, QA1, Racing Optics, Superior Remodeling, Teo-Pro Car, VAHLCO, Velocita, WELD Racing & Wilwood.

BOB HILBERT SPORTSWEAR SHORT TRACK SUPER SERIES (STSS) NORTH REGION FIRECRACKER 50 MODIFIED FEATURE – 50-LAPS – $10,000 TO WIN – STEWART FRIESEN, Larry Wight, Michael Maresca, Adam McAuliffe, Jessica Friesen, Matt Sheppard, David Schilling, Mike Gular, Matt DeLorenzo, Craig Hanson, Tyler Dippel, Josh Hohenforst, Andy Bachetti, Brian Pessolano, Peter Britten, Billy Pauch Jr., Danny Creeden, Mike Mahaney, Dave Constantino, Brian Calabrese, JR Hurlburt, Brian Gleason, Allison Ricci, Billy Decker, Jimmy Horton, Danny Varin, Rocky Warner

Lap leaders – 1-12 McAuliffe, 13-50 Stewart Friesen

Heat race winners – Decker, Stewart Friesen, McAuliffe, Hohenforst, DeLorenzo

Consolation event winners – Dippel, Creeden

Did not qualify – Darwin Greene, Danny Tyler, Danny Carlough, Rich Christman, Scott Huber, Billy VanPelt, Blake Schwarting, Roger Henion, Ricky Davis, Kailee Dimorier, Joseph Judge, Dylan Scribner, Anthony Perrego, Jeff Heotzler

BOB HILBERT SPORTSWEAR SHORT TRACK SUPER SERIES (STSS) NORTH REGION CRATE 602 SERIES – 30-LAPS – $2,000 TO WIN – CHAD EDWARDS, Brian Calabrese, Matt Meade, Ricky Quick, Tim Hartman Jr., Joe Williams, Mike Ballestero, JaMike Sowle, Brian Borst, Robert Bublak, Cody Clark, Griffen Mansmith, Michael Wagner-Fitzgerald, David Manchester, Charlie Tibbitts, Thomas VanVorst, Anthony Cardamone, Blaine Klinger, Michael McCallion, Robbie Knipe, Joseph Coppola, Don Bellen, David Dickey, Tim Dwyer, Nick Plumstead, Jamie Yannone

Lap leaders – 1-2 Meade, 3-25 Edwards

Heat race winners – Meade, Mansmith, Calabrese, Ballestero

Consolation event winner – Tibbitts

Did not qualify – Scott Zehnacker, Daniel Morgewicz, EJ McAuliffe, Matt Sobiech, Patt Mann

By: Ron Szczerba

Fonda, NY – People were invited to come to the Fonda Speedway to dine at Denise’s Concessions on Saturday evening and quite a few people did just that and along with the drive in on the infield it was a great night of racing at the “Track of Champions”.

When the final checkered flag flew on Kelly’s Meat Market Night the winners in all divisions included Stewart Friesen (Sunoco Modifieds), Joe Williams (Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman), Brett Mortensen (Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman), Josh Coonradt (Algonkin Motel Pro Stocks), Al Relyea (Robert’s Towing & Recovery Street Stocks), Ken Hollenbeck (SOHC Four Cylinder Cruisers), and David Frame (DOHC Four Cylinder Cruisers) who all visited the Fuccillo Automotive Group Mike Cole Memorial victory lane.

The 50-50 for the evening was worth $1,761 and was won by Mike Glock of Scotia, NY.

Mimi Lazzaro did a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem before all the action started on Father’s Day weekend 2020.

The 30-lap Sunoco Modified feature began with Modified Rookie Adam McAuliffe and Danny Varin on the front row with Varin taking the lead at the drop of Joe Kriss’ green flag. Varin held the advantage through two caution flags before sixth place starter Michael Maresca took over the lead on the backstretch on lap five.

The caution flag flew again shortly afterwards and, on the restart, 10^th place starter Stewart Friesen went from sixth to third and one lap later got by both Varin and Maresca for the lead on the outside of turn four. Invader Mat Williamson started the event in the eighth starting position and by lap 10 he was up to the third spot behind Stewart Friesen and Maresca.

While Stewart Friesen was running the outside groove, Maresca stuck with the low lane and was keeping pace with the leader, side by side at times, until Stewart Friesen decided it was time to make a lane change to the low line on lap 11 when he was also in heavy lap traffic. Two more yellow flags slowed the field as Jessica Friesen, Varin, and McAuliffe all fell out of the event with various issues.

Stewart Friesen was up to the challenge that restarts can often bring and maintained the lead through each of them. From lap 17 to the checkered flag Stewart Friesen was in lap traffic but weaved back and forth from the inside to the outside to get by them and stay in front of his competitors as he went on to a back to back win, the 62^nd of his career at Fonda, in the Halmar #44 Bicknell car.

Maresca, Williamson, 12^th place starter Matt DeLorenzo, and 15^th place starter and defending Sunoco Track Champion Rocky Warner completed the top five.

Stewart’s son Parker celebrated with a roof dance on victory lane before Mimi Lazzaro got to interview the winner who said “I just love this race track, no matter where you start you just have to find a groove and a place to race. Tonight, there was brown up on top and the bottom was good too so you could race anywhere you wanted.”

Joe Williams took advantage of his front row starting position to take the lead at the drop of the green flag in the 25-lap Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman feature with fourth place starter Brian Calabrese in tow. Chad Edwards started the event in the seventh position and on lap three he was able to get by Michael Wagner-Fitzgerald for the third position while sixth place starter Mark Mortensen also got by Wagner-Fitzgerald for the fourth position.

Edwards got by Calabrese for the second position on lap six while ninth place starter Brian Borst also gained positions into the top five. Lap traffic slowed Williams on lap eight allowing Edwards to close in on the leader and from that point on in the event the leader was in lap traffic with Edwards trying whatever he could to get by both the lap cars and the leader.

Williams made a feature win saving move on the final lap as he got by two lap cars on the inside of turns one and two to give himself a little breathing room. That was short lived however as Edwards was on his rear bumper again going into turn three but Williams was able to hold on to the lead and win the event by 0.298 seconds over Edwards in the Wagon Train BBQ sponsored #19L for his first career win in the division.

Calabrese, Mortensen, and Borst completed the top five.

“This is my first win on dirt in the crate sportsman and it seems like it took forever to get it done,” Williams said in victory lane. “But we kept the car in one piece and got the win so I’m very happy.”

Williams had one other win during his career at Fonda which came in the “Open” Sportsman division back on May 1, 2004.

Pete Nowicki Jr. started on the pole position in the 15-lap Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman feature event and took the lead at the drop of the green flag. Carter Gibbons started the event in the third position and was the new second place car at the completion of lap one.

On lap two on the inside groove on the back stretch, Gibbons was the new race leader and he immediately stretched out his advantage to a comfortable margin. After starting the event in the 12^th position, last weeks winner Brett Mortensen was up to the second position on lap six after getting by both Johnny Young and Dylan Eldred for the spot.

At that point Gibbons was out to a straightaway advantage but lap after lap Mortensen was able to cut into that lead and by lap nine, he was running lap times a half second faster than Gibbons. With two laps to go, Mortensen was on Gibbons rear bumper and on the outside groove on the backstretch Mortensen got by Gibbons for the lead. Mortensen went on to a back to back win after winning on opening night for his fourth career win in the division in the 518 Realty sponsored Teo car.

Gibbons, Eldred, Young, and Kyle Dingman completed the top five.

“I was trying to stay off the gas as much as I could to keep the rear end underneath me in the slick areas on the track,” Mortensen told Mimi Lazzaro on victory lane.

The 20-lap Algonkin Motel Pro Stock feature was an exciting one with Justin Knight the race leader at the drop of the green flag. On lap four, defending track champion Luke Horning was the new race leader after getting by Knight on the outside of turns three and four. The yellow flag was out one lap later for last weeks winner Nick Stone whose hood came undone and he was forced to the hot pit to remove the hood and restart at the rear of the field.

Sixth place starter Josh Coonradt was now making his way to the front, taking the second position away from Knight on lap eight and setting his sights on Horning for the lead. On lap 11, Coonradt was right on Horning’s rear bumper for the lead with 11^th place starter Kenny Gates now the new third place car.

Coonradt went between a lap car and Horning for the lead on lap 12 in turn three with the caution out shortly afterwards. On the restart, Coonradt continued to lead with Horning, Gates, Knight, and Stone who did a remarkable job to get back to the front without a hood on his race car.

Stone and Horning were running side by side for the second position with five laps to go allowing Coonradt to stretch out his advantage. The final caution of the event was out on lap 16 closing up the field and allowing for a great finish. Coonradt stayed low on the track with Stone running the high groove over the final laps, side by side at times, with Coonradt holding on to get the victory, the fifth of his career in the division at Fonda.

Stone, Horning, Gates, and 17^th place starter Devon Camenga completed the top five in the event.

“After the heat race and warm-ups, I didn’t know if I had anything to compete for the win with,” Coonradt said in victory lane. “Under the yellow I was looking to make something happen when we went green again and we made it here to victory lane.”

Michael Arnold led the first two laps of the Robert’s Towing & Recovery Street Stock feature before last weeks winner Al Relyea took over the lead on lap three after starting seventh and went on to a back to back win after winning last weeks event. Defending Track Champion Jason Samrov was second followed by Dave Horning Sr., Arnold, and Lou Gancarz.

Ken Hollenbeck led all 15 laps in the Four Cylinder Cruiser feature after starting fourth and went on to his 51^st career win in the division in the SOHC while David Frame was declared the winner in the DOHC class after finishing second in the event behind Hollenbeck. John Napoli, Zach McSpirit, and Wayne Russell completed the top five in the event.

For announcements on next week’s racing events at the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway please go to the track’s website or Facebook page.

Since 1953, the ‘Track of Champions’ Fonda Speedway has hosted the best in stock car racing. Under the management of BD Motorsports Media LLC, the speedway will operate weekly on Saturday nights from April through August plus several special events. Fonda Speedway is located on the Montgomery County Fairgrounds off New York State Thruway Exit No. 28 at 21 S. Bridge Street Fonda, NY 12068.

Fonda Speedway is on the web at www.thefondaspeedway.com. To learn more, call the office at 518.915.4395, like Fonda Speedway on Facebook www.facebook.com/thefondaspeedwy or follow on Twitter: @thefondaspdwy.

SUNOCO MODIFIED FEATURE – STEWART FRIESEN (62^nd career win in the division), Michael Maresca, Mat Williamson, Matt DeLorenzo, Rocky Warner, Josh Hohenforst, Dave Constantino, Brian Gleason, David Shilling, Brian Pessolano, Danny Creeden, Roger Henion Jr., Allison Ricci, Bodie Bellinger, Craig Hanson, Rich Christman, Leo Fotopoulos Jr., Darwin Greene, Steve Akers, Ricky Davis III, Danny Varin, Adam McAuliffe, Jessica Friesen, Scott Huber, Devin Willis, Jim Introne Jr., Troy Palmer, Jeff Hoetzler, Kathy Bellen (DNS).

Lap leaders – 1-4 Danny Varin, 5 Michael Maresca, 6-30 Stewart Friesen.

Heat race winners – Danny Varin, Michael Maresca, Jessica Friesen.

SWAGGER FACTORY APPAREL CRATE 602 SPORTSMAN FEATURE – JOE WILLIAMS (1^st career win in the Crate 602 Sportsman division), Chad Edwards, Brian Calabrese, Mark Mortensen, Brian Borst, JaMike Sowle, Nick Scavia, Cody Clark, Michael Wagner-Fitzgerald, Kurtis Hohensheldt, Tucker O’Connor, Thomas VanVorst, Tim Dwyer, Anthony Cardamone, EJ McAuliffe, Charlie Tibbitts, Dan Santabarbara, Kevin Chaffee, Tim Hartman Jr., Ricky Quick, Rich Ricci III, Michael McCallion, Don Bellen, Aaron Cross, Griffen Mansmith, Brendan Gibbons, David Manchester, Joel Knudsen Jr. (DNS).

Lap leaders – 1-25 Joe Williams.

Heat race winners – Brian Borst, Brian Calabrese, Chad Edwards.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICE FOR AGING INC. LIMITED SPORTSMAN FEATURE – BRETT MORTENSEN (4^th career win in the division), Carter Gibbons, Dylan Eldred, John Young, Kyle Dingman, Bill Port, Jeff Lutes, Harold Robitaille, Clayton DuMond, Stephen Gray, Pete Nowicki Jr., Kadon Hohensheldt (DNS).

Lap Leaders – 1 Pete Nowicki Jr., 2-13 Carter Gibbons, 14-15 Brett Mortensen.

ALGONKIN MOTEL PRO STOCK FEATURE – JOSH COONRADT (5^th career win in the division), Nick Stone, Luke Horning, Kenny Gates, Devon Camenga, Beau Ballard, Jason Morrison, Randy Cosselman, Andy Graves, David Emigh, Bill Knapp, Chuck Dumblewski, Jim Normoyle, Steve Cosselman, Jamie Warner, Justin Knight, Ivan Joslin, Tanner Warner, Don Collins.

Lap leaders – 1-3 Justin Knight, 4-11 Luke Horning, 12-20 Josh Coonradt.

Heat race winners – Nick Stone, Jim Normoyle.

ROBERT’S TOWNG & RECOVERY STREET STOCK FEATURE – AL RELYEA (2^nd career win in the division), Jason Samrov, Dave Horning Sr., Michael Arnold, Lou Gancarz, Josh Samrov, John Bradt, Mark Burch, Jason Barrett.

Lap leaders – 1-2 Michael Arnold, 3-15 Al Relyea.

FOUR CYLINDER CRUISER FEATURE – KEN HOLLENBECK (SOHC, 51^st career win in the division), David Frame (DOHC, 1^st career win in the division), John Napoli, Zach McSpirit, Wayne Russell, Shawn Hemstreet, David Peek-Britten, Bubba Cook, Mike Landux, Riley Pedrick, Justin Sargalis, Pat McSpirit.

Lap leaders – 1-15 Ken Hollenbeck.

By: Ron Szczerba

Fonda, NY – On Sunday evening the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway hosted day two of opening weekend 2020 with a familiar face in victory lane at the conclusion of the event. Stewart Friesen celebrated in victory lane with his family (his son Parker and Stewart both celebrated the win on the roof of the race car in victory lane) and crew after winning his 61^st career win in the Sunoco Modified division in the Halmar sponsored #44 Bicknell car.

“What can I say,” Friesen said in victory lane. “The track was much different than I am used to, very slick, and I had to slow the pace down a little as when I ran up high, I was almost in the wall.”

Other winners on day two of opening weekend were Brett Mortensen (Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman), Al Relyea (Robert’s Towing & Recovery Street Stocks), and Justin Pope (DOHC) and Zach McSpirit (SOHC) in the Four Cylinder Cruisers. For both Relyea and Pope it was their first career wins at the “Track of Champions”.

Race fans were allowed on the infield to watch the events in a drive in type atmosphere and it was popular with them as they got to cheer Friesen and other winners on from the infield split in the fence on pit road as the drivers celebrated their wins on victory lane. Dirt Track Digest TV was on hand to film the event for pay per view and did a great job getting the action out to the fans that could not be in attendance.

Mimi Lazzaro sang the National Anthem and it was time to go racing after that. The 50/50 for the evening was worth $1,237 to the winner.

Special thanks to Palmer’s Service Center for their support of the Fonda Speedway as they paid out a $100 heat race bonus to the winners of the Sunoco Modified heat race event winners  with Stewart Friesen, Larry Wight, Anthony Perrego, and Josh Hohenforst taking the heat race victories.

The 30-lap Sunoco Modified feature began with Michael Maresca the early leader after the luck of the draw put him on the pole position for the start with Sunoco Modified rookie Adam McAuliffe in tow. Seventh place starter Brian Gleason was on the move early, climbing up to the third position by lap three.

Defending Sunoco Modified Track Champion Rocky Warner and fifth place starter Larry Wight were both able to get around Gleason for the third and fourth positions by lap five with Warner the new second place car on lap six after getting by McAuliffe. Wight also got by McAuliffe for the third position and on lap eight it was a three-way battle for the lead between Maresca, Warner, and Wight.

Maresca was in lap traffic on lap 12 as Matt Sheppard and Stewart Friesen who started sixth and 10^th respectively were swapping the fourth position in a great race for position. The yellow was out shortly afterwards for Darwin Greene who was in the turn one wall and was done for the evening at that point.

Friesen restarted the event in the fifth position but at the drop of Nick Squires green flag Friesen made it three wide to get into the second position. Friesen found something on the inside of the speedway and went by Maresca for the lead on the bottom of turns one and two on lap 14.

Warner also got by Maresca for the second position on lap 15 with the top five at the halfway point consisting of Friesen, Warner, Maresca, Sheppard, and Wight. Wight was running high all around the racetrack and on lap 15 he got too high in turn one and got into the wall. He pitted and returned to the rear of the field.

On the double file restart, Friesen chose the inside with Sheppard getting up to the third position behind Warner. With 10 laps to go Friesen was out to a straightway advantage but encountered lap traffic on lap 22, ducking inside and outside of the lap cars as needed to maintain the lead. With four laps to go Sheppard started to pressure Warner for the second spot and on lap 27 he was able to get by for the runner-up position.

Friesen went on to the win for the 61^st time in his career at Fonda with the wins complied in just 10 winning seasons! Sheppard ended up second followed by Warner, Maresca, and ninth place starter Matt DeLorenzo.

“This new clay is so much different,” Friesen told Mimi Lazzaro in victory lane. “That was a heck of a lot of fun. Thanks to my crew, sponsors, Bicknell Racing Products, and Billy the Kid engines. All I’ve been hearing lately is about the truck and I promise you we are trying; we are trying to give our fans in the Northeast something to cheer about.”

The 15-lap Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman feature began with a no start as the outside pole sitter went a little early but things settled down the second time as Brett Mortensen led at the drop of the green flag. The caution flag flew six times in the event giving drivers numerous chances to gain positions.

The first caution came out at the completion of lap one and on the restart Johnny Young was the new second place car after making contact with Spencer Rapp to get the position. On the next lap the caution was out again as Rapp made contact with Young coming out of turn two, spinning both cars into the backstretch wall. Both cars pitted and returned to competition at the rear of the field.

Mortensen continued to lead on the restart and was out to a straightaway advantage by lap five with Kadon Hohensheldt, Carter Gibbons, Dylan Eldred, and Yule Cook in tow. At the halfway point in the event, Mortensen held a comfortable advantage over Gibbons who was the new second place car and Cook who started in the 11^th position.

Young was all the way back up to the fourth position on lap 10 after his wreck early in the event while Mortensen again held a straightaway advantage over the field. When Rapp came to a stop in turn three on the final lap bringing out the caution again it set up a green, white, checkered finish giving Gibbons, Hohensheldt, and Cook another shot at the leader.

Mortensen got a good restart and was able to pull away for his third career win in the division in the 518 Realty sponsored #1B and was followed in the top five by Cook, Hohensheldt, Gibbons, and Eldred.

In post-race tech Cook, Hohensheldt, and Gibbons were all disqualified moving Eldred, Jeff Lutes, Young, and Pete Nowicki Jr. into the top five.

“Winning from the front isn’t the greatest thing but I’ll take it after the week I’ve had,” Mortensen told Mimi Lazzaro in victory lane. “We spent the whole day today putting a new rear end in the car after getting hit on Saturday night.”

The 15-lap Robert’s Towing & Recovery Street Stock feature was an entertaining event with defending track champion Jason Samrov leading at the drop of the green flag with Al Relyea in tow. After a restart on lap four, sixth place starter Michael Arnold and Relyea swapped the second position twice with Dave Horning Sr. the new third place car on lap five behind Samrov and Relyea.

Relyea got into the back of the leader on lap nine, spinning Samrov around and bringing out the caution. On the restart, Relyea was the new leader with Horning Sr. now second and that is the way it would end at the checkered flag with Relyea taking his first career win in the division at Fonda followed by Horning Sr., Arnold, John Bradt, and Jim Duncan.

“I feel bad about what happened to Jason (Samrov),” Relyea said in victory lane as he apologized for the incident. “We were running real close and I got into the back of him in turn one, I tried to straighten him out, but it didn’t work.”

Two red flags in the Four Cylinder Cruiser feature before any laps were completed took out half the field before the race was finally able to start with Justin Pope leading every lap on his way to his first career win at Fonda as a dual overhead cam car while second place finisher Zach McSpirit was declared the winner in his single overhead cam racecar. Wayne Russell, Bubba Cook, and defending track champion Ken Hollenbeck completed the top five.

Please check the Fonda Speedway website or Facebook page for announcements on upcoming events at the track.

Since 1953, the ‘Track of Champions’ Fonda Speedway has hosted the best in stock car racing. Under the management of BD Motorsports Media LLC, the speedway will operate weekly on Saturday nights from April through August plus several special events. Fonda Speedway is located on the Montgomery County Fairgrounds off New York State Thruway Exit No. 28 at 21 S. Bridge Street Fonda, NY 12068.

Fonda Speedway is on the web at www.thefondaspeedway.com. To learn more, call the office at 518.915.4395, like Fonda Speedway on Facebook www.facebook.com/thefondaspeedwy or follow on Twitter: @thefondaspdwy.

SUNOCO MODIFIED FEATURE – STEWART FRIESEN (61^st career win at Fonda), Matt Sheppard, Rocky Warner, Michael Maresca, Matt DeLorenzo, Anthony Perrego, Jessica Friesen, Danny Varin, Josh Hohenforst, Brian Gleason, Adam McAuliffe, Larry Wight, David Schilling, Craig Hanson, Dave Constantino, Bodie Bellinger, Allison Ricci, Pep Corradi, Jeff Hoetzler, Kyle Coffey, Troy Palmer, Brian Calabrese, Brian Pessolano, Roger Henion Jr., Rich Christman, Darwin Greene.

Lap leaders – 1-13 Michael Maresca, 14-30 Stewart Friesen.

Heat race winners received $100 from Palmer’s Service Center – Stewart Friesen, Larry Wight, Anthony Perrego, Josh Hohenforst. Thanks to Palmer’s Service for their support of the Fonda Speedway.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICE FOR AGING INC. LIMITED SPORTSMAN FEATURE – BRETT MORTENSEN (third career win in the division), Dylan Eldred, Jeff Lutes, John Young, Pete Nowicki Jr., Kyle Dingman, Harold Robitaille, Bill Port, Spencer Rapp, Yule Cook (DQ), Kadon Hohensheldt (DQ), Carter Gibbons (DQ).

Lap leaders – 1-15 Brett Mortensen.

Heat race winners – Spencer Rapp, Brett Mortensen

ROBERT’S TOWNG & RECOVERY STREET STOCK FEATURE – AL RELYEA (first career win in the division at Fonda), Dave Horning Sr., Michael Arnold, John Bradt, Jim Duncan, Mark Burch, Janal St. Pierre, Jason Samrov, Harley Sheppard, Lou Gancarz, Zach Sorrentino, Josh Samrov.

FOUR CYLINDER CRUISER FEATURE – JUSTIN POPE (first career win in the division at Fonda as a DOHC)), ZACH MCSPIRIT (first career win in the division at Fonda as a SOHC), Wayne Russell, Bubba Cook, Ken Hollenbeck, TJ Marlitt, Chris Pierce, Mike Landux, Riley Pedrick, Dale VanAllen, David Peek-Britten, John Napoli, Justin Sargalis, Jeffrey Tubbs, Shawn Hemstreet, Pat McSpirit.

By: Ron Szczerba

FONDA, NY – Saturday evening at the “Track of Champions” was the first day of racing on opening weekend for 2020, but it had a little different feel than in previous years on opening day as no fans were allowed in the grandstands for the event due to regulations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thanks to Dirt Track Digest TV, the event was televised live on pay per view for all of the fans to see and a great job was done by their entire crew to give fans the experience of being there at the track.

One thing that wasn’t any different was the great racing action put on by all of the drivers in the Swagger Factory Motel Crate 602 Sportsman division, the Algonkin Motel Pro Stock division, and the Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series (MVVDMS). 80 racecars were in competition for the evening with a few other cars also taking advantage of an open practice session in between racing events.

The first 50/50 of the season was worth $433 to the winner after tickets were sold in the pit area.

The 25-lap Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman began with Nick Scavia and JaMike Sowle on the front row after a redraw determined starting positions for the event with Scavia taking the early lead. An early yellow slowed the field on lap three for Thomas VanVorst who was in the wall in between turns one and two.

On the restart, fourth place starter Chad Edwards took the second position away from Sowle with ninth place starter Joe Williams up to the fourth position at that point as he also challenged Sowle for the third position. Scavia was in lap traffic on lap 11 when the caution came out for a couple of cars that got together in turn two and on this restart while running fifth, defending track champion Tim Hartman Jr. was smoking heavily and brought out another caution flag.

Seventh place starter Brian Calabrese moved into the third position on the restart and at the halfway point in the event the top five consisted of Scavia in the lead followed by Edwards, Calabrese, Williams, and Mark Mortensen. Scavia was in heavy lap traffic with four laps to go and on the final lap as he was going to the checkered flag, the final caution of the event came out for a three car wreck in turn four giving Edwards and Calabrese one more shot at the victory.

Scavia pulled away at the drop of the green flag and went on to his sixth career win in the division in the North Country Electrical LLC sponsored DKM chassis followed in the top five by Edwards in his first time in the John Kollar Motorsports #10%, Calabrese, Williams, and Sowle.

“It’s good to be back at the track, the situation going on has been tough on all of us,” Scavia told Mimi Lazzaro in victory lane. “Starting on the pole like we did tonight can be both good or bad as you have an open track in front of you but you can also drop back quickly if you don’t get a good start. This is a great win for us after a trailer fire late last season on the way to the races, we had some electrical issues tonight and I want to thank my crew and all of the teams in the pit area who helped us straighten that out.”

The 20-lap Algonkin Motel Pro Stock feature began with pole sitter Steve Cosselman taking the early lead before third place starter Nick Stone took over the lead before lap one was completed. The yellow flag was out on lap two for Beau Ballard who suffered a flat left rear tire. Ballard pitted for a new tire and rejoined the race at the rear of the field. On the restart fifth place starter Luke Horning was the new second place car with the yellow out again for Devon Camenga who also suffered a flat tire.

On this restart, Stone and Horning stayed side by side for an entire lap before Stone got the lead back and pulled away from that point on. Stone was out to a straightaway lead on lap seven with the focus turning to the race for second between Horning and Josh Coonradt who were running side by side at times as they battled hard and clean for the runner up spot.

At the halfway point in the event Stone, Horning, Coonradt, Steve Cosselman, and Jim Normoyle completed the top five with Stone almost a half track ahead of the second-place car. With five laps to go Horning and Stone continued their battle for the second position, swapping the spot numerous times until with one lap to go Horning took the spot for good after Coonradt slipped up high in between turns one and two.

Stone went on to his 47^th career win in the division in the Meltz Lumber sponsored #27 followed in the top five by Horning, Coonradt, 14^th place starter Andy Graves, and 12^th place starter David Emigh.

“This is a new car that we built over the winter,” Stone said in victory lane. “We did a lot of work on experimenting with the coil spring setup knowing that a couple changes needed to be made. Thanks to my crew for working on the car so that I can sit back and relax and concentrate on the race ahead of me. I have spent all of my life, day and night on racecars, and I love it.”

The 10-lap Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series (MVVDMS) Vintage Antique feature began with Mike Cole the early leader until lap four when seventh place starter Jimmy Fugel took over the lead and went on to the win followed in the top five by Chuck Scofield, Cole, Frank Blanchard, and Brian Scofield.

The 15-lap Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series (MVVDMS) Replica feature started with Kyle Hoard leading from the pole with John Flach second after starting fourth. Flach took over the lead on lap eight but one lap later in lap traffic, Hoard retook the lead and looked to be going on for the win but lap traffic came into play again on the final lap with Flach able to get by for the lead and the win. Hoard, Darral Hulbert, Stephon Denton, and Fran Hoard.

The Modified, Sportsman, and Late Model cars run in the same feature event with winners declared in all classes with Flach declared the Modified winner, Frank Hoard declared the Sportsman winner, and John Roese declared the Late Model winner.

Special thanks goes out to Palmer’s Service Center for their support of the “Track of Champions” as they paid out a $75 bonus to heat race winners in the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman division with the wins going to Edwards, Scavia, and Brendan Gibbons. They also paid out a $50 bonus to the heat race winners in the Algonkin Motel Pro Stock division with those bonuses going to Horning and Stone.

Special thanks also goes out to Jason and Coleen Morrison who paid out a $50 bonus to the 6^th and 10^th place finishers in both the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman and Algonkin Motel Pro Stock features with those bonuses going to Michael Wagner-Fitzgerald and Alex Bell in the Sportsman division and Steve Cosselman and Devon Camenga in the Pro Stock division.

Action continues today, Sunday, June 14 with the Sunoco Modifieds, Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman, and Four Cylinder Cruisers with racing starting at 6:30 p.m.

Since 1953, the ‘Track of Champions’ Fonda Speedway has hosted the best in stock car racing. Under the management of BD Motorsports Media LLC, the speedway will operate weekly on Saturday nights from April through August plus several special events. Fonda Speedway is located on the Montgomery County Fairgrounds off New York State Thruway Exit No. 28 at 21 S. Bridge Street Fonda, NY 12068.

Fonda Speedway is on the web at www.thefondaspeedway.com. To learn more, call the office at 518.915.4395, like Fonda Speedway on Facebook www.facebook.com/thefondaspeedwy or follow on Twitter: @thefondaspdwy.

SWAGGER FACTORY APPAREL CRATE 602 SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 25-LAPS – NICK SCAVIA (6^th career win in the division), Chad Edwards, Brian Calabrese, Joe Williams, JaMike Sowle, Michael Wagner-Fitzgerald, Brian Borst, Tony Farone, David Manchester, Alex Bell, Kurtis Hohensheldt, Dana Camenga, Griffen Mansmith, Michael McCallion, EJ McAuliffe, Mike Palmer, Charlie Tibbitts, Brendan Gibbons, Joel Knudsen Jr., Brett Mortensen, Mark Mortensen, Tim Hartman Jr., Cody Clark, Tucker O’Connor, Tim Dwyer, Ricky Quick, Dan Santabarbara, Thomas VanVorst, Kevin Chaffee (DNS)

Hear race winners – Chad Edwards, Nick Scavia, Brendan Gibbons – $75 to each heat race winner from Palmer’s Service Center

6^th and 10^th place finishers in the feature, Michael Wagner-Fitzgerald, and Alex Bell respectively, paid $50 from Jason and Colleen Morrison

ALGONKIN MOTEL PRO STOCK FEATURE – 20-LAPS – NICK STONE (47^th career win in the division), Luke Horning, Josh Coonradt, Andy Graves, David Emigh, Steve Cosselman, Kenny Gates, Ivan Joslin, Beau Ballard, Devon Camenga, Bill Knapp, Chuck Dumblewski, Randy Cosselman, Jamie Warner, Jim Normoyle, Justin Knight, Tanner Warner, Don Collins, Jason Morrison (DNS)

Heat winners – Luke Horning, Nick Stone – $50 paid to each heat race winner from Palmer’s Service Center

6^th and 10^th place finishers in the feature, Steve Cosselman and Devon Camenga respectively, paid $50 from Jason and Colleen Morrison

MOHAWK VALLEY VINTAGE DIRT MODIFIEDS ANTIQUE FEATURE – 10-LAPS – JIMMY FUGEL, Chuck Scofield, Mike Cole, Frank Blanchard, Brian Scofield, Mark Reardon, Stew Padasso, Harley Sheppard, Phil Mitchell, Mike Gray

MOHAWK VALLEY VINTAGE DIRT MODIFIEDS REPLICA FEATURE – 15-LAPS – JOHN FLACH (MODIFIED WINNER), Kyle Hoard, Darral Hulbert, Stephon Denton, Frank Hoard (SPORTSMAN WINNER), Randy Delaney, Brian Gary, Stanley Wetmore, Merv Blackwell, Carl Cram, Dave Charczuk, John Constantino, George Palmer, Tim Natalino, John Roese (LATE MODEL WINNER), Will Reed, Garrett Liese, Joe Millington, Dan Wood, Mike Francisco, Malcum Warner, Tony Kamburelis (DNS)

Heat winners – Jimmy Fugel, Kyle Hoard, Randy Delaney

By: Ron Szczerba

Fonda, NY – According to Rocky Warner who stood in the Fuccillo Automotive Group Mike Cole Memorial victory lane at Fonda after his victory, car owner Jake Spraker told him over the winter that he had the best stuff that you can buy and that he had better get the job done. Warner definitely listened to his car owner as he went to victory lane again at the Fonda Speedway on Saturday evening for the fifth time in 2019 and the sixth time in his career in the Sunoco Modified division at Fonda.

Last lap passes out of turn four have become the norm at Fonda this season proving that drivers never give up looking to go to victory lane at a historic place like the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway. The track was in fantastic shape on Saturday allowing for Warner and others to make their passes as they raced to the checkered flag in their respective divisions.

Other winners on MW Roosevelt & Sons Night at Fonda were Nick Scavia in the Swagger Factory Apparel 602 Crate Sportsman $1,000 to win feature thanks to Eric Orozco Racing, Michael McCallion in the Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman, Nick Stone in the Algonkin Motel Pro Stock Best of 8 feature presented by American Racer for $800 to win, Jason Samrov in the Trackside Body Works Street Stocks, and Mike Kiser in the CRSA 305 Sprint Cars.

Ed Biittig Sr. started opening ceremonies with a prayer and a moment of silence for three people that recently passed away including Gerald Rose who owned a car that was once driven by Lou Lazzaro, Wayne Podbielski who used to own the #14R car that was driven to many wins by Ryan Odasz, and Otto Graham who was a driver, photographer, and friend to many people.

2019 Miss Montgomery County Outstanding Teen Amelia Baldwin performed the National Anthem and did a great job getting an ovation from the large crowd on hand. Also in attendance was Farmers Insurance representative Todd Cipperly, whose organization Farmers Insurance has been handing out goodies to the crowd during intermission all season long on behalf of the company.

Scott Huber and Brian Pessolano started the 30-lap Sunoco Modified feature on the front row with Huber the early race leader. Josh Hohenforst started the event in the fourth position and by lap two he was already in the second spot. Coming down the front straightaway to complete lap three, Hohenforst was the new race leader and by lap six he was in lap traffic, a full straightaway ahead of Huber.

Rocky Warner and Stewart Friesen started the event in the 10^th and 11^th positions respectively and both were coming up through the field together, passing two cars at once at times to get to the third and fourth positions by lap nine. Warner and Friesen both got by Huber for the second and third positions at the halfway point in the event with Hohenforst out to a big lead followed by Warner, Friesen, Huber, and sixth place starter David Schilling.

At the time Warner took over the second position from Huber, Hohenforst was over five seconds ahead but Warner quickly closed that gap to just over a second with a few laps to go. On lap 24 there were two lap cars racing side by side just in front of the leader, slowing him down enough that Warner and Friesen were able to make it a three car battle for the victory.

Hohenforst was using the extreme outside groove to get around the track early on but late in the event he switched lanes to the inside as he tried to hold on for his first victory of the 2019 season. With two laps to go, Hohenforst cleared the lap car of Korey Wilder which gave him a little breathing room but it wasn’t enough as Warner just kept coming with that “never give up attitude”.

Coming out of turn four on the final lap, Hohenforst and Warner were side by side, Hohenforst on the inside and Warner on the outside in a thrilling race to the checkered flag. Warner was able to take the victory, finishing just 0.236 secs ahead of Hohenforst who was followed by Friesen, Schilling, and Huber with a fantastic run in the fifth position.

“There was a time during the feature where I didn’t really know what position I was running in,” Warner told Mimi Lazzaro in victory lane. “I thought that Huber had a big lead when I passed him but it was actually Josh (Hohenforst) who was out front. I saw that he was running low so I had no choice but to run the outside if I wanted to get the win.”

Kurtis Hohensheldt used his pole position start to his advantage leading at the drop of the green flag in the Swagger Factory Apparel 602 Crate Sportsman feature. Two consecutive yellow flags slowed the field on laps two and three and on the restart fourth place starter Andrew Buff was the new race leader.

Ninth place starter Nick Scavia made some great moves coming up through the field and sat in the second position on lap three with 11^th place starter Mark Mortensen also passing many cars up to the top five by lap four. Buff continued to lead with Scavia hounding him in every turn of every lap while Mortensen continued to pick off cars into the third position on lap 10 after getting by Hohensheldt.

Buff and Scavia raced hard and clean as the laps continued to count down to the checkered flag with Scavia finally getting by Buff for the race lead with a move to the inside of the leader in turn two on lap 23. Mortensen also got by Buff for the second position with one lap to go as did 10^th place starter Adam McAuliffe for the third spot.

Both Mortensen and McAuliffe ran out of time to challenge Scavia who did a masterful job in lap traffic to close out the event for his first win of the season and the fifth of his career in the division at Fonda. Mortensen, McAuliffe, seventh place starter Cody Clark, and Buff completed the top five in the event with four out of the five cars in the top five “Cyclone’s” fabricated by DKM.

Scavia held a DKM flag as he celebrated on the roof of his North Country Electrical LLC. #17 car in victory lane and afterwards told Mimi Lazzaro: “it’s been a pretty tough year so far”. “We got this new car this year and have been trying to figure it out but I think we found something tonight. I’ve raced hard with Andrew (Buff) back in the day and we raced hard again tonight just as we did back then.”

Michael McCallion led at the start of the 20-lap Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. feature event with first year racer Brett Mortensen in the third position on lap two after starting seventh while ninth place starter EJ McAuliffe was right behind Mortensen in third. Bill Port spun in turn four on lap four bringing out the caution flag and closing up the field behind McCallion who had a big lead to that point.

Another caution fell on the restart when second place runner Steve Wagoner went hard into the turn one wall but fortunately he was okay after the crash. On this restart, Mortensen and McAuliffe were now the second and third place cars but once again McCallion was able to pull out to a big lead leaving the best race on track for the second position between Mortensen and McAuliffe.

McCallion pulled away for his first win of the season and the second of his career in the division with Mortensen, McAuliffe, eighth place starter Rich Christman, and Alan Hanson completing the top five in the event.

“We were in a bad accident here a couple weeks ago so I’m glad to be back here in victory lane tonight,” McCallion said in victory lane.

The $800 to win Best of 8 Series presented by American Racer Pro Stock feature saw a yellow flag out with no laps complete when leader Jason Morrison’s car backfired out of the exhaust and slowed on the backstretch causing the field to bunch up behind with many cars involved in the wreck including point leader Luke Horning, Ivan Joslin, Justin Knight, and others.

Morrison kept going and led the race on the restart with fifth place starter Chick Dumblewski up to the second position and sixth place starter Josh Coonradt third. Seventh place starter Kenny Gates was following Coonradt up through the field with the two cars in the second and third places after both got by Dumblewski on lap seven.

Gates made a great move to complete lap eight at the line as he got by both Coonradt and Morrison for the race lead. Attention now turned to ninth place starter Nick Stone who made his way up to the fourth position when the caution came out on lap 13. Stone was the new second place car on the restart and three laps later he swung around the outside of Gates in turn four to take over the lead.

Stone went on to his second consecutive win, his second win of the season and the 44^th of his career in the division over Coonradt who got by Gates on the final lap for second, Gates, 10^th place starter Devon Camenga who raced to his best career finish in the division, and Morrison.

“I think we got the car pretty god now,” Stone said in victory lane. “The track had some bite in it tonight and I used it to get to front.”

Michael Arnold led the first eight laps in the 15-lap Trackside Body Works Street Stock feature event before sixth place starter Jason Samrov took over the race lead on lap nine. Fifth place starter Dave Horning Sr. was the new second place car on lap 13 but had nothing for Samrov who went on to his fourth win of the season and the 12^th of his career in the division over Horning Sr., Arnold, Al Relyea, and Cliff Haslun.

The 20-lap CRSA Sprint feature didn’t get off to a very good start with Johnny Kolosek flipping his car on the front straightaway bringing out the red flag. He was not injured in the single car wreck. On the original restart, Darryl Ruggles bounced off another car into the wall in turn four bringing out the caution with no laps complete.

Thomas Radivoy led the race on the third try at the start and led the event up until lap eight when Sydney Prince took over the top spot. At the halfway point in the event Prince continued to lead with Radivoy, Emily VanInwegen, ninth place starter Mike Kiser, and Justin Mills completing the top five.

Kiser moved into the second position on lap 17 with Prince now in lap traffic allowing Kiser to close in quickly on the leader. On the final lap in turns three and four, Kiser went low under both Prince and a lap car for the race lead and he went on to take the checkered flag for his second career CRSA win at Fonda. Prince, Radivoy, Mills, and 19^th place starter Jeff Trombley completed the top five.

“I’m glad to be back racing 305 Sprints again,” Kiser said in victory lane. “I thought that I was coming here to race for $300 to win but it ended up being a lot more.”

Next Saturday, August 3 at Fonda, Palmer’s Service Center presents “Dollar Dog Night” with hot dogs being sold at the concession stands for only $1! All divisions will be in action including the Four Cylinder Cruisers with a starting time of 7:00 p.m.

Since 1953, the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway has hosted the best in stock car racing. Now under the management of BD Motorsports Media LLC, the speedway will operate weekly on Saturday nights from April through August plus several special events. Fonda Speedway is located on the Montgomery County Fairgrounds off New York State Thruway Exit No. 28 at 21 S. Bridge Street Fonda, NY 12068.

Fonda Speedway is on the web at www.thefondaspeedway.com. To learn more, call the office at 518.915.4395, like Fonda Speedway on Facebook www.facebook.com/thefondaspdwy or follow on Twitter: @thefondaspdwy.

SUNOCO MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH – 30-LAPS – ROCKY WARNER, Josh Hohenforst, Stewart Friesen, David Schilling, Scott Huber, Brian Gleason, Bobby Varin, Michael Maresca, Pep Corradi, Dave Constantino, Craig Hanson, Jessica Friesen, Cody Bleau, Korey Wilder, Jeremy Smith, Ed Harris, Darren Smith, Anthony Cardamone, Brian Pessolano, Aaron Jacobs, Steve Akers (DNS), Danny Varin (DNS)

HEAT RACE WINNERS: Jessica Friesen, David Schilling, Josh Hohenforst

SWAGGER FACTORY APPAREL CRATE 602 SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH $1,000 TO WIN THANKS TO ERIC OROZCO RACING – 25-LAPS – NICK SCAVIA, Mark Mortensen, Adam McAuliffe, Cody Clark, Andrew Buff, Chad Edwards, Tim Hartman Jr., Kurtis Hohensheldt, JaMike Sowle, Aaron Burton, Brian Calabrese, Tony Farone, Harry Shaffer, Joe Williams, Josh DeMagistris, Joe Orlando, Tim Dwyer, Jason Greco, Griffen Mansmith, Kathy Bellen, Matt Meade, Brian Borst, Brendan Gibbons, Jeremiah Munson

HEAT RACE WINNERS: Harry Shaffer, Cody Clark, Andrew Buff

MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICE FOR AGING INC. LIMITED SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH – 20-LAPS – MICHAEL MCCALLION, Brett Mortensen, EJ McAuliffe, Rich Christman, Alan Hanson, Dylan Eldred, Bill Port, Jack Hamm, Steve Wagoner, John Young

ALGONKIN MOTEL PRO STOCK FEATURE FINISH BEST OF 8 SERIES PRESENTED BY AMERICAN RACER $800 TO WIN – 20-LAPS – NICK STONE, Josh Coonradt, Kenny Gates, Devon Camenga, Jason Morrison, Chuck Dumblewski, Bill Knapp, John Roese, Ivan Joslin, Jim Normoyle, Alicia Hughes, Luke Horning, Justin Knight, David Demorest, Randy Cosselman

HEAT RACE WINNERS: Chuck Dumblewski, Luke Horning

TRACKSIDE BODY WORKS STREET STOCK FEATURE FINISH – 15-LAPS – JASON SAMROV, Dave Horning Sr., Michael Arnold, Al Relyea, Cliff Haslun, Josh Samrov, Stephen Young, Rocco Procora, Matt Bush

CRSA SPRINT CAR FEATURE – 20-LAPS – MIKE KISER, Sydney Prince, Thomas Radivoy, Justin Mills, Jeff Trombley, Emily VanInwegen, Dalton Herrick, John Scarborough, Mike VanPelt, Mark Taylor, Jesse Pruchnik, Mark Connelly, Link Pettit, Matt Prescott, Dana Wagner, Darryl Ruggles, Josh Flint, Cory Sparks, Johnny Kolosek, Mark Traver (DNS)

HEAT RACE WINNERS: Emily VanInwegen, Darryl Ruggles, Dana Wagner

Sunoco Modified Feature Finish (30 Laps): ROCKY WARNER, Stewart Friesen, Willy Decker, Michael Maresca, Bobby Varin, David Schilling, Dave Constantino, Brian Gleason, Josh Hohenforst, Cody Bleau, Danny Varin, Demetrios Drellos, Pep Corradi, Steve Akers, Craig Hanson, Jessica Friesen, Scott Huber, Korey Wilder, Ed Harris, Elmo Reckner, Tim Fuller, Vinny Sanganetti, Aaron Jacobs, Ryan Odasz, Jim Introne Jr., Darwin Greene (DQ – light).

Heat Race Winners: Willy Decker, Rocky Warner, Brian Gleason

Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman Feature Finish (25 laps): TIM HARTMAN JR., JaMike Sowle, Brian Borst, Cody Clark, Tony Farone, Adam McAuliffe, Harry Shaffer, Chad Edwards, Josh DeMagistris, Brian Pessolano, Aaron Burton, Brian Calabrese, Nick Scavia, Joe Orlando, Ryan MacCarthey, Jeremy Tuttle, Jason Greco, Griffen Mansmith, Tim Dwyer, Tighe Sherlock, Mark Mortensen, Andrew Buff, Kale Groff, Thomas VanVorst, Mike Jackson, Kathy Bellen, Jake Mason, Ron Proctor, Kurtis Hohensheldt, Mike Ketchum (DNS)

Heat Race Winners: Cody Clark, JaMike Sowle, Brian Pessolano

Greco’s Napa Hard Charger: TIM HARTMAN JR. started 13th and finished 1st, 12 spots gained

Algonkin Motel Pro Stock Feature Finish (20 laps ‘Best of 8 Series’ presented by American Racer): IVAN JOSLIN, Chuck Dumblewski, Luke Horning, Josh Coonradt, Nick Stone, Bill Knapp, David Emigh, Jason Morrison, John Roese, Kenny Gates, Justin Knight, Randy Cosselman, Steve Cosselman, Andy Graves, Cassidy Wilson, Beau Ballard, Dave Horning Sr., Reuben Kennedy Jr., Adam Warner, Jim Normoyle, Alicia Hughes, Jamie Warner, Buck Gasner (DNS)

Heat Race Winners: Nick Stone, Luke Horning, Josh Coonradt

Montgomery County Office for Aging Limited Sportsman Feature Finish (15 Laps): BRETT MORTENSEN, Spencer Rapp, Brendan Gibbons, EJ McAuliffe, Alan Hanson, Tucker O’Connor, Kyle Hoard, Rich Christman, Michael McCallion, Steve Wagoner, William August, Dylan Eldred, John Young, Bill Port, Jack Hamm, Billy Bridges (DNS)

Heat Race Winners: Alan Hanson, Dylan Eldred

Trackside Body Works Street Stock Feature (15 Laps): DAVE HORNING SR., Jason Samrov, Stephen Young, Michael Arnold, Cliff Haslun, Rich Walters

Four Cylinder Cruisers Feature (12 Laps): KEN HOLLENBECK, Cole Lawton, Josh Samrov, John Napoli, Zach McSpirit, Wayne Russell, TJ Marlitt, Tim Billington