By: Ron Szczerba
FONDA, NY – On Saturday afternoon April 6, Fonda Speedway management held a staff meeting for employees of the track for the 2019-racing season. Heather Deyo and Denise Page held separate meetings for employees of certain areas of the speedway while Brett Deyo and Jamie Page held a meeting in the Fair Board office at the entrance of the fairgrounds for the remaining employees who were present.
“History
keeps the Track of Champions what it is today,” Brett Deyo said during
the meeting. “We need to get the people back in the seats here at Fonda,
the ones that used to come here on Saturday nights, but now for
whatever reason have decided to stay away. We are going to do this with a
gotta get it done approach which will feature an efficiently run racing
program on Saturday evenings.”
The
season gets started at Fonda on Saturday, April 13 with an Open
Practice session with gates opening at 2:00 p.m. and warm-ups from 4:00
p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The first actual race of the season will take place
the following Saturday, April 20.
The
Sunoco Modifieds will kick off the historic 2019 racing season at the
Fonda Speedway on Saturday, April 20 with some serious cash on the line.
The opening night winner will take home a $4,000 paycheck! While the
stars and cars compete for some big cash on Opening Night, the fans can
enjoy this race unfold before their eyes for NO EXTRA ADMISSION COST!
That’s right; Adult Grandstand Admission will remain at $11, Seniors
65-plus stay at $9.00 and Kids 11 & under are FREE!
Also
on the April 20 Racing Card will be the Sunoco Modifieds ($4,000 To
Win!), 602 Sportsman ($1,000 To Win Thanks To Eric Orozco Racing),
Pro-Stock (Best of 8 Series), Montgomery County Office for Aging Limited
Sportsman, and the Trackside Body Works Street Stocks.
April
events will have front gates opening at 3:30 p.m. with hot laps at 5:30
p.m. and racing at 6:30 p.m. All other Saturday racing programs through
the summer will have gates opening at 4:00 p.m. with hot laps at 6:00
p.m. and racing at 7:00 p.m.
The
order of events during the racing program on Saturdays at Fonda in 2019
will have a weekly drivers meeting in the pit area before hot laps; the
National Anthem after the hot laps; heat races for Pro Stocks, 602
Sportsman, and Modifieds in that order; features for the Street Stocks,
Limited Sportsman, Cruisers, and Vintage cars; consolation races if
necessary; a group victory lane for the winners of the Street Stock,
Limited Sportsman, Cruisers, and Vintage features; followed by the Pro
Stock, Modified, and 602 Sportsman features with a separate victory lane
for each of those divisions. The 50/50 winner will be drawn after the
Modified feature.
“Brett
and I will be going around the pit area and the grandstands meeting the
drivers and the fans and thanking them for coming to the Fonda
Speedway,” Jamie Page said. “We also want to give the drivers exposure
to the fans and sponsors by opening up the pit area after the races.”
Some
new things at Fonda for 2019 will be the Sunoco Race Fuels Start Zone,
similar to what NASCAR is doing which gains some exposure for the
sponsor Sunoco, and the Race Clean Save Some Green program where if the
Street Stock feature stays green for the entire feature event without
any cautions the drivers will be admitted into the pit area the
following week for free! There will also be a Social Media Policy in
place along with rules in the pit area regarding altercations in the
pits, which will all be gone over during the drivers meeting on opening
day.
“Social
media can be the greatest or the worst thing for Fonda,” Brett Deyo
said. “We want to keep a positive attitude here at Fonda and we want
Fonda to be “The Saturday Night Race Track”.
With race dates changing in format at a couple of area tracks, there is now no conflict for the Fonda 200 in September.
“The
200 is our showcase and my plan is to keep everything looking clean
here at Fonda,” Brett Deyo said. “Appearance is a big thing to me,
racing here at Fonda is a presentation, and I plan to have all of our
vehicles match and keep the overall appearance of the Fairgrounds high
on my priority list.”
“We
are in this because we enjoy doing it and plan on having fun at it even
with all of the hard work that is involved,” Jamie Page said. “And
there will be no yelling here, we will be happy to talk to anyone at any
time but that’s what it will be, talk not yell.”
“My
plan is to stay on track and worry about Fonda,” Brett Deyo said. “I am
not going to worry about what other tracks or other organizations are
doing, my focus is on the Fonda Speedway.”
The
list of sponsors who have come on board with the “Track of Champions”
for 2019 includes the following in no particular order: BD Motorsports
Media LLC, Eric Orozco, American Racer Cup presented by Sunoco Racing,
Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series fueled by Sunoco, Sunoco
Race Fuels Bruce-Insinger of Insinger Performance, Lias Tire, Bob
Hilbert Sportswear, Fuccillo Automotive Group, John Lakata, Autism
Awareness, Corr Pak Merchandising, One Zee Tees, Greco’s Auto &
Truck Parts NAPA, Trackside Body Works, BBL Construction Services,
Recovery Room Sports Grill, Palmer’s Service Center, Bill Lake Homes,
Montgomery County Office for the Aging, Benjamin Moore Paints, DKM
Fabrication, MW Roosevelt & Sons, Roosevelt Towing & Recovery,
Teo Pro Car, Montgomery County Championships, Mav-TV, Make A Wish, and
School House Pools!
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.
