By: Ron Szczerba

Fonda, NY – Last Saturday evening at the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway there were many special moments at the track during opening ceremonies for the 30^th edition of the Fonda 200.

The starting field lined up on the front straightaway, driver introductions with the drivers walking down in front of the grandstands as they were introduced to greet the fans, a four wide salute by the starting field, and the vintage race cars of CD Coville (owned by Bruce Gray and driven by Kyle Fallis), Jack Johnson (owned by Bryon Seyfried and driven by Malachi Matthews), and Dave Lape (owned and driven by Joe Rando) pacing the field.

But the special moment that touched the hearts of all of the fans and everyone in attendance was the tribute to Dave Lape who recently passed away. Here are the thoughts of two of Dave’s family members and two very special friends who spoke about Lape on victory lane in their own words while the #22 Vintage Modified race car of Joe Rando sat on victory lane.

MIMI LAZZARO

“Last week we lost a hero, a legend, a friend,” Lazzaro said to the crowd. “Mr. Dave Lape left us before we completed our 2022 racing season. Dave was a friend to all of us and we thank Dave for all of the memories and thrills that he gave us. He will continue to live through us because legends never die.”

JESSICA LAPE-SCHWAB

“I was born on a Sunday after a rain out and I was back here six days old the next Saturday,” Lape-Schwab said. “We won the track championship that year so clearly, I’m a good luck charm. I would like to share the perspective of a driver’s daughter. Others may see a driver, a promoter, a Champ Car Fabricator, a speed shop owner, a competitor, but truly I just see my dad.”

“Growing up in my family was so different than other people that I knew. Typically, people would go to work and come home at the end of the day. My dad worked from home in the garage so he could make my school lunches, remind me to pick up my room, and welcome me home after school.”

“My parents worked as a team with the same goal and success. In my house I learned to be part of a team. My mother Jackie was a significant team member to my dad. On Saturday nights when we were here at Fonda and able to celebrate together that made the most precious memories. My parents modeled how marriage and life is a team sport.”

“Racing has taught me the significance of kindness, gratitude, help, communication, and the value of relationships that are developed during a life. Racing is a family, let’s keep working together towards a goal to keep this sport alive and thriving.”

JACKIE LAPE

“David’s goal when he wasn’t as competitive as he wished he could be, was to just be here at Fonda, and there are probably a few people that got a little sick on the one lap Lape,” she said. “But he didn’t care because he was here, he wanted to make it to 50 years at his home away from home, so we kept going and we made the best of it and I’m glad we did that.”

“What I want to say is that we were most excited and happy that Fonda Speedway was back. We watched it for years going downhill but look at what Brett (Deyo) has done, look at this track, look at this place. Brett, I hope that you are here for 50 years and thank you, I am so proud.”

ED BIITTIG SR.

“With Dave being here for 50 years, one of the drivers that never left, he never went out on the road or somewhere else on a Saturday night, the only time he left was when there was a race somewhere else,” Biittig Sr. said. “Otherwise, David Lape was here, if David Lape had chosen to race rough like others, he may have had 200 wins. But he chose to drive his car in the hauler every night and not have it in pieces.”

“He had respect for everyone that was involved in racing. As far as I’m concerned, there were three amigos here and now they are all in heaven. Lou (Lazzaro), Jack (Johnson), and David (Lape), those three did so much for this speedway, they are the history of this speedway.”

“If you want to know something that you can do in Memory of David Lape between now and next spring when we return to this racetrack, get a piece of paper out and write 1-22 on it. Then do 22 acts of random kindness of any kind whether it be to shovel a person’s sidewalk, walk a person’s dog, making sure that a neighbor has groceries, anything.”

“It is one of those things that we can do for the Memory of David Lape and that is very important because he was so very important to this place Fonda Speedway. David Lape was this speedway, and he gave so much of his life to it.”

RON SZCZERBA

Although I didn’t say anything about my friend and my hero Dave Lape the evening of his tribute at the track, I’d like to share some thoughts about him now.

When I was 10 years old my brother Jim took me to the Fonda Speedway for the first time. At the time my brother was driving a 1969 Camaro and when we got to the track, I identified Dave by the car that he was driving at the time. It was the red, white, & blue #22 Camaro that looked just like my brother’s car except for the colors. I became an instant fan and added a hero to the list that included my father, my brother, and my other family members.

From that point on the Fonda Speedway became my Saturday night home (and it still is) and I couldn’t wait to get there every Saturday night to watch my hero Dave Lape compete. It was also precious time spent with my brother who took me everywhere with him when I was a kid. Every Saturday I would buy a Gater Racing News and an Area Auto Racing News and read them cover to cover when we got home from the races on Saturday nights.

I started a scrapbook and pasted in it all of the Dave Lape photos that I could find in those papers along with stories about races that he had won at any tracks that he competed at. When he won what was then called the Schaffer Qualifier at Fonda back on 7/31/1973 I purchased a photo of Dave and the Cadillac bodied car that he was driving at the time in victory lane and believe it or not got up enough nerve to go up and ask Dave for his autograph on the picture.

I still have the photo and for those of you that know me I am not one of the most outgoing or outspoken people out there, so it took a lot of nerve for me to go up and ask him for that autograph. Once I got the photo in a frame, I put it up on my dresser in my room with two checkered flags hanging behind it on the wall. It was my own personalized Dave Lape display.

In the month of June 1999, I was writing for Tracy Paige for Redline Magazine and had the chance to interview Dave about his racing career. I remember being just as nervous going to do that interview as I was when I asked him for his autograph on that picture of him and his race car back in 1973. It was a day that I’ll never forget, along with the day that Dave took a picture with me when he had his rebuilt #44B race car at the Fonda Speedway Museum and other memories that come to mind when I think of my racing hero Dave Lape.

By: Ron Szczerba

Fonda, NY – NASCAR or any of the big league motorsports sanctions had nothing on the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway on Saturday evening as they had all of the pageantry and special ceremonies as well including a tribute to the late Dave Lape, the starting field lined up on the front straightaway, driver introductions with the drivers walking down in front of the grandstands as they were introduced to greet the fans, a four wide salute by the starting field, and the vintage race cars of CD Coville, Jack Johnson, and David Lape pacing the field.

Then it was time to race in the prestigious Fonda 200 presented by Southside Beverage which saw its share of different strategies and twists and turns during the long-distance race. When the checkered flag flew it was “Super” Matt Sheppard the winner of the $53,000 prize in what he called the “crown jewel that we were looking for.”

Also in action on Saturday evening was the Swagger Factory Apparel STSS Crate 602 Sportsman with Cody Clark taking home the top prize after having to repair damage to the car when the left side short rod bracket got ripped off of the frame of the car taking all of the other parts on the left side of the car with it during his qualifying event. The crew was able to get it all back together allowing Clark to take home the win in the event.

The tribute to Dave Lape started off the evening with more on that coming later in a separate release. Pastor Greg Nitz said the prayer followed by the singing of the Canadian National Anthem by Joe Kriss. Mimi Lazzaro performed the National Anthem as the crowd sang along with her in a touching moment and then it was race time.

The top three starters Stewart Friesen, Bobby Hackel IV, and Max McLaughlin were three wide through turns one and two at the start with Friesen taking the lead going down the backstretch. The yellow was out with no laps completed for the Ultimate Underdog event winner from Thursday evening Jack Lehner going hard into the tire wall in turn three. His car sustained heavy damage but fortunately he walked away from the wreck.

Friesen led on the restart with fifth place starter Mike Mahaney the new second place car and when lap traffic came into play on lap five Mahaney was able to close in on Friesen. The action started getting hot and heavy after a caution on lap 16 with Anthony Perrego the new third place car after starting fourth. Laps 30-36 saw four changes to the race lead starting with Mahaney who took the lead from Friesen on lap 30 on the inside of the backstretch.

Perrego also got by Friesen for the second position at that point and took over the race lead briefly on lap 33 at the line to complete the lap. Friesen never dropped too far back however and went three wide around the outside of both Mahaney and Perrego to take the lead back two laps after that. Lap traffic made these passes for the lead very difficult but kept the leader close to the other competitors with Mahaney getting the lead back from Friesen on lap 36.

Everybody settled in at that point with the top five at the quarter race mark consisting of Mahaney, Perrego, Friesen, McLaughlin, and 11^th place starter Matt Sheppard. On a restart after a lap 65 caution, Mahaney continued to lead the event while Friesen fell back to the ninth position. Mahaney held a straightaway lead on lap 77 with all cars racing around the bottom of the track at that point.

During a caution flag period on lap 89, Mahaney decided to go to the hot pit for adjustments to his race car handing the lead over to Perrego who led through to the halfway point with Sheppard the new second place car followed by McLaughlin, 23^rd place starter Danny Varin, and Friesen who fought his way back into the top five.

At the halfway point competitors had a choice to either go to the infield for fuel only and a tire pressure adjustment or go to the hot pit for tires and adjustments to the race car. The first driver to go to the infield was Billy Decker who came out first as the leader of the second half after track prep was completed.

Decker led the next seven laps until lap 108 when Marc Johnson who also pitted on the infield and came out third for the restart, took the lead on the inside of Decker at the line to complete the lap. Decker was able to retake the lead three laps later but that was only for a brief time as Johnson went to the outside of him in turn four on lap 115.

At that point Sheppard, who restarted the second half of the race in the 13^th position, was moving his way to the front, getting by Mahaney for the third position on lap 117. Sheppard was the new second place car two laps later after getting by Decker with Johnson now out to a straightaway lead. A yellow flag on lap 132 slowed the field and took away the big lead that Johnson had built up. On the restart, Sheppard took over the lead after getting by Johnson on the outside of turns three and four.

Lap 150 saw another caution slowing the field and under the caution Friesen went to the hot pit, coming out in 16^th place for the restart. The yellow was back out on the restart, this time for Friesen, who went up in smoke on the front stretch ending his day. Mahaney and Perrego both got by Johnson for the second and third positions on the restart with only one more caution flag slowed the field through the last 50 laps.

The final caution came out with 10 laps to go with a single file restart putting Sheppard under control of the race followed in the top five by Perrego, Mahaney, Danny Varin, and Johnson in the top five. Sheppard got out of the groove in turns one and two with only a few laps to go allowing Perrego to close in down the backstretch, but then Perrego slipped up in turns three and four allowing Sheppard to get away and take the big win in the Hurlock Auto & Speed Supply #9 Bicknell car.

“I’m not really sure what happened,” Sheppard told Chris Moore in victory lane regarding the last few laps of the event. “I felt pretty comfortable but there with three or four laps to go I felt like the thing dropped down on the left rear and I thought that I was getting a flat tire. I was scared to death but then it kind of took back off.”

“We had a decent car all weekend, decent but not really good enough to win,” Sheppard continued. We just kept working on it and working on it and took one last stab at it during the halfway break. This thing came to life in the second half of the race, and I finally found the balance that I was looking for. Such a great season, and I can’t say enough about this whole team, but I can’t wait to see my picture on this trophy with all of the other winners.”

“He (Sheppard) really missed it in turns one and two there that one time and we closed in on him pretty good but down in three and four we got a little bit tight, and he gained on us,” Perrego said after finishing second. “Our car rolled really good there in the second half, but we were a little better in the first half. Obviously, a great night for us though to come home second. I was just biding my time, trying to be patient. I overdrove it one lap and fell one spot short.”

“Or you could say that I just got pushed out of the way,” Mahaney said regarding a pass by Sheppard after Chris Moore asked him about the top two cars making better adjustments than him at the halfway point. “They were a little faster, I felt like we were better in the first half of the race. That sure was a crap shoot when you sit there, you already made changes to the car, and then they do track prep. That’s a tough one and a real serious challenge so live and learn I guess.”

Bobby Varin was named the Hard Charger of the event after starting 40^th and finishing 11^th saying “We didn’t have the fastest car; I wish it was a little bit quicker but coming from 40^th to 11^th that’s not a bad run. Hats off to my crew, after blowing a motor on Thursday they busted their ass on this car for two days straight.”

The 25-lap Swagger Factory Apparel STSS Crate 602 Sportsman feature began with Cody Clark leading after the luck of the draw placed him on the pole position for the start. Fifth place starter Troy Zilles moved into the second position on lap four with the caution out at that point for Tanner Warner who was in the wall in turns one and two.

Clark chose the outside for the restart and held the lead with sixth place starter Payton Talbot moving up to the third position on lap nine after getting by Jeremy Tyrrell. Clark was in lap traffic on lap 11 when the caution came out again, with Clark again choosing the outside on the restart. Zilles was the new race leader on the restart with 16^th place starter Tim Hartman Jr. the new third place car behind Clark.

One more caution came out on lap 16 and this time Clark got the best of the restart, taking the lead away and going on for the win in the Upstate Motorsports #4 DKM car, his fourth of the season and the 17^th of his career at Fonda. Zilles, Hartman Jr., 12^th place starter Michael Ballestero, and Talbot completed the top five.

“When I came in after the heat race, I had no idea if we were gonna be able to make it out for the feature,” Clark said in victory lane. “All the guys from DKM along with guys from other race teams came over to help, it’s amazing how other people come and help out everybody. We’ve had a decent year in my book, a lot of bad luck more than anything, we put a lot of preparation coming into this race, all we wanted to do is win and end the year on a good note, so we were able to do that.”

Keep track of off-season news and plans for the 2023 racing season by going to the Fonda Speedway 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 the speedway on Twitter: @thefondaspdwy.

DATE – 9/17/2022 DAY 3 OF THE 2022 FONDA 200 WEEKEND PRESENTED BY SOUTHSIDE BEVERAGE

STSS SUNOCO MODIFIED “FONDA 200” FEATURE – 200-LAPS – $53,000 TO WIN – MATT SHEPPARD, Anthony Perrego, Mike Mahaney, Danny Varin, Marc Johnson, Billy Decker, Andy Bachetti, Jessica Friesen, Max McLaughlin, Brian Gleason, Bobby Varin, Rocky Warner, David Schilling, Tyler Dippel, Chris Curtis, Alex Yankowski, JaMike Sowle, Brian Pessolano, Mat Williamson, Jimmy Horton, Payton Talbot, Stewart Friesen, Alan Johnson, Dave Constantino, Ronnie Johnson, Nick Heywood, Allison Ricci, Bobby Hackel IV, Aaron Jacobs, Matt DeLorenzo, Ryan Godown, Brett Haas, JR Hurlburt, Tucker O’Connor, Jeff Trombley, Craig Hanson, Darwin Greene, Danny Creeden, Tim Fuller, Jack Lehner, Demetrious Drellos (DQ Weight)

1^st win of 2022 and the fifth of his career in the division for Sheppard at Fonda

LAP LEADERS – 1-29 Stewart Friesen, 30-32 Mahaney, 33-34 Perrego, 35 Stewart Friesen, 36-89 Mahaney, 90-100 Perrego, 101-107 Decker, 108-110 Marc Johnson, 111-114 Decker, 115-134 Marc Johnson, 135-200 Sheppard

“B” MAIN RACE WINNERS – Dippel, Horton

DID NOT QUALIFY – Scott Huber, Ryan Darcy, Jason Reome, Nick Stone, Neil Stratton, Danny Johnson, Matt Sobiech, Tanner Warner, Ancel Collins, Kurtis Hohensheldt, Daniel Morgiewicz, Jeremy Slosek

STSS SWAGGER FACTORY APPAREL CRATE 602 SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 25-LAPS – CODY CLARK, Troy Zilles, Tim Hartman Jr., Michael Ballestero, Payton Talbot, Steve Davis, Troy Palmer, Brendan Gibbons, Chad Edwards, Jeremy Tyrrell, Stephen Gray, Chip Constantino, Mark Mortensen, Jeremy Slosek, Dan Santabarbara, Dylan Madsen, Tyler Peet, Michael McCallion, Kyle Dingman, Jason Greco, Tim Deffer, Ben Feldman, Matthew Perry, Michael Arnold, Kurtis Hohensheldt, Carter Gibbons, Clayton DuMond, Travis Green, Harry Shaffer, Tanner Warner

4^th win of 2022 and the 17^th of his career in the division for Clark

LAP LEADERS – 1-11 Clark, 12-16 Zilles, 17-25 Clark

HEAT RACE WINNERS – Madsen, Talbot, Palmer, Tyrrell, Shaffer, Ballestero

CONSOLATION RACE WINNERS – Brendan Gibbons, Davis, Mark Mortensen

DID NOT QUALIFY – Jason Reome, Blaine Klinger, Karl Barnes, Dale VanAllen, Dale Welty, Brian Borst, Joe Williams, Brett Mortensen, Gerard LeClair, Ron Proctor, Wesley Sutliff, Michael Kalkbrenner, Greg Crooker, Walt Henry, Corky Warner, Josh Kane, Bob Fachini, Doug Kline, Griffen Mansmith, Adam Taft, John Santolin, Garrett Poland, Greg Havlichek, Don Bellen, Chris Kugler, David Hackett Jr., Tim Dwyer, Joey Scarborough, Zach Dufel, Clyde Peek

GRECO’S NAPA HARD CHARGER AWARD – Stephen Gray +15 positions 26^th to 11^th

STSS SUNOCO MODIFIED QUALIFYING RACE #1 FOR THE FONDA 200 – 15-LAPS – $500 BONUS THANKS TO PARKS COMPANIES LLC – 7 QUALIFY – 3 REDRAW – BILLY DECKER, Ryan Godown, Jack Lehner, Payton Talbot, JaMike Sowle, Marc Johnson, Matt DeLorenzo, Scott Huber, Ryan Darcy, Josh Reome, Aaron Jacobs, Rocky Warner, Jeremy Slosek (DNS), Nick Stone (DNS)

$100 BONUS FOR THE HIGHEST FINISHING FONDA SPEEDWAY REGULAR FROM THE GANG IN SECTION 8 – PAYTON TALBOT

STSS SUNOCO MODIFIED QUALIFYING RACE #2 FOR THE FONDA 200 – 15-LAPS – $500 BONUS THANKS TO FASTLINE PERFORMANCE – 7 QUALIFY – 3 REDRAW – STEWART FRIESEN, Jessica Friesen, Andy Bachetti, Alan Johnson, Brian Gleason, Danny Creeden, Nick Heywood, Jimmy Horton, Tucker O’Connor, Brian Pessolano, Danny Johnson, Bobby Varin, Craig Hanson

$100 BONUS FOR THE HIGHEST FINISHING FONDA SPEEDWAY REGULAR FROM THE GANG IN SECTION 8 – BRIAN GLEASON

STSS SUNOCO MODIFIED QUALIFYING RACE #3 FOR THE FONDA 200 – 15-LAPS – $500 BONUS THANKS TO UPSTATE AUTOMOTIVE – 7 QUALIFY – 3 REDRAW – MAX MCLAUGHLIN, Anthony Perrego, Matt Sheppard, Mat Williamson, Ronnie Johnson, Danny Varin, Tim Fuller, Tyler Dippel, David Schilling, Allison Ricci, Brett Haas, JR Hurlburt, Matt Sobiech

$100 BONUS FOR THE HIGHEST FINISHING FONDA SPEEDWAY REGULAR FROM THE GANG IN SECTION 8 – RONNIE JOHNSON

STSS SUNOCO MODIFIED QUALIFYING RACE #4 FOR THE FONDA 200 – 15-LAPS – $500 BONUS THANKS TO DAVE PRIME JR. MAC TOOLS – 7 QUALIFY – 3 REDRAW – BOBBY HACKEL IV, Mike Mahaney, Demetrious Drellos, Dave Constantino, Alex Yankowski, Chris Curtis, Jeff Trombley, Darwin Greene, Tanner Warner, Ancel Collins, Kurtis Hohensheldt, Daniel Morgiewicz, Neil Stratton

$100 BONUS FOR THE HIGHEST FINISHING FONDA SPEEDWAY REGULAR FROM THE GANG IN SECTION 8 – DEMETRIOUS DRELLOS

ALGONKIN MOTEL PRO STOCK FEATURE – 25-LAPS – KENNY GATES, Beau Ballard, Josh Coonradt, Ivan Joslin, Slater baker, Frank Twing, Jim Normoyle, Gary Silkey, Zach Sorrentino, Kyle Weller, Jeff McPhail, Steve LaRochelle, Caden Dumblewski, Mike Baker, Dillon Vanston, John Holmes, AJ Walters, Don Collins, Randy Cosselman, Chuck Dumblewski

1^st win of the 2022 season and the 86^th of his career in the division at Fonda for Gates

LAP LEADERS – 1-4 Ballard, 5-6 Baker, 7-25 Gates

HEAT RACE WINNERS – Ballard, Coonradt

FONDA FAIR FOUR CYLINDER FEATURE – 15-LAPS – BRANDON ELY (DOHC), KEN HOLLENBACK (SOHC), Kerrie Hollenback, Billy Hillman, Jay Ingersol, Bruce Liddle, Steve Burbank, Kyle Lanfear, Dale Van Allen, Jamie Warner, Jordan Ryder, Chad Hoffman, Todd Morey, Dustin Cameron, Chris Jennings Sr., Chris Hall, John Ray, Keith Tesiero Jr., Blaze Post, Kyle Coley (DNS)

$50 BONUS FROM UPSTATE AUTO FOR BOTH THE SOHC (KEN HOLLENBACK) & DOHC (BRANDON ELY) WINNERS

17^th win of the 2022 season and the 85^th of his career in the division at Fonda for Ken Hollenback

1^st career win in the division at Fonda for Ely

LAP LEADERS – 1 Burbank, 2-3 Ken Hollenback, 4 Ely, 5 Ken Hollenback, 6-15 Ely

STREET STOCK FEATURE – 20-LAPS – ADAM TRANKA ($500 BONUS FROM STONE MOTORSPORTS/ONLINE PERFORMANCE), Jason Samrov ($300 BONUS FROM STONE MOTORSPORTS/ONLINE PERFORMANCE), Matt Mosher ($200 BONUS FROM STONE MOTORSPORTS/ONLINE PERFORMANCE), Ray Pierre Jr., Cliff Haslun, Jason Barrett, Lou Gancarz, Even Denue, Josh Samrov, Greg Brockway, Isaac Hirsch, Bob Gibson, Matt Wells, Dave Horning Sr., Chris Murray (DQ Illegal Exhaust)

1^st career win in the division at Fonda for Tranka

LAP LEADERS – 1-20 Murray (DQ Illegal Exhaust)

CRSA SPRINT CAR FEATURE – 20-LAPS – MIKE KISER, Jeff Trombley, Jordan Hutton, Thomas Radivoy, Dalton Herrick, Tomy Moreau, Kyle Pierce, Billy Vaninwegen, Dana Wagner, Trevor Years, Timmy Lotz, Mike VanPelt, Mark Taylor, Darryl Ruggles, James Layton, Link Pettit, John Cunningham (DNS), Aaron Shelton (DNS), Ron Greek (DNS)

1^st win of 2022 and the 5^th of his career in the division at Fonda for Kiser moving him to the top of the All-Time Win List at Fonda for the CRSA Sprint Cars

LAP LEADERS – 1-2 Moreau, 3-6 Hutton, 7-14 Trombley, 15-20 Kiser

HEAT RACE WINNERS – Moreau, Vaninwegen

ARNOLD AINSWORTH DASH FOR CASH FOR THE TOP SIX IN STSS HALMAR ELITE SERIES POINTS – 6-LAPS – RYAN GODOWN ($450), Matt Sheppard ($250), Stewart Friesen ($100), Max McLaughlin, Jimmy Horton, Mat Williamson

By: Ron Szczerba

Fonda, NY – Day 1 of the 2022 Fonda 200 weekend presented by Southside Beverage saw the #2 Benson’s Pet Center Modified of Jack Lehner in victory lane for his first win of the 2022 season and the second of his career at Fonda. Lehner’s first win at Fonda was back on 5/1/2021 in the Nelson Motorsports #85 but last night the win came in his self-owned #2 powered by a motor borrowed from Paul Pinkerous.

“I have a lot of cool people that make this all happen for me and thanks to Paul Pinkerous, this is his motor that he let us use this week,” Lehner told Mimi Lazzaro in victory lane.

The “Ultimate Underdog 33” was a race that allowed anyone, from any track, to participate in if they didn’t have a win during the 2022 racing season. It also allowed a few of the Crate 602 Sportsman competitors to get some track time and experience running with the Modifieds.

The other event held on Thursday evening was a 20-lap event for the Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman cars and it was Kyle Dingman taking home the $1,100 win in the Sickler Construction car #1D. For Dingman it was his fourth win of the 2022 season and the sixth of his career in the division at Fonda.

Special thanks to Holmes & Kugler Towing who contributed $1,000 to the winner of the event making it a big $1,100 payday for the competitors in the division.

Pastor Greg Nitz said a prayer before Stephanie May performed the National Anthem during opening ceremonies. Great job by all of the 50/50 girls with the winner Aaron from Fonda, NY taking home the $1,349 prize!

Jimmy Horton led the first lap from his outside front row starting position with the yellow flag coming out just after the first lap was completed for Ryan Odasz who was in the turn two wall. On the restart, Bobby Hackel IV was the new race leader with Horton dropping all the way back to the sixth position, Hackel pulling away to a straightaway advantage by lap five.

JaMike Sowle started the event in the fifth position and was running fourth before making a great move on lap six to get around both Chris Curtis and Jack Lehner for the second position. When George Foley slowed in turn four on lap eight, Lehner who was running third on the restart made his move into the second position as he got by Sowle with Ronnie Johnson also getting by Sowle for the third position after starting 11^th.

The top three of Hackel, Lehner, and Johnson were nose to tail for the lead just before the halfway point in the event with Johnson getting by both Lehner and a lap car for the second position on lap 17. At the hallway point in the event Hackel, Johnson, Lehner, Sowle and 15^th place starter Tanner Warner were in the top five with the race for the lead becoming a very interesting one as lap traffic came into play.

Johnson and Lehner both made a strong bid for the lead just past the halfway point when the lap car of Matt Sobiech was right in front of the leader with Johnson and Lehner looking for a way to get by both the lap car and Hackel for the lead. Hackel maintained the lead at that point after getting to the outside of the lap car with Johnson and Lehner also clearing Sobiech to continue their battle for the lead.

Warner’s great run came to an end on lap 18 when he suffered what looked like a flat tire, but it must have been more serious as he never re-entered the race from the hot pit. The top three continued their see saw battle to lap 22 when Lehner got by Johnson for the second position and began pressuring Hackel for the lead three laps later.

Coming out of turn four to complete lap 27, Lehner took the race lead away from Hackel and immediately pulled away to a straightaway advantage with only two laps to go. He led the rest of the way to Joe Kriss’ checkered flag for the win followed by Hackel, Johnson, Sowle, and 18^th place starter Tyler Dippel.

“That was definitely a lot of fun,” Lehner said in victory lane. “It got kind of hairy with the lap cars not being sure which way they were gonna go so I think that played a big part in it. Bobby was running a good race there running the bottom and sliding across the track, I was hoping that would fade for him when the track slickened up, I felt really good on the bottom, so it just worked out for us.”

“You had to pick your lane wisely, I was pretty tight early but as the race went on, I felt like I was getting better and better so it kind of fell at the right time in the right place for us,” Lehner continued saying. “The new lighting is awesome, usually you can’t see a whole lot on the top of turns two and three, and three and four is kind of dark but it is lit right up now. It’s great that Brett (Deyo) did that, he’s always trying to make it better.”

27 cars started the 20-lap Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman feature with Lance Hill the early race leader. Second and fourth place starters Zach Dufel and Butchie Irwin made contact at the start with Irwin getting the second position while Dufel dropped back to third.

Two consecutive yellow flags slowed the field one lap into the event and on the single file restart the top two of Hill and Irwin pulled away from the third place running Dufel. When something broke on the left rear of the leading car of Hill, it brought out the caution and handed the lead over to Irwin on lap five.

On the restart, 10^th place starter Kyle Dingman took over the second position and at the halfway point it was Irwin, Dingman, Dufel, 16^th place starter Connor Prokop, and eighth place starter Michael Arnold in the top five. Dingman took the lead away on a lap 11 restart ad pulled away from the rest of the field.

With one lap to go the red flag was out after EJ Gallup rolled his car over in turn four but landed on all four wheels and kept on going. Other cars were involved as well causing the red flag condition. Dingman got a good restart and led the final lap to the big win followed in the top five by Irwin, Dufel, Arnold, and Michael Kalkbrenner.

“When I ended up getting up to second with Butchie (Irwin) there, I knew that he’s been doing this stuff for a long time,” Dingman said in F.X. Caprara Car Companies Victory Lane. “My only thinking was I knew he was gonna fire there at the first sign and I just had to drive it harder into the turn. He did that but it stuck for me, and I drove out to a lead and never looked back after that.”

“It got a little scary there during that red flag on the front stretch, but the car was awesome and went anywhere that I wanted it to,” Dingman continued to say. “Thank you to my crew and sponsors and everyone that helps me, this is my final Limited Sportsman race. I’m moving up to the regular sportsman division next year, so this is definitely the way to go out.”

Day two of the 2022 Fonda 200 Weekend presented by Southside Beverage continues today (Friday) with qualifying events for the STSS Sunoco Modifieds for the Fonda 200, The Algonkin Motel Pro Stocks, the Fonda Fair Four Cylinders, the Street Stocks, and the CRSA Sprint cars with racing beginning at 7:00 p.m.

If you are a race fan that gets to the track early, be sure to check out the Fonda Speedway Museum & Hall of Fame which is located on the Fonda Fairgrounds at the rear of the parking area going down towards turn four. The museum is open from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on race days and admission is free!

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 – 9/15/2022 DAY 1 OF THE 2022 FONDA 200 WEEKEND PRESENTED BY SOUTHSIDE BEVERAGE

SUNOCO MODIFIED “ULTIMATE UNDERDOG” FEATURE – 33-LAPS – $2,000 to win – JACK LEHNER, Bobby Hackel IV, Ronnie Johnson, JaMike Sowle, Tyler Dippel, Chris Curtis, Tucker O’Connor, Scott Huber, Jeff Trombley, Payton Talbot, Ancel Collins, Brian Pessolano, Ryan Darcy, Aaron Jacobs, Joe Williams, Brett Mortensen, Mark Mortensen, Matt Sobiech, Mark Pullen, Tanner Warner, Bobby Varin, Jimmy Horton, Nick Stone, George Foley, Vinnie Sanganetti, Ryan Odasz, Brett Hass, Stephen Gray, Allison Ricci, Jessica Friesen (DNS), Daniel Morgiewicz (DNS)

1^st win of 2022 and the second win of his career in the division for Lehner

LAP LEADERS – 1 Horton, 2-26 Hackel, 27-33 Lehner

HEAT RACE WINNERS – Sowle, Curtis, Varin

MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICE FOR AGING INC. LIMITED SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 20-laps – $1,100 to win – $1,000 added to the winners share by Holmes & Kugler Towing – KYLE DINGMAN, Butchie Irwin, Zach Dufel, Mike Arnold, Michael Kalkbrenner, Nick Arnold, Timmy Wilmot, Mike Hill, Jonathan Feagles, Phil Arnold, AJ Greco, Corky Warner, Harold Robitaille, Walter Cook, Chris Kugler, Connor Prokop, Josh Kane, EJ Gallup, Wesley Sutliff, Colin Clow, Dale VanAllen, Russ Farr, Lance Hill, Cian DiMezza, Gus Kamberelis, Mark Lighthall, Tim Deffer (DNS)

4^th win of 2022 and the 6^th of his career in the division for Dingman

LAP LEADERS – 1-4 Hill, 5-10 Irwin, 11-20 Dingman

HEAT RACE WINNERS – Irwin, Dingman, Michael Arnold

By: Ron Szczerba

Fonda, NY – In a press release put out earlier this month, Fonda Speedway announcer Chris Moore said it best regarding the 2022 edition of the Fonda 200. “It’s Time.” The Fonda 200 weekend presented by Southside Beverage is just days away at the historic Fonda Speedway.

The stars of the Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series (STSS) Fueled by Sunoco clash with Fonda Speedway’s best in pursuit of a $53,000 grand prize.

The historic – and now annual – event serves as the richest winner’s share in Modified racing with a purse nearing $140,000 for Saturday’s main event.

The “Fonda 200” also plays a hand in both the Halmar International “Elite” Series (Round No. 4) and the River Valley Builders North Region (Round No. 9), paying $25,000 and $15,000, respectively, to their champions.

A LOOK BACK AT THE 2021 FONDA 200 WEEKEND

On day one of Fonda 200 weekend 2021, Pittsfield Massachusetts driver Brett Haas started on the outside of the front row in the “Underdog 33” event, taking the lead at the drop of the green flag. He led every lap of the event through four caution flag periods and restarts, winning not only his first career victory at the Fonda Speedway but also his first win of the entire 2021 racing season in the Mac Tools #55.

A regular competitor at the Lebanon Valley Speedway, Haas finished third in the season long point standings without the benefit of a race win. The “Underdog 33” at Fonda was held with that in mind as it was for competitors from any racetrack who didn’t have a victory during the 2021 racing season.

“I’ve had some awful luck here,” Haas said in victory lane. “But tonight, I had a good draw, and I knew that I had a good car, so I was finally able to get the monkey off my back here at Fonda.”

On day two of the 2021 Fonda 200 weekend, the four qualifying heat races for the Fonda 200 were won by Matt Sheppard, Rocky Warner, Tyler Dippel, and Danny Varin.

The Algonkin Motel Pro Stocks ran a feature event that saw Kenny Gates lead every lap from his pole position start to take his second win of the 2021 season and the 85^th of his career at Fonda.

“This is the shot in the arm that we needed,” Gates told Mimi Lazzaro in victory lane. “The car was on rails tonight and I could go anywhere that I wanted to with it. The track was prepared well, and I couldn’t be happier. Thanks to all of my sponsors and thanks to my long-time sponsor George Smith of School House Pools for all of his support through the years it has definitely been a great ride.”

Jordan Hutton led every lap of the CRSA feature event after starting on the front row for his first career win in the CRSA Sprints which was also his first career win at Fonda. “I’m so excited right now,” Hutton said in victory lane. “I ran the car wide open all race long and I don’t think I’ve ever had such a good car. Turn four was the most challenging here at Fonda. I almost went too high and out of the groove there many times tonight.”

Matt Mosher was the winner of the Street Stock feature, the first of his career at Fonda, taking the lead on lap 14 of the 20-lap event. “This is awesome,” Mosher said in victory lane about his first career win. “I broke a brake hub in practice and started last, but I was able to make my way to the front.”

PJ Bleau (DOHC) led the final ten laps of the Fonda Fair Four Cylinder feature for the overall victory with Ken Hollenback finishing second to take the win as a SOHC.

On day three of Fonda 200 weekend 2021, Chad Edwards got by Tucker O’Connor for the second position on a lap ten restart in the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman feature and started pressuring Michael Sabia for the lead as the two ran side by side for many laps. Edwards took the lead away from Sabia on the inside of turns one and two on lap 18 and led the remaining laps for his fourth victory of the season and the 13^th of his career in the division.

“The track was real racy tonight, the car had a lot of speed,” Edwards said following his win. “I have to thank my car owner John Kollar for going above and beyond to give us what we need to race and be successful.”

The opening ceremonies at any event can be special, the one at the 29^th edition of the Fonda 200 on Saturday 9/18/2021 was one of the best. Drivers were introduced according to their starting positions and walked to their cars in front of the fans in the grandstand.

When Joe Kriss’ green flag was thrown to start the Sunoco Modified “Fonda 200” event, pole position starter Jeff Rockefeller took the early lead as the drivers all settled in for a long 200 laps. Outside pole position starter Danny Varin took the lead away from Rockefeller on the outside of turn two with sixth place starter Stewart Friesen up to the second position by lap 12 after getting by Rockefeller.

Friesen took the lead away from Varin on the inside of turns three and four on lap 66 only to have Varin get back by for the lead on the backstretch of the next lap. The race took a turn for the worse on lap 67 for Friesen who cut down a right front tire to bring out the caution. Friesen would pit to change the tire and discovered that he also had a broken right rear shock which his crew changed, and he went back out on the track in the 24^th position.

Lap 101 saw Friesen get by Matt DeLorenzo for the lead with Mike Mahaney getting by David Schilling and DeLorenzo for the second position on lap 109 with Friesen now out to a straightaway advantage. Through two more cautions Friesen pulled away on each restart to a straightaway lead each time, including lap 155 with lap traffic coming into play, but he would go on to the $53,000 victory.

“Pretty wild out there today, I could get to the 93 (Varin) but then he would get away from me,” Friesen told Chris Moore in victory lane. “Had the tire go down and a broken shock and thanks to my crew for getting things changed for me to get back out there. The best race in New York State was here at Fonda today.”

“I saw the 97 (Warner) along side of me at one point and knew that I had to get going,” Friesen continued. “On the restarts I just tried to get a good launch and get back to the top. Congratulations to Jake Spraker who was a great car owner that I got to drive for at one point in my career.”

A LOOK AHEAD TO THE 2022 FONDA 200 WEEKEND

The 2022 Southside Beverage Fonda 200 weekend begins this Thursday (Sept. 15) with the Sunoco Modified ‘Ultimate Underdog 33’ taking place. Any driver unable to pick up a Modified victory at any speedway this season will be eligible to participate.

The Montgomery County Office of the Aging Limited Sportsman join the program, now racing for a $1,100 top prize thanks to Holmes & Kugler Towing in Schenectady, N.Y. Open Practice for all other divisions participating during the weekend will also be available.

On Friday (Sept. 16) the STSS big-block/small-block Modifieds take part in 15-lap Qualifying Races for Saturday’s main event.

Joining STSS Modified Qualifying Races will be the CRSA Sprint Cars, the Algonkin Motel Pro Stocks, Stone Motorsports/Online Performance Street Stocks ($500 to win, $300 for second, $200 for third) and Fonda Fair Four Cylinders.

Friday night’s racing action will be followed by a post-race party with LIVE music in the Entertainment Building on the fairgrounds.

The weekend concludes on Saturday, Sept. 17. The STSS Modifieds take part in Last Chance Races to set the final starting field for the $53,000-to-win ‘Fonda 200’ headliner paying $1,000 to take the green flag.

The Swagger Factory Apparel STSS Crate 602 Sportsman join the Saturday program, battling for 25-laps in Round No. 6 of the Precision Hydraulic & Oil North Region.

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 of 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 or follow the speedway on Twitter: @thefondaspdwy or Instagram: @fondaspeedway.

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.

The Short Track Super Series is presented by American Racer/Lias Tire, Sunoco Race Fuel, Insinger Performance, FloSports, Bob Hilbert Sportswear, BDR Speed, Halmar International, Ollie’s, River Valley Builders, Hurlock Auto & Speed, Velocita-USA, St. Lawrence Radiology, Franklin Products, Design for Vision & Sunglass Central, Belmont’s Garage, Precision Hydraulic & Oil, Prime MAC Tools, F.X. Caprara Car Companies, Behrent’s Performance Warehouse, Beyea Custom Headers, Bicknell Racing Products, Dirt Track Digest, EIBACH, Elite Welder Testing & Training, Flach Performance Products, Henry’s Exhaust, Hig Fab, Penske Racing Shocks, Schultz Racing Fuel Cells, Spyder Filters, Superior Remodeling, Teo-Pro Car, VAHLCO, Wegner Automotive & Wilwood.