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.

By: Ron Szczerba

Fonda, NY – Saturday evening August 13 was labeled as Benjamin Moore Paints Championship Night, and it didn’t disappoint as point races were very close in three of the regular five divisions, with the champions not decided in those three divisions until the final checkered flag was thrown in each of the feature events. Here are each of the Track Champions thoughts, in their own words, after the championships were decided.

2022 SUNOCO MODIFIED TRACK CHAMPION MATT DELORENZO

DeLorenzo was the 358-Modified Track Champion at Fonda in 2004 & 2005 along with the Big Block Track Champion in 2007.

“It wasn’t our plan to be here at Fonda every week, but we started running real well at the beginning of the year so we kind of worked things out that I could race here every Saturday,” DeLorenzo told Mimi Lazzaro during the championship celebration. “The track kind of threw me a curve ball the last month being choppy and stuff, and the car just really wasn’t comfortable. We also had motor problems, but it all worked out. This is the first time we’ve run a big block here all year, I always had a small block here, but everybody went to a small block back then.”

“Back then Bobby Varin I know ran a big block and we always battled back in the day, so it’s been a while hasn’t it. Now everybody has the open small block with Brett’s rules, but it shows that the big block can be competitive. I’ve been sleeping at the shop a lot, I have to thank my wife for letting me do that and my kids they are pretty busy in their lives too so I’m glad they are all here tonight, my mother is here too so it’s pretty cool.”

“The kids were putting the pressure on me saying dad you better win tonight, so I said to them it is just like you being up at home plate with a full count on you and the bases are loaded and the score is tied. A lot of pressure tonight for sure and I just wanted to do good for everybody and finish. My brother Mike is the brains behind the operation and Brian (teammate Brian Gleason) both of them really work hard every week to try and figure out these coil cars.”

“My dad Tom runs around to get parts for us, and we have a great bunch of people along with a lot of extra people tonight to help out which is cool so hats off to my brother Mike he does a phenomenal job. I have to thank BBL Companies who have been with me since I started racing, REO Welding, Collette Mechanical, Recovery Sports Grill, Carey Electric, MCD Metals, Kevin Enders, Dan Bedell whose motor was in the car tonight, Bicknell Racing Products, and Dennis from Integra Shocks. We have been running the same car at both Albany Saratoga and Fonda all season long and tonight this is actually my teammate Brian’s car.”

2022 SWAGGER FACTORY APPAREL CRATE 602 SPORTSMAN TRACK CHAMPION PAYTON TALBOT

First career Track Championship in the division at Fonda for Talbot.

“Yeah, this is awesome,” Talbot said during the championship celebration. “I didn’t really expect it coming into tonight, I knew that Chad (Edwards) was going to be tough. I didn’t know if the top or bottom was gonna be better, but we got lucky there when Chad pulled the slide job on us, we had enough momentum to get back by him on the bottom. I ran the top for a while, Troy (Palmer) and Chad were checking out, so I was just following them. You know the car didn’t feel bad and I think the tires got a little more heat in them on exit.”

“At the end there I was just trying to run the bottom and keep the 10% behind me. We’ve had a wicked year here, I can’t ask for anymore, I’ve got an awesome crew behind me and trying keep up on maintenance on this thing week in and week out, it paid off. You’ve gotta check everything you can’t have mistakes. We’ve just had a fantastic year; I don’t think that we’ve broken down yet knock on wood.”

“I have to thank Travis at Ted’s Body Shop, Mike Walton at Fastline Performance, Joe from Precision Hydraulic Oil, Parker at Parker Excavating, Hig Fab Chassis, Jeff at JK Signworks, Brian at Donath Motorworks, Brandon at DIG Race Products, MIR, CC, Northeast Forestry, and Tom Moore at Training Tails.”

2022 ALGONKIN MOTEL PRO STOCK TRACK CHAMPION NICK STONE

Stone had previous Track Championships in the division at Fonda back in 2014, 2020, and 2021.

“Preparation is everything,” Stone said. “I guarantee we have the most prepped out race car. The body looks a little rough, but you take this body off and the car looks brand new underneath it. We got the tires that we needed and didn’t have to be conservative, everything was always prepped out perfect.”

“On Tuesday we all go up to the garage to work on the car and luckily, we never wrecked, all of our stuff was very minor. We noticed things before something happened and that’s how you do it. Every time I go out there, I’m focused, and it’s been both ways for me during my racing career, I’ve had very little help at times, to doing it all yourself, so you come to the track and have some good nights, and you have some rough nights because you’re always working on the car.”

“Some of the guys that I see struggling I know exactly what they are going through because I know how it is, I’ve been there. I finally caught a nice ride with Todd, and I know he enjoys it, so it is kind of a perfect combination. I have to thank Todd, Melissa, Gus, Matt, Scott, Jamie, and my dad. Todd had these sponsors over the years, and some have followed me over, so our teams merged together real well.”

2022 MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICE FOR AGING INC. LIMITED SPORTSMAN TRACK CHAMPION ZACH DUFEL

First career Track Championship in the division at Fonda for Dufel.

“I honestly have no words, I’ve dreamt of being here just as a crew member and being here as a driver is so special to me,” Dufel said. “Obviously with Mike (car owner Michael Jackson) and his long road to recovery I can’t thank him enough, Harry Shaffer, the whole Shaffer family, Harry has been there for me since day one. He’s been there all season telling me what to do, I’m taking his and Mikey’s tips and it worked out. It’s insane, I literally have no words, it’s awesome.”

“If my dad was here (the late Jay Dufel who was a long time crew member for Jack Johnson) he would have been telling me to move up mid-season but Chad (Edwards) is a friend of mine and he will be a good mentor when I move up next year so hopefully we’ll run well, we’ll see what we have for them at the end of the season and how we match up with them so I’m excited.”

“Winning anything at the Fonda Speedway is cool,” Dufel’s car owner and team manager Michael Jackson said. “This team has worked really hard, not everybody is here tonight, but we’ve tried to build a program that can win, Zach is a new piece of that, well he’s been a piece for a long time, but to be able to accomplish what he has done this season has been great.”

Mimi concluded the interview with Jackson saying, “I am so happy that you are still here with us, you defied medical experts, you defied life, and you are here, it is so awesome to have you here and thank you for everything that you do for racing,” Lazzaro said about Jackson.

“Thank you for that Mimi, I wasn’t ready for that,” Jackson said with emotion.

2022 FONDA FAIR FOUR CYLINDER SOHC TRACK CHAMPION KEN HOLLENBECK

Ken Hollenbeck had previous Track Championships in the division at Fonda back in 2012 (SOHC), 2013 (SOHC), 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020 (SOHC), and 2021 (SOHC).

“This is a new car for us this year,” Ken Hollenbeck said. “Everybody else has my old junk cars now.”

2022 FONDA FAIR FOUR CYLINDER DOHC TRACK CHAMPION KERRIE HOLLENBECK

Kerrie Hollenbeck had a previous Track Championship in the division at Fonda back in 2013 (DOHC).

“I thought they were gonna give us championship belts,” Kerrie Hollenbeck said. “I was gonna do a back flip off the top of the car. But anyways I am a champion and God bless my brother Kenny who is the overall champion.”

CLOSING THOUGHTS ON THE REGULAR SEASON

“It was a fun season, always fun at Fonda,” head announcer Chris Moore said. “The people here are what make it great, our racers gave us great support, we have had a great season. But we’re not done yet, we’ve got the Fonda 200 coming up in a month, so we’ve still got a lot to do.”

“It’s been a really, really good time,” Fonda Speedway General Manager Jamie Page said. “We have an awesome group here, it’s like a family, it’s pretty awesome to have the people that we do here at Fonda.”

“Pretty amazing season really,” Fonda Speedway promoter Brett Deyo said. “We survived through a lot of factors, tire shortages, inflation, and no rain outs. Who would have thought that when we moved the first race to a Sunday to get it in that we would get every other race in. We were struggling with a wet spring, but everybody stuck with us. It was an awesome season, great car counts, fan counts, tonight was off the charts.”

“The 50/50’s were great, I think we survived a wild season and now we can regroup and get ready for the Fonda 200,” Deyo continued to say. “I am excited going into the 200, I think we have a lot of momentum and no conflicts this year on the schedule, so it should be pretty wild.”

The Fonda Speedway will be taking a break now for the annual Fonda Fair before the season ending Fonda 200 weekend takes place on September 15-17. Stay tuned to the Fonda Speedway Facebook page and the website for details on the $53,000 to win event!

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.

By: Ron Szczerba

Fonda, NY – It was labeled as a “Championship Title Fight” on Facebook between Matt DeLorenzo; Ronnie Johnson; and Rocky Warner in the Sunoco Modified division, Payton Talbot and Chad Edwards in the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman division, Zach Dufel and Kyle Dingman in the Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman division.

At the end of Benjamin Moore Paints “Championship Night” drivers who were crowned 2022 Fonda Speedway Track Champions included DeLorenzo in the Sunoco Modified division, Talbot in the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman division, Nick Stone in the Algonkin Motel Pro Stock division, Dufel in the Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman, Ken Hollenbeck in the SOHC Fonda Fair Four Cylinder division, and Kerrie Hollenbeck in the DOHC Fonda Fair Four Cylinder division.

Back on June 16, 2018, Demetrios Drellos won the first Modified feature of his career at Fonda in the Bill & Erik Nelson owned #85. After being very competitive the entire 2022 season at Fonda until bad luck struck him numerous times, Drellos won his second career feature event at the “Track of Champions” on Saturday evening in the family owned Drellos Motorsports #111.

“It took all season and on the final night we finally got it done,” Drellos told Mimi Lazzaro in victory lane. “I can’t thank my mom & dad enough along with my wife, Tom, Joe, and Joanne they have been here all season. It’s been an up and down year and we just had a blast. Congratulations to Matty D for clinching the championship.”

Other feature winners on Benjamin Moore Paints Championship Night at Fonda were Troy Zilles (first career win in the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman division), Nick Stone (Algonkin Motel Pro Stock), Josh Kane (Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman), Ken Hollenbeck (SOHC Four Cylinder), and Kerrie Hollenbeck (DOHC Four Cylinder).

The Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series (MVVDMS) was also in action with the following drivers capturing feature wins and season championships.

Jimmy Fugel was the Antique division feature winner and won the 2022 Track Championship in the division, Curtis Condon was the winner of the Late Model division feature event and the 2022 Track Championship, John Marks was the winner of the Mystique division feature while Carl Cram captured the Track Championship, Dan Colvin was the Sportsman feature winner and the 2022 Track Champion, and Randy Delaney was the Modified feature winner and the 2022 Track Champion.

Pastor Greg Nitz said the prayer during opening ceremonies while Mimi Lazzaro sang the National Anthem before the “Championship Title Fight” began. The 50/50 of $3,899 has not yet been claimed so double check your tickets to see if you were the winner! If the prize is not claimed, it will be rolled into the Fonda 200 weekend drawing.

The 30-lap Sunoco Modified feature began with outside front row starter Brian Gleason taking the early lead with Craig Hanson in the second position by lap three after starting seventh. Matt DeLorenzo started the event in the eighth position and was up to the fourth position at that point while tenth place starter Ronnie Johnson also moved into the top five as the championship battle began.

Gleason held the lead through two caution flags on laps five and seven while 11^th place starter Demetrious Drellos was sitting in the fourth position on a lap seven restart. Three laps later on lap ten, Drellos was the new second place car while DeLorenzo and Johnson were swapping the fourth position a couple of times before DeLorenzo took control of the spot on lap 13. Gleason continued to lead at the halfway point followed by Drellos, Hanson, DeLorenzo, and Johnson.

Drellos closed in on Gleason on lap 16 and one lap later was the new race leader with a pass on the inside just as the lap was completed. With no caution flags for the remainder of the event, Drellos pulled away with the attention now turning to the drivers who were in contention for the 2022 track title DeLorenzo, Johnson, and Rocky Warner who was up to the sixth position on lap 21.

Johnson and Warner swapped the sixth position a couple of times before Warner took over the spot late in the event. As DeLorenzo held on to a third-place finish to the checkered flag, 13^th place starter Danny Varin moved steadily into the top five, getting by Gleason for the second position with only three laps remaining. Drellos was the race winner followed by Varin, DeLorenzo, Gleason, and Hanson with DeLorenzo winning the championship.

“That was a lot of fun,” Drellos said. “We worked on a real good shock package the last few weeks and we’ve perfected it I guess a little bit and were able to get through the holes a lot better than Brian (Gleason) was. We finally got enough momentum up that when he bobbled, we capitalized on it.”

The Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman feature was a caution filled event with the championship not decided until the checkered flag flew. Stephen Gray led at the drop of the green flag and led the first four laps until lap five when Greg Havlichek took over the lead. Gray’s night came to an unfortunate end on lap six when he got into turn one a little too hard, spun his car, and backed it into the wall bringing out the caution. Gray was done at that point in the event.

Eighth place starter Troy Zilles took over the lead on the restart with Cody Clark bringing out another caution on the next lap with a broken right rear suspension while running third. Chad Edwards started the event in the 11^th position and moved into the second spot on lap eight after getting by Havlichek for the position with 12^th place starter Payton Talbot also getting by Havlichek for the third spot at that point.

At the halfway point in the event the top five consisted of Zilles, Edwards, Talbot, Jason Reome, and Havlichek. Zilles held the lead through four more cautions, choosing the outside on each double file restart to hold on to the top spot and went on to his first career win in the division in the Alpin Haus sponsored #14Z. Talbot got by Edwards for the second position on lap 20 and sealed up the championship with Troy Palmer, and Brendan Gibbons completing the top five behind Edwards.

“Had a good night,” Zilles said in victory lane. “We hit on the setup, and it was a great night. Every yellow when they said on the Raceiver that the 14T (Talbot) was behind me I was saying to myself this isn’t good, but I was just happy that I could hold him off.”

Gary Silkey led the first lap of the Algonkin Motel Pro Stock feature before fifth place starter Luke Horning moved into the lead on lap two on the inside of turn three. Eighth place starter Nick Stone was the new second place car on lap three while seventh place starter Beau Ballard was right behind in third.

On the outside of turns three and four, Stone took the lead away from Horning with Ballard also getting by Horning for the second position. At the halfway point Stone led the way with Horning, Gates, ninth place starter Chuck Dumblewski, and Ballard completing the top five. Dumblewski got by Gates for the third position just past the halfway point while lap traffic came into play for Stone with four laps to go.

Stone went on to his 10^th win of the season and the 2022 Track Championship in the Todd Hoffman owned #8N followed in the top five by Horning, Dumblewski, last weeks winner and 11^th place starter Ivan Joslin, and Ballard.

“When the track gets a little slicker you can see a difference,” Stone said in victory lane. “The last couple of weeks we had some bit in the track and every car is fast, great racing it just makes it tough. We struggled a little there and the rough tracks aren’t real coil friendly either, so we struggled a little on that, but now we are right back to where we were at, and the car felt like it did early in the season.”

Josh Kane led the last seven laps of the 15-lap Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman feature for his second win of the season followed in the top five by Corky Warner, Jonathan Feagles, Connor Prokop, and Ryan Sweet. Zach Dufel was involved in an accident on lap two but was able to finish just behind Kyle Dingman to seal up the championship for Dufel.

“We were pretty strong all season,” Kane said after the victory. “For the ups and downs, wrecking one car and having to learn a whole new car definitely paid off tonight though. I was just praying they stay clean, the last thing I want to do is have another wreck after destroying one car, it definitely doesn’t feel good to crash.”

Ken and Kerrie Hollenbeck continued their domination of the Fonda Fair Four Cylinder division, Ken winning his 16^th feature of the season in the SOHC and Kerrie the 13^th of the 2022 season in the DOHC. Both were also crowned the 2022 champions in their respective classes.

The Fonda Speedway will be taking a break now for the annual Fonda Fair before the season ending Fonda 200 weekend takes place on September 15-17. Stay tuned to the Fonda Speedway Facebook page and the website for details on the $53,000 to win event!

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.

SUNOCO MODIFIED FEATURE – 30-laps – DEMETRIOS DRELLOS, Danny Varin, Matt DeLorenzo, Brian Gleason, Craig Hanson, Rocky Warner, Ronnie Johnson, Dave Constantino, Tucker O’Connor, JaMike Sowle, Nick Heywood, Bobby Hackel IV, Jessica Friesen, Bobby Varin, Pep Corradi, Ryan Odasz, Ed Harris, David Schilling, Nicholas Plumstead, Alissa Cody, Darwin Greene, Chris Curtis (DNS), Alex Yankowski (DNS)

1^st win of 2022 and the 2^nd of his career in the division at Fonda

LAP LEADERS – 1-16 Gleason, 17-30 Drellos

HEAT RACE WINNERS – Warner, Sowle, Corradi

2022 SUNOCO MODIFIED TRACK CHAMPION – MATT DELORENZO

SWAGGER FACTORY APPAREL CRATE 602 SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 25-laps – TROY ZILLES, Payton Talbot, Chad Edwards, Troy Palmer, Brendan Gibbons, Mark Mortensen, Chip Constantino, Tanner Warner, Dan Santabarbara, Tim Dwyer, Matthew Perry, Anthony Cardamone, Kathy Bellen, Cory White, Jeremy Tyrrell, Carter Gibbons, Greg Havlichek, Harry Shaffer, Bill August, Brett Mortensen, Clayton DuMond, Jason Greco, Jeremy Slosek, Stephen Gray, Cody Clark, Dylan Eldred, Griffen Mansmith, Nicholas Plumstead, Jason Reome (DQ weight)

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

LAP LEADERS – 1-4 Gray, 5-6 Havlichek, 7-25 Zilles

HEAT RACE WINNERS – Gray, Zilles, Clark

GRECO’S NAPA HARD CHARGER AWARD – Santabarbara +17 27^th to 10^th

2022 SWAGGER FACTORY APPAREL CRATE 602 TRACK CHAMPION – PAYTON TALBOT

ALGONKIN MOTEL PRO STOCK FEATURE – 20-laps – NICK STONE ($100 bonus from RCK Motorsports), Luke Horning, Chuck Dumblewski, Ivan Joslin, Beau Ballard, Josh Coonradt, Kenny Gates, Jim Normoyle, Jason Morrison, Andy Graves, Gary Silkey, Caden Dumblewski, Randy Cosselman, Don Collins, Dillon Vanston, AJ Walters, John Holmes

10^th win of 2022 and the 69^th of his career in the division at Fonda

LAP LEADERS – 1 Silkey, 2-4 Horning, 5-20 Stone

HEAT RACE WINNERS – Ballard, Gates ($50 bonus to each heat race winner from RCK Motorsports)

2022 ALGONKIN MOTEL PRO STOCK TRACK CHAMPION – NICK STONE

MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICE FOR AGING INC. LIMITED SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 15-laps – JOSH KANE, Corky Warner, Jonathan Feagles, Connor Prokop, Ryan Sweet, Mark Lighthall, Kyle Dingman, Zach Dufel, Phil Arnold, Nate Bedell, Chris Kugler, Michael Kalkbrenner, Jeff Lutes, Bob Rowback, Wesley Sutliff, Timmy Wilmot, Lance Hill, Harold Robitaille, Walter Cook, AJ Greco, Steve Wagoner

2^nd win of 2022 and the 2^nd of his career in the division at Fonda

LAP LEADERS – 1-7 Warner, 8-15 Kane

HEAT RACE WINNERS – Warner, Sweet, Prokop

2022 MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICE FOR AGING INC. LIMITED SPORTSMAN TRACK CHAMPION – ZACH DUFEL

FONDA FAIR FOUR CYLINDER FEATURE – 12-laps – KEN HOLLENBECK (SOHC), KERRIE HOLLENBECK (DOHC), Justin Ramsey, Todd Morey, David Peek-Britten, Len St. Andrews, Dale VanAllen, Josh Ramsey, Christopher Jennings Sr., TJ Marlitt

16^th win of 2022 and the 84^th of his career in the division at Fonda for Ken Hollenbeck

13^th win of 2022 and the 33^rd of his career in the division at Fonda Kerrie Hollenbeck

LAP LEADERS – 1-2 Morey, 3-12 Ken Hollenbeck

FONDA FAIR SOHC FOUR CYLINDER TRACK CHAMPION – KEN HOLLENBECK

FONDA FAIR DOHC FOUR CYLINDER TRACK CHAMPION – KERRIE HOLLENBECK

MOHAWK VALLEY VINTAGE DIRT MODIFIED SERIES (MVVDMS) ANTIQUE FEATURE – JIMMY FUGEL, Jimmy Hyde, Mike Wheeler, John Wood, Jim Glass, Dustin Chapman, Harley Sheppard, John Mason, Mark Reardon, Bryan Scofield, Speedy Niedeheimer, Phil Mitchell, Don Briggs (DNS), Tex Gordan (DNS)

2022 MVVDMS ANTIQUE DIVISION CHAMPION – JIMMY FUGEL

MOHAWK VALLEY VINTAGE DIRT MODIFIED SERIES (MVVDMS) MYSTIQUE FEATURE – JOHN MARKS, Dan Karl, Rich Leveque, Mark Anatriello, Harry Baldwin, George Palmer, George Berbench, Carl Cram

2022 MVVDMS MYSTIQUE DIVISION CHAMPION – CARL CRAM

MOHAWK VALLEY VINTAGE DIRT MODIFIED SERIES (MVVDMS) LATE MODEL FEATURE – CURTIS CONDON, John Roese, Will Reed, Ed Docskalik, Bill Knapp (DNS)

2022 MVVDMS LATE MODEL CHAMPION – CURTIS CONDON

MOHAWK VALLEY VINTAGE DIRT MODIFIED SERIES (MVVDMS) SPORTSMAN FEATURE – DAN COLVIN, Malach Mathews, Bryon Seyfried, Merv Blackwell, Gene Wrightstone, Jon Trudeau, John Constantino, Larry Stokes, Andy McFadden, Mike Francisco (DNS)

2022 MVVDMS SPORTSMAN CHAMPION – DAN COLVIN

MOHAWK VALLEY VINTAGE DIRT MODIFIED SERIES (MVVDMS) MODIFIED FEATURE – RANDY DELANEY, Joe Rando, Jack Miller, Darral Hulbert, John Flach

2022 MVVDMS MODIFIED CHAMPION – RANDY DELANEY