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2024 FONDA SPEEDWAY TRACK CHAMPIONS IN THEIR OWN WORDS

By: Ron Szczerba

Fonda, NY – On Saturday, August 10 the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway crowned their 2024 Track Champions in all regular divisions including the Amsterdam Truck Center Modifieds, the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman, the Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stocks, the Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman, and the Fonda Fair Four Cylinders.

At the completion of the racing program on Saturday, a “Champions Celebration” was held on victory lane for all of the drivers and below is some of what they had to say in their own words.

FIRST TIME FONDA SPEEDWAY MODIFIED TRACK CHAMPION ALEX YANKOWSKI

At just 20 years of age, Yankowski was crowned as the youngest Modified Track Champion in the history of the “Track of Champions”. Without the benefit of a race win during the 2024 season, Yankowski now joins a list of drivers who were crowned as Fonda Speedway Modified Track Champions without a win that includes Jim Luke (1955), Don Hendenburg (1956), Pete Corey (1965), Ray Dalmatta (1979), and Michael Maresca (2020).

“For sure, we worked real hard coming up here to New York a few years ago just trying to get better racing with Stew, Sheppard, or whoever it may be,” Yankowski said during the “Championship Celebration at Fonda. “Definitely a lot of miles from Pennsylvania, we’re not from New York like everyone else here. We definitely logged the miles, just really proud of everybody.”

“To win any kind of Track Championship takes a really good maintenance program so hats off to Kevin Bates, Bruce, Dave, Petey, Ryan, and everybody else that I bugged, sending them texts at 1:00 A.M. asking them to do something for me. Just really proud of everything. It’s definitely not easy to win here at Fonda, especially when you aren’t running consistently good and get handicapped to the back of the pack.”

“We’re gonna keep working at it, we’ll get it here eventually. We’re gonna enjoy this and come back for the Fonda 200. Been a tough year for a lot of reasons and we just wanted to get better. Jess and Stew we’re a big part of that, letting me hang out at the One Zee Tees camp. That was our home base in New York so living as far away as we do, they were a huge help. We would get home from Utica Rome at 1:00 A.M. and Jess would be cooking steak, so we have fun with it and enjoy it.”

“As of now I plan to be back here at Fonda next year, haven’t thought about it much, one day at a time, one race at a time. It was great having Jason Broedel here tonight; he was instrumental in my plan to move up here and race in New York.”

THREE TIME FONDA SPEEDWAY SPORTSMAN TRACK CHAMPION PAYTON TALBOT (2022, 2023, 2024)

“This car has been awesome, I can’t thank Andy Belmont enough for giving us a stout ride,” Talbot told Mimi Lazzaro on Saturday evening as he celebrated his Track Championship. “I don’t know, its been kind of an up and down year here for us, we were either winning, running top three, or wrecking. I was more inconsistent this year than I have been in years past, but we still got it done and I just can’t thank everybody enough.”
“It’s a huge mental game but having Mike Walton behind me brings me a lot of confidence. When you have people behind you like that, it gives you car confidence that when the car rolls out its gonna be good. Its an amazing feeling to have not only Mike but everybody behind me, it’s a great feeling.”

EIGHT TIME FONDA SPEEDWAY PRO STOCK TRACK CHAMPION KENNY GATES (2004, Co-Champion 2007, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2024)

“Think about the next one,” Gates said when asked about what he had left to do in his racing career. “Its all about the next one now. Its really been a great car and we’ve really honed in on running better on the top so I can put the car pretty much wherever I need it, and I hope it just keeps going that way for the rest of the year. Utica Rome is next on Saturday trying to bring home the Thunder on the Thruway title after that Brookfield, then wherever the next one is. I’m pretty excited, I really wanted this one.”

FIRST TIME FONDA SPEEDWAY LIMITED SPORTSMAN TRACK CHAMPION AJ GRECO

“Usually, I get a whole range of what age people think I am,” Greco said. “People think that I’m 12 or 14 but I’m really 20. We came into this year and that was our main goal the Track Championship. We’ve got some other goals to cross off the bucket list, but we’ll get there. Right now, we’re gonna enjoy this one, this is definitely the main one and we’ll just look forward to next year.”

“It means the world to bring this to my family, I really hope that I make them proud with everything I do. I always come in every night just trying to do my best to make sure that I make my whole family proud, its so much work and its gotta be worth it in the end.”

FIRST TIME FONDA SPEEDWAY DOHC FOUR CYLINDER TRACK CHAMPION JAY INGERSOLL

“It was a good decision to come down here to Fonda,” told Mimi Lazzaro. “I like running here, the competition is good, everybody gets along pretty good, Ken and Kerrie (Hollenback) are great, I had a lot of fun. Its great to have the Palmer name on the car (sponsor Palmer’s Service Center), and to be associated with the people that they had driving for them. It’s been great.”

“I’ve been coming here since I was a little kid, and a Track Championship is something I’ve always dreamed of. I never really thought it would ever happen, but an opportunity came up, we took advantage of it, and we are super happy. We’re gonna take what we learned this year, put it in a new car, and hopefully keep on going.”

11 TIME FONDA SPEEDWAY SOHC FOUR CYLINDER TRACK CHAMPION KEN HOLLENBACK (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)

“Yeah it feels pretty good,” Hollenback said as he celebrated his 11th championship at Fonda. “Next year I’ll probably venture out to other places other than here. I’m not really happy here anymore, people can think what they want. I think I’ve raced here for so long that its time for a change, time to make me happy.”

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