6/19/2025
Fonda Speedway
THE MOHAWK VALLEY VINTAGE DIRT MODIFIED SERIES (MVVDMS) HOSTS THE FIRST EVER KENNY SHOEMAKER & FRANK TRINKAUS NIGHT THIS SATURDAY, JUNE 21 AT FONDA
By: Ron Szczerba
Fonda, NY – Kenny Shoemaker
Every Saturday evening at the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway is a special night for many people for many different reasons. This Saturday will be extra special for everyone as the first ever Kenny Shoemaker and Frank Trinkaus Night will be held at the Fonda Speedway hosted by the Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series (MVVDMS).
Back in March during the annual Fonda Speedway car show I was honored to meet Kenny Shoemaker’s daughter Melissa Shoemaker-Pigliavento who was set up at the car show with all different types of memorabilia about her father. During our visit she filled me in on a lot of things that I didn’t know about her father so below I will bring you her thoughts about her father and his racing career in a “In Her Own Words” format.
“My father would be 96 at the time of this car show and on September 7 he would have been 97. His first win at Fonda came in 1955 (on 10/8) and his first race car and the only one that he ever bought during his entire career was a 1935 Ford Coupe purchased by my dad and Pete Corey for $35. They numbered it 35."
“Everyone was joining the military at the time, Pete was old enough to join while my dad was only 15, but he lied about his age with the recruiter and said that he was 17. When they came back home and told Mrs. Corey, she grabbed my dad’s ear, marched him back to the recruiters office, and told him his real age. Pete went to the war; my dad went to work.”
“When Pete returned from the war, he and my father got an apartment together and they lived together until my dad got married at age 17 to his first wife. With only a seventh grade education, my father lost both of his parents at age 13. During his racing career he drove 78 different race cars, the only one that he ever owned was the one he and Pete (Corey) bought together for $35. He drove for a 60/40 split, and he would show up at the track at times and not have a ride. That was why they called my dad the hired gun.”
“As a driver he was either going to wreck it or win his car owner a lot of money. He never raced for second place. He was involved heavily with the Barrelhead Root Beer car, which was built by my dad and Al Kugler in Kugler’s red barn, when it really was a barn not a furniture store. I have many fond memories of that barn.”
“During that time, Will Cagle was having trouble getting his car to go so he asked my father about it to see what he thought. My dad got in the car and won with it, telling Cagle afterwards that there is nothing wrong with the car and that he had it right. So, Will told my dad to come back next week, so he did and won again! When he came in to the pit area, Will said you’re fired and covered the car up.”
“My first race was in April of 1970, I was born on February 26, 1970 and I wasn’t two months old, but I was everywhere at every race. The memories for me are definitely the Leto #50, the Barrelhead Root Beer #24, and the George Schell owned car. Funny story about George Schell, at Syracuse one year he hired an airplane and flew it over the Fairgrounds with a banner attached to it that said Kenny “The Shoe” Shoemaker. More memories of Syracuse include one year that we were stuck on the infield for two days when the tunnel to exit the infield was flooded.”
“My father loved Fonda, he raced at Daytona both on the beach and the big track as well, but in 1963 he chose family first. He raced every night that he could at the time, but he didn’t want my brother Keith growing up in an RV following the NASCAR circuit. So, he ended up racing Friday, Saturday, and Sunday allowing Keith to be home for school and he never regretted that.”
“My dad was given three months to live back in 1983, but he wanted to see me graduate high school, wanted to see me get a good job, go to college, and get married. He just kept pushing the goal. One day at dinner he pulled me aside, it was the year after he had just completed a tour promoting his book. We brought him everywhere and he was in his glory.”
“He always called me Missy, and he said that he was getting real, real tired. I told him dad it is okay, I am perfectly healthy and happy, and he died five days later. He was at the point where he knew that he didn’t have to worry about me. He was a real good dad. Our door was open 24/7, he would help his competitors get their cars right because he wanted to race somebody that was competitive.”
“He would absolutely do hot laps, but he would “race” hot laps. The reason he did it was to scare everybody. Back in the day he was such a showman. I miss him terribly. He was such a gentle person, but he would always come back the week after an accident and win again. Nothing stopped him until his heart went bad.”
“Many of you may not have known that when my dad had a stroke, he had a hard time holding a pen or pencil. You may not have known that my dad only had a 7th grade education. My dad didn't write his book, he spoke his book out on a Dictaphone, like a doctor would use. His book are his words, not edited, not changed. His story, his memories, his life.”
“The book was published in August of 2000 with the help of Lew Boyd and Rigney Motorsports Publishing. My dad did his farewell tour to all of his favorite tracks and died March 21st 2001, Making this book even more special. The transcriber of his book told me that he learned more about my dad doing the book than he knows about anyone. It was the first book that Lew Boyd did, it was the first book that was written by the driver and did it himself.”
Shoemaker was inducted into the New York State Stock Car Association (NYSSCA) Hall of Fame in 1984 and was inducted into the first ever Hall of Fame class at the Fonda Speedway in 1988.
Frank Trinkaus
According to the Fonda book, back in 1953 Frank Trinkaus had a big part in building the Fonda Speedway from driver to car owner, to providing the track with some equipment that they didn’t have. In mid-1953, then Fonda Speedway promoter Ed Fuez purchased bleachers for the remainder of the front stretch past the grandstands from Trinkaus who was the co-promoter of the recently closed Sidney (NY) Speedway.
Trinkaus actually drove his own #62 before hiring his first driver, Richfield Springs’ Joe Ciganenko during the 1953 racing season. Trinkaus would go on to become a Fonda Hall of Fame car owner with a Fonda record eight different drivers piloting his yellow and blue #62 to Fonda victories from 1956 through 1970 after Ciganenko.
The list of eight drivers who drove for Trinkaus include George Gallup, Steve Danish, Pete Corey, Kenny Shoemaker, Jeep Herbert, Irv Taylor, Don Wayman, and Lee Millington. July 26, 1958 was a huge day in Fonda Speedway history with a visit from Miss America, Marilyn VanDerbur of Colorado. Danish, in the Trinkaus #62, was the winner of the race and he got to meet her in victory lane that night.
All eight drivers listed above added wins to the Fonda Speedway All-Time Win List, and all were also inducted into the Fonda Speedway Hall of Fame with the exception of Gallup as of this date. Danish, Corey, Shoemaker, and Herbert were all Track Champions at Fonda as well, although their wins and championships may not have come in cars owned by Trinkaus who had an integral part in making their racing careers a success.
Trinkaus was inducted into the New York State Stock Car Association (NYSSCA) Hall of Fame back in 1988 and the Fonda Speedway Hall of Fame in 2017.
Submitted By: Brett Deyo