The Mortensen / Sanganetti Fundraiser: Result Of Friends Helping Each Other

Column By: RON SZCZERBA / SPECIAL TO RPW – ALTAMONT, NY – On Saturday evening March 25, the 1M Mortensen Motorsports and #34 Sanganetti Motorsports Racing Teams joined together for their annual benefit at the Settles Hill Tree Farm & Banquet Hall in Altamont, NY. Over 140 people attended the benefit, which featured a barbeque chicken dinner for the adults and a chicken fingers/French fry dinner for the children.

DJ Johnny B was on hand providing music to dance to and there was a 50/50 raffle and a raffle of various beautiful prizes donated by various people and businesses, which featured many homemade items as well.

While on the race track drivers may be fierce competitors but at benefits such as this one they come together to help each other out with various drivers such as Ricky Quick, Jeremiah Munson, Aaron Burton, Cody Bleau, and Cliff Haslun all supporting the fundraising efforts of their competitors from the Mortensen/Sanganetti Racing Teams including Mark Mortensen, Vinnie Sanganetti, and Jimmy Davis. All of the drivers played a game of musical chairs, which was eventually won by Jimmy Davis.

HOW IT ALL GOT STARTED
Vinnie and Mark have been friends for quite a while now and one year at a mid-summer party for Mark’s wife Alisha’s graduation from nursing school they talked about a racing fundraiser.

“I always wanted to do a fundraiser while Mark had already been doing one so I said let’s try doing one together and see what happens so we got this going (the dinner dance fundraiser) and it seems to be working out pretty well,” Sanganetti said.

Vinnie started racing in 2005 and last year in 2016 had a new car with a fresh motor and had high expectations of himself for the season. But they had trouble from the get go and he was so frustrated with the car that he asked his good friend Jimmy Davis who has had a lot of success in the sport and at the Fonda Speedway to drive the car for a couple weeks to see if he could figure it out.

“I sent Jimmy a text on Father’s Day asking if he wanted to drive the car for a couple of weeks and tell me honestly if it was me or the car,” Sanganetti said. “The first night out he finished second with the car which ended up being a fluke because he started up front so Jimmy didn’t think that it was me.”

Davis ran the car a few more weeks and it had an evil “push” to it so he told Vinnie that it definitely wasn’t him it was the racecar. So the older 2010 Teo was brought out for Davis to finish the season with as plans were made for the 2017 season. It was decided that a brand new DKM “Cyclone” chassis would be ordered which the race team got and was at the car show last week at the Via Port Rotterdam Mall and was also on display out in front of the Settles Hill Tree Farm & Banquet Hall for the benefit.

“We have the new “Cyclone” chassis with a fresh motor and the 2010 Teo is ready to go with a motor in it that only has around 800 laps on it so we are going to start out the year at Fonda with Jimmy in the Teo car,” Sanganetti said. “Once the spring time track conditions get worked out we will bring the new car out and have the Teo car as a backup or for me to jump into whenever I want to.”

MORTENSEN LOOKING FORWARD TO A GOOD SEASON AFTER STRUGGLING IN 2016
The driver of the #1M sportsman car Mark Mortensen echoed what Sanganetti said regarding getting together as friends to do the benefit.

“Vinnie & I have known each other quite a while now,” he said. “We met through racing at the car show one year, hung out one night, and have been friends ever since.”

Mark had done a couple of bowling tournaments prior to getting together with Vinnie to do the dinner dance type of fundraiser.

“We decided to have a double one to get more people involved and that is where we are now,” Mortensen said.

After struggling through most of the 2016 racing season at Fonda before ending the season with two feature wins, Mortensen is set for 2017 with plans to run at Fonda and the King of Dirt “KOD” Sportsman Series with the same car that he finished the 2016 season with.

“Right now the plan is to run Fonda and the KOD Series and to work on the car to try and make it better,” he said.

Mortensen has a total of eight feature wins in the former “open” sportsman division at Fonda to go along with 17 wins in the 602-sportsman division, which is currently on top of the all-time win list. He was also the 2011 Fonda Speedway 602 Sportsman Track Champion.

DAVIS VERY THANKFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY IN THE SANGANETTI #34 CAR
Jimmy Davis is definitely a driver that has been very successful during his career but has also seen the ups and downs of the sport as well. After being out of a ride for a little over a year, he is very thankful for the ride in the Sanganetti owned car.

“It’s a great deal for me,” Davis said. “Vinnie, Tim (sponsor Tim and Madeline Deats of Thermo-Control Wood Burning Boilers) and everybody involved in this organization have been great to work with. They give me free reign as far as keeping the racecar up to my place and being able to maintain it and set it up the way that I want to. This is the perfect deal for me.”

Davis plans to start the 2017 season out at Fonda and go from there.

“We will see how things go there and if the surface isn’t to our liking meaning if it is too fast and we are wrecking stuff we will find another place to race,” he said. “But right now we are looking at Fonda and maybe venture out a little bit, he has two race cars so maybe we can do some other select races.”

Davis is a two time track champion at Fonda in the former “open” sportsman division back in 2000 and 2002 and has a total of 11 feature wins at Fonda in that class. Davis also has a total of 10 career feature wins in the modified division at Fonda.

The heart of a racing team comes from family and sponsors with the Sanganetti Motorsports family including Vinnie, his wife Allison, their daughter Brooklyn, and another child that they have on the way very soon along with Vinnie’s parents Joe and Judy Sanganetti.

Sponsorship on the #34 car comes from Thermo-Control Wood Burning Boilers, Central Self-Storage, Flower Ally, Locomotions Sports Bar & Grill, Oakhill Landscaping, Righi’s Redemption Center, and Gaige Farms. The crew on the car consists of Dave Gregorek (Moon).

The Mortensen Motorsports family includes Mark and his wife Alisha, car owner Bonnie Mortensen and her husband Ron Szczerba, crew chief and Marks brother Brett and his girlfriend Kaitlyn, Mark & Brett’s father Bob and his wife Alice, while the crew consists of Brendan Gibbons, David Reedy, and Derrick Andersen.

Sponsors on the #1M car for 2017 include Jumpin’ Jack’s Drive-In of Scotia; Socha Plaza; Gibbons Motorsports; Benjamin Moore & Co. Since 1883; Countryside Stove & Chimney; 1st National Bank of Scotia; Your Hometowne Paper; Chris Kelley Carpentry of Galway; Napa Schenectady Truck & Auto Supply; Howard Mack, Esquire; Ken & Cheryl Crispin; Brent & Kelly Harvey; Village Paint and Decorating; Bill Terry; Justin & Cheryl Cappon; Gabriele’s Supermarket of Scotia; Meridian Construction Co of Scotia; BC Designs; Lenny Weiss Construction; Gloria Lockhart; Ed Krzysko; Adirondack Feed Center; Riverside Pizza of Amsterdam; Bill McGaffin Photography; Bonded Roofing of Scotia; Bobco Video; Joey Budka, B&H Auto; Settles Hill Tree Farm & Banquet House; R3 Graphics; Boyd’s Motorworks; the Stop ALD Foundation Dawson Koehler; Schenectady Eagles Aries 514; Amped Up; and Zanella’s Market Hill Service & Auto Sales

Also for 2017, Mark will be racing in Loving Memory of: Uncle George Bessette, Uncle Bruce Mortensen, Mike Martin, Danny Ody, and Jack Lockhart.