A Dose Of Patriotism & Some Great Racing Action At Fonda
Column By: RAY ROGERS / RPW – FONDA, NY – To say Saturday evening’s card was stacked would be an understatement. Outlaw Midget Exhibition, Vintage Mods, Street Stocks, Pro Stocks, Sportsman, Big Block Modifieds and The Patriot Sprint Tour…all in one night. What a great way to kick off the Memorial day Weekend!
As I strolled down pit road, I could tell the night’s racing was gonna be one to remember. A stellar field was assembling, including Jimmy Horton, Stewart Friesen, Jeff Trombley, Danny Varin and Jessica Friesen, who was making her return to the Fonda Speedway in a Sprint car.
One driver, in particular, that stood out to me was the wheelman of the Blue Johnstown NAPA #2 of young Jack Lehner. Jack is testing the waters of the Small Block ranks this season and plans to run all the King Of Dirt Series races in a 358 modified. It’s great to see young talent coming up in the sport and I think this young fireball is one to watch.
A little further down the road, I came upon Josh Coonradt and Ivan Joslin who were trading jabs and having a laugh. Both drivers have stepped up their game and have been contenders every week this season in the pro stock division. The two of them were feeling pretty good hoping Kenny Gates would be starting far behind them in the feature tonight.
On my way out I had one more stop to make, I had to check in with Sportsman pilot Brian Pessolano. Brian sat out last week due to some back issues.
“I’m a bit sore, but I am good to go,” he said. “We have my Riley Mortuary hot rod with us tonight so we should be good”
I was glad to see him feeling better and excited to get back in the car.
Before things got underway, I headed to the Speedway Museum to catch up with my “Family,” but what really caught my attention was the #22 Champ Car from Dave Lape’s personal collection that was on display.
“This is the same car I won back-to-back championships in ’91 and ’92,” he said. “It was one of the last Champ Cars I built.”
If you’re a fan of the rich history of the Track of Champions make sure you stop in and check it out, doors open every Saturday At 3pm and there is always something neat to see.
Once the heat races started, things really picked up. Modified heat winners were Bobby Varin, Josh Hohenfort, Scott Huber. Sportsman heats went to Nick Scavia, Adam McAuliffe and Chad Edwards while Pro stock winners were Chuck Dumblewski and Luke Horning.
The Patriot Sprint Tour had their turn at the super fast 1/2 mile and their heat winners were Steve Poirier, Josh Pieniazek, and Bobby Varin. The Evingham Site Excavation Dash 4 Cash presented by Dover Brake Supply winner was Billy VanInwegen and the B-Main went to Jordan Thomas.
The street stock feature winner was Cliff Haslun, Classics on dirt Vintage Modified feature went to Frank Blanchard and the rookie sportsman winner was EJ McAuliffe. I caught up with EJ shortly after his first win ever in a race car. He was treating his crew chief to some fries and a pop.
“Running Friday’s has helped me a lot,” he said with a sheepish grin. “I think I have the hang of it.”
Big brother Adam better take notice. Young EJ may be knocking soon.
Prior to the main events of the evening Promotor, Pete Demitraszek had some heartfelt words paying tribute to our veterans and giving us all a sense of patriotism. It’s something we all need every now and again to keep us humble.
Kenny Gates continued his winning streak with his 4th Pro Stock feature win of the year at Fonda. He was followed to the line by Luke Horning, Chuck Dumblewski, Jim Normoyle, and AJ Walters.
The DIRTcar Big Block Modified feature winner was the “Apollo Rocket” Josh Hohenforst, Bobby Varin was second with Stewart Friesen third, Ronnie Johnson fourth and Tim Fuller rounded out the top Five.
The Patriot Sprint A-main was the feature event of the night and Jared Zimbardi claimed another A-Main win, making it three on the circuit this season. Steve Poirier was second, Danny Varin fought his way to third, Cory Sparks and Bobby Varin completed the top Five. Jessica Friesen was just out of the top five finishing 6th.
The final race of the night was a good one for sure, Cody Clark found himself in victory lane after an up and down battle to the finish. Nick Scavia finished second, Rocky Warner worked his way to third after a 12th place start, Adam McAuliffe and Brian Pessolano both scored top five finishes.
With my girlfriend getting sleepy, we said our goodbyes to everyone, and pointed the Chevy toward Amsterdam. I felt a real sense of gratitude, grateful for those who gave us everything so we could all enjoy an exciting night at the races together.
