360 Sprints Have A Rich History At The Fonda Speedway

Column By: TOBY LAGRANGE / RPW – FONDA, NY – There have been a lot of 360 Sprint Car races held at the Fonda Speedway. Those events have been brought to the Fonda Faithful by a variety of different sanctioning bodies and some without sanction. With all due respect to the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints, Patriot Sprint Tour and the now gone ELS group, no group/club/series has as much meaning and deeply grown roots to the Track of Champions as the United Racing Club (URC).

The United Racing Club dates back nearly to the start of the modern era of the Fonda Speedway. It was a Memorial Day staple at the Track of Champions for decades. As a kid, I remember the anticipation of the winged warriors converging on the big half-mile for their usually once-a-year appearance. It wasn’t just the speed but the uniqueness of a Sprint Car that drew my desire. The oversized right wheel, the tiny wings (a once staple of the URC) and the long distances that most of the teams traveled left many a child in awe.

My mother, cousin and I would always get to the track early when I was growing up in the 1980’s and into the early to mid-1990’s. We would be the first of our group in the grandstands to get there, largely because I enjoyed watching the haulers come in. This was especially true in the mid to late 1980’s when the URC came to town. Seeing the license plates of Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and other states gave the night a big event feeling.

On Saturday night, the 2017 version of the URC Tour will make its long-awaited return to the banks of the Mohawk River. The club last appeared at the Fonda Speedway in 2005. In the more than a decade since they last appeared, the club has gone through some changes. It was taken over and turned into the United Racing Company (URC) and then after a reorganized United Racing Club (URC) formed, it returned to the United Racing Club that we are used to.

Last Saturday night after I finished the victory lane interviews and reminded the Fonda crowd that the URC would be on tap this Saturday night, I stood in the infield, on the old Drag Strip reminiscing about the URC of my childhood. Drivers such as Greg Coverdale, Dave Kelly, the late Kramer Williamson, Dave McGough and my favorite growing up – Glenn Fitzcharles each were nearly as well known by this kid as Jack Johnson, Lou Lazzaro, Dave Lape and the rest of the D.I.R.T Modified contingent I saw each Saturday night.

As the I sat there on the drag strip and haulers started to leave my thoughts turned to some of the notable car owners. Owners such as Henry Fenimore (Williamson, Fitzcharles, Coverdale), Vince Gangemi (Williamson), Mike Bostic (Mike Haggenbottom) and Kathy Palladino (Sean Michael, Brian Seidel) were names mentioned often in victory lane and during their appearances.

In all there have been 52 appearances by the United Racing Club at the Fonda Speedway since they made their debut in 1956. This ranks the Track of Champions eighth on the all-time events held list with the URC behind the Delaware Int’l Speedway/U.S. 13 (183 events), Bridgeport Speedway (150 events), Flemington Speedway (113 events), Grandview Speedway (92 events), Orange County Fair Speedway (71 events), Williams Grove Speedway (60 events) and the Selinsgrove Speedway (54 events).

Fonda also holds the record for the most seasons with a race at 43. The Delaware Int’l Speedway and Orange County Fair Speedway are second with 38. Fonda is also tied with the Delaware Int’l Speedway for the most consecutive seasons with a race at 37. The club traditionally held events only on Memorial Day Weekend at Fonda however there were nine seasons where two events were held (1970-1971-1981-1982-1983-1984-1993-1994-1996).

The 2017 season marks the clubs 70th anniversary. Heading into Saturday night at Fonda, the URC has held 1,595 races at 142 different tracks in 17 states and two Canadian provinces. Ten of those events were held this season with A-Main wins going to Curt Michael (Bridgeport), Davie Franek (Selinsgrove, Delaware Int’l), Mark Bitner (Big Diamond), Mark Smith (Bedford, Williams Grove, Selinsgrove), Steven Drevicki (Path Valley), Nate Snyder (Selinsgrove) and most recently, Josh Weller at the Bridgeport Speedway this past Tuesday night. Drevecki’s win at Path Valley was in a wingless event.

While Saturday nights event is not a high profile, over sized purse event, it will mean a lot to many of the Fonda Faithful. Most of us grew up seeing the URC each season and were less than happy when they were replaced on the schedule. This Saturday night will mark the homecoming of sort for a series that has been gone much too long.