URC Sprint Event At Fonda Was A Heck Of A Show Despite Car Count

Column By: TOBY LAGRANGE / RPW – FONDA, NY – When the 2017 Fonda Speedway season schedule was released in March many of us Fonda Faithful noticed a date in July that we immediately circled.

This was the July 15th appearance by the United Racing Club (URC) Sprint Car Series. While the 360 Sprint Car division is a staple at the Track of Champions a few times each season, the URC had not made an appearance at the track since 2005.

The much-anticipated return of the club was, to be perfectly honest very disappointing. The management of the Fonda Speedway did everything they could to make the return a positive one for the track and the club. The purse was raised and a date was given at the request of the URC. However, one thing happened that took the air out of the balloon that was the club’s return. There was very little support from the drivers of the club.

In all, twelve drivers entered the 53rd URC event at Fonda. When the two heat races featuring six scheduled drivers in each rolled out onto the track, you could hear the disappointment in the large crowd. They expected more.

I understand that most of the club’s drivers come from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware and that the drive to get to Fonda, New York is less than short. However, for the betterment of the club they should have made the trek north. If they weren’t interested, they should have made it known to club officials before the club requested a date. Some chose to head to the Selinsgrove Speedway instead for a regular, 25 lap A-Main event. A total of 22 drivers entered that program.

Of those twelve drivers that entered the event, six would be considered local drivers or non-URC regulars. Those drivers – Cory Sparks, Bobby Varin, Danny Varin, Josh Pieniazek, Matt Tanner and Mike Kiser are not regulars in any series. They also made up five of the top six finishing positions and six of the top eight. The drivers representing URC (as either club regulars or have made previous URC starts this season) were Curt Michael, 2012 club champion Robbie Stillwaggon, Chris Coyle, Joe Kata, Scott Goodrich and Mark Sasso.

Sparks picked up the win over URC regular and nine time club champion Michael, Danny Varin, Tanner and Bobby Varin. The win for Sparks was the first for him in URC competition. It was at the last URC appearance at Fonda in 2005 that Sparks made his 360 Sprint Car debut.

While disappointed in the support from the race teams, I must give credit to the officials of the United Racing Club. For example, URC Race Director Matt Chambers apologized to us in the tower before the heat races began. He, like everyone was disappointed in the support from their teams. He also provided us with all of the information that we needed. Everyone at URC was great to work with.

Despite the car counts, I was excited to be able to call my first, full 360 Sprint Car A-Main. As a member of the Fonda Faithful, it meant a lot that my first 360 Sprint Car A-Main call came with the URC. After all, the URC has roots at Fonda dating back to nearly the beginning of the modern era in the mid-1950’s.

It was a lot of fun! As I mentioned on Facebook, I now know why announcers such as Mike Mallett (Lucas Oil ESS) love calling Sprint Car races so much. A big thank you to my announcing partner Jim King and Pete and Matt Demitraszek for allowing me to get back to calling races last Saturday night. It meant a lot to me and hopefully it will become a regular, weekly occurrence soon.

The racing itself was pretty good. The drivers who were there put on a great show for the pretty large crowd. Watching Sparks reel in Michael and make the pass to take the lead, and then pull away for the win was exciting. The duel between Danny and Bobby Varin and then ultimately Matt Tanner was as well.

Whether the United Racing Club gets to make their 54th appearance is up in the air, with that answer only being known by track and club management. One thing we do know is, no matter the car count, they do put on a heck of a show.