“My” Fonda Speedway Support Division Top 25: Part 1

Column By: TOBY LAGRANGE / RPW – FONDA, NY – When the Fonda Speedway was revived in 1953, in what us Fonda Fanatics call the Modern Era, there was only one division on the card – the Modifieds. The idea of a weekly support division was blasphemy to many however in 1965 the Fonda Speedway did add a second division, the Sportsman.

The “Sportsman” ran with the mighty Modifieds on a weekly basis, crowning their own champions. Three different drivers were crowned champion during those early days with Kenny Shoemaker (1965), Bill Wimble (1966) and Maynard Forrette (1967) all bringing home the hardware.

Following the 1967 season there would be no more Sportsman division until 1987 however a separate and popular division would be added. The Late Model division became an official second division at the Track of Champions in 1968 with Norm Moyer being crowned the first track champion. The Late Model division ran one race in 1963 as well.

Once the Late Model division hit the track, the Fonda Speedway would host at least one support division on a weekly basis all the way up until present day. It is only fitting that with more than 50 seasons of support division racing in the Track of Champions history book that some of those drivers be remembered and recognized.

Way back when I first started writing about local racing I ranked my Top 25 Fonda Speedway drivers. Now 15 plus years later I am ready to do it again, only this time I will spotlight the Top 25 Support Division drivers at the Fonda Speedway.

I want to make something clear before you read on, this is my opinion. It is not an official track ranking or some scientific discovery, it is my thoughts on being a Fonda Fanatic and attendee (Announcer, Media Member, Fan) for 33 of my 38 years on earth.

To create my list, I took into consideration the following criteria – statistics (total feature wins, track championships, wins and titles per division), what the driver meant to the division(s) that they competed in and the good old eye test. With top five finishes and other statistics not available for all support division events, these were the only statistics that would be universally available for everyone.

What follows is positions 25 down to 11 and my honorable mentions. I will publish positions 1-10 next week. Please remember that this listing is based solely on their support division careers and not their Modified or 358 Modified careers.

Honorable Mentions

The following dozen drivers are my Honorable Mentions. They all had really good support division careers at Fonda however fell just a little short in making it in my top 25.

John Babcock (Street Stock – 26 Feature Wins)
Jeremy Cramer (I.M.C.A. Modified – 20 Feature Wins, 3 Track Championships)
Jay Blesser (Late Model – 19 Feature Wins)
John Scarborough (Sportsman – 19 Feature Wins, 2 Track Championships)
Chris Morris (Pro Stock – 18 Feature Wins, 2 Track Championships)
Randy Glenski (Late Model – 16 Feature Wins, 1 Track Championship)
Steve Bidwell (I.M.C.A. Modified/Pro Stock – 16 Feature Wins, 2 Track Championships)
Rick Achzet (Pro Stock – 15 Feature Wins, 2 Track Championships)
Eric Arell (Pro Stock – 13 Feature Wins, 2 Track Championships)
Jack Cottrell (Late Model – 11 Feature Wins, 1 Track Championship)
Jimmy Davis (Sportsman – 11 Feature Wins, 2 Track Championships)
Lester Dieterle (Pro Stock – 11 Feature Wins, 2 Track Championships)

#25 (tie) – Cassidy Wilson & Rob Noviczski
I am not huge on ties however there are two of them on my list and this is one of them. I could not leave either Cassidy or Rob off my list and I couldn’t bump anyone else either. Both drivers are from the full fender ranks and have two track championships. Noviczski won his two titles in the Pro Stock division (2000, 2001) and has 21 career feature wins (all Pro Stock). Wilson claimed his titles in the Street Stock division (2009, 2011) and has 28 career feature wins (all Pro Stock). Wilson is still active after moving to the Pro Stock division a few seasons ago. With some more wins and certainly a track title he could move up my list.

#24 – Ken Hollenbeck
Today’s race fan knows Kenny as the dominator of the Four Cylinder division at the Track of Champions. While he does have 37 career Four Cylinder feature wins and five division championships (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017) he also has three more feature wins in the Street Stock division. His wins came in the early years of the current Street Stock division.

#23 – Tim Dwyer
Fulton County’s Tim Dwyer has had a successful career in both the Modified and Sportsman divisions at the Fonda Speedway. He makes my list due to his three track titles in the Sportsman division. His championships all came in the 358 Sportsman division and were spread out a bit – 1993, 1994 and 2003. Dwyer has 11 career Sportsman feature wins at Fonda. With a few more wins in the division (or another support division) he would rank higher on my list.

#22 – Norm Moyer
Central New York’s Norm Moyer was the Late Model divisions first champion. Moyer’s 1968 title was followed by two more in the division (1970, 1971). Nicknamed Moyer the Mover due to his moving, building and rigging business, Norm finished his Fonda career with 22 feature wins, all in the Late Model division. He is ranked third on the all-time Late Model feature winners list at Fonda. Norm is one of three members of my Top 25 that are looking down from above on our weekly racing each weekend.

#21 – Phlan Hart
Cranberry Creek, Mayfield’s Phlan Hart comes in at number 21 on my list. The all-time fan favorite spent his Fonda Speedway career in the Pro Stock (originally called Street Stock) division where he racked up 25 feature wins and the 1995 track championship. Hart currently ranks fifth on the all-time Fonda Speedway Pro Stock Feature Winners list. Hart was also well known throughout the Capital District in other forms of motorsports.

#20 – Mark Mortensen
The first of the active Sportsman division drivers to make the list, Mark Mortensen raced his way into my top 25 via 26 feature wins at the Fonda Speedway and a track championship. Mortensen is one of a dozen drivers who have won feature events in both the 358 Sportsman and Crate Sportsman divisions and only one of seven to have won multiple events in both divisions. Mortensen currently has eight 358 Sportsman feature wins at Fonda and 18 Crate Sportsman feature wins. His 2011 track championship came in the Crate Sportsman division.

#19 – Pete Broderson
A career full fender division driver, Pete Broderson has left his mark on the Fonda Speedway in the Pro Stock ranks. Once he made Fonda his home Broderson was one of the drivers to beat each and every week in the Pro Stock division. In all he has pulled into victory lane 24 times in the Pro Stock division and earned three Pro Stock track championships (2012, 2013, 2015). Broderson currently ranks sixth on the Fonda Pro Stock All-Time Feature Winners list.

#18 – Bob Van Aernam
The late Bob Van Aernam was the very popular friendly face during the early days of the current Street Stock division. His familiar number 91 visited victory lane 29 times at Fonda and propelled him to the 2003 and 2004 Street Stock Track Championships. He currently sits fourth on the tracks all-time feature winners list for Street Stocks and is in a five-driver tie for third for the most division track championships. Van Aernam passed away in 2005 and was a big supporter of the Street Stock division not only as a driver but as a sponsor in the form of his Harry’s Auto business.

#17 – Rob Van Aernam
The son in the father-son Van Aernam duo, Rob Van Aernam enters my Top 25 in position number 17. The Johnstown driver has turned laps at the Track of Champions in the Sportsman, Pro Stock and I.M.C.A. Modified divisions but it is his success in the Street Stock ranks that puts him soundly on my list. With four track championships (1998, 1999, 2010, 2013) and 38 career feature wins Van Aernam is a sure future track Hall of Fame inductee. He ranks third on the Fonda Speedway Street Stock All-Time Feature Winners list and has the most divisional championships in the Street Stock divisions two-decade history.

#16 – Dave Horning, Jr.
From one son of a father-son duo to another, Dave Horning, Jr. enters the list as one of the most dominating drivers of the current Street Stock division. In all, the second-generation driver has 51 feature wins which places him second on the all-time feature winners list. He also is one of the five drivers that have two track championships (2000, 2001). During the first decade of the Street Stock division the younger Horning was the driver to beat on a consistent basis.

#15 – Nick Stone
The Manimal has been a dominant Pro Stock driver at the Fonda Speedway for quite a while. While Nick Stone has been dominant at times, his ranking stands at 15 due to only one-track championship. That 2014 title shares a resume that includes 42 career feature wins. He currently ranks fourth on the Fonda Speedway All-Time Pro Stock Feature Winners list. Stone is the proprietor of the Manimal Chassis which is popular in the Pro Stock division.

#14 – George Catanzano
Driving the always sharp looking Z1, George Catanzano took the Fonda Speedway by storm during the I.M.C.A./UMP Modified decade long run at the half-mile. To say that the Hudson Valley driver dominated the division when he was a regular was an understatement. His three track championships (2003, 2005, 2010) and 52 career feature wins put him solidly on my list. His 52 wins rank him first on the divisions all-time feature winners list and are nearly twice as many as the next driver on the list – Danny Ballard. There are two reasons why Catanzano is not ranked higher on my list, first he only competed in one division and two, the I.M.C.A. Modified division was not always the healthiest when it came to car counts. Either way Catanzano should be a future track Hall of Famer.

#13 – John McAuliffe
The Blade, John McAuliffe enters my Top 25 at number 13. McAuliffe is one of those drivers who not only have won in both the 358 Sportsman and Crate Sportsman divisions but has multiple wins in each. In all McAuliffe has visited victory lane 41 times at the Fonda Speedway with 34 of them coming in the 358 Sportsman division. He also has three track championships at Fonda, with those occurring in 2001, 2004 and 2005. He sits third on the overall Sportsman feature winners list at Fonda.

#12 – Kenny Martin, Jr.
The driver known as Krazy Kenny makes the top dozen drivers on my list as one of the all-time favorites at the Fonda Speedway. Martin has visited victory lane in both the Pro Stock and Sportsman divisions. His overall feature win total at the track sits at 51, breaking down to 50 Pro Stock wins and one Sportsman feature win. He currently sits third on the all-time feature winners list for the Pro Stocks and has three track championships under his helmet (1996, 1997, 2006). He is one Pro Stock win away from tying Todd Hoffman for second on the all-time list.

#11 – Mike Romano
While best known for his Hall of Fame Modified career at the Fonda Speedway, Mike Romano was also a support division dominator. While doing double duty in the Modified and 320 Modified divisions in the mid-1980’s, Romano racked up 21 feature wins in the now extinct 320 Modified division. He also scored the 1985 and 1986 track championships. He is the all-time 320 Modified feature event winner at Fonda, more than doubling the total of the second-place driver on that list (Paul Parker). Romano is the only driver to win multiple titles in the divisions six years of crowning champions at the track.

Please remember that my Top 25 is truly just that, mine. Next Thursday please log back on to Race Pro Weekly to see the top ten positions in my Top 25 Support Division Drivers of All-Time at the Fonda Speedway.

Comments can reach me at tobylagrange@hotmail.com or via Facebook.