‘The Jack’ Honors Fonda & Super DIRTcar Series Legend With 100-Lap Super DIRT Week Qualifier
Story By: JOE GRABIANOWSKI / DIRTCAR – CONCORD, NC – On Wednesday, August 1, the Big-Block Modifieds of the Super DIRTcar Series will go 100 laps on the historic half-mile Fonda Speedway.
Teams, drivers, and fans alike will pay tribute to Jack Johnson to honor his illustrious career. “The Jack” is a NAPA Super DIRT Week XLVII Qualifier, meaning the winner or the highest finishing non-guaranteed starter will be given a starting spot at this year’s Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux 200 at Oswego Speedway during NAPA Super DIRT Week. So far, Stewart Friesen, Max McLaughlin, and defending NAPA Super DIRT Week Champion Matt Sheppard have secured guaranteed starting positions.
Jumpin’ Jack Johnson has one of the most storied careers in dirt modified racing in the Northeast. The legendary pilot of the orange no. 12a scored four Super DIRTcar Series Championships, his last one coming in 1988. He sits seventh in all-time Series wins with 31. Ransomville Speedway, the Niagara County half-mile, was the site of his first Series win in 1973, and on June 14, 2001 Johnson scored his final Series victory at the Orange County Fair Speedway.
Johnson is known for his smooth, fast, and tenacious racing style. His skills were a match for the famously challenging Moody Mile at the New York State Fairgrounds. In 1984, Johnson swept both races at The Mile. He took the checkered flag in the July race, and then followed that up in the Fall by becoming the Super DIRT Week XIII Champion. While touring with the Series, Johnson also had time to dominate at Fonda Speedway. He took eleven track championships between 1975 and 1996.
The weekly DIRTcar Modified drivers at Fonda Speedway always give the invading Super DIRTcar Series regulars tough competition, including last year’s Fonda Speedway Series winner Bobby Varin. Last year the Big-Block Modifieds circulated 100 laps around the historic Fonda facility, and it was a surprise father/son finish. Bobby Varin took the trip to Victory Lane with his son Danny Varin running in his tire tracks for second place. It was a heartbreaker for Series driver and Fonda Speedway regular Tim Fuller, as his right rear tire failed on the final lap sending him behind the wall. Fuller, who is running sixth in Series points, will certainly want a Series win at Fonda to cancel out that particular memory. The current top five in Fonda Speedway points are Bobby Varin, Josh Hohenforst, Jeremy Wilder, Tim Fuller, and Rocky Warner. Series stars will have to go through them to get into Victory Lane.
Brett The Jet Hearn is on top of the all-time Series wins list with eight, however Fonda ringer Stewart Friesen holds the track record with an 18.770 second lap. Matt Sheppard still leads in the points standings, while young guns Max McLaughlin and Erick Rudolph ride second and third hot on his heels. Joining the Big-Block Modifieds on the card are DIRTcar Pro Stocks as well as a Street Stock Challenge.
