RPW Exclusive: Brett Deyo Had A Good 2018; Adds More For ’19; Set To Lead Fonda Into The Future

Column By: ROBERT SYMONDS / RPW – FONDA , NY – Despite the constant battle for good racing weather, Brett Deyo, along with the Georgetown Speedway and the Short Track Super Series, deemed 2018 to be another successful year. Finishing out the year with a series record 77 cars entered for a single event at the Hard Clay Finale at the Orange County Fair Speedway, Deyo reflected back on 2018.

“It was a good year besides the weather,” Deyo stated in a Tuesday afternoon phone interview. “We had a lot of new winners, a lot of great highlights, just had to dodge rain drops.”

Deyo also recollected and echoed the fact that, despite the rain, it was still “the richest paying season in Short Track Super Series history,” which is a great fact to reiterate.

Looking ahead to 2019, Deyo recently announced that he is taking over the Fonda Speedway, securing a three-year lease agreement with the Fonda Fair Bord, beginning in 2019. Disclosed to Race Pro Weekly, Deyo said the meeting with the Board seemed a little better this time around, remembering some of the board members from three years previous when he had tried to get a lease that was ultimately given to Pete Demitraszek.

“It is a big responsibility, simply for what it is already…a premier race track,” he said when asked about committing to the speedway in 2019.

Opened in 1953, Fonda is deemed as The Track of Champions with a Hall of Fame located right on the track grounds.

Just a handful of days after securing a lease for the famed track, Deyo went right to work. A new website was constructed, articles written, meetings with the staff were held and he began discussions about revampment for how to make the track a success. After news broke about him taking over the helm, racers, fans, and media all shared the story on social media hoping it will bring racers and more fans back to the famed half-mile dirt oval that is located less than an hour from New York’s capital.

Also announced recently was the payout structures for several divisions at the speedway, including the Modifieds, Sportsman, and Pro Stocks. In one of the biggest announcements for next season the Modified purse pays out more than $12,000 and the Sportsman purse was also really impressive with about $4,000 to pay out as well.

Deyo has also released some quick specs for the Modified division. Changing things up in 2019, Fonda American Racer will be the tire of choice with Sunoco Race Fuels powering the drivers to victory. Deyo is going to allow a three-week “burn-off” for any driver who has Hoosier tires to start the next race season before they buy new American Racers to offset the tire changes for 2019.

“The buzz about the news has been good,” he said.

Through all the changes and buzz about them, Deyo is really optimistic he has begun to make the right changes to turn the track around and help bring back the fans and drivers. Deyo listed many goals for 2019, but topping the list is to bring back the drivers and fans.

“Our goal is three hours,” he said. “Having a three-hour show each week is great for the fans. This way they can do what they need to after the races have completed, whether it’d be to hangout with other fans, go to the pits and see their favorite driver(s) or drive home.”

Deyo will not only be running the Fonda next season. He will continue to run the Short Track Super Series and Georgetown as well. All this work does not pose a problem for the promoter from Delaware.

“It is a six hour drive to Fonda from Delaware, but I plan to spend a majority of my time at Fonda and coordinate my time around that,” he said. “Georgetown still runs specials-only events which has worked great for that track.”

The Short Track Super Series has both a North and South Series which has proven successful for drivers and series officials alike. Deyo also mentioned he will work around tour dates with the series but focusing on Fonda for next season is his priority.

Through all the previous work in motorsports that Brett Deyo has been successful at, whether it’d be the Short Track Super Series, Thunder Mountain Speedway, or even pioneering his own motorsports media company, we may see a positive shift at the Fonda Speedway in 2019 and years to come.