This Week Is Championship Saturday At Fonda; Who’s Gonna Live Out A Dream?

Story By: RON SZCZERBA / FONDA SPEEDWAY – FONDA, NY – This Saturday, August 15 a special racing program will take place at the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway.

Championship Night will crown champions in all racing divisions including the Sunoco Modifieds, the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman, the Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman, the Algonkin Motel Pro Stocks, the Robert’s Towing & Recovery Street Stocks, and the Four Cylinder Cruisers both single and dual cam.

The history of the Fonda Speedway makes it a special place to win a Track Championship and it is a prestigious award honoring drivers and crews who have worked hard all season long to achieve this goal. This year has been a different year at Fonda with the COVID-19 pandemic shortening the racing season and changing the face of racing at the “Track of Champions” to only a nine-race season to crown the champions.

All the above divisions will be in action at Fonda on Saturday along with the Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series (MVVDMS) who will also crown Track Champions in their organization. Gates will open at 4:00 p.m. with hot laps at 6:00 p.m. and racing at 7:00 p.m. Grandstands and the Infield Drive-In for this event will be closed per New York State regulations but the event will be streamed LIVE exclusively on Dirt Track Digest TV (www.dirttrackdigest.tv).

A rather unique idea put forth by Fonda Speedway Victory Lane Announcer Mimi Lazzaro called “Mimi’s Bounty” will be up for grabs for any driver who can beat Stewart Friesen in the Sunoco Modified feature event on Saturday evening, providing Friesen is still in the race at the checkered flag on the lead lap.

The bounty as of the writing of this press release is up to $1,400 but if you would like to get involved there is still time just get ahold of Mimi on Facebook! If Friesen wins the event on Saturday evening at Fonda however, half the money will go to Friesen and the other half will go to the Crossroads Center for Children which is an Autism Awareness establishment in Schenectady, NY where Stewart and Jessica Friesen’s son Parker has attended.

Current people and businesses taking part in “Mimi’s Bounty” include Mimi Lazzaro herself, Gary Yurgans, Amanda’s Scentastical Scents, James Carroll, Rick Eignor, David Herrick, Jeff Carter, Derrick McGrew Jr. Racing, Chris Moore, “Momma Squirrel” Deb Ward, Joseph Laska, Dirt Track Digest, Gillespie Automotive, Fonda’s own 50/50 Girls, Mike Bohling, TKS Painting Services, Mimi’s Mom Sheila, the Grossetti Family, JoJo & George Bills, and JZ Loves Gasketcase.

Also just announced by Fonda Speedway promoter Brett Deyo is a Pro Stock Dash for Cash sponsored by Tom Hall and Mike Sowle who sit in the first turn tower every Saturday at Fonda. The purse for the Pro Stock Dash will be $800 with two cars from each of the heat races redrawing for a starting position in the six-lap event.

Payouts for the Pro Stock Dash will be as follows:

With two heat races (four cars) – $400, $200, $100, & $100

With three heat races (six cars) – $300, $200, $100, $100, $50, & $50

Looking at the point in all divisions going into Saturday evening here is the top five in each division and if they have a Track Championship in that division or any others at Fonda in the past it will be noted in parenthesis.

Sunoco Modifieds:

Michael Maresca 296 points, Stewart Friesen 290 points (Modified Track Championships at Fonda in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015), Rocky Warner 290 points (Modified Track Championship in 2019; Crate 602 Sportsman Track Championships in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017; Pro Stock Championship in 2011: and Street Stock Championships in 2005 as Co-Champion and 2007), Matt DeLorenzo 280 points (Modified Track Championship in 2007, 358-Modified Championships in 2004 and 2006), David Schilling 246 points, and Modified Rookie Adam McAuliffe 235 points.

Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman:

Chad Edwards 326 points (Crate 602 Sportsman Track Championship in 2018), Joe Williams 302 points, JaMike Sowle 282 points, Brian Calabrese 270 points, and Brian Borst 264 points (358-Modified Track Championship in 2003).

Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman:

Brett Mortensen 270 points, Dylan Eldred 268 points, John Young 260 points (Street Stock Track Championships in 2017 and 2018), Kyle Dingman 220 points, and Harold Robitaille 210 points.

Algonkin Pro Stocks:

Nick Stone 321 points (Pro Stock Track Championship in 2014), Josh Coonradt 281 points (Street Stock Track Championship in 2016), Kenny Gates 271 points (Pro Stock Track Championships in 2004, Co-Champion in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2017, and 2018), Luke Horning 262 (Pro Stock Track Championship in 2019), and Beau Ballard 231 points.

Robert’s Towing & Recovery Street Stocks:

Jason Samrov 270 points (Street Stock Track Championship in 2019), Dave Horning Sr. 264 points (Street Stock Track Championships in 2006, 2014, and 2015), Al Relyea 248 points, Lou Gancarz 244 points, and Michael Arnold 240 points.

Four Cylinder Cruisers:

Single Cam – Ken Hollenback 228 points (Four Cylinder Track Championships in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2019) Zach McSpirit 210 points, Wayne Russell 190 points, Shawn Hemstreet 166 points, and Mike Lanoux 156 points.

Dual Cam Top 2 only – John Napoli 192 points, and David Peek-Britten 158 points.