RPW Column: Ready For Change After 25; Kenny Tremont’s Forging Ahead In Racing Without Sponsor S&S Asphalt Paving

Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – WEST SAND LAKE, NY – Twenty-five years…a quarter of a century. That is a long time to be part of something, no matter how special it is.

For veteran racer Kenny Tremont, that’s what he’s had, since 1996, with long-time sponsor and partner, S&S Asphalt Paving.

However, sometimes, a change is needed, and in 2021, the multi-time Lebanon Valley & Albany-Saratoga Speedway Champion will get that.

Tremont, whose racecars had been taken care of by Gary Waters, Joe Matthews and Waters’ crew in their East Chatham, NY shop since 2015, has parted ways with the Kevin Starchak-owned business and will now be overseeing his complete operation once again, beginning this year.

“Everyone involved just decided it was time to go our separate ways,” Tremont said. “Kevin and everyone at S&S have been super to our program over the years as well as me personally. However, sometimes, a fresh perspective is needed and that’s what we’re going to for this season.”

With Tremont and his father, Ken Sr., taking back control of the operation, a renewed excitement has returned to the #115 camp.

“I’ve got a lot of my old team back and some new people that are coming in this year,” he said. “We’re looking forward to it, but I’m not going to lie, we’ve got our hands full trying to get everything ready for the season to get started in the spring.”

After 25 years with the S&S Asphalt logo emblazoned on his racecar, Tremont is quick to give thanks to Starchak the support he’s giving to his team for a quarter century.

“Kevin was a big part of the success that we’ve had,” he said. “He was behind us 100%. You couldn’t have asked for a better sponsor and partner. He’s a great person all the way around. Honestly, he just loves racing. He was a fan long before we knew him. He grew up at Danbury and has known about the sport for years. He’s just good for racing.”

What does Tremont, owner of 386 career feature wins, have in store for this coming year? Where will fans see him and the new combination compete?

“Our game plan right now will look a lot like previous seasons,” he said. “We’ll be at Albany-Saratoga on Friday’s and Lebanon Valley on Saturday’s. As of this moment, that’s all we are committed to doing. That’s all we have set in stone.”

Rifenburg Construction will be the team’s primary sponsor this season. Rifenburg has been with the Tremont’s since the early 2000’s. Other marketing partners such as Boomer’s Performance and Louvers Unlimited will also be part of the operation and Tremont is working to secure additional funding.

While it’s not definite as of right now, he believes Whalen Chevrolet will be back as part of the program next year and also has a lot of support from individuals who just want to help out and see the Tremont team succeed.

As for their equipment, Kenny and company will have had to start over fresh again. For the past few years, Starchak has owned the majority of the cars, so the team had to regroup.

“We’re going to have a brand new Bicknell for competition at Malta, with a Big Block,” he said. “We’re just hoping to improve on our results. For Saturday’s at the Valley, we’ll have another new Bicknell car. Hopefully we can do a little better there as well.”

The 2020 campaign was okay for Tremont as he did visit victory lane on four occasions. He grabbed two wins at the Valley and took home one checkered flag each at both Albany-Saratoga and Devil’s Bowl.

He finished fourth in points at the West Haven, VT track and fifth at the Valley last season. However, with a disappointing 12th place finish at Albany-Saratoga, 2020 just wasn’t up to the standards that Tremont has been accustomed to.

That’s what he’s hoping to correct.

“We won a couple so 2020 really wasn’t a bad year, so to speak, for us,” he said. “Obviously, we’re always looking for more and hopefully we can get back to consistent finishes and more victories.”

For Tremont, the track he needs to improve at the most compared to his 2020 results is Albany-Saratoga. Unlike previous seasons, last year wasn’t one the West Sand Lake, NY driver was accustomed to.

“What didn’t help was me wrecking our car up there early in the season,” he said. “That never helps anything so to be honest, how that affected the rest of our year, I’m not really sure. It definitely didn’t help but we did finish on a high note with a fourth during the Super DIRTcar Series OktoberFAST race there.”

Analyzing what went wrong doesn’t necessarily mean you can quickly correct a situation. That’s what hard work does, and the Tremont team has been doing just that this off-season.

“We can go back, look and think, well if I had done this different or that different, maybe the outcome could have changed,” he said. “However, we’re going to come at it from a different angle. My team is preparing this winter to come out of the gate strong and we’ll just see what happens.”

Now what type of expectations does Tremont have for his new operation in the new year?

“Whether it was with Kevin, or my father and myself, or now George Rifenburg, we’re disappointed unless we win the championship and win races,” he said. “That’s the way I’ve always looked at it. That’s our goal for this year but obviously, it doesn’t always happen that way. If you look back on your season and can say you ran well, were capable of winning and were right in the mix for wins and a title, that means a lot.”

Ultimately, that’s what Tremont wants…a shot at more good runs.

“We want to as competitive as possible,” he said. “Sometimes, luck doesn’t always go your way. Maybe part of the year, things just didn’t work out. That could be the difference between winning and not winning the championship. But you have to be competitive and that’s what I’m looking for.”

Even with the changes in his own racing plans, there’s one big part of the equation in 2021 that has Kenny extremely excited.

“My son, Montgomery, is going to be racing at Lebanon Valley in the 358-Modified class this yea,” he said. “He’ll have a brand new Bicknell too and I hope it works out for him. He’s just like me. He grew up at Lebanon and wants to try it, but I wanted him to learn as much as possible first at a place like Devil’s Bowl. Now, it might be time to let him see what he thinks of the Valley.”

When thoughts of another Tremont generation tackling the Valley’s high banks come to his mind, Kenny just smiles.

“I hope things go well,” he said. It’ll rely on how hard Montgomery wants to work at it. He’ll have a good opportunity but we’re going to take things race by race and see how they go. I believe in him and this will be a good chance for him to get his feet wet at Lebanon.”

Is he looking for Montgomery to continue the family tradition once he hangs up his helmet?

“I’ve never wanted to force racing on Montgomery or any of my kids really,” he said. “It was there for Cale (one of Ken’s other sons) and now Montgomery to get into. Heck, they could have already been the driver by now and I would have just been the mechanic. You’ve got to want to do this in order to be successful. If you don’t put in the effort, you’re not going to have the success. I don’t care who you are.”

Tremont himself has put in the work for several decades. With that, has he thought about how long it’ll be before he climbs from his racecar for one final time?

“Oh I have,” he said. “I take things year-by-year at this point. I mean, I don’t have to race. Of course, I would like to win a couple of the events that have eluded me over the years, but I’m just taking it year by year. It all depends. Does my dad still love it? Do we still have people supporting our team, both financially and physically? I’m still going to do it, for a little while anyhow.”

The success of Kenny Tremont’s career will never be in question. People know of the ‘Sand Lake Slingshot.’ When you ask someone who drives the 115, many know just who that is.

He’s been racing longer than most of us have been alive. Hell, some probably can’t remember his car without S&S Asphalt Paving on the quarter panels.

In 2021, Tremont will be looking to add a few more notches in the win column…maybe even another track title. He can do it. Just watch, and when his Hall of Fame career is complete, fans and racers alike will remember him with admiration. He won’t just be driver of the 115. He won’t just be the ‘King of the Valley.’

He’ll be Kenny Tremont…Legend.