Firecracker 50 At Fonda Speedway Set For Wednesday; Fans Allowed In The Stands

Story By: RON SZCZERBA / FONDA SPEEDWAY – FONDA, NY – Guess who’s back, back again? Grandstands and infield are open this Wednesday night at Fonda Speedway for the second annual “Firecracker 50” with masks and social distancing required.

The event will pay $10,000 to win for the Sunoco Modifieds and $2,000 to win for the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman.

Gates will open at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 1 with hot laps at 6:45 p.m. and racing at 7:30 p.m.

The Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series (STSS) Fueled by Sunoco has led the Northeast dirt Modified community back to racing through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Competing in North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the STSS is back to the Empire State on Wednesday, July 1 when Fuccillo Automotive Group presents the “Firecracker 50” at Fonda Speedway.

The hallowed “Track of Champions” plays host to the Halmar International North Region for both the Modifieds and Crate 602 Sportsman in high-paying events. The STSS Modifieds race 50 laps for $10,000 to win and $4,000 for second, $1,000 for 10th and $400 just to take the green flag. A very robust $2,000 goes to the Crate 602 Sportsman victor for their 25-lap main.

The event serves as Race No. 2 for the STSS Modified North Region after kicking off the title fight, albeit delayed, on June 16 at Pa.’s Big Diamond Speedway. The Crate 602 Sportsman will open their North Region point battle at Fonda.

Last year, the “Firecracker” at Fonda lived up to its name with a wild finish that brought the crowd to its feet. Stewart Friesen, after pitting for a flat tire, pulled off the last-lap, last-turn power move on Matt Sheppard to pick up the $10,000-plus top prize.

After his “Anthracite Assault” victory at Big Diamond, Billy Pauch Jr. sits atop the North Region point standings at Fonda over legendary Jimmy Horton.

The complete “Firecracker 50” information sheet has been posted on the STSS website with times, rules and general information: http://shorttracksuperseries.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Firecracker50InfoSheet.pdf

The event will be streamed live on Dirt Track Digest TV (www.dirttrackdigest.tv) in addition to in-person attendance.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY GIVEAWAY

The first 36 Montgomery County residents to email contest@thefondaspeedway.com will receive a free passcode to the DTD TV coverage on Pay Per View for the Firecracker 50 at the Fonda Speedway, on Wednesday July 1, 2020, compliments of Montgomery County Executive Matt Ossenfort, Sheriff Jeffery T. Smith and Emergency Services Deputy Coordinator Jeff Kaczor.

We have officially reached Phase 4 of the reopening process and with the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway being a centrally located venue that brings visitors from all over the Northeast, Montgomery County Executive Matt Ossenfort, Sheriff Jeffery T. Smith and Emergency Services Deputy Coordinator Jeff Kaczor felt this would be a great opportunity to try and bring some life back into Montgomery County.

They have been working hard over the few weeks with local promoter Brett Deyo to come up with a way for people to still enjoy this local racing event while also following best safety practices pertaining to Covid-19.

FONDA SPEEDWAY 50-LAP EVENT HISTORY

In the history of 50 lap events or longer at Fonda, there have been a total of 68 different winning drivers in a total of 280 modified (both big and small block) feature events from 1953-2019.

They include Lou Lazzaro who leads the way with 32 victories followed by Jack Johnson with 29; Brett Hearn with 21, Dave Lape with 20; Mike Romano with 11; C.D. Coville and Stewart Friesen with 10; Ken Shoemaker and Alan Johnson with nine, Jimmy Horton, Danny Johnson, Doug Hoffman, and Bobby Varin with eight; Steve Danish, and Bill Wimble with six; Pete Corey and Rene Charland with five; Harry Peek, Bob McCreadie, and Pat Ward with four; Jeep Herbert and Matt DeLorenzo with three; Ed Ortiz, Jerry Cook, Will Cagle, Gary Balough,, Charlie Rudolph, Billy Pauch, Kevin Collins, Tim McCreadie, Billy Decker, Matt Sheppard, and Mike Mahaney all with two wins apiece.

Drivers with one feature win in 50-lap events include George Gallup, Jim Luke, Don Hendenberg, Irv Taylor, Cliff Kotary, Tom Kotary, Buck Holliday, Ernie Gahan, Ron Narducci, Jerry Pennock, Lee Millington, Maynard Forrette, Buzzie Reutimann, Ralph Holmes, Dave Pelczar, Dave Buanno, Jim Winks, Wayne Reutimann, Pep Pepicelli, Tom Wilson, Tim Dwyer, Kenny Brightbill, AJ Romano, Jeff Trombley, Steve Paine, Kenny Tremont Jr., Mitch Gibbs, Tony Pepicelli, Bob Savoie, Larry Wight, Craig Hanson, Ronnie Johnson, Jimmy Phelps, Justin Boehler, and Tim Fuller.