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By: Ron Szczerba
FONDA , NY – What a difference a week makes. Last week, Ryan Odasz flipped the Stanley Wetmore owned #77 in turn four taking him out of the event early and causing enough damage to the car that they couldn’t race it again this week. On Saturday night he was able to celebrate the fifth win of his career and the first win of 2007 at the Track of Champions as he piloted the Wayne Podbielski owned #14R to the victory.
“I’m so glad to be here in victory lane,” Odasz said. “My hat is off to promoter Ric Lucia and his track crew as they got bashed on the internet all week about track conditions but kept working hard every night this week to put on a race for us tonight. In my opinion there is no better promoter and track crew around.”
Other winners on Saturday night were David Towns (sportsman), Kenny Martin Jr. (pro stock), Kevin Buff (IMCA), and Dave Horning Sr. (street stock). The 4-cylinder feature that was scheduled was cancelled due to rain. The racing program was completed by 9:15 p.m.
Steve Akers and Odasz started the event on the front row with Odasz taking the lead at the drop of the green flag. By lap three he already built up a straightaway advantage with Dave Camara second after starting third.
Just as Camara started to close in on the leader he bobbled in turn two on lap five and lost some ground with the first caution out on lap 10 for Jim Davis who slowed in turn two with a flat left rear tire. Ronnie Johnson made a great move on the restart to get by both Alton Palmer and Dave Lape for the third position and shortly afterwards Pat Ward and Bobby Varin were also able to move into the fourth and fifth positions after starting 11th and 10th respectively.
From that point on in the event, Camara and Johnson waged a battle for the second position that kept the fans on the edge of their seats. A scary moment for the leader on lap 17 as the lap car of Dan Hartgraves slowed right in front of the leader in turn four but Odasz was able to get by safely and hold on to the lead as Camara and Johnson closed in.
With 10 laps to go both Camara and Johnson were on the leader’s rear bumper with the lap car of Erik Nelson taking away some of the leader’s momentum as Nelson slowed in front of Odasz on lap 23. Odasz was able to get by safely again and pulled away slightly as Camara and Johnson continued their battle for second.
Camara and Johnson were swapping the second spot twice per lap on laps 26 and 27 with Johnson finally getting by for the spot and having one last chance at the leader and the win. Johnson was able to close the gap but Odasz was up for the challenge as he went on to the win followed by Johnson, Camara, last weeks winner Matt DeLorenzo, and Pat Ward.
“After the accident last week in Stan’s car I practically begged Wayne to let me race his car here tonight,” Odasz said. “He didn’t give me the okay about racing the car until 9:00 p.m. last night. It is so nice to have two car owners that believe in you like Stan and Wayne believe in me. I am really happy.”
Ricky Quick took the lead at the drop of the green in the sportsman feature with Derrick McGrew second on lap two after starting fourth. The first caution of the event was out on lap three with John McAuliffe, Justin House, and Dave Constantino all slowing and pitting with flat left rear tires.
On the restart, McGrew was the new leader with Mark Mortensen now second after starting fifth. Two cautions slowed the field on laps four and five with defending track champion John Scarborough and Mark Kislowski involved in one and Jim Meka in the other.
On the restart, a no start call caused cars to bunch up and pile into each other in turn four resulting in Chad Edwards, Jeremy Wilder, and John McAuliffe being involved and going to the rear. On this restart, Robert Perry moved into second with Danny Varin and last weeks winner David Towns in the third and fourth positions.
One more caution slowed the field on lap 13 when McAuliffe and Jason Memrick came together in turn two with only McAuliffe able to continue. Under caution, McGrew slowed in turn three and for the second week in a row was forced to retire with mechanical problems while leading the event.
Perry was the benefactor of McGrew’s misfortune as he was the new leader on the restart with Towns now in the second spot. After a side by side battle, Towns took the lead from Perry on the inside of turn three on lap 18 and went on to his 18th career sportsman feature win and the second of the 2007 season followed by Perry, Varin, Tony Farone, and House.
“Robert (Perry) and Derrick (McGrew) were both going good and I really didn’t know if I was going to be able to get by them,” Towns said. “The key here at Fonda is patience and I am very thankful to have great sponsors and a great team.”
Chip Smith was the early leader in the pro stock feature with Ivan Joslin a close second at the drop of the green flag. The yellow was out on lap four for Jim Burton who came to a stop in turn one just as Smith and Joslin were racing side by side for the lead.
Under this caution light rain started to fall but racing would continue as the green flag flew with Joslin taking the lead from Smith on the restart while Kenny Martin Jr. moved into second after starting 12th. On lap six on the inside of turn three, Martin Jr. was the new leader with Rob Yetman now second and last weeks winner Roy Fifield third after starting 10th.
Just after the halfway sign on lap 10, Fifield moved into the second spot after getting by Yetman as the rain started falling harder forcing the yellow and checkered flag to be thrown ending the event. For Martin Jr. it was his 38th pro stock feature win of his career at Fonda and second of 2007. Fifield, Yetman, Joslin, and Jason Brownell completed the top five.
“Everybody was all over us,” Martin Jr. said in victory lane as he described the race. “We were sliding all over so bad with the rain, you couldn’t see very well, and I was using up all of my tear offs. It was hard to keep the car straight.”
Bob Banks Jr. led at the start of the IMCA feature event from his outside pole starting spot with Kevin Buff second after starting sixth. On lap two, Buff made a move around Banks Jr. to take the lead on the inside of turn one. Buff pulled out to a straightaway lead by lap five with JoJo Donato and last weeks winner Danny Ody now in the second and third positions.
Ody, who was looking for his 100th career win in racing, moved into the second spot on lap seven after getting by Donato but with Buff maintaining his straightaway lead and no more caution flags during the event it would be tough for Ody to get that milestone win.
The best race on the track was between Donato and Jeremy Cramer for the third spot as these two drivers ran side by side and swapped the position many times per lap. Donato’s great run came to an end on lap 16 as he pitted with mechanical problems. At the checkered flag it was Buff taking the eighth IMCA feature win of his career at Fonda and the first of 2007 over Ody, Jeremy Cramer, Jimmy Cramer, and Banks Jr.
“I was away from Fonda for a couple of years but it is great to be back,” Buff said in victory lane. “I had a skip in the motor tonight but I think that it actually helped me.”
Five caution flags and four different leaders dictated the street stock feature with Rob VanAernam the leader at the drop of the green flag. Before lap one was completed, Luke Horning was the race leader with Rocky Warner in the second spot. Just as Horning and Warner were racing side by side for the lead on lap four the caution came out for a car that stopped on the front stretch.
On the restart, Warner was the new leader in the event with Luke Horning, Dave Horning Jr., and Dave Horning Sr. following close behind. The Horning’s put on a great show for the fans but Luke’s luck took a turn for the worse on lap eight when he had a flat right rear tire.
Warner hung on to the lead on the restart but on lap 10 it was Horning Sr. who took over the lead with a pass on the inside on the back stretch. Horning Jr. pressured his dad for the remainder of the event but at the checkered flag it was the elder Horning who took the win over his son Dave Jr. who was second, Warner, Duke McSpirit, and Neil Cosselman.
“I actually thought that either Luke or Dave were going to win it,” Horning Sr. said in victory lane. “But I got lucky and was able to win it. My only problem was the pro stock car that was out there banging into everyone.”
The pro stock that Horning Sr. referred to was that of Dirk LaPierre who went out to compete in the wrong feature event. LaPierre ended up finishing third in the street stock event but was disqualified and put at the rear of the pro stock feature lineup.
For Horning Sr. it was his 14th career street stock win at Fonda and his second of the 2007 racing season.
Next week at Fonda a regular show in all divisions is on the racing card starting at 6:00 p.m.
MODIFIED QUALIFYING – 27 total cars – 4 qualify
HEAT 1 – Dave Camara, Pat Ward, Alton Palmer, Dave Lape
HEAT 2 – Jim Davis, Bobby Vedder, Ronnie Johnson, Steve Akers
HEAT 3 – Bobby Varin, Ryan Odasz, Jack Johnson, Craig Hanson
MODIFIED FEATURE – 30-LAPS – RYAN ODASZ, Ronnie Johnson, Dave Camara, Matt DeLorenzo, Pat Ward, Bobby Varin, Jack Johnson, Alton Palmer, Dave Lape, Tony Pepicelli, Bobby Vedder, Ray Zemken, Floyd Billington, Elmo Reckner, Jim Davis, Erik Nelson, Donnie Corellis, Jessica Zemken, Mike Fusco, Harry Shaffer, Steve Akers, Dan Hartgraves, John Marsh Sr., Chris Ross, Craig Hanson, Robert King
SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING – 22 total cars – 4 qualify
HEAT 1 – Danny Varin, John Scarborough, Robert Perry , Chad Edwards
HEAT 2 – Mark Mortensen, David Towns , John McAuliffe, Ricky Quick
HEAT 3 – Derrick McGrew, Luke Monroe, Jeremy Wilder, Justin House
SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 20-LAPS – DAVID TOWNS, Robert Perry, Danny Varin, Tony Farone, Justin House, Mark Mortensen, Jeremy Wilder, Mark Kislowski, Dave Constantino, Luke Monroe, John McAuliffe, Pete Sisler, Vinnie Sanganetti, Jim Meka, Chad Edwards, John Constantino, Derrick McGrew, Jason Memrick, Ricky Quick, Larry Wight, John Scarborough
PRO STOCK QUALIFYING – 19 total cars – 5 qualify
HEAT 1 – Roy Fifield, Chip Smith, Kenny Gates, Jason Brownell, Ed Thompson
HEAT 2 – Rob Yetman, Nick Stone, Dean Charbonneau, Phil Pearson, Ivan Joslin
PRO STOCK FEATURE – RAIN SHORTENED TO 10-LAPS – KENNY MARTIN JR., Roy Fifield, Rob Yetman, Ivan Joslin, Jason Brownell, Nick Stone, Dean Charbonneau, Phil Pearson, Dirk LaPierre, Kenny Gates, John Johnson, Shane Henderson, Tony Stone, Chad Jeseo, Ed Thompson, Chip Smith, Rod Slater, Jim Burton, Walt Brownell
IMCA QUALIFYING – 13 total cars – 4 qualify
HEAT 1 – Danny Ody, Kevin Buff, Bill Casey, Bob Banks Jr.
HEAT 2 – Jeremy Cramer, Jeff Jones, Ken VanWert, JoJo Donato
IMCA FEATURE – 20-LAPS – KEVIN BUFF, Danny Ody, Jeremy Cramer, Jim Cramer, Bob Banks Jr., Danny Ballard, Ken VanWert, Beau Ballard, Aaron Jacobs, Carol Parker, Jeff Jones, JoJo Donato, Bill Casey
STREET STOCK FEATURE – 15-LAPS – DAVE HORNING SR., Dave Horning Jr., Rocky Warner, Duke McSpirit, Neil Cosselman, Chuck McSpirit, Luke Horning, Rob VanAernam, Jeff Crosier, John Babcock, Cassidy Wilson, Roger Newkirk Jr., Cody Bleu, Joe Smith, Dave Bayes, Dan Pollock, Don Warner, Reuben Kennedy, Dave Cook, Chris Reckner, Mike Duclos
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