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By: Ron Szczerba
FONDA , NY Saturday evening at the Fonda Speedway, Ronnie Johnson started the modified feature in the eighth position and worked his way steadily to the front by the halfway point. He pressured Tony Pepicelli for the final 10 laps of the 30-lap event and coming out of turn four to the checkered flag he ducked under Pepicelli for a very exciting win.
For Johnson it was his first win of the 2007 season and the eighth of his career at the Track of Champions.
Tony got loose going into turn four and I saw Matty D. under me so it was time to go, Johnson said in victory lane. Tony ran a great race and gave me a real run for the money. I really have to thank my crew for this as they work real hard on the car.
Other winners at Fonda on Saturday night were David Towns (sportsman), Chip Smith (pro stock), Jeremy Cramer (IMCA), John Babcock (street stock), and Ricky Quick (Jack Lockhart Memorial Dash for Cash).
Donnie Corellis led at the start of the modified feature event with Ryan Odasz getting by Alton Palmer, Stewart Friesen and Elmo Reckner for the fifth spot by the time lap one was competed after starting ninth. Jack Johnson was in the third position by lap three after starting fifth but that would be as high as he would be able to get in the event as he was involved in an accident later on in the race.
Ronnie Johnson was the new fifth place car at the lap six point in the event while Pepicelli was pressuring Corellis for the lead. On lap 11, Corellis and Pepicelli were side by side for the lead with Corellis able to hold on to the position at that point while Ronnie Johnson got by Odasz for the fourth spot.
On the outside of turn four on lap 13, Pepicelli was the new leader after getting by Corellis as Ronnie Johnson continued his march to the front getting by both his father Jack and Corellis for the second spot. Corellis continued to slide back in the field as Odasz and DeLorenzo also both got by for the third and fourth positions.
On lap 19, Ronnie Johnson took the lead in the event on the low side of turn four but on the backstretch going into turn three on the next lap Pepicelli wasnt going to let the race get away from him as he retook the spot after going in between Ronnie Johnson and a lap car for the lead.
The yellow flag came out on lap 21 for Erik Nelson who was in the turn four wall and on the restart there was one lap car between Pepicelli and Ronnie Johnson. When the race was restarted the yellow came right back out as Corellis made contact with the rear of Jack Johnsons #12A in turn four causing Jack to get out of shape and the cars around him to scatter. Palmer made contact with another car and got up in the air as a result causing severe damage to the rear end of his modified. He was done for the night but wasnt injured.
Invading drivers Pat Ward and Billy Decker were making their way into the top 10 together by lap 21 after starting 20th and 22nd respectively with the final caution of the event coming out on lap 22 when Elmo Reckner slowed in turn one. After the green flag flew to start the race again, Ronnie Johnson tried lap after lap to get under Pepicelli in the turns to no avail.
That was a sign of things to come however as in the final turn of the final lap, Ronnie Johnson made his way by to take the checkered flag ahead of Pepicelli by 0.073 sec. for the win. DeLorenzo finished third ahead of Odasz, and Dave Camara.
Seven caution flags during the 20-lap sportsman made the event seem like an eternity but it ended up working out well for David Towns who was able to go on for the win in the event after having problems early on.
Chad Edwards led the first lap of the sportsman feature with the first yellow coming out at the completion of lap one for Derrick McGrew and Pete Sisler who both had flat left rear tires. They both pitted and returned to the rear of the field. Under the caution as cars were pacing around the track, Towns was the next victim of a flat tire as he was forced to pit for a flat right rear sneaker. He was able to pit and return to the rear of the field before the race was restarted.
Mark Kislowski took the lead on the restart with Edwards second and John McAuliffe third after starting sixth. While McAuliffe was taking the second position from Edwards on lap four, Towns was already up to the fifth spot and looking for more. On lap six Ricky Quick and Towns made a sandwich out of Edwards for the third and fourth positions.
The yellow was out again on lap seven which ended Edwards great run as he came to a stop on the backstretch. Just after the green flag came back out Towns was the new second place car as he got by McAuliffe for the spot and looked ahead to Kislowski who was still in the lead.
Coming out of turn four to complete lap 10, Towns made a textbook slide job pass for the lead and he never looked back from there as he continually stretched out his lead and ended up winning by a comfortable margin. The win for Towns was his seventh of the 2007 season and the 23rd of his career at Fonda.
Kislowski, McAuliffe, Quick, and Robert Perry completed the top 10.
The color yellow was the story of the beginning of the pro stock feature as two caution flags came out before two laps were completed. On each of the restarts, Jim Burton led the event with Chip Smith third at the completion of lap two after starting seventh.
Smith was the new second place car on lap three and he chased the leader for three laps before getting by Burton for the lead on the outside of turn one on lap six. The final caution of the event came out on lap eight for Nick Stone who slowed on the frontstretch and was done for the night.
Rob Yetman took over the second position from Burton on lap nine while Kenny Gates was using his traditional inside groove to make his way to the front after starting 10th, getting by both Roy Fifield and Burton for the third spot. Smith led the rest of the way for his second win of the 2007 season and the third of his career at Fonda.
Yetman, Gates, Burton , and Fifield completed the top five.
Jim Cramer took the lead at the drop of the green flag in the 20-lap IMCA feature from his third place starting position with Kevin Buff in tow. On lap four the red flag came out for Cramer who got high in turn one, rode the wall for awhile, and when the car came off the wall the front end caught in the track and sent him into a series of flips. The car ended up on its roof but Cramer was not injured in the wreck.
Buff inherited the lead at that point with Jeremy Cramer making his way to the front after starting sixth. When Buff slid up out of the groove in turn three on lap five, Jeremy Cramer was the new leader with all eyes on defending champion Danny Ballard who was in the second spot on lap seven after starting ninth with Aaron Jacobs third after starting 11th.
Ballard pressured Cramer the rest of the way but Cramers car was just too strong as he went on to his fourth win of the 2007 season and the eighth of his career at Fonda. Ballard, Jacobs, Danny Ody in a back-up car, and Bob Banks Jr. completed the top five.
Dave Cook was the leader of the 15-lap street stock feature at the drop of the green flag with John Babcock second at the completion of lap one after starting eighth. At the completion of lap two, Cook and Babcock were side by side for the lead with Babcock taking the spot on the inside of turn one on lap three. Jeff Crosier also got by Cook for the second spot with Rob VanAernam and Dave Horning Sr. following him through for the third and fourth positions.
Babcock held a straightaway lead by the lap eight point in the event with the yellow coming out on lap 10 for point leader Dave Horning Jr. who was in the wall in turn four. When Neil Cosselman got out of shape in turn three, Horning Jr. made contact with Cosselman and went straight into the turn four wall causing heavy damage to his car. Fortunately Horning Jr. was not injured.
On lap 11, Horning Sr. and Rocky Warner were battling side by side for the fourth position on the frontstretch when the two made slight contact resulting in Warner making contact with the frontstretch wall. Going into the backstretch Warner came to a stop ending his night and bringing out the yellow flag for the final time in the event.
Babcock was able to pull away on the restart for his fourth win of the 2007 season and the 26th of his career at Fonda. Crosier, Horning Sr., Duke McSpirit, and Chuck McSpirit completed the top five.
Vinnie Sanganetti led the first two laps of the six lap Jack Lockhart Memorial Dash for Cash while Ricky Quick started pressuring him for the spot on lap two. On lap three Quick was the new leader and from that point on he pulled away for the win followed by Sanganetti, Jim Meka, Danny Varin, Jason Memrick, John Constantino, and Luke Monroe.
Fonda Speedway will be back in action on Tuesday, July 17 with the running of the 60-lap Modified Open along with a 40-lap Race of Champions (RoC) Tour event. Warm-ups will start at 6:00 p.m. with racing starting at 7:00 p.m. In the event of rain the event will be held the following night Wednesday, July 18.
MODIFIED QUALIFYING 36 total cars 5 qualify 4 handicapped
HEAT 1 Alton Palmer, Bobby Varin, Ryan Odasz, Dustin Purdy, Paul Cirincione
HEAT 2 Jack Johnson, John Marsh Sr., Stewart Friesen, Todd Morey, Craig Hanson
HEAT 3 Tony Pepicelli, Dave Camara, Matt DeLorenzo, Steve Akers, Butchie Irwin
HEAT 4 Donnie Corellis, Elmo Reckner, Ronnie Johnson, Ray Zemken, Pat Ward
MODIFIED CONSOLATIONS 3 qualify
CONSI 1 Erik Nelson, Mike Fusco, Ed Pieniazek
CONSI 2 Billy Decker, Dave Lape, Mike Ricci
MODIFIED FEATURE 30-LAPS RONNIE JOHNSON, Tony Pepicelli, Matt DeLorenzo, Ryan Odasz, Dave Camara, Bobby Varin, Billy Decker, Pat Ward, Donnie Corellis, Stewart Friesen, Craig Hanson, Mike Fusco, John Marsh Sr., Mike Ricci, Jim Davis, Elmo Reckner, Butchie Irwin, Steve Akers, Todd Morey, Paul Cirincione, Kory Gurney, Ray Zemken, Jack Johnson, Alton Palmer, Dustin Purdy, Dave Lape, Erik Nelson, Ed Pieniazek, Sayles Casey, Nutsy Fagan
SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING 19 total cars 5 qualify
HEAT 1 Dave Constantino, Luke Monroe, Pete Sisler, David Towns , Robert Perry
HEAT 2 Chad Edwards, Ricky Quick, Derrick McGrew, Mark Kislowski, John McAuliffe
SPORTSMAN FEATURE 20-LAPS DAVID TOWNS, Mark Kislowski, John McAuliffe, Ricky Quick, Robert Perry, Dave Constantino, Derrick McGrew, Jeremy Wilder, Mark Mortensen, Jim Meka, Pete Sisler, Vinnie Sanganetti, John Constantino, Mark Bishop, Chad Edwards, Jason Memrick, Danny Varin
PRO STOCK QUALIFYING 17 total cars 4 qualify
HEAT 1 Nick Stone, Jim Burton, Roy Fifield, Chip Smith
HEAT 2 Rob Yetman, Chucky Dumblewski, Phil Pearson, Shane Henderson
PRO STOCK FEATURE 20-LAPS CHIP SMITH, Rob Yetman, Kenny Gates, Jim Burton, Roy Fifield, Dean Charbonneau, Pete Broderson, Phil Pearson, Kenny Martin Jr., Shane Henderson, Tony Stone, Frank Twing Jr., Nick Stone, Chucky Dumblewski, Ivan Joslin
IMCA QUALIFYING 13 total cars 4 qualify
HEAT 1 Kevin Buff, Howard Smith, Carol Parker, JoJo Donato
HEAT 2 Jeremy Cramer, Jim Cramer, Danny Ody, Beau Ballard
IMCA FEATURE 20-LAPS JEREMY CRAMER, Danny Ballard, Aaron Jacobs, Danny Ody, Bob Banks Jr., Beau Ballard, Bill Casey, Dan Clemens, Carol Parker, Kevin Buff, Jim Cramer, JoJo Donato, Howard Smith
STREET STOCK FEATURE 15-LAPS JOHN BABCOCK, Jeff Crosier, Dave Horning Sr., Duke McSpirit, Chuck McSpirit, Neil Cosselman, Reuben Kennedy, Eric Sbrega, Joe Smith, Sam Surnear, Jason Samrov, Brian Haas, Rocky Warner, Rob VanAernam, Cody Bleau, Cassidy Wilson, Chris Fifield, Dave Horning Jr., Steve Oleksak, Dave Cook
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