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By: Ron Szczerba

FONDA , NY – Recently the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was talking about major events on their circuit and some of the different drivers in the series were asked their opinions on the subject as far as what events on the circuit they considered as “majors”.

Saturday evening the Fonda Speedway held one of their “major” events of the 2007 racing season as BBL Companies sponsored a 50-lap modified feature event paying $5,000 to the winner.

When it comes to big events at the Fonda Speedway the Jake and Nancy Spraker owned #1J is always ready to compete and their driver Bobby Varin is always on top of his game. Saturday evening was no exception.

After winning $6,800 a couple of weeks ago at Fonda in a special mid week show, Varin backed it up with the $5,000 win last night giving him a winning total of $11,800 in just a two week period of time not counting what he won a week ago Saturday.

For Varin it was his fifth win of the season and the 33rd of his career at Fonda.

“I think that the best car should be the winner and tonight I think that we were the best car,” Varin said in victory lane. “I have to thank Jake & Nancy Spraker and my crew for this. With no points given in our race tonight it makes it tough on us because it makes it one night short on trying to gain points on Matty (DeLorenzo).”

DeLorenzo finished the event in the second position on his sponsor’s night and after the race was over said: “I was trying everything. I really threw the kitchen sink at Bobby but just fell a little bit short. My car was pushing at the end but to run 50-laps like that with Bobby was awesome. Hopefully the fans enjoyed it.”

Dave Camara ran a great race to finish third after starting 18th. “It was funny after going over the scales they told me to go to victory lane,” Camara said. “I haven’t been there in so long that I forgot where it was. My car has really been off this year and I have to thank my crew that just keeps working so hard to make it better. I was able to see Matt and Bobby tonight so we are light years ahead of where we were earlier in the season.”

BBL Companies did a great job in putting the racing program together which included an increased purse for the modifieds, a salute to all Veterans with a fly over by the United States Air Force 104th Fighter Wing, a presentation of the colors by the American Post 701, and the Hendrick Hudson Male Chorus singing the National Anthem. When the racing program was over a Grand Fireworks display was set off to complete another exciting night of racing at the Track of Champions.

All of the additional activities came with another bonus for the fans as well as there was no increase in the regular admission prices!

“That was the one thing that we definitely wanted to do,” BBL Companies President Kevin Gleason said. “Spice things up a little bit for both the drivers and the fans without increasing the admission prices.”

Over 300 BBL Companies employees were also on hand with all of them wearing the colors of BBL Companies sponsored driver and employee Matt DeLorenzo. The Fonda Fairgrounds was a sea of blue and red as DeLorenzo t-shirts in those colors were everywhere.

Other winners on BBL Companies Night at Fonda were David Towns (sportsman), Rob Yetman (pro stock), Danny Ballard (IMCA), and Luke Horning (street stock).

It was also New York State Stock Car Association (NYSSCA) Night at the Track of Champions with all of the feature winners getting a bonus from the organization as they are all members of NYSSCA.

Six cars qualified through each of the modified heat races with four redrawing for starting positions in the feature. That put Alton Palmer and Varin on the front row with Varin taking the lead at the drop of the green flag. DeLorenzo took over the second position from Palmer on lap one after starting third and from that point forward the race between Varin and DeLorenzo was on.

By lap three, Varin and DeLorenzo were a straightaway ahead of the third place car of Pat Ward and by lap eight they were in lap traffic. Both Varin and DeLorenzo had some issues with lap cars and had to check up because of it but managed to keep their cars straight and kept up their torrid pace.

Stewart Friesen started the event in the seventh position and on lap 15 he was pressuring Ward for the third spot. Two laps later after a side by side battle, Friesen was the new third place car with the top two of Varin and DeLorenzo maintaining their straightaway advantage over the third place car.

On lap 24 when Varin bobbled in turn two and got out of the groove on the high side, DeLorenzo was able to close in and coming out of turn four to complete the lap DeLorenzo got by Varin for the lead with the first of only two cautions in the event coming out just after the pass was made. At that point in the event there were only 13 cars left on the lead lap.

On the restart, Varin got back by DeLorenzo for the lead on the low side in turn four and from that point on they raced up to a full straightaway ahead of the third place car of Friesen.

Camara got by two cars on lap 26 to get into the top five and took over the third position from Friesen with only two laps to go. DeLorenzo pressured Varin over the final two laps of the event but Varin was just too strong and went on to the win.

Friesen finished in the fourth position with Ronnie Johnson completing the top five.

“Matt is a great driver and has really come into his own this season,” Varin said. “He got by me once and I knew that he was going to be tough to get by again. Tonight we bested him by one position.”

The yellow flag slowed the 20-lap sportsman feature twice in the first two laps with Chad Edwards the leader on both restarts after starting on the pole. Jeremy Wilder got by Vinnie Sanganetti for the second position on lap four with David Towns now in the top five after starting 11th.

The final caution of the event came out on lap five and on the restart Wilder was the new leader but only for a short time. Towns restarted the race in the fourth position but when the green flag flew to restart the event Towns went from fourth to first on the low side in turns three and four.

From that point on Towns pulled away from the rest of the field and won the event by a straightaway over Wilder, Edwards, Dave Constantino, and last weeks winner Luke Munroe.

For Towns it was his eighth win of the season and the 24th of his career at Fonda.

In victory lane, Towns talked about a friendly battle that has been going on between himself and Matt DeLorenzo for wins on the season. After the win Towns is now one up on DeLorenzo.

“After last week when Matty won the modified feature he said to me that the pressure was on me,” Towns said. “Now who’s the pressure on. We are going to take the rest of the season one race at a time and if we keep doing well the points will come our way. I want to dedicate this race to my daughter Tamara who is celebrating her 15th birthday today.”

After his horrible wreck six weeks ago, John Scarborough was back at Fonda with the same enthusiasm for racing as he had before the accident happened. During intermission, Scarborough brought his brand new #61S Teo chassis to victory lane to thank everyone responsible for getting him back to the track.

“I just wanted to come up here and thank everyone that got me back here to the track including all of you fans, my girlfriend, my crew, Bobby Hearn at Teo, Bedell Racing Engines, and all of my sponsors including Race Wear who gave me a new driving suit,” Scarborough said. “It is time to put the accident behind us and move on and I thank you all for everything.”

The pro stock feature began with Pete Broderson in the lead from his outside pole position start while further back in the field Rob Yetman and Chip Smith came together on the frontstretch after going four wide to try and better their positions. Both straightened their cars and continued.

Dean Charbonneau took over the lead from Broderson on the outside of turn three on lap three with the yellow flag coming out on lap four for Roy Fifield who came down into turn two and shortly afterwards went straight towards the outside wall in the backstretch.

Fifield was done for the night at that point and just after the race was restarted the yellow was out again for defending track champion Kenny Martin Jr. who was smoking heavily going into turn one with motor problems. Martin was also done for the evening.

On the restart, Yetman took over the second position from Broderson and set his sights on the leader. Charbonneau and Yetman were side by side for the lead on lap five with Yetman taking the position by a nose at the line to complete lap six.

As Yetman pulled away from the field the attention turned to Kenny Gates and Nick Stone who were battling for the third and fourth positions after both got by Broderson at the halfway point of the 20-lap event.

Coming out of turn four to the checkered flag, the lap car of Smith, Gates, Stone, and Charbonneau were racing four wide to the finish with Yetman taking his second win of the season and the second of his career at Fonda over Stone, Gates, Charbonneau, and Broderson.

“I think that we are here to stay,” Yetman said about coming to Fonda at the beginning of the season. “We have been working real hard at this and as the track gets slicker my car just seems to get better. To run here at Fonda you definitely have to do your homework. All of the guys here race me clean and I return the favor so all that we really have to do is bring the car home, wash it, and get it ready for the following week.”

Only nine cars made up the starting grid for the IMCA feature event which was shortened to 15-laps because of the small field of cars. Aaron Jacobs came from fourth to first at the drop of the green flag to take the early lead with JoJo Donato in tow. Jacobs and Donato were side by side for the lead on lap four with Donato taking the position at the line as the lap was completed.

Danny Ballard started the event in the fifth position and by lap five he was already in the second spot. Ballard caught up to the leader on lap eight and one lap later on the inside of turn four Ballard was the new leader. From that point on Ballard went on for his fourth win of the season and the 20th of his career in the IMCA division at Fonda to go along with his 17 career pro stock wins at the Track of Champions.

Donato, Beau Ballard, Kevin Buff, and Danny Ody completed the top five.

“The IMCA division is a lot of fun to race in,” Ballard said in victory lane. “I am really disappointed in the car count tonight in out division. We have to find a way to get some of those cars back. I left Fonda to race at Afton for awhile but then came back here to Fonda because it is such a great place to race. The IMCA class is considerably cheaper than other divisions and the cars are more affordable to keep on the track. You can run three to five weeks with the same tires.”

Cassidy Wilson started the street stock feature on the front row and took the early lead with Randy Moore second and Dave Horning Jr. third after starting ninth. The street stocks tried their version of the World of Outlaw three wide salute to the fans on lap three as there were two rows of cars that were three wide racing for position on the frontstretch.

On lap three, Horning Jr. made a three wide pass for the lead after getting by both Moore and Wilson. After starting 13th, Luke Horning was up to the second position on lap three of the caution plagued event with Duke McSpirit third after starting 12th. McSpirit took over the second position from Luke Horning on lap five with Horning now planning his moves carefully.

On lap seven going into turn one, Horning made a fantastic move to get the lead after going around the outside of McSpirit and then switching lanes to the bottom, going in between McSpirit and Horning Jr. in the process to take the lead. Rob VanAernam started the feature in the third position and fell back early in the event before making a run to the front over the final laps.

On lap 11 of the 15-lap event, VanAernam took over the second spot from Horning Jr. but didn’t have enough time to catch Luke Horning as he went on to his first win of the season and the fifth of his career over VanAernam, Dave Horning Sr., Horning Jr., and Chuck McSpirit.

After the checkered flag flew to end the event a grinding four car crash occurred on the frontstretch. Coming out of turn four, Rocky Warner and Duke McSpirit ended up spinning on the frontstretch with John Babcock and Neil Cosselman piling into the two stopped cars. All four cars suffered major damage but nobody was injured in the crash.

Next Saturday at Fonda a regular show in all divisions takes to the track at 6:00 p.m. Only three weeks and four races remain to determine the track champions for 2007 at Fonda so every spot in all of the feature events will be critical towards the point championships in all divisions.

MODIFIED QUALIFYING – 28 total cars – 6 qualify – 4 redraw

HEAT 1 – Alton Palmer, Stewart Friesen, Donnie Corellis, Mike Fusco, Brett Graham, Jack Johnson

HEAT 2 – Pat Ward, Jim Davis, Bobby Varin, Tony Pepicelli, Paul Cirincione, Butchie Irwin

HEAT 3 – Ronnie Johnson, Matt DeLorenzo, Steve Akers, Robert King, Ryan Odasz, Dave Camara

BBL COMPANIES MODIFIED FEATURE – 50-LAPS – BOBBY VARIN, Matt DeLorenzo, Dave Camara, Stewart Friesen, Ronnie Johnson, Alton Palmer, Tony Pepicelli, Pat Ward, Jim Davis, Ryan Odasz, Mike Fusco, Paul Cirincione, Steve Akers, Donnie Corellis, Ray Zemken, Elmo Reckner, Brian Krummel, Robert King, Kory Gurney, Brett Graham, Todd Morey, Ed Harris, Dustin Purdy, Dan Hartgraves, Jack Johnson, Josh Hohenforst, Ron George, Butchie Irwin

SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING – 24 total cars – 5 qualify – 4 handicapped

HEAT 1 – Vinnie Sanganetti, John Scarborough , Pete Sisler, Dave Constantino, Robert Perry

HEAT 2 – Jeremy Wilder, Jason Memrick, David Towns, Jim Meka, Derrick McGrew

HEAT 3 – John McAuliffe , Chad Edwards, Anthony Denny, Luke Munroe, Ricky Quick

BBL COMPANIES SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 20-LAPS – DAVID TOWNS, Jeremy Wilder, Chad Edwards, Dave Constantino, Luke Munroe, John Scarborough , John McAuliffe, Jason Memrick, Vinnie Sanganetti, Pete Sisler, Derrick McGrew, Danny Varin, Robert Perry, Tony Farone, Mark Kislowski, Mike Ruggiero, Ricky Quick, Bill Wilder, Jim Meka, D.T. Pickard, Anthony Denny, Howard Gage, Mark Mortensen

PRO STOCK QUALIFYING – 14 total cars – 4 qualify

HEAT 1 – Chip Smith, Nick Stone, Roy Fifield, Dean Charbonneau

HEAT 2 – Kenny Gates, Rob Yetman, Kenny Martin Jr., Pete Broderson

BBL COMPANIES PRO STOCK FEATURE – 20-LAPS – ROB YETMAN, Nick Stone, Kenny Gates, Dean Charbonneau, Pete Broderson, Jim Burton, Chucky Dumblewski, Shane Henderson, Frank Twing Jr., Jason Brownell, Chip Smith, Tony Stone, Kenny Martin Jr., Ivan Joslin, Roy Fifield

IMCA QUALIFYING – 9 total cars – JoJo Donato, Danny Ballard, Bill Casey, Aaron Jacobs, Kevin Buff, Beau Ballard, Howard Smith, Danny Ody, Jeremy Cramer

BBL COMPANIES IMCA FEATURE – 15-LAPS – DANNY BALLARD, JoJo Donato, Beau Ballard, Kevin Buff, Danny Ody, Aaron Jacobs, Bill Casey, Howard Smith, Jeremy Cramer

BBL COMPANIES STREET STOCK FEATURE – 15-LAPS – LUKE HORNING, Rob VanAernam, Dave Horning Sr., Dave Horning Jr., Chuck McSpirit, Cassidy Wilson, Reuben Kennedy, Brian Cosselman, Jeff Crosier, Eric Sbrega, Justin Knight, Cody Bleau, Joe Smith, Dan Pollock, Duke McSpirit, Rocky Warner, John Babcock, Dave Sullivan, P.J. Bleau, Randy Moore, Steve Oleksak

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