Press Box  >  Tracks  >  Fonda Speedway

By: Ron Szczerba

FONDA, NY – Due to a rainout on Saturday, April 26 double features in the Modified, Sportsman, and Pro Stock divisions were scheduled to be run on Saturday evening at the Fonda Speedway with Bobby Varin and Ronnie Johnson the winners of the two Modified features on a wild night of racing at the Track of Champions.

Other winners on Saturday evening at Fonda included David Towns (Sportsman), Roy Fifield and Kenny Gates (Pro Stock), Beau Ballard (IMCA), Luke Horning and Rob VanAernam (Street Stock).

The regular Sportsman feature was curfew delayed to next Saturday, May 17 while the Budget Sportsman feature was curfew delayed to Saturday, June 7 when the division will be back in action at Fonda.

Tony Pepicelli and Danny Varin started on the outside of the front row of the 30-lap rained out Modified feature from April 26 with Varin taking the number one position at the drop of eight year old Colin Williams green flag. Dave Lape in the black retro #22 took over the second position early on with Erik Nelson third by lap six.

The first of five yellow flags slowed the field on lap six when defending Modified Track Champion Matt DeLorenzo ended up in the turn three tire wall with front end damage. On the restart, Jack Johnson in the Alton and Carole Palmer #76A small block and Bobby Varin in the Jake & Nancy Spraker #1J completed the top five after starting eighth and 12th respectively.

On the inside of the back stretch on lap 11, Lape was the new leader as he got by Danny Varin for the lead while Danny’s father Bobby moved into the third position after getting by Nelson. One lap later Bobby got by Danny for the second spot and was gaining ground on Lape very quickly.

On lap 16, Bobby made a cross over move work in turn four as he took the lead from Lape as Danny suffered a flat tire and went to the pits to change it relegating him to the rear of the field. Coming down the front stretch on lap 19, A.J. Romano clipped the tires at the end of the inside wall going into turn one collapsing the front end and bringing out another caution.

Varin cruised to an easy win; his second of the season and the 35th of his career at Fonda followed by Lape, Johnson, Pat Ward, and Alton Palmer.

In the regularly scheduled Modified feature, Danny Varin took the lead at the drop of the green flag with Darwin Greene in tow. Mike Fusco started the event in the fourth position and took over the second spot at the completion of lap one from Greene while Ronnie Johnson and Camara also got by Greene for the third and fourth spots.

The top four cars were a straightaway ahead of the fifth place car of Craig Hanson by lap nine with Fusco gaining fast on the leader. On lap 10 in turn four, Fusco swung around the outside of Danny Varin to get the lead while Johnson took over the second position from Danny Varin on lap 11 just before the first of seven yellows was out for Bobby Varin who suffered a flat left rear tire and came to a stop in turn four.

Bobby Varin pitted for a new tire and returned to the rear of the field while Jack Johnson pitted under yellow and also returned to the back of the pack. Fusco chose the outside line for the restart and maintained the lead at the drop of Dennis Tilison’s green flag with Camara third behind Ronnie Johnson after getting by Danny Varin.

A caution on lap 12 for the spinning car of Josh Pieniazek gave Ronnie Johnson the shot in the arm that he needed as on the restart he was the new leader of the event with Camara also getting by Fusco for the second spot.

Fonda Speedway’s version of the big one brought out the red flag on lap 13 when a car got out of shape going into turn four to cause the pileup which blocked the track entirely. Cars involved included Bobby Varin and DeLorenzo who both pitted and returned to the rear of the field. All total there were over 10 cars involved but fortunately there were no injuries in the accident.

It took three tries to get the race restarted again with Hanson, Camara, and Palmer all forced to the pits during the remaining laps to replace flat tires but all of them got back out onto the track without losing laps. One final yellow came out with five laps to go but it was all R.J. from there as he went on to his first win of the season and the ninth of his career at Fonda followed by Pat Ward, Fusco, Jack Johnson, and Dustin Delaney.

“I owe this one to my pit crew who worked on the car until 3:30 this morning after we had some problems at Albany Saratoga last night,” Johnson said. “Fonda has the toughest field on the east coast and tonight was just one of those nights as far as all of the cautions were concerned. We are going to enjoy this win for sure.”

Vinny Sanganetti and Mark Mortensen started the rained out Sportsman feature from 4/26 on the front row with Sanganetti the early leader. Before he even had a chance to challenge Sanganetti for the lead, Mortensen was forced to the pit area with a flat tire. He pitted for a tire change and returned to the field one lap down.

Defending Track Champion David Towns started the event in the 11th position and on lap four he made a three wide move by both Neil Erickson and Dave Constantino for the second spot. On lap five in turn one, Towns swung around the outside of Sanganetti for the lead and by lap 10 he was out to a straightaway advantage.

Two cautions slowed the field before the checkered flag flew but nobody had anything for Towns as he picked up his second win of the season and the 28th of his career in the Sportsman division at Fonda followed by Erickson, John Scarborough , Mark Kislowski, and Luke Munroe.

The rained out Pro Stock feature from 4/26 began with John Babcock the early leader with Luke Klob in tow. After starting fifth on the grid Dean Charbonneau took over the lead on lap three with an inside move on Babcock in turn one. Roy Fifield started the event in the ninth position and by lap five he was second and bump drafting Charbonneau down the front straightaway.

The first of only two caution flags in the event flew on lap 11 for Randy Brownell who came to a stop in the infield on the frontstretch. Charbonneau didn’t get a very good restart resulting in Fifield taking over the lead while Chip Smith also got by Charbonneau for the second spot.

Charbonneau’s great run came to an end on lap 15 as he drove in to the pit area and was out of the event. The final caution came out with two laps remaining in the event for fluid on the track from the smoking car of Rod Slater.

Fifield survived the green, white, checkered finish to take his first win of the season and the fourth of his career at Fonda followed by Smith, Kenny Martin Jr., Ivan Joslin, and Kenny Gates.

The regular Pro Stock feature began with Gates in the lead after starting on the outside of the front row with Martin Jr. in second by lap three. Joslin and Klob were side by side for the third position on lap five with Joslin getting the spot while Martin Jr. was closing in on the leader.

The first of only two cautions in the event came out on lap seven for Bob Wilkie who crashed hard into the turn four wall. He was not injured but was done for the evening with heavy damage done to his car. On the restart, Martin Jr. was the new leader while Smith and Joslin made contact on the frontstretch on lap 10 as they raced side by side for the third position with Joslin getting the spot going into turn two.

While leading the event with three laps to go, Martin Jr. suffered a flat left rear tire with the caution coming out after he came to a stop in turn two. Martin Jr. pitted to replace the tire and finished the event with Gates taking over the lead and getting his first win of the season and the 39th of his career at Fonda followed by Smith, Joslin, Klob, and Nick Stone.

“I drove like crap in the first feature but this one was a lot better,” Gates said. “Starting on the front row I knew that I could go the wrong way but fortunately I didn’t. I knew that I was in trouble on the restart when Kenny got the lead but lucky for me he had the tire issue and I was able to take the win.”

Jeff Jones was the early leader in the IMCA feature event from his second row starting position but it was Beau Ballard who led at the completion of lap one after starting fifth. On lap seven, Danny Ody, Bob Banks Jr., and defending Track Champion Jeremy Cramer were racing three wide for the fourth position with Cramer getting the spot.

A caution on lap 10 for Jim Cramer who stopped on the backstretch took away the straightaway advantage that Ballard had built up and on the restart he continued to lead with Kevin Buff, Jeremy Cramer, and Ody all getting by Jones for position.

Ballard proved that his first career win at Fonda a couple of weeks ago was no fluke as he took his second win of the season by a straightaway over Jeremy Cramer, Ody, Buff, and Aaron Jacobs who ended up fifth after starting 14th.

“It is pretty sweet to win here especially two in a row,” Ballard said. “I have been coming here a long time and winning at Fonda is a dream come true for me.”

Luke Horning took the lead early in the 12-lap Street Stock “A” feature with Pete Jeske second and Dave Horning Sr. third by lap two after starting eighth. On lap six the first of only two cautions in the event was out for Mike Lang who came to a stop in turn three and on the restart Horning Sr. brought out another caution as something on his car broke while in the second position.

John Bradt was back at Fonda after a long absence and had a great run going as he started the event in the 12th position and by lap eight was taking the second spot away from Dave Cook. Horning went on to the win, his first of the season and the sixth of his career at Fonda over Bradt, Cook, Chuck McSpirit, and Jeske.

“The car was so good tonight that it made it so easy for me to drive,” Horning said. “We were really looking for a good season this year and I really feel that we already gave two wins away before tonight.”

Rob VanAernam led flag to flag for the win in the Street Stock “B” feature for his first win of the season and the 20th of his career followed by Neil Cosselman, Eric Sbrega, Leo Brady, and Cassidy Wilson.

Next Saturday at Fonda a regular show in all divisions takes to the track at 6:00 p.m. on Student Night with racing in all divisions including the Sportsman division who will run double features due to the curfew delayed feature from last Saturday.

MODIFIED FEATURE RAIN DELAYED FROM 4/26 – 30-LAPS – BOBBY VARIN, Dave Lape, Jack Johnson, Pat Ward, Alton Palmer, Dave Camara, Ryan Odasz, Donnie Corellis, Erik Nelson, Ray Zemken, Dustin Delaney, Josh Pieniazek, Danny Varin, Todd Morey, Dan Burl, Elmo Reckner, Ronnie Johnson, A.J. Romano, John Marsh, Alan Barker, Mike Fusco, Craig Hanson, Tony Pepicelli, Darwin Greene, Matt DeLorenzo, Paul Cirincione

MODIFIED QUALIFYING – 29 total cars – 5 qualify

HEAT 1 – Alton Palmer, Bobby Varin, Craig Hanson, Jack Johnson, Donnie Corellis

HEAT 2 – Ronnie Johnson, Danny Varin, Dave Camara, Darwin Greene, Dan Burl

HEAT 3 – Mike Fusco, A.J. Romano, Dustin Delaney, Pat Ward, Erik Nelson

MODIFIED CONSOLATION – 7 qualify – Matt DeLorenzo, Alan Barker, Ryan Odasz, Paul Cirincione, Josh Pieniazek, Elmo Reckner, John Marsh

MODIFIED FEATURE – 30-LAPS – RONNIE JOHNSON, Pat Ward, Mike Fusco, Jack Johnson, Dustin Delaney, Dave Camara, Donnie Corellis, Alan Barker, Bobby Varin, Elmo Reckner, Alton Palmer, Erik Nelson, Matt DeLorenzo, Craig Hanson, Darwin Greene, A.J. Romano, Josh Pieniazek, Dan Burl, John Marsh, Danny Varin, Ryan Odasz, Paul Cirincione, Todd Morey, Ray Zemken, Dave Lape, Tony Pepicelli

SPORTSMAN FEATURE RAIN DELAYED FROM 4/26 – 20-LAPS – DAVID TOWNS, Neil Erikson, John Scarborough , Mark Kislowski, Luke Munroe, Chad Edwards, Dave Constantino, Vinny Sanganetti, John McAuliffe, Tony Farone, Kris Savoie, Howard Gage, Chuck Allen, Dan Papa, Jim Meka, Tom Funk, Mark Mortensen, D.T. Pickard, Robert Bublak, Jeremy Wilder, Ricky Quick

SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING – 24 total cars – 4 qualify

HEAT 1 – Ricky Quick, Jeremy Wilder, Chad Edwards, D.T. Pickard

HEAT 2 – David Towns , Mark Kislowski, Drew Fallis, Tony Farone

HEAT 3 – Mark Mortensen, Dave Constantino, Dan Papa, Neil Erickson

SPORTSMAN FEATURE CURFEW DELAYED TO 5/17/08

PRO STOCK FEATURE RAIN DELAYED FROM 4/26 – 20-LAPS – ROY FIFIELD, Chip Smith, Kenny Martin Jr., Ivan Joslin, Kenny Gates, Shane Henderson, Luke Klob, John Babcock, Sheldon Martin, Rod Slater, Tony Stone, Nick Stone, Chucky Dumblewski, Dean Charbonneau, Randy Brownell. Bob Wilkie

PRO STOCK QUALIFYING – 16 total cars – 4 qualify

HEAT 1 – Kenny Gates, Chip Smith, Nick Stone, Chucky Dumblewski

HEAT 2 – Ivan Joslin, Roy Fifield, Kenny Martin Jr., Luke Klob

PRO STOCK FEATURE – 20-LAPS – KENNY GATES, Chip Smith, Ivan Joslin, Luke Klob, Nick Stone, Shane Henderson, John Babcock, Kenny Martin Jr., Randy Brownell, Tony Stone, Sheldon Martin, Chucky Dumblewski, Bob Wilkie

IMCA QUALIFYING – 14 total cars – 3 qualify

HEAT 1 – Beau Ballard, Jeremy Cramer, Jeff Jones

HEAT 2 – Jim Cramer, Danny Ody, Bob Banks Jr.

IMCA FEATURE – 20-LAPS – BEAU BALLARD, Jeremy Cramer, Danny Ody, Kevin Buff, Aaron Jacobs, Jeff Jones, JoJo Donato, Danny Ballard, Dennis Vrooman, Bob Banks Jr., Ken VanWert, Carol Parker, Jim Cramer, Howard Smith

STREET STOCK “A” FEATURE – 12-LAPS – LUKE HORNING, John Bradt, Dave Cook, Chuck McSpirit, Pete Jeske, Cody Bleau, Dan Pollock, Malcum Warner, Chris Reckner, Richie VanIderstine, Dave Horning Sr., Mike Lang, Howard Clark, Brian Haas

STREET STOCK “B” – 12-LAPS – ROB VANAERNAM, Neil Cosselman, Eric Sbrega, Leo Brady, Cassidy Wilson, Steve Oleksak, Sam Surnear, Matt Johnson, Mike Jeske, Robbie Veronse, Jerry Cohn, T.J. Marlett, Justin Knight

BUDGET SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING – 18 total cars – 4 qualify

HEAT 1 – Bill Wilder, Fred Proctor, Scott Duell, Mike Ketchum

HEAT 2 – Frank Hoard III, John Constantino, Brian Jones, Greg Hastie

BUDGET SPORTSMAN FEATURE CURFEW DELAYED TO 6/7/08

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