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By: Ron Szczerba
FONDA, NY – Matt DeLorenzo and Pat Ward made the Fonda Speedway proud as the two regulars put on a great show for all of the race fans with DeLorenzo getting the best of Ward at the checkered flag to take his second win of the season and the 14th of his career at the Track of Champions on Jumpin’ Jack’s Pro Speed Shop Night.
It was also the first event of the five race Go Green NMX Fonda Thunder Series with DeLorenzo collecting $4000 for the feature win.
“That was the best race that I have ever had,” DeLorenzo said in victory lane. “I was trying everything to get by Pat (Ward) and I guess us short guys (referring to himself and Pat) can race these cars after all.”
A big Memorial Day crowd was treated to some great racing on Saturday evening with David Towns (curfew delayed feature from 5/10) and Mark Kislowski (Sportsman), Roy Fifield (Pro Stock), Jim Cramer (IMCA), and Dave Horning Sr. (Street Stock) the other feature event winners of the evening.
Just before the National Anthem was played a moment of silence was observed in honor of 14 year old Dylan Roy who lost his battle with cancer this past week. Dylan was the nephew of Modified driver Erik Nelson and grandson of former racer Bill Nelson.
A unique qualifying procedure for the Go Green NMX Fonda Thunder Series qualified five in each of the heat races but inverted the top three for the start of the feature. That put Tony Pepicelli and Dave Camara on the front row with Camara also representing the Fonda home turf very well as he took the lead at the drop of the green flag from his outside front row starting position.
Pepicelli held the second position early on with Ward coming up to the front quickly from his fifth place starting position as he sat in the third spot by lap five. Ward got by Pepicelli for the second position on lap four with DeLorenzo following him through for the third position after starting seventh.
Camara and Brett Hearn were dusting off the back stretch as they were racing the extreme outside of the speedway with Hearn in the top five by the lap eight point of the event.
On the inside of turn three on lap 11, Ward was the new race leader after getting by Camara while DeLorenzo also got by Camara for the second spot one lap later. After a 10 lap battle that saw Pepicelli and Hearn race nose to tail and side by side, Hearn took over the fourth position but that was as high as he would advance in the event.
With Ward in heavy lap traffic by lap 16, DeLorenzo closed in on the leader and was throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Ward as lap after lap DeLorenzo would duck under him in turns one and two and try to go around the outside of him in turns three and four.
Each lap coming out of turns two and four, Ward would slide up in front of DeLorenzo to hold onto the lead until lap 33 when DeLorenzo made a bonsai move around both the lap car of Donnie Corellis and Ward in turn four to take over the number one spot.
From that point on DeLorenzo pulled away from the pack as he took the win in the BBL Companies #3D over Ward, Camara, Hearn, and Bobby Varin.
“The track was smooth and racy tonight and we like to defend our home turf against any invading drivers,” DeLorenzo said. “We had a leaky oil pan after our heat race and I’m not sure what my crew did to fix it but I have to thank them for this win.”
“I had my hat turned sideways and he (DeLorenzo) was all over me on both sides,” Ward said. “He drove a great race; he was the Track Champion here at Fonda last year for a reason as my car was good but his was perfect.”
“This was a big change for us as at least tonight we could see the leaders,” Camara said. “Usually we aren’t happy after falling back positions from where we started but this time we’ll take it. This has been a tough season so far but tonight was good for us.”
A unique point structure for the Go Green NMX Fonda Thunder Series was announced at Fonda on Saturday as there will be bonus points given in the qualifying heat races with the first place finisher in the heat race getting 10 bonus points with the second place finisher receiving eight points, the third place finisher six points and the fourth place finisher getting four points.
The Go Green NMX Series point champion will receive $4000 at the annual awards banquet followed by a $2500 payoff for second in points and $1500 for the third place finisher in points. These points will be kept separate from the regular set of points at Fonda for the 2008 season.
The curfew delayed Sportsman feature from 5/10 began with Dan Papa and Ricky Quick on the front row with Quick the leader at the drop of the green flag. Quick was setting a blistering pace as Pickard and Mark Mortensen were battling side by side for the second position on lap six.
Defending Track Champion David Towns started the event in the 11th position and on lap seven he was already up to the fourth spot. On lap eight, Towns threaded the needle as he went right in between both Pickard and Mortensen to take over the second position. At the halfway point Quick was out to a straightaway lead followed by Towns while Pickard, Mortensen, and Mark Kislowski were all battling for the third position.
While leading on lap 14, Quick’s car started showing signs of smoke allowing Towns to close in quickly. On the inside of turn three on lap 16 Towns was the new leader with Kislowski now second and Mortensen third. Quick’s car came to a stop on the front stretch on lap 17 bringing out the caution and ending a great run for the young Scotia, NY driver.
On the restart Towns continued to lead as Luke Munroe snuck by both Chad Edwards and Mortensen for the third position. Towns led the remaining laps for his third win of the season and the 29th of his career at Fonda in the Jeff Taber’s Road Side Service #6 while Munroe and Kislowski raced side by side on the final lap. At the checkered flag it was Munroe, Kislowski, Mortensen, and Edwards completing the top five.
“That was unfortunate for Ricky (Quick) that he had problems because he had a great run going,” Towns said in victory lane. “My car just about shut down on me with a couple of laps to go as the motor just started skipping. We’ll have to take it to the pits and see what we can do with it Towns said as his crew scrambled to get back to pit road to get ready to work on the car.”
Pickard was the early leader of the regular scheduled Sportsman feature with Jeremy Wilder taking the lead before lap on was completed. Mortensen was the new second place car on lap two as he got by Pickard and one lap later Wilder and Mortensen were side by side for the lead which Mortensen was able to take on the inside of turn three on lap four.
Kislowski started the event in the ninth position but by lap six was already up to the third spot after getting by Pickard. One lap later Kislowski was the new second place car as he got by Wilder for the spot. The first yellow flag of the event was out for Wilder on lap 13 as he ended up spinning in turn one.
Mortensen maintained the lead on the restart with another yellow out before another lap was completed for Drew Fallis who spun in between turns three and four. On this restart the lap car of Kris Savoie was between the race leader Mortensen and second place Kislowski but when the green flag came out Kislowski was able to clear the lap car and chase the leader.
Lap after lap Mortensen was running the cushion with Kislowski running low on the speedway and ducking under Mortensen in every turn only to have Mortensen power back around the outside of him as they came out of the turns. At the finish line to complete lap 19 Kislowski made the move stick as he got the lead down low on the frontstretch.
Going into turn three on the final lap Mortensen was able to get alongside of Kislowski on the outside of the speedway but at the checkered flag it was Kislowski taking the win by half a car length (0.061 sec.) over Mortensen, Munroe, Towns, and Scarborough.
For Kislowski it was his first win of the season and the fifth of his career at Fonda.
“The car was pretty good tonight,” Kislowski said. “I got lucky on one of the restarts and I took advantage of it. We’ve been working hard in the garage and it is all starting to pay off. Ronnie (Johnson) was down in turn four telling me where to run and I like to do as I’m told.”
Dean Charbonneau was the leader of the Pro Stock feature from his outside front row starting position with Pro Stock rookie John Babcock in tow. Nick Stone started the feature in the 11th position and by lap two he was already up to the third spot. Coming out of turn four on lap three Stone was sideways but he was able to save it only losing one spot to Kenny Martin Jr. in the process.
Stone was able to get the third spot back by lap seven with Chip Smith and Roy Fifield also getting by Martin for the fourth and fifth positions. Charbonneau was driving a great race until lap 14 when Stone ducked inside of both Babcock and Charbonneau and made contact with Charbonneau spinning him out of the lead position.
Babcock took over the lead at that point with Fifield taking the second spot away from Smith on the restart. On lap 15 Smith hit the wall in turn one collecting the car of Stone and ending both their nights early.
Going into turn three on the final lap Fifield ducked under Babcock for the lead and made the slide job pass coming out of turn four for his second win of the season and the fifth of his career at Fonda over Babcock, Ivan Joslin, Kenny Gates, and Martin.
“That was the first time that I ever did one of those slide job passes and I am just glad that it was a clean pass,” Fifield said in victory lane. “The car was real fast tonight and now I am really looking forward to next week.”
On the original start of the 20-lap IMCA feature Danny Ody was the leader at the drop of the green flag with the yellow coming out for Kevin Buff who spun in turn four before any laps were completed. Defending Track Champion Jeremy Cramer was collected in the wreck and on the original restart Danny Ody was the leader of the event.
On lap two on the inside of the frontstretch Jim Cramer took over the lead after starting fourth with Ody and Beau Ballard close behind. Aaron Jacobs was the man on the move from his 14th starting position as he took over the fourth position on lap eight.
Two laps later Ballard and Jacobs both got by Ody for the second and third positions with Jacobs getting by Jim Cramer for the lead on lap 14 on the outside of turn four bringing Ballard with him for second.
On the inside of the backstretch on lap 19 Jim Cramer took the lead back as he was running the inside of the speedway while Jacobs was running around the outside. The top six were side by side in rows of three on the final lap with positions being switched many times before the checkered flag fell.
At the finish it was Jim Cramer who won his first race of the season and the second of his career at Fonda over Jacobs, Ballard, Ody, and Bob Banks Jr.
“I was just letting it all hang out and gave it all she had,” Cramer said in victory lane.
It took two tries to get the Street Stock feature going with Justin Knight taking the lead both times in the caution plagued event. Before one lap was completed the first yellow was out for Luke Horning who spun in turn four.
On the restart cars were four wide for the lead with Knight able to hold on to the point with the yellow out again on lap two for a crash involving Dan Pollock, Rob VanAernam and others. VanAernam ended up on top of the turn one wall as a result but was not injured in the wreck. In fact he was able to pit and return to the rear of the field.
Dave Horning Sr. was up to the fifth position by lap two after starting 23rd with another caution coming out on lap three for Cassidy Wilson who stopped on the backstretch. On the restart Horning was the new leader and he went on to his first win of the season and the 17th of his career at Fonda over Chuck McSpirit, Knight, Neil Cosselman, and Cody Bleau.
Less than half the field was around at the finish with all of the caution flags taking its toll on equipment.
Next week at Fonda the Empire Super Sprints will be in action along with all other divisions. The 360 Sprint Open feature that was rained out back on April 26 will also be run with a starting time of 6:00 p.m.
MODIFIED QUALIFYING – 37 total cars – 5 qualify – 3 inverted
HEAT 1 – Ronnie Johnson, Pat Ward, Tony Pepicelli, Paul Cirincione, A.J. Romano
HEAT 2 – Elmo Reckner, Ryan Odasz, Dave Camara, Todd Morey, Josh Hohenforst
HEAT 3 – Bobby Varin, Matt DeLorenzo, Alton Palmer, Donnie Corellis, Marc Johnson
HEAT 4 – Jack Johnson, Brett Hearn, Erik Nelson, Craig Hanson, Alan Barker
MODIFIED CONSOLATIONS – 4 qualify
CONSI 1 – Shawn Pangman, Mike Fusco, Ray Zemken, Dave Lape
CONSI 2 – Danny Varin, Dustin Delaney, Jim Davis, Jeremy Wilder
JUMPIN’ JACKS PRO SPEED MODIFIED FEATURE – 40-LAPS – MATT DELORENZO, Pat Ward, Dave Camara, Brett Hearn, Bobby Varin, Ronnie Johnson, Jack Johnson, Ryan Odasz, Elmo Reckner, Craig Hanson, Alton Palmer, Erik Nelson, Donnie Corellis, Danny Varin, Marc Johnson, Dustin Delaney, Paul Cirincione, Josh Hohenforst, Todd Morey, Jim Davis, Alan Barker, Ray Zemken, Shawn Pangman, Jeremy Wilder, Tony Pepicelli, Mike Fusco, A.J. Romano, Dave Lape, John Marsh Sr. (DNS)
JUMPIN’ JACKS PRO SPEED SPORTSMAN FEATURE CURFEW DELAYED FROM 5/10 – 20-LAPS – DAVID TOWNS – Luke Munroe, Mark Kislowski, Mark Mortensen, Chad Edwards, John McAuliffe, Tony Farone, D.T. Pickard, John Scarborough , Dave Constantino, Drew Fallis, Jeremy Wilder, Mark Bishop, Kris Savoie, Dan Papa, John Reome, Neil Erickson, Chuck Allen, Vinny Sanganetti, Tom Funk, Howard gage, Ricky Quick, Jim Meka
SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING – 26 total cars – 5 qualify – 4 handicapped
HEAT 1 – Mark Kislowski, Luke Munroe, Mark Mortensen, Tony Farone, Pete Sisler
HEAT 2 – John Scarborough , Jeremy Wilder, Dave Constantino, Chad Edwards, Neil Erickson
HEAT 3 – David Towns, John McAuliffe, D.T. Pickard, Drew Fallis, John Reome
JUMPIN’ JACKS PRO SPEED SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 20-LAPS – MARK KISLOWSKI, Mark Mortensen, Luke Munroe, David Towns, John Scarborough , John McAuliffe, D.T. Pickard, Dave Constantino, Neil Erickson, Chad Edwards, John Reome, Drew Fallis, Pete Sisler, Bill Wilder, Vinny Sanganetti, Shawn Gibbons, Kris Savoie, Tom Funk, Howard Gage, Mark Bishop, Bob Gray, Jeremy Wilder, Dan Papa, Chuck Allen, Tony Farone (DNS), Jim Meka (DNS)
JUMPIN’ JACKS PRO SPEED PRO STOCK FEATURE – 20-LAPS – ROY FIFIELD, John Babcock, Ivan Joslin, Kenny Gates, Kenny Martin Jr., Luke Klob, Tony Stone, Shane Henderson, Jason Brownell, Chip Smith, Sheldon Martin, Nick Stone, Dean Charbonneau
IMCA QUALIFYING – 15 total cars – 4 qualify
HEAT 1 – Jeff Jones, Jim Cramer, Beau Ballard, JoJo Donato
HEAT 2 – Kevin Buff, Danny Ballard, Jeremy Cramer, Danny Ody
JUMPIN’ JACKS PRO SPEED IMCA FEATURE – 20-LAPS – JIM CRAMER, Aaron Jacobs, Beau Ballard, Danny Ody, Bob Banks Jr., Kevin Buff, Dennis Vrooman, Jeff Jones, Dan Hartgraves, JoJo Donato, Howard Smith, Malcum Warner, Jeremy Cramer, Danny Ballard (DNS)
JUMPIN’ JACKS PRO SPEED STREET STOCK FEATURE – SHORTENED TO 10-LAPS DUE TO EXCESSIVE CAUTIONS – DAVE HORNING SR., Chuck McSpirit, Justin Knight, Neil Cosselman, Cody Bleau, Dave Cook, Leo Brady, Rob VanAernam, Brian Haas, Chris Reckner, Pete Jeske, Mike Jeske, Cassidy Wilson, Matt Johnson, Guy Klob, Dan Pollock, Eric Sbrega, Luke Horning, Robbie Veronse, Jerry Cohn, A.J. Horning
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