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WARD WINS GO GREEN NMX MODIFIED SERIES EVENT AT FONDA
By: Ron Szczerba
FONDA, NY – It has been many years since Pat Ward has been a regular at the Fonda Speedway. For 2008 Ward is making Fonda his home track on Saturday nights and Saturday evening he totally dominated the 40-lap $4000 to win Modified event to win the second leg of the Go Green NMX Fonda Thunder Series at Fonda in the Gypsum Express #42P Enders powered Bicknell car.
Ward’s last win at Fonda came on 10/18/2003 in a small block Modified event during McDonald’s weekend. His last win on a regular Saturday night at Fonda came on 4/15/2000. After the race the popular driver from Genoa , NY got a very big ovation by the large crowd on hand as he celebrated in victory lane.
“Ric (Lucia) and the track crew did a great job as the track was good on both top and bottom,” Ward said after his flag to flag win in the caution free event. “This Gypsum Express car has been good all year and we finally got to victory lane so I have to thank them for everything.”
Other winners on Larned & Sons Night at the Track of Champions were Mark Mortensen (Sportsman), Roy Fifield (Pro Stock), Jeremy Cramer (IMCA), Cody Bleau and Cassidy Wilson (Street Stock). For Bleau it was his first career win at Fonda.
Due to an inversion after heat race qualifying Ward and Todd Morey started the event on the front row with Ward the leader at the drop of the green flag. Brett Hearn and Bobby Varin who was in the Dave Cruickshank owned Dover Brake #00 this week started the event in the third and fifth positions respectively as they dueled for the second position on lap four with Hearn able to get the spot after getting by both Varin and Morey.
On lap five, Varin also got by Morey for the third position while Ward was in a different time zone as he was already out to a straightaway lead and running in heavy lap traffic. After starting eighth last weeks winner Ronnie Johnson moved into the fourth position on lap eight while Varin was passing Hearn for the second spot.
Ward was in heavy lap traffic on lap 12 and at times he was blocked in and didn’t have anywhere to go on the track to get by the lap cars. On lap 13 Ward decided that he had enough and went in between Danny Varin and Alton Palmer to put them both a lap down.
“I know enough not to back off,” Ward said. “You never know where the second place car is but honestly as close as it was I thought that I had enough room in between them and I wasn’t about to let off for nothing.”
Johnson moved past Hearn for the third position on lap 15 and four laps later Johnson was racing four wide with Matt DeLorenzo, Dave Camara, and the lap car of Palmer in turn two as he was getting challenged for the third spot. At the halfway point Ward was a half track ahead followed by Varin, Johnson, Camara, and Hearn.
While Ward was able to maintain his half track lead for the remainder of the event and Varin ran all by himself in the second position with no challenges in sight the best race on the track was between Johnson, Camara, and DeLorenzo as they battled hard for the final positions in the top five.
At the checkered flag it was Ward the winner for the 20th time in his career at Fonda by a 9.582 second margin over Varin, Johnson, Camara, and DeLorenzo. Hearn finished sixth and was the last car in the field on the lead lap with Jack Johnson, Dave Lape, Ryan Odasz who started 18th after winning a consolation event in order to qualify for the feature, and Jim Davis who started 15th on the grid completing the top 10.
“This car is so good that it almost drives itself,” Ward said. “That is a good thing because I am getting too old to do this.”
“It was a good run for us tonight,” Varin said. “Pat (Ward) was running really well and when he gets ahead like that he is tough to catch.”
“I lost the power steering about halfway through the event and at the end I was just hanging on,” Johnson said. “I have to thank Larned & Sons for their help sponsoring my car. I wish that I could have won the race for them as they sponsored the racing program tonight but we’ll take a third place finish.”
After going off on a hook a week ago after a wreck, Mark Mortensen made up for it in a big way as he led the final 19 laps of the 20-lap Sportsman feature for his first win of the season and the fifth of his career at the Track of Champions.
Tony Farone led at the start of the event from his pole position start with the caution out before lap one was completed for Jim Meka who was in the wall on the inside of turn two. When the field refired it was Farone who again took the lead over Mortensen who started on the outside pole.
At the finish line to complete lap one, Farone and Mortensen were nose to nose in as close to a dead heat that there is but coming out of turn two Mortensen used his trademark outside groove to take the lead going down the backstretch. By lap three Mortensen and Farone were a half straightaway ahead of the third place car of Vinny Sanganetti and by lap five Mortensen was a half straightway ahead of Farone who lost touch with the leader as the laps went on.
After starting 11th, three time Fonda Speedway Sportsman Track Champion John McAuliffe moved into the fourth position on lap eight while the leader was catching lap traffic when the yellow flag flew on lap 12 for Mark Kislowski who spun in turn one. On the restart, McAuliffe was in the third position behind Mortensen and Farone with John Scarborough and Ricky Quick completing the top five.
McAuliffe and Scarborough both got by Farone for the second and third positions with five laps to go in the event and McAuliffe pressured the leader over the remaining five circuits. Lap after lap McAuliffe would get a run on Mortensen on the inside of the turns only to have Mortensen use his momentum on the outside coming out of the turns to maintain the lead.
Mortensen was able to take the win in a very exciting event over McAuliffe, Scarborough, David Towns , and Luke Munroe.
“We have been struggling this season,” Mortensen said after the win. “This is a setup that we have never used before and my car is always good on the outside but a couple of weeks ago we got beat when I was running out there. That was on my mind but I just kept hitting my marks and was able to get the win.”
Pro Stock rookie Sheldon Martin led lap one of the 20-lap Pro Stock feature from his pole position start with Roy Fifield making his way to the front using the outside line on the speedway to get by his competitors after starting eighth. It was a wild first lap in the event as they were racing four wide down the front straightaway while Fifield was already up to the fourth position at the completion of lap one.
On the outside of turn three on lap two, Fifield swung around the outside of both Shane Henderson and Martin to take the lead with Chip Smith now second after starting seventh. The yellow flag was out on lap six for Kenny Martin Jr. and John Babcock who both spun in two different spots on the speedway and again on the restart for debris on the frontstretch.
On the restart Fifield pulled away while behind him Smith, Nick Stone, and Kenny Gates were battling for the second position. Stone and Gates swapped the position many times before the checkered flag flew while Fifield pulled away to a full straightaway lead at the checkered flag for his fourth win of the season and the seventh of his career at Fonda.
Stone got by Smith with four laps remaining for the second position with Gates and Dean Charbonneau completing the top five.
“I was watching Pat (Ward) run the top in the Modified feature and I decided to take a shot at it in our feature,” Fifield said in victory lane. “We struggled here at Fonda for the first couple of years and it was difficult to be a fifth place car all of the time. After doing our homework and with a lot of hard work we put the best car that we could together and it has all paid off for us this year.”
The IMCA feature events have been very competitive the last couple of weeks at Fonda and Saturday night’s event was no exception as the lead changed hands many times over the last three laps of the event. Kevin Buff led at the start of the 20-lap feature while behind him cars were racing three and four wide on the front stretch to advance their positions.
An early yellow slowed the field on lap one for Danny Ballard who spun in turn three while running second. On the restart, Buff and Bob Banks Jr. rubbed nerf bars as they ran side by side down the frontstretch with Buff able to hold on to the lead.
After starting 10th, defending Track Champion Jeremy Cramer moved into the fourth position on lap five just before the yellow came out again for three time winner Beau Ballard who had some front end damage on the left front after making contact with the wall on the inside of turn four. He was done for the evening at that point.
As the field refired Cramer worked his way forward as he got by first his brother Jim and then Banks to take over the second position on lap seven with Buff now out to a four car length lead. Cramer caught the leader by lap 11 and one lap later he was side by side with Buff for the lead.
Buff held the position at that point and on lap 13 he and Cramer were nose to nose at the line to complete the lap. On lap 14 on the inside of the backstretch it was Cramer who took over the lead but the race was far from over. Yellow flags slowed the field on laps 17 & 18 with the lap 18 caution thrown for Jim Cramer and Buff after Jim Cramer made contact with Buff in turn four and the two cars spun while racing for the second position.
Defending IMCA Track Champion Jeremy Cramer went on to his first win of the season and the 12th of his career at Fonda over Banks, Danny Ody, Danny Ballard, and Jeff Jones.
“It is about time that I didn’t see any of the wrecks on the track as they were all behind me for a change,” Cramer said in victory lane. “It has been awhile since I have been here in victory lane. I have been running a brand new motor in the car all season long but we put our old motor in the car this week and tonight we were able to win.”
The 12-lap Street Stock “A” feature started with Dan Pollock as the leader with Cody Bleau second on lap two after starting fifth. Bleau and Pollock ran side by side for three laps before Bleau was finally able to clear Pollock and put a little breathing room between himself and the second place car.
Only one yellow flag slowed the field on lap seven and on the restart Pollock continued to pressure Bleau for the lead. Bleau never flinched and held on for his first career win over Pollock, Chuck McSpirit, Neil Cosselman, and Mike Jeske.
“It is great to be here in victory lane,” Bleau said. “I never thought that I would be here so this is really amazing to me. The whole race I was telling myself not to screw up but every time that I did that I almost spun out so I shut up for the rest of the event and was able to win it.”
Chris Reckner, Eric Sbrega, and Cassidy Wilson ran three wide on the backstretch at the start of the Street Stock “B” event with Wilson taking the lead going into turn three. Luke Horning was the second place car at the completion of lap one for a short time before Sbrega and Dave Horning Sr. both got by Luke for the second and third positions.
Luke Horning got back by Horning Sr. for the third position on lap nine while Sbrega was pressuring the leader for the point on lap 10. Coming out of turn four to the checkered flag Wilson and Sbrega were side by side and banging off of each other with Wilson winning the event by a nose in a photo finish over Sbrega, Luke Horning, Rob VanAernam, and Horning Sr.
“That was a crazy race,” Wilson said in victory lane. “I really thought that he (Sbrega) had me but coming out of turn four I just kept my foot in it and was able to get the win.”
Next Saturday June, 28 all divisions will be in action on Veterans Night. A giant fireworks display will also be on the racing card along with the 3rd Annual Hondo Classic. The Pro Stock feature will be dedicated to the memory of one of its most popular drivers Hondo Carpenter who lost his life on July 4, 2005 in an ATV accident. Also on Saturday June 28 the Fonda Futures Kid’s Club will have a raffle for a rain slicker donated by Hondo Carpenter’s mother.
MODIFIED QUALIFYING – 33 total cars – 4 qualify – 3 inverted
HEAT 1 – Dave Lape, Bobby Varin, Pat Ward, Matt DeLorenzo
HEAT 2 – Jack Johnson, Alan Barker, Todd Morey, Dustin Delaney
HEAT 3 – Dave Camara, Tony Pepicelli, Brett Hearn, Jim Davis
HEAT 4 – Ray Zemken, Ronnie Johnson, Erik Nelson, Elmo Reckner
MODIFIED CONSOLATIONS – 5 qualify
CONSI 1 – A.J. Romano, Alton Palmer, Marc Johnson, Danny Varin, Donnie Corellis
CONSI 2 – Ryan Odasz, John Marsh Sr., Craig Hanson, Josh Hohenforst, Paul Cirincione
W.M. LARNED & SON GO GREEN NMX FONDA THUNDER SERIES MODIFIED FEATURE – 40-LAPS – PAT WARD, Bobby Varin, Ronnie Johnson, Dave Camara, Matt DeLorenzo, Brett Hearn, Jack Johnson, Dave Lape, Ryan Odasz, Jim Davis, Todd Morey, Ray Zemken, Alan Barker, A.J. Romano, Elmo Reckner, Dustin Delaney, John Marsh Sr., Danny Varin, Erik Nelson, Marc Johnson, Paul Cirincione, Dave Constantino, Darwin Greene, Josh Hohenforst, Alton Palmer, Craig Hanson, Donnie Corellis, Tony Pepicelli
SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING – 23 total cars – 4 qualify – 4 handicapped
HEAT 1 – Mark Mortensen, John McAuliffe , Chad Edwards, Chuck Allen
HEAT 2 – Jeremy Wilder, Vinny Sanganetti, John Scarborough , Neil Erickson
HEAT 3 – Tony Farone, David Towns , Ricky Quick, Drew Fallis
W.M. LARNED & SON SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 20-LAPS – MARK MORTENSEN, John McAuliffe, John Scarborough , David Towns, Luke Munroe, Neil Erickson, Vinny Sanganetti, Chad Edwards, John Reome, D.T. Pickard, Mark Kislowski, Chuck Allen, Pete Sisler, Howard Gage, Tony Farone, JaMike Sowle, Ricky Quick, Drew Fallis, Jeremy Wilder, Jim Meka, Shawn Gibbons, Dan Papa (DNS)
PRO STOCK QUALIFYING – 14 total cars – 4 qualify
HEAT 1 – Chip Smith, Nick Stone, Ivan Joslin, Sheldon Martin
HEAT 2 – Kenny Gates, Roy Fifield, Kenny Martin Jr., Shane Henderson
W.M. LARNED & SON PRO STOCK FEATURE – 20-LAPS – ROY FIFIELD, Nick Stone, Chip Smith, Kenny Gates, Dean Charbonneau, Chucky Dumblewski, Ivan Joslin, Luke Klob, Shane Henderson, Sheldon Martin, Kenny Martin Jr., Tony Stone, Nelson Passino, John Babcock
IMCA QUALIFYING – 14 total cars – 4 qualify
HEAT 1 – Danny Ody, Danny Ballard, Bob Banks Jr., Aaron Jacobs
HEAT 2 – Beau Ballard, Kevin Buff, Jim Cramer, Howard Smith
W.M. LARNED & SON IMCA FEATURE – 20-LAPS – JEREMY CRAMER, Bob Banks Jr., Danny Ody, Danny Ballard, Jeff Jones, Jim Cramer, Aaron Jacobs, Howard Smith, Kevin Buff, Dennis Vrooman, Dan Hartgraves, Carol Parker, Malcum Warner, Beau Ballard
W.M. LARNED & SON STREET STOCK “A” FEATURE – 12-LAPS – CODY BLEAU, Dan Pollock, Chuck McSpirit, Neil Cosselman, Mike Jeske, Matt Johnson, Howie Clark, Guy Klob, Pete Jeske, Ken Allen Jr., Don Warner
W.M. LARNED & SON STREET STOCK “B” FEATURE – 12-LAPS – CASSIDY WILSON, Eric Sbrega, Luke Horning, Rob VanAernam, Dave Horning Sr., Josh Coonradt, Brian Haas, John Palmer, Chris Reckner
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