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DELORENZO AND TOWNS EACH GET THEIR FIFTH WINS OF THE SEASON AT FONDA
By: Ron Szczerba
FONDA , NY – In his previous four wins this season at the Fonda Speedway Matt DeLorenzo had to withstand numerous challenges from many different drivers. Last Saturday evening may have been his toughest challenge yet this season as first Craig Hanson and then Ryan Odasz did their best to defeat the defending Modified Track Champion.
In the end it was DeLorenzo who took home his fifth win of the season and the 17th of his career in a Modified at Fonda in the Enders small block powered BBL Companies sponsored Teo on Morris Auto Group/New York State Stock Car Association (NYSSCA) Night. NYSSCA gave out monetary awards to the top two finishers in each of the feature events that were members of the NYSSCA organization.
“Restarts are tough against the big blocks because they have more power than the small blocks do,” DeLorenzo said. “It was a real good race against both Craig (Hanson) and Ryan (Odasz).”
Other winners last Saturday evening at the Track of Champions included David Towns who took his fifth win of the 2008 season in the Sportsman division, Frank Hoard III (Budget Sportsman), Dean Charbonneau who took his first career win at Fonda in the Pro Stock division, Kevin Buff (IMCA), Rob VanAernam and Dave Horning Sr. (Street Stock).
Danny Varin led the first two laps of the 30-lap Modified feature from his outside front row starting spot with Paul Cirincione in tow after starting alongside Varin on the front row. Hanson started the event in the second row on the outside and was using the outside groove to make his way to the front along with Odasz who was in the third position.
On lap three on the outside of the backstretch, Hanson swung around the outside of Varin for the lead while DeLorenzo made his way past Tony Pepicelli for the fifth position after starting ninth. Once he got by Pepicelli on the inside, DeLorenzo then switched lanes to get by Cirincione for the fourth spot on the outside.
Odasz and DeLorenzo both got by Varin for the second and third positions on lap seven while Hanson was in lap traffic two laps later. The top three of Hanson, Odasz, and DeLorenzo were a straightaway ahead of the fourth place runner by lap 11 while two laps later Odasz was challenging Hanson for the lead.
Coming out of turn two on lap 14, Odasz ducked under Hanson only to lose the second position to DeLorenzo in the process as Hanson got some breathing room for a brief time. The first of only two caution flags in the event flew on lap 14 for Dave Lape who was sideways in turn two. Under the caution Pat Ward went to the pit area and never came back out as he retired from the event at that point.
Hanson chose the outside groove on the double file restart while Varin got by both Odasz and DeLorenzo on the outside for the second position when the green flag flew again. Both DeLorenzo and Odasz were able to get back by Varin by the halfway point of the event for the second and third positions they lost on the restart.
At the finish line to complete lap 18, DeLorenzo ducked under Hanson coming out of turn four to take the lead and coming out of turn two slid in front of Hanson to take away his line on the track. Hanson made a cross over move going into turn three to retake the lead on the low side but going into turn one on the next lap sparks flew from underneath the car and Hanson came to a stop in turn two bringing out the final caution of the event.
On the restart, Odasz got alongside DeLorenzo going into turn four but coming out of the turn DeLorenzo came up the track to throw a block and the two cars made contact with DeLorenzo maintaining the lead while Odasz made a great save to keep his car from hitting the wall and kept his great run going in second.
Despite being blocked by the lap car of Darwin Greene with only two laps to go, DeLorenzo made it by safely and went on to a straightaway win over Odasz, Bobby Varin who started the event in the 11th position, Dave Camara, and Ronnie Johnson.
“Maybe I didn’t give Ryan enough room coming out of turn four as he looked upset about it and I apologize for that,” DeLorenzo said. “It was a good race and I actually clipped the wall coming out of turn four at one point. The bite was on the bottom of the track tonight and it was definitely a good race.”
Ricky Quick and Drew Fallis started the 20-lap Sportsman feature on the front row with Fallis taking the early advantage. By lap five Quick and Neil Erickson were side by side for the second position with Quick able to hold on to the spot at that point. When John Reome spun in turn two on lap six it brought out the caution for the first time in the event with Fallis, Quick, Erickson, Mark Kislowski, and John McAuliffe completing the top five.
Towns started the event in the 11th position and on the restart moved into the fourth spot while Erickson also made his way into the second spot after getting by Quick. Over the next two laps Kislowski and Towns double teamed their competitors as they both got by Quick and then Erickson for the second and third positions respectively by the halfway point.
Towns got by Kislowski for the second spot on lap 11 and in the blink of an eye he was around the outside of Fallis for the lead on the outside of turn four. Kislowski was next to get by Fallis for the second position while further back in the field McAuliffe and Mark Mortensen were battling side by side for the sixth spot. After starting eighth and falling back to 12th at one point in the event Mortensen got by McAuliffe on the final lap for the sixth position as Towns went on to his 31st career win at the Track of Champions.
Kislowski, Luke Munroe, Fallis, and Jeremy Wilder completed the top five. At the completion of the event Munroe was penalized two positions for jumping one of the restarts moving Fallis and Wilder up one spot and moving Munroe back to fifth.
“That was a tough race trying to get through all of the traffic to the front,” Towns said in victory lane. “The track was good on both the top and the bottom and the race itself was a lot of fun. I think that we found the problem with the car this week and while the car was good last Saturday it was even better this week.”
Frank Corradi started on the pole and took the early lead in the 20-lap Budget Sportsman feature at the drop of the green flag. By the time lap one was completed Bill Wilder was the leader of the event after starting third while Frank Hoard III was up to the second spot by lap three after starting fifth.
Aaron Jacobs was doing double duty on Saturday evening running in both the IMCA and Budget Sportsman divisions. On lap five Jacobs was up to the third position after starting seventh while Wilder and Hoard were side by side for the lead. Coming out of turn four to complete lap eight Hoard ducked under Wilder and when they crossed the finish line to complete the lap Hoard was the new leader.
Hoard pulled away from that point on with the best race on the track now the one between Jacobs and Corradi who were side by side for the third position for many laps. As the checkered flag flew it was Hoard who went on to his third win of the season and fourth of his career at Fonda in the Budget Sportsman division with Wilder in the runner-up spot. Corradi got by Jacobs for the third position while Jacobs and Korey Wilder completed the top five.
“The 11 car (Bill Wilder) was using the bumper on the restart and he has to learn that I set the pace as the leader,” Hoard said. “I thought that I was going to bring this car home in a basket during the heat race but it got better in the feature.”
Fonda Speedway management decided to cut the Pro Stock feature five laps to a 15-lap distance with Dean Charbonneau taking the lead at the drop of the green flag after starting on the pole with Shane Henderson second. After starting seventh, Roy Fifield was already up to the third position on lap four and by lap eight he was second followed by Henderson and Nick Stone who started eighth.
On lap 11, Fifield caught up to the leader but both he and Charbonneau were running the outside line giving Fifield nowhere to go to try and get by. Fifield decided to try the low line on the speedway and for the final four laps he would duck under Charbonneau in every turn only to have Charbonneau keep up his momentum on the outside to maintain the lead.
As the checkered flag flew it was Charbonneau winning the first Pro Stock feature of his career at Fonda over Fifield, Kenny Gates, Henderson, and Stone.
“Winning is hard to do here at Fonda,” Charbonneau said in victory lane. “This is a tough place to win and you definitely have to stay on top of your game with these boys.”
Danny Ballard went from third to the lead at the drop of the green in the 20-lap IMCA feature while behind him Danny Ody, Jim Cramer, and Kevin Buff were running three wide for the fourth position. Buff got up to the second position on lap two and one lap later he was side by side with Ballard for the lead going into turn one.
Ballard was able to hold on to the position at that point with the yellow coming out for Eric Stumpf who spun in turn four. On the restart the yellow was thrown again after Beau Ballard went over the wheel of Bob Banks Jr. and ended up in the tire barrier in turn three. Beau was done for the night at that point with front end damage.
Buff was out to a half straightaway lead by lap eight while Jim and Jeremy Cramer were up to the third and fourth positions after starting the event in the fifth and 13th spots respectively. The Cramer brothers battled side by side for the third position for two laps before Jeremy got the best of his brother Jim to take over the spot on lap 16.
Just when it looked as though Buff was going to go on to an easy win the yellow came out with one lap to go for Howard Smith who spun in turn two. On the restart Jeremy Cramer was able to get by Buff for the lead only to have the yellow come back out for Carol Parker who spun in turn two before the lap was completed and more importantly before the checkered flag was thrown.
Because the lap wasn’t completed Buff was able to restart on the point and this time on the restart he held on to the lead and went on to his first win of the season and the 10th of his career at Fonda over Danny Ballard, Jeremy Cramer, Jim Cramer, and Dennis Vrooman.
“We have been struggling this year but I think that we finally turned it around as the car was awesome tonight,” Buff said. “Thank God for the second chance on the restart because I have been having a hard time on restarts this year and I don’t think that I would have been able to get back by Jeremy again after he got by me if the yellow hadn’t come back out.”
Last week Dave Horning Sr. was involved in a side by side battle with Reuben Kennedy for many laps right down to the checkered flag for the win in the Street Stock feature. This week it was Rob VanAernam’s turn to be involved in the same type of race.
Matt Johnson led lap one of the Street Stock “A” feature with Luke Horning second at the completion of lap one after starting seventh. On the inside of turn two on lap two, Horning was the new race leader with Dan Pollock also getting by Johnson for the second spot.
VanAernam got by Pollock for the third position and under the yellow on lap five Pollock came to a stop in turn four ending his night early. By lap six Horning and VanAernam were side by side for the lead with Horning barely holding on to the point as the lap was completed.
With Horning running on the outside and VanAernam on the inside Horning came down on VanAernam on the front stretch to throw a block and hold onto the lead on lap eight. On the next lap they were side by side again for the lead resulting in a dead heat between the two drivers as lap nine was completed.
Horning and VanAernam stayed side by side over the remaining three laps and coming down the frontstretch to the checkered flag VanAernam was able to pull ahead and was declared the winner by a fender over Horning, Neil Cosselman, Cassidy Wilson, and Johnson.
For VanAernam it was his third win of the season and the 22nd of his career at Fonda.
“That was a real tough race and a great win,” VanAernam said afterwards.
Chris Reckner led the first four laps of the Street Stock “B” feature followed by Ellis Shaffer and Cody Bleau. Bleau got by Shaffer for the second position on lap four and one lap later on the inside of the backstretch, Bleau was the new race leader just before the yellow came out to slow the field.
After starting 10th on the grid, Dave Horning Sr. was up to the second position when the yellow flag flew and on the restart he was the new race leader. Before lap six was completed Bleau retook the lead from Horning Sr. but the race was far from over. On the inside of turn two on lap nine, Horning Sr. took back the lead and went on to his fourth win of the season and the 20th of his career at Fonda over Bleau, Reuben Kennedy, Chuck McSpirit, and Mike Jeske.
“I want to dedicate this win to Fonda Speedway Hall of Fame driver Tony Achzet who passed away last week,” Horning Sr. said in victory lane.
NYSSCA awards for the first and second NYSSCA members across the finish line in each feature event were given to Matt DeLorenzo and Bobby Varin (Modified), David Towns and Mark Kislowski (Sportsman), Frank Hoard III and Bill Wilder (Budget Sportsman), Dean Charbonneau and Roy Fifield (Pro Stock), Danny Ballard and Jeremy Cramer (IMCA), Rob VanAernam, Luke Horning, Dave Horning Sr., and Cody Bleau (Street Stock).
Next Saturday at Fonda a regular show in all divisions is on the racing card along with something a little different involving the top five in the Pro Stock and IMCA point standings. The top five in points in those two divisions will race against each other in a IMCA/Pro Stock Dash for Cash.
The race will be eight laps in distance with the IMCA cars starting the event on the inside row while the Pro Stocks will start on the outside row. The winner of the event will get $300 with the first car from the other division getting a $200 prize. There will also be Kiddie Rides with a starting time of 6:00 p.m.
MODIFIED QUALIFYING – 23 total cars – 5 qualify – 4 handicapped
HEAT 1 – Danny Varin, Pat Ward, Matt DeLorenzo, Dave Lape, Alton Palmer
HEAT 2 – Jack Johnson, Ronnie Johnson, Tony Pepicelli, Craig Hanson, Ryan Charland
HEAT 3 – Ryan Odasz, Dave Camara, Bobby Varin, Paul Cirincione, Elmo Reckner
MORRIS AUTO GROUP/NYSSCA MODIFIED FEATURE – 30-LAPS – MATT DELORENZO, Ryan Odasz, Bobby Varin, Dave Camara, Ronnie Johnson, Jack Johnson, Tony Pepicelli, Alton Palmer, Danny Varin, Todd Morey, John Marsh Sr., Ray Zemken, Paul Cirincione, Alan Barker, Ed Harris, Harry Shaffer, Ryan Charland, Darwin Greene, Craig Hanson, Pat Ward, Dave Lape, Erik Nelson, Elmo Reckner
SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING – 20 total cars – 6 qualify – 6 handicapped
HEAT 1 – John McAuliffe, Drew Fallis, Luke Munroe, John Scarborough , Mark Bishop, Neil Erickson
HEAT 2 – David Towns, Jeremy Wilder, Ricky Quick, Mark Kislowski, Chad Edwards, Mark Mortensen
MORRIS AUTO GROUP/NYSSCA SPORTSMAN FEATURE- 20-LAPS – DAVID TOWNS, Mark Kislowski, Drew Fallis, Jeremy Wilder, Luke Munroe, Mark Mortensen, John McAuliffe, Chad Edwards, Neil Erickson, Jason Memrick, Jim Meka, Vinny Sanganetti, Mark Bishop, Howard Gage, Ricky Quick, D.T. Pickard, John Reome, John Scarborough (DNS), Chuck Allen (DNS)
BUDGET SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING – 14 total cars – 3 qualify and inverted
HEAT 1 – Frank Hoard III, Bill Wilder, Frank Corradi
HEAT 2 – Korey Wilder, Don Bellen, Corky Brockman
MORRIS AUTO GROUP/NYSSCA BUDGET SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 20-LAPS – FRANK HOARD III, Bill Wilder, Frank Corradi, Aaron Jacobs, Korey Wilder, D.J. Brundage, Anthony Marrow, Alex Alberti, Corky Brochman, Dan Fassett, Andy Graves, Lenny Peckham, Don Bellen, John Constantino, Randy Davis
PRO STOCK QUALIFYING – 10 total cars – 5 qualify
HEAT 1 – Roy Fifield, Dean Charbonneau, Kenny Gates, Nick Stone, Chip Smith
MORRIS AUTO GROUP/NYSSCA PRO STOCK FEATURE – 15-LAPS – DEAN CHARBONNEAU, Roy Fifield, Kenny Gates, Shane Henderson, Nick Stone, Chip Smith, Sheldon Martin, John Babcock, Tony Stone, Bill Dona (DNS)
IMCA QUALIFYING – 15 total cars – 4 qualify
HEAT 1 – Kevin Buff, Bob Banks Jr., Beau Ballard, Danny Ody
HEAT 2 – Jeremy Cramer, Danny Ballard, Jim Cramer, JoJo Donato
MORRIS AUTO GROUP/NYSSCA IMCA FEATURE – 20-LAPS – KEVIN BUFF, Danny Ballard, Jeremy Cramer, Jim Cramer, Dennis Vrooman, Aaron Jacobs, Danny Ody, Bob Banks Jr., Dan Hartgraves, JoJo Donato, Howard Smith, Carol Parker, Eric Stumpf, Beau Ballard, Malcum Warner (DNS)
MORRIS AUTO GROUP/NYSSCA STREET STOCK “A” FEATURE – 12-LAPS – ROB VANAERNAM, Luke Horning, Neil Cosselman, Cassidy Wilson, Matt Johnson, Brian Haas, Ken Allen Jr., Dan Pollock, Pete Jeske, John Ketchum
MORRIS AUTO GROUP/NYSSCA STREET STOCK “B” FEATURE – DAVE HORNING SR., Cody Bleau, Reuben Kennedy, Chuck McSpirit, Mike Jeske, Chris Reckner, John Palmer, T.J. Marlett, Ellis Shaffer, Eric Sbrega
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