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By: Ron Szczerba
FONDA , NY – Saturday evening at the Fonda Speedway, defending Modified Track Champion Bobby Varin took another step toward another point championship as he got his third win of the 2009 season and the 38th of his career at the Track of Champions.
Varin had to survive a close call on a lap 12 accident when Tony Pepicelli and Elmo Reckner got together in turn one and Varin got a part of it while sitting in the third position. He was able to continue on and fell in line in the sixth position on the restart but was still able to get to the front and get the win.
“I was awful lucky,” Varin said. “I don’t know what Elmo was thinking as he got right into Tony and I just squared the car up and hoped for the best. I did make some contact with Elmo’s car but was able to drive away.”
Rain delayed the racing program by a little over an hour but the track crew did a great job running it in and after that it was a real fast race track for all of the competitors in the feature events.
Other winners on Morris Ford/Mercury Night at the Track of Champions were Mark Kislowski (Sportsman), Jeremiah Munson (602 Limited Sportsman), Ivan Joslin (Pro Stock), Kevin Buff (IMCA), Cassidy Wilson (Street Stock), and Doug Emery (Empire Super Sprints).
Tim Dwyer took the early lead in the Modified feature at the drop of Denny Tilison’s green flag in the Mike Bellinger owned #1A car with Craig Hanson in tow after starting in the second row behind Dwyer. On lap three Dave Camara, Varin, and A.J. Romano had a three way battle going for the sixth position with Ronnie Johnson joining in on the fun the following lap to make it a four way free for all.
Alton Palmer moved past Hanson for the second position shortly before Hanson slowed and retired from the event on lap 10. The yellow came out for the Reckner/Pepicelli incident two laps later with Dwyer, Palmer, Camara, Romano, and Ronnie Johnson in the top five at that point.
Varin restarted the event in the sixth position and as soon as the green flag fell he was on his way to the front as he was the new third place car on lap 14 after getting by Romano. Two laps later Varin was in the second position after getting by Palmer.
On lap 18 on the inside of turn three, Varin got by Dwyer for the lead with the two drivers swapping the position once before Varin took it over for good. As Varin pulled away from the pack, Matt DeLorenzo was the man to watch as he was in the third position with 10 laps remaining after starting 26th. DeLorenzo got by Dwyer for the second spot on lap 21 but by then Varin was a straightaway ahead.
DeLorenzo closed in but fell a couple of car lengths short as Varin went on for the win in the Dover Brake sponsored #00 followed by DeLorenzo, Johnson, Camara, and Palmer.
“The front end was messed up after getting involved in that wreck and I’m not sure whether you would call it tow in or tow out,” Varin said. “I can’t say enough about this team as they work hard putting this car together every week and they deserve this win.”
Neil Erickson and Mark Kislowski in the Morris Ford/Mercury sponsored #3 car shared the front row at the start of the Sportsman feature event with Kislowski taking the lead at the drop of the green flag. By lap two Kislowski held a straightaway lead while back a little further in the top five Jason Memrick, defending track champion David Towns, Mark Mortensen, and current point leader Luke Munroe had a four way battle going for the fifth position.
Towns was the first to get by Memrick for the fifth position on lap 11 with Mortensen and Munroe also getting by. Kislowski continued to lead the event by a large margin with five laps to go in the 20-lap feature as John McAuliffe got by Erickson for the second position late in the race.
Kislowski shook off all of the bad luck that he has had so far in 2009 to get his first win of the season and the eighth of his career at Fonda over McAuliffe, Erickson , Chad Edwards, and Towns.
“My whole family is here tonight so that is some extra motivation for me,” Kislowski said in victory lane. “I have to thank my crew as they have been working real hard on this car and my family for allowing me to do this. Everything came together for us tonight as the feature went green to checker and this is all fun right now.”
The 602 Limited Sportsman feature began with Chris Reckner in the lead from his pole position start. Adam McAuliffe started the event in the third position right behind Reckner and took over the lead on lap three with a pass on the inside of turn four.
The Sullivan Motorsports teammates Mike Ketchum and Jeremiah Munson also got by Reckner for the second and third positions by lap five with McAuliffe now a straightaway ahead.
Ketchum and Munson were side by side for the second position on lap nine with Munson able to get by for the spot one lap later. Munson quickly closed in on the half straightaway lead that McAuliffe had built up and took over the lead on lap 12 getting by McAuliffe on the outside of turn two.
Munson went on to his fourth win of the season over McAuliffe, Ketchum, Ray Zemken, and Pete Sisler.
“Everything was up to par tonight and I just had to stay smooth,” Munson said. “I didn’t make any mistakes tonight and that was the key to the win.”
Chuck Dumblewski lead at the start of the Pro Stock feature event from his outside pole position start with Pete Broderson in tow. By lap five Ivan Joslin was the new second place car after getting by Broderson with the caution out on lap seven for a four car crash in turn four.
On the restart, Dumblewski maintained the lead but two laps later Joslin got alongside of Dumblewski to challenge for the lead as both drivers were battling for their first career win in the division. Dumblewski and Joslin stayed side by side for a few more laps until lap 11 when Joslin took the lead with a pass on the outside of turn four.
Joslin went on for his first career win in the division followed by Dumblewski, Broderson, Nick Stone, and Dean Charbonneau.
“This feels great,” Joslin said. “I have to thank everybody for all of their hard work on this car. “I knew that the car was good but I didn’t think it was that good because it handled perfect tonight.”
Kevin Buff launched his way to the lead at the start of the 20-lap IMCA feature event from his outside front row starting position with Danny Ballard the new second place car on lap three after starting third. After a caution on lap six the race was for the second position as Buff pulled away from the rest of the pack.
Ballard and defending track champion Jeremy Cramer were putting on a show for the second position after the restart with Danny Ody joining in to make it a three way battle. The final caution was out on lap 16 for Ody who suffered a flat right rear tire with Buff pulling away on the restart on the way to his first win of 2009 and the 11th of his career followed by Cramer, Ballard, Eric Stumpf, and Kenn Van Wert.
“This car is handling real good right now,” Buff said after the win. “I have to thank Steve from Team Z Motorsports for all of his help because we struggled early in the season but with all of his help this car has been fast.”
Lap one of the Street Stock feature was complete with Chuck McSpirit the leader when rain started to fall delaying the event by over an hour. When the race was restarted Randy Moore was the new race leader with Cassidy Wilson second. Wilson took over the lead for one lap on lap two with Moore retaking the spot on the next lap.
Wilson stayed close to the race leader and on lap five took over the lead for good on his way to his second win of the season and the eighth of his career at Fonda over McSpirit, Cody Bleau, Moore, and Chuck McSpirit.
“I didn’t know that it was supposed to rain today so I am glad that we got the race in,” Wilson said. “The car was a rocket ship after we restarted the event after the rain delay.”
The Empire Super Sprints which have become a Memorial Day tradition at Fonda were on hand with fan favorite Jessica Zemken out of the event with brake problems before the green flag fell to start the event. At the drop of the green Doug Emery took the lead and by lap nine he was already in lap traffic.
Lance Yonge was the car on the move early in the event as he took over the fourth position on lap 13 after starting ninth. An early yellow was out on lap 13 for Steve Poirier who was in the turn four wall. On the single file restart with lap cars in position between the leader and the second place car Emery drove away with Yonge taking over the second position on the restart after getting by Jason Barney and Gordy Button for the spot.
Justin Barger was another car that was on the move late in the event after starting in the 11th position as he took over the third position from Button on lap 17. The caution was out again with five laps to go for Barney who slowed on the backstretch and came to a stop on the outside of turn three while in the top five.
Emery pulled away on the restart with Barger getting by Yonge for the second position with only four laps to go. Emery held on the rest of the way to take the win over Barger, Yonge, Dan Kaszubinski, and Chuck Hebing who started 21st.
“It feels real good to win here at Fonda,” Emery said. “I have to thank the Patterson Racing Team for letting me drive their car. The bottom groove was working real good for me tonight and I had to hook the bottom to keep up my speed and to get by all of the lap traffic.”
Next Saturday, May 30 will be double feature night in all divisions after a rain out on May, 9. Kiddie Rides will also be on the racing card with a starting time of 6:00 p.m.
MODIFIED QUALIFYING – 29 total cars – 4 qualify
HEAT 1 – Jim Davis, Tim Dwyer, Ryan Odasz, Elmo Reckner
HEAT 2 – Dave Camara, Alton Palmer, Paul Cirincione, Josh Pieniazek
HEAT 3 – Craig Hanson, Tony Pepicelli, A.J. Romano, Bobby Varin
MORRIS FORD/MERCURY MODIFIED FEATURE – 30-LAPS – BOBBY VARIN, Matt DeLorenzo, Ronnie Johnson, Dave Camara, Alton Palmer, A.J. Romano, Ancel Collins, Ryan Odasz, Danny Varin, Darwin Greene, Elmo Reckner, Paul Cirincione, JaMike Sowle, Josh Pieniazek, Floyd Billington, John Marsh Sr., Harry Shaffer, Howard Gage, Ed Harris, Tim Dwyer, Dan Fassett, Tony Pepicelli, Craig Hanson, Jack Johnson, Jim Davis, Dave Lape (DNS), Tony Farone (DNS), Jeff Trombley (DNS), Josh Hohenforst (DNS)
SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING – 13 total cars – 4 qualify
HEAT 1 – Mark Kislowski, David Towns , Luke Munroe, Neil Erickson
HEAT 2 – John McAuliffe, Jason Memrick , Chad Edwards, Mark Mortensen
MORRIS FORD/MERCURY SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 20-LAPS – MARK KISLOWSKI, John McAuliffe, Neil Erickson, Chad Edwards, David Towns, Mark Mortensen, Luke Munroe, Jason Memrick, Vinny Sanganetti, Drew Fallis, Chuck Allen, Rob Barlie, Mike Ketchum, Jeremiah Munson, Adam McAuliffe, Justin Lansing
MORRIS FORD/MERCURY 602 LIMITED BUDGET SPORTSMAN FEATURE – NO QUALIFYING EVENTS WERE HELD AS ONLY EIGHT CARS WERE ON HAND – 15-LAPS – JEREMIAH MUNSON, Adam McAuliffe, Mike Ketchum, Ray Zemken, Pete Sisler, Chris Reckner, Rick Lamont, John Calcagn Jr.
PRO STOCK QUALIFYING – 17 total cars – 5 qualify
HEAT 1 – Chuck Dumblewski, Kenny Gates, Nick Stone, Rocky Warner, Ivan Joslin
HEAT 2 – Pete Broderson, Sheldon Martin, Shane Henderson, Dean Charbonneau, Roy Fifield
MORRIS FORD/MERCURY PRO STOCK FEATURE – 20-LAPS – IVAN JOSLIN, Chucky Dumblewski, Pete Broderson, Nick Stone, Dean Charbonneau, Roy Fifield, Rocky Warner, Kenny Martin Jr., Sheldon Martin, Kenny Gates, Luke Horning, Rob Noviczski, Shane Henderson, Chip Smith, Bill Dona (DNS), Rob Yetman (DNS), Don Warner (DNS)
IMCA QUALIFYING – 11 total cars – 5 qualify
HEAT 1 – Kevin Buff, Danny Ballard, Jeremy Cramer, Kenn Van Wert, Bob Banks Jr.
MORRIS FORD/MERCURY IMCA FEATURE – 20-LAPS – KEVIN BUFF, Jeremy Cramer, Danny Ballard, Eric Stumpf, Kenn Van Wert, Jim Cramer, Danny Ody, Carol Parker, Howard Smith, Bob Banks Jr., Malcum Warner
MORRIS FORD MERCURY STREET STOCK FEATURE – 12-LAPS – CASSIDY WILSON, Chuck McSpirit, Cody Bleau, Randy Moore, Chuck McSpirit, Rob VanAernam, Matt Johnson, Cliff Haslun, Dan Pollock, Dave Horning Sr., A.J Walters, Ellis Shaffer, Jerry Sampson Jr., Car #97, Reuben Kennedy Jr., Craig Ritchie, John Young
EMPIRE SUPER SPRINT QUALIFYING – 30 total cars – 6 qualify
HEAT 1 – Jason Barney, Lance Yonge, Tim Kelly, George Suprick, Jeff Cook, Brian McDonald
HEAT 2 – Steve Poirier, Dan Kaszubinski, Rick Wilson, Jeff VanDusen, Tommy Wickham, Anthony Cain
HEAT 3 – Doug Emery, Jessica Zemken, Mike Button, Justin Barger, Warren Alexson, Cory Sparks
WINNER’S CIRCLE ESS DASH – 4-LAPS – JASON BARNEY
KSE ESS B-MAIN – 10-LAPS – MICHAEL PARENT
HERRINGTON FARMS ESS A-MAIN – 25-LAPS – DOUG EMERY, Justin Barger, Lance Yonge, Dan Kaszubinski, Chuck Hebing, Gordy Button, Jeff VanDusen, Michael Parent, George Suprick, Tommy Wickham, Jeff Cook, Mike Stelter, Tim Kelley, Lee Ladouceur, Brian McDonald, Anthony Cain, Rick Wilson, Jason Barney, Cory Sparks, Warren Alexson, Jared Fink, Steve Poirier, Jessica Zemken (DNS)
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