6/2/2024
Fonda Speedway
MARESCA AND EDWARDS DOUBLE UP AT FONDA
By: Ron Szczerba
Fonda, NY – Saturday evening at the Fonda Speedway could have been known as “Make-Up” Saturday with make-up features from April 27 first up on the racing card for the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman and Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stocks along with another entire racing program on top of that sponsored by Caputo Racing Night.
In the make-up feature events, Chad Edwards was the winner of the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman event while Jason Morrison picked up his second career victory in the Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stocks.
Other winners in regular scheduled feature events on Caputo Racing Night included Michael Maresca (Amsterdam Truck Center Modifieds), Payton Talbot (Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman), AJ Walters (Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stocks), Josh Coonradt (Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman), Ken Hollenback (SOHC Fonda Fair Four Cylinders), and Jay Ingersoll (DOHC Fonda Fair Four Cylinders).
The evening began with opening ceremonies starting with a prayer from Pastor Greg Nitz followed by the National Anthem performed by Shelby Wadsworth. Concluding the night was a $2,304 50/50 prize won by Keith from Johnstown. In between was some great racing in all divisions with a couple of first time winners along with a couple of repeat winners.
The 30-lap Amsterdam Truck Center Modified feature started with Jack Lehner in the Nelson Motorsports #85 the early leader after a draw for starting positions placed him on the outside pole. Coming out of turn four to complete lap two, Lehner suffered a flat left rear tire bringing out the caution. He pitted for a tire change and restarted at the rear of the field with Rocky Warner the new race leader.
On the restart, Michael Maresca moved from fourth to second with Dave Constantino third after starting fifth. The yellow was out again on lap five for a wreck involving Jason Reome and Don Bellen and this time on the restart, Maresca took the lead away and he and Warner pulled away from the rest of the field by lap ten. At the halfway point, the top five consisted of Maresca, Warner, Constantino, Jessica Friesen, and 11th place starter Bobby Hackel IV.
Maresca was in lap traffic by lap 17 but consistently ran quick laps to maintain his lead to the checkered flag and with Warner comfortably in the second spot the race to the checkered flag was for the third position between Hackel, Friesen, and 14th place starter Alex Yankowski. When Joe Kriss threw the checkered flag Maresca was the back to back winner in the Weaknecht Archery/St. Lawrence Radiology #7MM followed by Warner, Hackel IV, Friesen, and Yankowski. Lehner ended up finishing seventh after his misfortune with the flat tire.
“It was a hard fought race,” Maresca told Mimi Lazzaro in victory lane. “Had some things go my way for sure on the restarts and everything. Jack (Lehner) was definitely gonna be fast and Rocky was obviously real fast. But I knew that my car was good, and I knew that I just had to be patient. Lap traffic got pretty crazy at the end, one car pushed up and I thought that I was done. It was a good race.”
“The track is unbelievable since the last time we were here,” Maresca continued to say. “Quite a turnaround, there was a top, there was a bottom. I felt good on the bottom but when I had to go to the top I didn’t feel like I lost much speed. I felt real good, the track was phenomenal and there was not much wear on the right rear tire so I’m really happy.”
“The car restarts really good; this is a Wegner Weekend Warrior engine, and it really has a lot of torque so when I got on the gas it takes right off. The carburetor is tuned and working really good and I’m really happy with the motor, for the price of it you can’t beat it. I tell everyone this is what we should all run, there shouldn’t be any big blocks, shouldn’t be any 358’s, we should all just get together and run these. It is cheaper than any other good racing motor. Usually when you are leading the race you want it to be over, but I was having too much fun out there.”
“Thanks to my pit crew Vinny, Austin, Frank, and Big Mike they are the best crew in the pit area. Also, thanks to my wife, my parents who are both here tonight and haven’t been to a race in a while, and my whole family who are all here tonight.”
The April 27 make-up feature for the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman began with Chad Edwards the race leader at the start after a draw for starting positions placed him on the pole. The race was marred by two yellow flags after halfway, one for a five car wreck in turn two and the other for a two car wreck in between turns three and four. Fortunately, there were no injuries in either incident.
Edwards survived both restarts and went on to a back to back victory in the John Kollar Motorsports #10% followed by Blaine Klinger, Josh Kane, Brendan Gibbons, and Clayton DuMond. The win for Edwards was the 21st of his career in the division.
“It’s been a good start to the season,” Edwards said after the win. “Starting on the pole definitely helped tonight with an early feature like this but we’re rolling and hopefully we can keep it going. The track is good, quite a turnaround from where it started, we appreciate all the hard work by everyone involved in it, it was racy and widening out.”
A draw for starting positions placed Payton Talbot on the pole position for the 25-lap feature with Talbot taking the early lead at the drop of the green flag in the Belmont’s Garage #14. It was a position he would never relinquish despite one yellow flag early in the event. At the halfway point, Talbot was the leader followed in the top five by Chip Constantino, Brendan Gibbons, Tyler Peet, and Chad Edwards and that is how they would finish. For Talbot it was the 12th win of his career in the division.
“Been kind of off this year with the new clay and the new tire rule throwing us a little bit of a curveball,” Talbot said in victory lane. “Starting on the pole tonight definitely helped, the car was good early on and started to get a little tight towards the end but overall, it was a rocket ship, and I can’t thank Andy Belmont enough along with my crew and the sponsors on both cars.”
The make-up Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stock feature was won by Jason Morrison who led every lap of the event for his second career win in the division. Kenny Gates, Nick Stone, Devon Camenga, and Gary Silkey completed the top five.
“I have so many people to thank for this,” Morrison said after the win. “This Stone chassis that’s just where it is, my sponsors, wife, and my crew. Last week we blew a motor and a good friend of mine, bird power, he did it. This is a tough class and without all of them this doesn’t roll.”
The regular scheduled Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stock feature was won by AJ Walters for his first career win at Fonda after a side by side, lead swapping battle with Nick Stone for most of the event. Walters and Stone swapped the lead five times but at the checkered flag Walters was the winner for the first time in his career in the division followed in the top five by Stone, Kenny Gates, Ivan Joslin, and Devon Camenga.
“If you’re going to go toe to toe with some of the best, this is what you have to do because when you’re trashing somebody you’re gonna wreck your own shit,” Walters said when Mimi Lazzaro asked him about racing side by side with Nick Stone for the entire race. There’s only a handful of guys that you can trust, there’s a couple on top of the list and he (Nick Stone) is right up there.”
“I sat up in the grandstand above the beer booth as a kid and have been racing here for 15 years,” Walters continued to say. “We got our ass kicked enough but we made it. We’ve got our stuff together this year, the diamond is finally showing through. What a hell of a feeling.”
Jeff Bobilin led the first eight laps of the Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman feature until a lap car was exiting the track in turn three right in front of him, forcing him to check up allowing Josh Coonradt to get by for the lead. Coonradt led the remaining laps for his first career win in the division followed by Bobilin, Ryan Sweet, AJ Greco, and Shawn Gibbons.
“We plan on moving up to the regular sportsman next week and hope for success in the future,” Coonradt said after his first career win in the division at Fonda. “This DKM Cyclone is awesome, the guys over there are nothing but a class act and have been helping me a lot along with Mike Walton from Fastline.”
Ken Hollenback (SOHC) and Jay Ingersoll (DOHC) were the winners in the Fonda Fair Four Cylinder feature event in their respective classes. Ingersoll started the event in the 13th position and finished second behind Hollenback but was declared the DOHC winner.
Next Saturday a full racing card will take place at the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway with M.W. Roosevelt & Son/Roosevelt’s Towing sponsoring the racing program featuring two 22-lap feature events for the Amsterdam Truck Center Modifieds for $2,222 to win each feature on Dave Lape Memorial Night along with many other bonuses!
All other divisions will also be in action along with a make-up feature from April 27 for the Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman and a make-up feature from May 25 for the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman. It will also be New York State Stock Car Association (NYSSCA) Night with the organization giving away bonuses to drivers in each of the feature events in all divisions!
The Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series (MVVDMS) will also be in action and celebrate their NYSSCA Night as well!!
If you are a race fan that gets to the track early, be sure to check out the Fonda Speedway Museum & Hall of Fame which is located on the Fonda Fairgrounds at the rear of the parking area going down towards turn four. The museum is open from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on race days and admission is free!
All races at Fonda Speedway – will be broadcast live on FloRacing (www.floracing.tv) as part of the $150 annual subscription.
Since 1953, the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway has hosted the best in stock car racing. Under the management of BD Motorsports Media LLC, the speedway will operate weekly on Saturday nights from April through August plus several special events. Fonda Speedway is located on the Montgomery County Fairgrounds off New York State Thruway Exit No. 28 at 21 S. Bridge Street Fonda, NY 12068.
Fonda Speedway is on the web at www.thefondaspeedway.com. To learn more, call the office at 518.915.4395, like Fonda Speedway on Facebook or follow the speedway on Twitter and Instagram: @thefondaspdwy.
DATE – 6/1/24 CAPUTO RACING NIGHT
AMSTERDAM TRUCK CENTER MODIFIEDS
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 7MM-Michael Maresca[7]; 2. 1-Rocky Warner[3]; 3. 97-Bobby Hackel IV[11]; 4. 1Z-Jessica Friesen[8]; 5. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[14]; 6. 20C-Craig Hanson[16]; 7. 85-Jack Lehner[2]; 8. 76-Jamike Sowle[1]; 9. 35-Chris Curtis[10]; 10. 2RJ-Ronnie Johnson[12]; 11. 1G-Darwin Greene[17]; 12. 24P-Brian Pessolano[13]; 13. 21C-Brian Calabrese[9]; 14. 21P-Luciano (Pep) Corradi[19]; 15. 19JR-Roger Henion Jr[6]; 16. 34-Dave Constantino[5]; 17. 4-Cody Clark[21]; 18. 3G-Matt DeLorenzo[4]; 19. 66-Don Bellen[18]; 20. 27-Jason Reome[20]; 21. 3-Jeff Trombley[15]; 22. (DNS) 42-Tucker O'Connor
33 entries
SWAGGER FACTORY APPAREL CRATE 602 SPORTSMAN
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 14T-Payton Talbot[1]; 2. 63-Chip Constantino[3]; 3. B24-Brendan Gibbons[4]; 4. 12T-Tyler Peet[5]; 5. 10%-Chad Edwards[10]; 6. 14J-Jeremy Tyrrell[8]; 7. 8-Josh Kane[7]; 8. 314-Clayton DuMond[16]; 9. 78-Tanner Warner[11]; 10. 1M-Mark Mortensen[18]; 11. 7J-Dan Santabarbara[6]; 12. 25-Stephen Gray[9]; 13. 1B-Brett Mortensen[17]; 14. 2K-Mike Kalkbrenner[12]; 15. 21-Gary Edwards III[14]; 16. 9K-Blaine Klinger[13]; 17. 12P-Connor Prokop[22]; 18. 42H-Kadon Hohensheldt[15]; 19. 1H-Harry Shaffer[21]; 20. 31J-John DuMond[20]; 21. 12B-Tyler Bobar[2]; 22. 99-Clyde Peek[28]; 23. 40D-Butchie Irwin[19]; 24. 84-Ricky Quick[23]; 25. 38SPEC-Jared LaBagh[24]; 26. 74-Matt Perry[25]; 27. 89-Dylan Madsen[26]; 28. 55-Jonny Feagles[27]; 29. 1D-Kyle Dingman[29]
Greco’s NAPA Hard Charger – Clayton DuMond +8
4/27 Makeup Feature (25 Laps): 1. 10%-Chad Edwards[1]; 2. 9K-Blaine Klinger[2]; 3. 8-Josh Kane[3]; 4. B24-Brendan Gibbons[5]; 5. 314-Clayton DuMond[4]; 6. 14T-Payton Talbot[15]; 7. 12T-Tyler Peet[6]; 8. 78-Tanner Warner[14]; 9. 7J-Dan Santabarbara[16]; 10. 14J-Jeremy Tyrrell[17]; 11. 40D-Butchie Irwin[21]; 12. 2K-Mike Kalkbrenner[19]; 13. 21-Gary Edwards III[24]; 14. 89-Dylan Madsen[8]; 15. 1M-Mark Mortensen[20]; 16. 31J-John DuMond[22]; 17. 84-Ricky Quick[7]; 18. 1B-Brett Mortensen[9]; 19. 63-Chip Constantino[11]; 20. 12B-Tyler Bobar[13]; 21. 1D-Kyle Dingman[23]; 22. 38SPEC-Jared LaBagh[18]; 23. 55-Jonny Feagles[10]; 24. 25-Stephen Gray[12]; 25. (DNS) 2-Anthony Falanga; 26. (DNS) 312-Bill Port; 27. (DNS) 23N-Nathan Peattie; 28. (DNS) 16X-Savannah Laflair
Greco’s NAPA Hard Charger – Gary Edwards III +11
14 entries
LEATHERSTOCKING CREDIT UNION PRO STOCKS
Feature (20 Laps): 1. 22W-AJ Walters[1]; 2. 8N-Nick Stone[3]; 3. 35-Ken Gates[8]; 4. 49-Ivan Joslin[5]; 5. 110-Devon Camenga[6]; 6. 715-Jason Morrison[4]; 7. 2H-Luke Horning[12]; 8. 7C-Caden Dumblewski[7]; 9. 81A-Michael Achzet[11]; 10. 75-Gary Silkey[10]; 11. 80-Dan Krajewski[13]; 12. 1D-Nick Santuccione[9]; 13. 74N-Jim Normoyle[2]; 14. (DNS) 6-Shane Playford
4/27 Makeup Feature (20 Laps): 1. 715-Jason Morrison[1]; 2. 35-Ken Gates[2]; 3. 8N-Nick Stone[10]; 4. 110-Devon Camenga[4]; 5. 75-Gary Silkey[3]; 6. 49-Ivan Joslin[8]; 7. 1D-Nick Santuccione[9]; 8. 7C-Caden Dumblewski[5]; 9. 6-Shane Playford[6]; 10. 2H-Luke Horning[7]
24 entries
MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICE FOR AGING INC. LIMITED SPORTSMAN
Feature (15 Laps): 1. 00X-Josh Coonradt[3]; 2. 1B-Jeff Bobilin[1]; 3. 37-Ryan Sweet[2]; 4. 12AJ-AJ Greco[8]; 5. 62-Shawn Gibbons[11]; 6. 538-Gus Kamburelis[4]; 7. 85R-Bob Rowback[5]; 8. 13J-Jim Mallia[13]; 9. 5C-Randy Cosselman[7]; 10. 797-Corky Warner[12]; 11. 24-Kirsten Swartz[9]; 12. 22L-Lance Hill[16]; 13. 32-Steve Wagoner[15]; 14. 47-Walter Cook[6]; 15. 216-Phil Arnold[17]; 16. 16H-Dylan Hutson[20]; 17. 618-Bobby Rhinehardt[14]; 18. 55-Kolton Weiler[18]; 19. 11-Josh Persse[19]; 20. 57-Ben Balzer[23]; 21. 44-Rocco Constantino[10]; 22. (DNS) 2-Brandon Tyler; 23. (DNS) 14W-Timothy Wilmot; 24. (DNS) 87J-Joel Knudsen Jr
Greco’s NAPA Hard Charger Award – Shawn Gibbons +6
14 entries
FONDA FAIR FOUR CYLINDERS
Feature (12 Laps): 1. 12S-Ken Hollenbeck[12]; 2. 97JD-Jay Ingersoll[13]; 3. 54S-Wayne Russell Jr[14]; 4. 26D-Len St Andrews[7]; 5. 212S-TJ Marlitt[5]; 6. 36D-Todd Morey[6]; 7. K1S-William Liberatore[2]; 8. 223S-Josh Beals[1]; 9. 29D-Howard Marlitt[3]; 10. 98S-Stephanie Maille[10]; 11. 420XS-Tim Warner[4]; 12. 3D-John Napoli[9]; 13. 42D-Hayleigh Gates[8]; 14. 33D-Kerrie Hollenbeck[11]
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