7/28/2024
Fonda Speedway
FRIESEN WINS THIRD IN A ROW AT FONDA ON AUTISM AWARENESS NIGHT
By: Ron Szczerba
Fonda, NY – The annual Autism Awareness Night at the Fonda Speedway was a special event in more than one way. According to a Facebook post put out after the evening was completed by Jessica Friesen’s One Zee Tees business, there was a total of $38,416 raised at the fundraiser held during the day at the track but after a donation of $11,584 by Halmar International the total amount raised which will be donated to the Crossroads Center for Children was $50,000!
To put a period on the evening Stewart Friesen came from the 10th starting spot to win his third Amsterdam Truck Center Modified feature event in a row at the “Track of Champions”, his sixth victory of 2024, and the 94th of his career at the track that he calls home. I guess that you could say that it was a fitting victory for Stewart on the track but possibly more importantly for Stewart, Jessica, and Parker the fundraiser off the track was an amazing event that is a very special event for them and holds a special place in their hearts.
“Thanks to all of the great race fans for coming out and supporting our chicken barbeque and all of our events at the fundraiser today,” Stewart Friesen said in victory lane. “We had a lot of fun and raised a lot of money today. Thanks to our team at AIM Autism, my wife Jess and the Fonda Speedway management for allowing us to do this. It’s a big deal, that number makes a difference for the school at Crossroads (Crossroads Center for Children) and we’re happy to be here doing it.”
Other winners on One Zee Tees Aim Autism Night at Fonda included Mark Mortensen (Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman), Kenny Gates (Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stocks), Tim Wilmot (Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman), Ken (SOHC) and Kerrie (DOHC) Hollenback in the Fonda Fair Four Cylinder division, and Jordan Hutton (CRSA Sprints).
For Mortensen it was his 27th career win in the Crate 602 Sportsman division, his first win coming back on 4/30/2011, placing him first on the Crate 602 Sportsman All-Time Win list at Fonda. Along with eight career victories in the “Open Sportsman” division before the Crate 602 class was started at Fonda, that brings his overall career win total to 35 at the “Track of Champions”.
Another milestone was reached on Saturday evening as well when Jay Castimore reached his 800th career victory in the sport as a tire specialist and crew member. Currently working with Stewart Friesen, the two held up a special banner in victory lane saying “Congratulations Jaybird” as Friesen and Castimore high fived each other in front of the race car.
“I’m kind of speechless,” Jay Castimore said in victory lane. “It’s been a lot of years, 40 some years of doing this. Thanks to all the guys on Brett’s team (Brett Hearn), we spent a lot of years together but I gotta tell you I wouldn’t have wanted to get 800 with anybody but Stewart Friesen.”
To start the evening off, Chris Moore read a prayer from Pastor Greg Nitz who wasn’t in attendance on Saturday evening followed by the National Anthem which was sung by Michelle King followed by a $4,490 50/50 which was won by Bennett from Fonda.
The 30-lap Amsterdam Truck Center Modified feature began with Cody Clark who took the lead at the drop of Joe Kriss’ green flag from his front row pole position start. The yellow flag waved at the completion of lap one and on the restart Clark was the race leader again, hoping to end his streak of bad luck this season at Fonda.
Stewart Friesen started the event in the 10th position and five laps later was already up to the fifth spot. The next three laps saw Friesen get by Dave Constantino, JaMike Sowle, and finally Pep Corradi, one by one, for the second position at the completion of lap nine with Clark out to a comfortable lead in lap traffic.
Friesen quickly closed in on Clark and on lap 18 took the lead away with a pass on the outside of turn two with Michael Maresca the new third place car at that point after starting sixth. On lap 19, Maresca got by Clark for the second position but was no match for Friesen who continued to pull away to the checkered flag and the feature win.
Back further in the field the top two in points were putting on a great race for positions in the top five. Point leader Alex Yankowski and Jack Lehner, who was tied for the second position in points at the beginning of the evening with Rocky Warner, swapped positions many times in an entertaining race to the checkered flag.
Friesen was the race winner for the sixth time this season and the 94th time in his career at Fonda in the Halmar International #44 followed in the top five by Maresca, Clark, Yankowski, and Lehner.
“800 wins for him (Jay Castimore) is super special,” Friesen said after the win. “We’re fortunate to have “Jaybird” on our team and get his 800th win, it’s a number I can’t even think about. He’s been dedicated to our race team, this sport, and other race teams for many, many years, proud to be here with him tonight and get this milestone.”
Just as Clark was trying to erase his 2024 season of bad luck, Mark Mortensen was trying to do the same as he started the 25-lap Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman in the third position with Blaine Klinger taking the early lead in the event from his outside pole starting spot. Mortensen got by Harry Shaffer for the second position on lap three with Klinger out to a comfortable lead at that point.
Mortensen was running in the tracks of Klinger on the middle to outside groove of the track and really wasn’t making up any ground on the leader until he switched lanes to the bottom and quickly caught up to the rear of Klinger by lap eight. One lap later, Mortensen got by Klinger on the inside of turn four to take the lead and pull away from the rest of the field.
At the halfway point in the event, Mortensen led with Klinger, fifth place starter Michael Kalkbrenner, seventh place starter Chip Constantino, and 10th place starter Payton Talbot in the top five. Kalkbrenner got by Klinger for the second position on lap 14 with Mortensen out to a seven second lead when the caution came out with five laps to go for Talbot who suffered a collapsed front end after hitting one of the yuke tires in turn two.
Mortensen pulled away from Kalkbrenner on the restart and went on to the victory in the Jumpin’ Jack’s Drive-In, Palmer’s Service Center, Benjamin Moore Paints sponsored #1M followed in the top five by Kalkbrenner, Klinger, Constantino, and last weeks winner and ninth place starter Tyler Peet.
“It definitely feels good,” Mortensen said after his first win of 2024. “I don’t know, we’ve been just trying to figure out the whole coil thing and you know I’ve got to thank DKM, Elmo’s, Brendan Gibbons, he’s actually been running me through the coil and load stuff and trying to get me to understand it better. Jack Lehner he’s helped, Erik Nelson, there’s a lot of people that have been pushing for us and it feels good.”
“We try to do the best we can with what we’ve got,” Mortensen continued. “Last week Brett blew his motor, so we had a spare in the garage, and he’s got that tonight. He was fast last week, and I was kind of watching him pull away and that was alright. Tonight, starting up front I thought that we were gonna be pretty good, we were pretty good in the heat race, it was just figuring that out. But it all came together. Thanks to my wife Alisha, my son Evan, my other little guy Jacob, all my crew and sponsors.”
The Leatherstocking Pro Stock feature produced another milestone win in the career of a driver that has always called Fonda his home. It all started with Nick Stone leading from his outside pole starting position after a three wide battle with Jason Morrison and Ivan Joslin over the entire first lap. Stone continued to lead until Joslin used his familiar outside line on the track to get the lead on lap four in turn two.
Joslin and Stone raced side by side for a couple of laps before Stone took the lead back at the finish line to complete lap seven. Fourth place starter Kenny Gates moved into the second position on lap eight after getting by Joslin with a restart slowing the field one lap later. Stone chose the inside for the restart, but it was Gates who used the outside groove to get the lead when the race resumed, surviving two more restarts before pulling away to the win.
For Gates it was his 96th career win at Fonda but also the 100th overall win of his career! Sixth place starter Chuck Dumblewski was second followed in the top five by Stone, Joslin, and Morrison.
“I feel fantastic,” Gates told Mimi Lazzaro in victory lane. “We just won we’re doing pretty damn good. The beginning of the race had to be entertaining, we were high and low, side by side, and two rows side by side for multiple laps. Hopefully, I stunk it up at the end though. This car will pretty much go anywhere that I want it too, it’s a really good car.”
Tim Wilmot led all 15 laps in the Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman feature for his first win of the season and the second of his career in the division at Fonda over third place starter Corky Warner, sixth place starter Jeff Bobilin, ninth place starter Adam Tranka, and 12th place starter Phil Arnold.
“We’ve been fighting it all year and I’m just happy for this one,” Wilmot said after the win. “I’d like to give a shout out to my friend Hunter who isn’t doing too good right now, you’ve got this.”
Ken Hollenback took the lead on lap four of the 12-lap Fonda Fair Four Cylinder feature and led the rest of the way for his seventh win of the 2024 season and the 102nd win of his career. His brother Kerrie finished second and was awarded the DOHC victory, his third of the season and the 44th of his career. Jay Ingersoll, Haleigh Gates, and John Napoli completed the top five in the event.
The one and only appearance for the CRSA Sprints on Saturday saw two drivers looking to tie records as Jordan Hutton was looking to tie the record for career CRSA wins at Fonda while Jeff Trombley was looking to tie the CRSA Sprints All-Time Win List at 14. At the completion of the 20-lap event it was Hutton who tied for the top of the All-Time Win List at Fonda after a last lap pass of Trombley for the win.
Blake Warner led at the start of the event and was out to a comfortable lead in lap traffic when he got up too high in turn four on lap six, hit the concrete wall and flipped over that, landing in between the concrete wall and the catch fence. The car burst into flames for a short time but that quickly went out and the catch fence was split so that had to be repaired before racing could continue. Most important was that Warner was not injured in the wreck.
Hutton was the leader on the restart with Trombley up to the second position on lap seven after starting the race in the sixth position and gaining three spots on the first lap. At the halfway point, the top five consisted of Hutton, Trombley, Dalton Herrick, Tomy Moreau, and Tyler Chartrand. When the caution came out on lap 16 it gave Trombley a shot at the win and he took that shot to the front of the field on the inside of turns one and two after the drop of the green flag to take the lead.
On the final lap going into turns one and two with barely enough room to make the pass between Trombley and the wall, Hutton got alongside the leader and took the top spot away going into turn two. Hutton went on to the fourth win of his career at Fonda, placing him in a tie for the top spot on the Fonda Speedway All-Time CRSA Win List with Mike Kiser and Danny Varin. Trombley, Herrick, Chartrand, and Moreau completed the top five at the checkered flag.
“It means a lot to win at Fonda,” said Hutton, whose win rate at Fonda is at 44 percent according to a CRSA Sprint press release from Marty Czekala. “Just a tough season. Lost a lot of motors and different things. We really needed this. I saw him (Trombley) go low entering one when the white flag came out and I said I got him now. Today marks 20 years since I lost my grandfather. It means a lot to my father and my whole family.”
“The car is going good, every track we go to, this car is good. I went five years without an engine glitch, now they’re catching up,” Trombley said after losing a cylinder on the final lap. “That’s one of the best cars I’ve had here in a feature at Fonda. It’s about momentum and balance. I was too tight in the heat race. We got lucky they did some track prep and turned the track around.”
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 – 7/27/2024 ONE ZEE TEES & AIM AUTISM PRESENTS AUTISM AWARENESS NIGHT
Amsterdam Truck Center Modifieds
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 44-Stewart Friesen[10]; 2. 7MM-Michael Maresca[6]; 3. 4-Cody Clark[1]; 4. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[8]; 5. 85-Jack Lehner[9]; 6. 97-Bobby Hackel IV[7]; 7. 1-Rocky Warner[15]; 8. 2RJ-Ronnie Johnson[11]; 9. 1Z-Jessica Friesen[12]; 10. 34-Dave Constantino[4]; 11. 21P-Luciano (Pep) Corradi[2]; 12. 76-Jamike Sowle[3]; 13. 93-Ryan Odasz[16]; 14. 21C-Brian Calabrese[5]; 15. 24-Adam McAuliffe[17]; 16. 42-Tucker O'Connor[14]; 17. 24P-Brian Pessolano[13]; 18. 27-Jason Reome[20]; 19. 22W-Brandon Walters[19]; 20. 66-Don Bellen[21]; 21. 16-Aaron Jacobs[18]
22 entries
Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 1M-Mark Mortensen[3]; 2. 2K-Mike Kalkbrenner[5]; 3. 9K-Blaine Klinger[2]; 4. 63-Chip Constantino[7]; 5. 12T-Tyler Peet[9]; 6. B24-Brendan Gibbons[12]; 7. 78-Tanner Warner[13]; 8. 84-Ricky Quick[8]; 9. 89-Dylan Madsen[11]; 10. 10%-Chad Edwards[14]; 11. 8-Josh Kane[4]; 12. 55-Jonny Feagles[17]; 13. 40D-Butchie Irwin[16]; 14. 14J-Jeremy Tyrrell[15]; 15. 1H-Harry Shaffer[1]; 16. 12P-Connor Prokop[19]; 17. 4-Al McCoy[20]; 18. 14T-Payton Talbot[10]; 19. 25-Stephen Gray[18]; 20. 1B-Brett Mortensen[6]; 21. 99-Clyde Peek[21]; 22. (DNS) 797-Dan Santabarbara
With the victory, Mark Mortensen is now the leader of the Crate 602 Sportsman All-Time Win List with 27
Greco’s NAPA Hard Charger – Brendan Gibbons +6
12 entries
Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stocks
Feature (20 Laps): 1. 35-Ken Gates[4]; 2. 7D-Chucky Dumblewski[6]; 3. 8N-Nick Stone[2]; 4. 49-Ivan Joslin[3]; 5. 715-Jason Morrison[1]; 6. 7C-Caden Dumblewski[8]; 7. 96-Andy Graves[5]; 8. 15M-Mike Hill[10]; 9. 75-Gary Silkey[7]; 10. 74N-Jim Normoyle[9]; 11. 1D-Nick Santuccione[11]; 12. 62-Nick Danna[12]
20 entries
Montgomery County Office for Aging Limited Sportsman
Feature (15 Laps): 1. 14W-Timothy Wilmot[2]; 2. 797-Corky Warner[3]; 3. 1B-Jeff Bobilin[6]; 4. 44J-Adam Tranka[9]; 5. 216-Phil Arnold[12]; 6. 47-Walter Cook[8]; 7. 37-Ryan Sweet[15]; 8. 12AJ-AJ Greco[5]; 9. 26B-Maddy Broedel[11]; 10. 13J-Jim Mallia[16]; 11. 26-Mason Gray[18]; 12. 66-Kathy Bellen[20]; 13. 24-Kirsten Swartz[4]; 14. 618-Bobby Rhinehardt[13]; 15. 14-Ginger Billy[17]; 16. 2-Brandon Tyler[14]; 17. 11-Josh Persse[1]; 18. 22L-Lance Hill[7]; 19. 4-Jimmy Beach[19]; 20. (DQ) 62-Shawn Gibbons[10]
Greco’s NAPA Hard Charger – Ryan Sweet +8
13 entries
Fonda Fair Four Cylinders
Feature (12 Laps): 1. 12S-Ken Hollenbeck[10]; 2. 33D-Kerrie Hollenbeck[8]; 3. 97JD-Jay Ingersoll[12]; 4. 42D-Hayleigh Gates[5]; 5. 3D-John Napoli[13]; 6. 23TD-Keith Tesiero Jr[7]; 7. 54S-Wayne Russell Jr[6]; 8. 212S-TJ Marlitt[4]; 9. K1S-William Liberatore[1]; 10. 17RD-Joe Bouck Jr[11]; 11. 29JD-John Ray[2]; 12. 420XS-Tim Warner[3]; 13. 98S-Stephanie Maille[9]
21 entries
CRSA Sprint Cars
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 66-Jordan Hutton[1]; 2. 3A-Jeff Trombley[6]; 3. 29-Dalton Herrick[3]; 4. 12-Tyler Chartrand[4]; 5. 22-Tomy Moreau[5]; 6. 9K-Kyle Pierce[7]; 7. 18-Timmy Lotz[8]; 8. J27-John Cunningham[12]; 9. 28-Ron Greek[11]; 10. 99-Adam Depuy[13]; 11. 410-Jerry Sehn Jr[15]; 12. D9-Dustin Sehn[17]; 13. 30-Kirsten Dombroski[16]; 14. 4-Cliff Pierce[20]; 15. 99K-Mike Kiser[9]; 16. 88C-Chad Miller[10]; 17. 55-Rick Hart[19]; 18. 54-Fred Proctor[18]; 19. 93-Guy Gosselin[14]; 20. 3P-Link Pettit[21]; 21. 21B-Blake Warner[2]