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HORNING AND JOSLIN TAKE HONDO CLASSIC & BOBCO MEMORIAL WINS AS THE PRO STOCKS TAKE CENTER STAGE AT FONDA

By: Ron Szczerba

Fonda, NY – Saturday evening at “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway, two very special events were held honoring two very special people who were a big part of the history of the track. The 29-lap Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stock feature was the 20th edition of the Hondo Classic in memory of the late Hondo Carpenter while the 4th annual six lap Bobco Memorial Dash in memory of Bob James was also held for competitors in the division.

When the checkered flag flew in both events the winners were Luke Horning who scored his third career win in the Hondo Classic event while Ivan Joslin scored the win in the Bobco Memorial Dash for his first career win in that event. The Hondo Classic has been organized by Kelley and Kaitlyn Keefe since the first event was held back in 2006 while Mark Krosky organizes the Bobco Memorial Dash.

Other winners at Fonda on Saturday included Rocky Warner (358-Modified), Tyler Peet (Swagger Factory Apparel Sportsman), Camron Hotaling (Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman), Jay Ingersoll (DOHC) and Wayne Russell Jr. (SOHC) in the Fonda Fair Four Cylinder division.

Five year old Adelaide Abeling sang the National Anthem, starting off a great night of racing at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds track.

After a win in the first Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stock heat race, Luke Horning started on the pole position for the 20th Annual Hondo Classic, taking the lead at the drop of Joe Kriss’ green flag. Third place starter Andy Graves and fifth place starter Ivan Joslin were both able to get by Slater Baker for the second and third positions at the completion of lap two while tenth place starter Beau Ballard moved his way forward as well, running in the third position after a lap 11 restart.

At the halfway point in the event, Horning continued to lead followed by Graves, Ballard, Joslin, and 11th place starter Nick Stone. Graves pressured Horning heavily throughout the event until lap 21 when Ballard got by him for the second position. As the track changed throughout the event, Horning was careful to choose his position on the restarts after the seven caution flags that plagued the event, choosing the inside for some of them and the outside for others.

The final caution flew with only three laps to go allowing the rest of the field to close in on Horning, but he drove away on the restart in the Classic Muscle Parts #2H to his second win of the season, the 31st win of his career in the division at Fonda, and his third career win in the Hondo Classic after also winning it back in 2021 and last year in 2024. Ballard, Graves, sixth place starter Shane Playford, and 20th place starter Devon Camenga completed the top five.

“It means a week off from work,” Horning said jokingly in F.X. Caprara Victory Lane after winning the Hondo Classic event. “I was counting down the laps, we’ve been struggling here. Last week it was protect the bottom and we won. Tonight, I didn’t know, when I got by Slater (Baker) I looked at the top and it looked like there was so much up there. It was hammer down until about the last three or four laps and then I had to back it down.”

“What a turnaround for this car,” Horning continued to say. The beginning of the year we were just hanging out and now we’re four in a row. I love restarts, I do something different every time. This event is absolutely amazing, awesome to have so much support. I always say I hope people love me as much as they do Hondo and keep doing this.”

“He had the preferred line, he just carried so much momentum on the outside,” Ballard said after his second place run in the Hondo Classic. “I was right on him a couple of times and I was gonna try a slider, but I didn’t want to wreck both of us. No shame getting beat by him, he’s one of the best to do it.”

“It was tough with the top being so good,” Graves said after his third place finish in the Hondo Classic. “He (Luke) gave me the top on the first restart, and I was kind of thanking him, but I couldn’t quite capitalize on that. I screwed up in turn two, and Beau got by me, when the track is like this we just have to give each other a lot of respect, give a little and hopefully someday it will come back around.”

Ivan Joslin started the 4th Annual Bobco Memorial Dash from the outside pole, took the lead at the drop of the green flag, and led every lap of the six lap event in the One Zee Tees/Southside Beverage #49 winning $1009! The remaining finishers with their winnings in parenthesis were Slater Baker ($759), Luke Horning ($509), Chucky Dumblewski ($409), Andy Graves ($309), and Shane Playford ($259).

“That’s amazing,” Joslin said after winning the Bobco Memorial Dash regarding the payout for just six laps. “It’s been a tough one at this point this year, we had that hard wreck last week and we’ve been fighting little gremlins here and there. Honestly, I only met Bobco about a week or two before his passing. He said that he was watching me when I was coming up through the Street Stocks, and he told me you’ll keep winning races if you keep doing what you’re doing. That sticks with me every time.”

With the Amsterdam Truck Center Big Block Modifieds off for the evening, a special 358-Modified event was run with Stephen Gray and Carter Gibbons on the front row for the start after a draw for starting positions. Gibbons took the lead at the start with an early caution out on lap five for Bobby Hackel IV who slowed in turn three.

On the restart, Robert Bublak moved up to the second position after getting by both Brian Calabrese and Gray for the position. Fifth place starter Rocky Warner also got past Calabrese for the fourth position on lap eight, just before Calabrese brought out the caution on lap 11 when he lost a left rear tire and hub while running in the fifth position ending his great run.

The halfway point saw Gibbons as the race leader followed in the top five by Bublak, Warner, Gray, and seventh place starter Ronnie Johnson. Warner got by Bublak for the second position with 10 laps to go in the event with Gibbons over two seconds ahead of him at that point.

Lap after lap Warner closed the gap on Gibbons and when Gibbons had trouble getting by a lap car with four laps to go, Warner took advantage of the opportunity, getting by Gibbons at the line to complete lap 26 with contact made between the two as the pass was made. Warner pulled away for the win in the Carols Transportation/JSR Racing #97 followed in the top five by Gibbons, Johnson, Bublak, and Gray.

“We had a good car, I think the biggest thing was the tire choice,” Warner said after his first career 358-Modified win at Fonda. “We run here weekly so we’re one up on them and we know what we need. It’s the 358’s but still a win at Fonda Speedway and they can’t take that away. This win is for Freddy, who put this deal together. I thought he was a lap car, he usually is (referring to Gibbons). Hats off to the track, kind of weird track for 358’s, kind of heavy and it worked out pretty good.”

Jonny Feagles led the first three laps of the 25-lap Swagger Factory Apparel Sportsman event until third place starter Tyler Peet got by for the lead on lap four with a pass on the outside at the line as the lap was completed. Peet led the remaining laps for his fourth win of the season and the fifth of his career at Fonda in the Ted’s Body Shop #12T but the racing behind him was great despite the six cation flags that fell during the event.

Before any laps were completed a big wreck in turn three involved a lot of good cars who all had to restart in the rear if they were able to continue. The wreck began with Brock Miller getting into the back of Harry Shaffer, sliding out to make contact with Chad Edwards who slid out and made contact with Mark Mortensen. After that Chip Constantino spun to avoid contact with Brett Mortensen and others piling in. All continued at the rear besides Edwards who was done for the evening.

The biggest mover in the event was Josh Coonradt, who after starting last in a 28 car field sat in the third position at the halfway point behind Peet and Feagles with 17th place starter Dylan Madsen and seventh place Kyle Dingman behind him in the top five. Coonradt and Madsen continued to move forward as the laps wound down with Coonradt in the second position on lap 15 and Madsen third after they both were able to get by Feagles.

Peet was in lap traffic with four laps to go but the caution came out with two to go clearing the way for Peet with no traffic ahead on the restart. Peet went on to the win followed by Madsen who got by Coonradt on the final lap, Dingman, and 21st starter Tanner Warner who moved his way to the front and completed the top five.

“It’s hard when you’re leading to know if you’re good or hurting somewhere,” Peet said in victory lane. “I got my butt kicked here a lot, for a lot of years and it feels good to finally win here.”

Mike Block led the first lap of the 15-lap Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman feature from his outside pole starting spot. After a restart on lap two, seventh place starter Camron Hotaling got by Block for the lead and led the remaining laps for his second win of the 2025 season and his second career win in the division at Fonda in the Home Magic Exterior Designer #98. Corky Warner was second after starting 13th and was followed in the top five by Block, eighth place starter Mason Gray, and sixth place starter Steve Wagoner.

“It’s my family and a few friends up in the stands,” Hotaling said referring to the cheering crowd when he was in victory lane. “They are all great, I love them all, I’m glad we got here tonight. I’ve got a lot of people who help us that are really good at setting the car up, and I just drive.”

Next Saturday, August 2 will be a very busy race night at Fonda with the M2 Metals RUSH Late Models in action along with the remainder of the Bill Ag Memorial elimination races that were rained out on June 28. All regular divisions will also be in action with gates opening at 4:00 p.m., hot laps at 6:00 p.m., and racing at 7:00 p.m.

If you are a race fan that gets to the track early, be sure to check out the history of the Fonda Speedway at 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!

Fonda Speedway weekly feature winners, their race teams, and sponsors are invited the following week to display their cars at the museum and watch their feature win on Flo before the races. The victorious car display can begin as early as 3:00, and you are welcome to arrive and stay as late as your schedule allows.

Please message the Fonda Speedway Hall of Fame and Museum Facebook page to RSVP or with any questions!

All Fonda Speedway events are broadcast LIVE on FloRacing (www.floracing.tv).

Since 1953, the Track of Champions Fonda Speedway has hosted the best in stock car racing. The speedway operates 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: @thefondaspdwy or Instagram: @fondaspeedway.

DATE – 7/26/2025 HONDO CLASSIC/BOBCO DASH NIGHT

28 Entrees
Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman
A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 12T-Tyler Peet[3]; 2. 89-Dylan Madsen[17]; 3. 00X-Josh Coonradt[28]; 4. 1D-Kyle Dingman[7]; 5. 78-Tanner Warner[21]; 6. 55-Jonny Feagles[2]; 7. 74-Matt Perry[16]; 8. 31J-John Dumond[15]; 9. 1-Steve Akers[18]; 10. 63-Chip Constantino[22]; 11. 1M-Mark Mortensen[10]; 12. 15-Greg Havlicek[23]; 13. 164-Brock Miller[9]; 14. 25-Stephen Gray[24]; 15. 1B-Brett Mortensen[25]; 16. 2K-Mike Kalkbrenner[19]; 17. 66-Don Bellen[20]; 18. 44-Rocco Constantino[27]; 19. 7J-Dan Santabarbara[1]; 20. 99-Clyde Peek[13]; 21. 4-Al McCoy[26]; 22. 1H-Harry Shaffer[6]; 23. 5C-Randy Cosselman[5]; 24. 84-Ricky Quick[8]; 25. 7-Dave Constantino[12]; 26. 314-Clayton Dumond[4]; 27. 12B-Tyler Bobar[14]; 28. 10%-Chad Edwards[11]

PALMER’S SERVICE CENTER/JAMIE & DENISE PAGE POWER POSITION – $100 Gift Certificate to Online Performance/Stone Motorsports – Matt Perry

GRECO’S NAPA HARD CHARGER AWARD – $100 Gift Certificate to Greco’s NAPA – Josh Coonradt +25

30 entries
Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stocks
A Feature 1 (29 Laps): 1. 2H-Luke Horning[1]; 2. 15-Beau Ballard[10]; 3. 96-Andy Graves[3]; 4. 6-Shane Playford[6]; 5. 110-Devon Camenga[20]; 6. 8N-Nick Stone[11]; 7. 35-Ken Gates[17]; 8. 9B-Slater Baker[2]; 9. 715-Jason Morrison[18]; 10. 22W-AJ Walters[13]; 11. 28-Pete Stefanski[16]; 12. 4-Dean Charbonneau[23]; 13. 1D-Nick Santuccione[21]; 14. 39G-Hayleigh Gates[28]; 15. 15E-Brandon Emigh[14]; 16. 35A-Steve Gates[26]; 17. 13-George Cushman[22]; 18. 62-Nick Danna[29]; 19. 81A-Michael Achzet[15]; 20. 49-Ivan Joslin[5]; 21. 57-Joe Wilson[19]; 22. 07-Chucky Dumblewski[4]; 23. 15M-Mike Hill[8]; 24. 7C-Caden Dumblewski[7]; 25. 71-Rob VanAernam[24]; 26. 93-Justin Knight[12]; 27. 9H-Dave Horning Sr[27]; 28. 74N-Jim Normoyle[9]; 29. 44-Ray Richer[30]; 30. (DNS) 39W-Matt Wells

BOBCO Dash (6 Laps): 1. 49-Ivan Joslin[2]; 2. 9B-Slater Baker[1]; 3. 2H-Luke Horning[6]; 4. 07-Chucky Dumblewski[4]; 5. 96-Andy Graves[5]; 6. 6-Shane Playford[3]

20 entries
Montgomery County Office for Aging Limited Sportsman
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 98-Camron Hotaling[7]; 2. 797-Corky Warner[13]; 3. 2-Michael Block Sr[2]; 4. 26-Mason Gray[8]; 5. 7A-Steve Wagoner[6]; 6. 18-John West[9]; 7. 13J-Jim Mallia[11]; 8. 23-Nick Ryder[10]; 9. 11-Josh Persse[3]; 10. 92C-Lance Hill[15]; 11. 16-Jarron Maguire[17]; 12. 77K-Kathy Bellen[20]; 13. 24-Kirsten Swartz[19]; 14. 27R-Rusty Baumes[12]; 15. 32-Owen Mormile[14]; 16. 47-Walter Cook[4]; 17. 96B-Jimmy Beach[18]; 18. 647-Brian Nelson[16]; 19. 4-Zach McSpirit[1]; 20. 618-Bobby Rhinehardt[5]

PALMER’S SERVICE CENTER/JAMIE & DENISE PAGE POWER POSITION – $50 Gift Certificate to Online Performance/Stone Motorsports – Lance Hill

GRECO’S NAPA HARD CHARGER AWARD – $50 Gift Certificate to Greco’s NAPA – Corky Warner +11

10 entries
Fonda Fair Four Cylinders
A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 97JD-Jay Ingersoll[5]; 2. 26D-Len St Andrews[6]; 3. 54S-Wayne Russell Jr[3]; 4. 78D-Blake Smart[4]; 5. 29JD-John Ray[2]; 6. 420XS-Tim Warner[1]; 7. 191D-Chris Danylieko[8]; 8. I75D-William Cook[9]; 9. K1S-William Liberatore[7]; 10. 818D-Art Howe[10]

17 entries
358 Modified
A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 97W-Rocky Warner[5]; 2. 427-Carter Gibbons[2]; 3. 2RJ-Ronnie Johnson[7]; 4. 27B-Robert Bublak[3]; 5. 25-Stephen Gray[1]; 6. 24-Adam McAuliffe[9]; 7. 76-Chip Constantino[6]; 8. B24-Brendan Gibbons[10]; 9. 44P-Brian Pessolano[12]; 10. 42-Tucker O'Connor[11]; 11. 71-Eric Mack[13]; 12. 88H-Walter Hammond Jr[15]; 13. 97-Allan Hammond[16]; 14. 18-Tony Farone[17]; 15. 77H-Walt Hammond[14]; 16. 21C-Brian Calabrese[4]; 17. 97H-Bobby Hackel IV[8]

PALMER’S SERVICE CENTER/JAMIE & DENISE PAGE POWER POSITION – $100 Gift Certificate to Online Performance/Stone Motorsports – Brendan Gibbons

HONDO CLASSIC BONUS WINNERS LIST

Lap Leaders Heat Winners
Lap/Place Driver Heat 1: 1/2 way Bonus
1 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning 1st 2H - Luke Horning 2H - Luke Horning
2 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning 2nd 07 - Chucky Dumblewski
3 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning 3rd 7C - Caden Dumblewski
4 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning 4th 15 - Beau Ballard Krash's Last Passed for the Win Bonus
5 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning No one. Pole sitter won!
6 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning Heat 2:
7 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning 1st 9B - Slater Baker
8 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning 2nd 49 - Ivan Joslin 9th NYSSCA Member Across the Line
8 - 2nd 96 - Andy Graves 3rd 15M - Mike Hill 715 - Jason Morrison
9 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning 4th 8N - Nick Stone
9 - 9th 7C - Caden Dumblewski
10 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning Heat 3:
11 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning 1st 96 - Andy Graves
12 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning 2nd 6 - Shane Playford
13 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning 3rd 74N - Jim Normoyle
14 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning 4th 93 - Justin Knight
15 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning
15 -15th 13 - George Cushman
16 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning Hondo's Lunch Money (Last Place Car)
17 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning 44 - Ray Richer
18 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning
19 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning
19 - 9th 715 - Jason Morrison Hard Charger (w/ # of Positions)
20 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning 110 - Devon Camenga... +15, 20th to 5th
21 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning
22 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning
23 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning 9th Place Starter
24 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning 74N - Jim Normoyle
25 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning
26 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning
27 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning 15th Place Starter
28 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning 81A - Michael Achzet
29 - Leader 2H - Luke Horning

BOBCO Dash Hard Luck Award
1st 49 - Ivan Joslin 39 - Matt Wells... came out for lineup, couldn't start race.
2nd 9B - Slater Baker
3rd 2H - Luke Horning
4th 07 - Chucky Dumblewski 1st Playfab Chassis Across the Line
5th 96 - Andy Graves 2H - Luke Horning
6th 6 - Shane Playford

1st NYSSCA Member - BOBCO Dash 1st Manimal Chassis Across the Line
49 - Ivan Joslin 15 - Beau Ballard

BOBCO MEMORIAL DASH SPONSORS

Krash Menders, Bob and Tina Gamache, Full Throttle RC Park, Don Kruger Motorsports, Don Scott and Alice, The Nolan Family, Iron Outlaw Nostalgic Funny Car, Rich and Fran Carpinello, Checkered Dreams, Kelley and Kaitlin Keefe, Chris Carpenter, NESCOT North East Stock Car Old Timer's, Kugler's Red Barn, Bob Hackel Used Cars, In Memory of Don Davies, Fonda Speedway Hall of Famer Steve Burega, Gracie May Inn, Bed and Breakfast, Mark and Holly Krosky, Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series, BOBCO's Family, Mom Louise, Sisters Patty and Sandy, NYSSCA New York State Stock Car Association $100.00 1st Finishing Member

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