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FRIESEN TAKES SECOND WIN OF THE SEASON ON DOLLAR NIGHT AT FONDA

By: Ron Szczerba

Fonda, NY – Mirabito presented Dollar Night at the Fonda Speedway on Saturday evening, bringing out a great crowd for the festivities featuring many promotions from various people. When the checkered flag flew at the end of the 30-lap Amsterdam Truck Center Modified feature, Stewart Friesen drove his Halmar #44 to victory lane for the second time this season.

“It’s challenging obviously with this weather,” Friesen told Mimi Lazzaro in victory lane. “Great to get this race in today, the track is so much slicker than it was last year. A different track for us for sure but the Halmar Team has done a great job responding to the changes, a big thanks to our whole group.”

Other winners on Mirabito Night at Fonda were Chad Edwards (Swagger Factory Apparel Sportsman), Shane Playford (Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stocks), Randy Cosselman (Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman), Ken Hollenback (SOHC) and Jay Ingersoll (DOHC) in the Fonda Fair Four Cylinders.

The Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series was also in action with the winners in the different divisions consisting of Doug Mathewson (Antiques), Joe Rando (Mystiques), John Roese (Late Model), Jack Miller (Modified), and Jipp Ortiz (Sportsman).

Earlier in the day at the Fonda Speedway Hall of Fame & Museum, seven individuals were inducted into the prestigious Fonda Speedway Hall of Fame. Inductees this year include drivers Paul Jensen and Walter “Pepper” Eastman; track officials John Bacon, Orville “Bud” Countryman, and Leslie “Les” Kellerhouse; photographer Bob Lansing; crew member, car owner, motor builder, and tech inspector Mike Ketchum.

The 9th Annual Bruce Dostal Dedication to the Fonda Speedway Museum Award was also presented to Brian Gleason and Ron & Bonnie Szczerba.

Cody Clark was the leader of the Amsterdam Truck Center Modified feature at the start from his outside pole starting spot with Rocky Warner in tow. Alex Yankowski started the event in the seventh position and took the third position away from Brian Pessolano on lap three just before the only caution of the race came out one lap later.

Clark chose the outside for the restart and maintained his lead over Warner with eighth place starter Stewart Friesen the new third place car by lap six after getting by Yankowski for the position. One lap later, Friesen got by Warner for the second position and using the extreme outside groove on the track quickly caught the leader.

But with Clark running the same groove as Friesen what it became was a matter of where, when, and if Friesen could get by for the lead. That happened on lap 17 when Clark slipped up in turn three and Friesen was able to get by for the lead.

“That’s tough because Cody was really fast and rips the top here as good as anybody,” Friesen said. “Him picking the top on that restart really helped me out and we got rolling behind him. It was tough, he got a little high in the marbles in turns three and four and we were able to cross and get a little bit of grip through the chop and it worked out.”

Friesen was in lap traffic one lap after he took the lead but once he got the lead the race was for the second spot as he pulled away and at the checkered flag he had lapped up to the top eight. The race for positions in the top five was an exciting one as sixth place starter Jack Lehner worked his way through the top five, passing Clark for the second position with two laps to go.

Friesen went on for his second win of the season and the 96th of his career at Fonda over Lehner, Clark, Yankowski, and Warner.

“I wasn’t sure, I knew if we went to the bottom it would really shut off the run and cut all the speed,” Friesen said as he followed Clark before taking the lead. “I didn’t really want to do that but like I said he was really fast, so I just wanted to stay close and see what happened. It’s like running a snowmobile through the chop, you stay pinned to it and let it do its thing.”

“I was thinking that I had to get through the chop a little bit,” Friesen continued to say regarding lap traffic. “But there was some grip there and I was able to slip by and keep a good pace going. We appreciate each and every fan for coming out on dollar night for all of the promotions. We had a well-balanced race car tonight.”

Chad Edwards started the Swagger Factory Apparel Sportsman feature in the third position and by the time the first lap was recorded he held the race lead after getting by the top two cars of Josh Kane and Kyle Dingman. An early caution flew on lap two when Brett Mortensen broke a right rear shock with Edwards maintaining the lead on the restart.

The restart resulted in another caution for two separate incidents on track with a single file restart to follow. At the halfway point Edwards stretched out his advantage to over a straightaway with Tyler Peet the new second place car followed by 15th place starter Dylan Madsen, Kane, and Kyle Dingman.

At the checkered flag it was Edwards taking the checkered flag for the second time this season and the 24th time in his career at Fonda over Peet, Madsen, Mark Mortensen who fell back to eighth early in the event but made his way back up through the field, and Dingman. Edwards picked up an extra $500 from Sheila Palmer and Mimi Lazzaro for the win.

“You just had to search around a little bit and find the smoothest spot,” Edwards said in victory lane regarding the track. “I had my 40th birthday this week and I’m feeling old. The track was a little rough and I was getting tired at the end because we haven’t been racing a lot, so it was good, we’ll take it.”

“I was running the bottom in one and two and I could get through it pretty good,” Edwards continued to say. In three and four I was running the top and it was good. The lap cars held their line and that is all you can ask for. Then you can pick and choose where you’ve got to go. Thankfully, they all held their line, and it worked out for us.”

Shane Playford started fourth in the Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stock feature and made his way by the top three to take the lead at the completion of lap one with sixth place starter Kenny Gates second. Playford held a straightaway advantage through the first three laps until a caution on lap four closed up the field.

Playford chose the outside for the restart and maintained the top spot with AJ Walters and Nick Stone the new third and fourth place cars after both were able to get by Luke Horning for the positions. At the halfway point, Playford was the race leader followed by Gates, Walters, Stone, and Beau Ballard.

With three laps to go, Gates closed in on Playford for the lead but when Playford cleared two lap cars on the final lap it also cleared the way to the checkered flag as he took his first win of the season and second of his career at the “Track of Champions” over Gates, Walters, Ballard, and Stone.

“I was driving as hard as I possibly could in one and two and I felt so bad for the car at the end of the race that I was trying to back it down a little bit,” a winded and exhausted Shane Playford said in victory lane. “I saw Joe’s (starter Joe Kriss) hands getting closer and closer and I was just trying to keep this thing together,”

Randy Cosselman led all 15-laps of the Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman feature for his second consecutive win and the second of his career in the division followed by Corky Warner, Tim Wilmot, Rocco Constantino, and Kirsten Swartz.

“Don (Warner) has always been there even when I did bad he would come over to my pit after the race,” Cosselman said about the late Don Warner in victory lane. “I ran one of his motors in my Street Stock and I was winning with two laps to go but had to pull in the pits as I was overheating and he came over and yelled at me. This one is for the old man up in heaven.”

Jay Ingersoll (DOHC) was the overall winner of the Fonda Fair Four Cylinder feature with Josh Reome second, SOHC winner Ken Hollenback, Ariana Schultz, and Len St.Andrews completing the top five. Hollenback led the first three laps of the event while Ingersoll started the event in the ninth position, took the lead on lap four, and went on to the overall win. It was career win #106 for Hollenback and career win #12 for Ingersoll.

Next Saturday, May 31 all regular divisions will be in action at Fonda along with the CRSA Sprint cars.

Amsterdam Truck Center Modifieds
A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 44-Stewart Friesen[8]; 2. 85-Jack Lehner[6]; 3. 4-Cody Clark[2]; 4. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[7]; 5. 79-Rocky Warner[4]; 6. 2RJ-Ronnie Johnson[12]; 7. 21P-Luciano (Pep) Corradi[9]; 8. 97-Bobby Hackel IV[10]; 9. 1Z-Jessica Friesen[11]; 10. 21C-Brian Calabrese[5]; 11. 24P-Brian Pessolano[3]; 12. 20C-Craig Hanson[18]; 13. 71-Eric Mack[13]; 14. 76-Jamike Sowle[1]; 15. 27-Jason Reome[15]; 16. 45J-Jared Miller[16]; 17. 50-Bill August[14]; 18. B24-Brendan Gibbons[17]

PALMER’S SERVICE CENTER POWER POSITION PRESENTED BY ALTON & CAROLE PALMER, JAMIE & DENISE PAGE – Brian Calabrese

31 entries
Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman
A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 10%-Chad Edwards[3]; 2. 12T-Tyler Peet[9]; 3. 89-Dylan Madsen[15]; 4. 1M-Mark Mortensen[4]; 5. 1D-Kyle Dingman[2]; 6. 82H-David Hackett[13]; 7. 8-Josh Kane[1]; 8. 84-Ricky Quick[7]; 9. 164-Brock Miller[22]; 10. 25-Stephen Gray[24]; 11. 63-Chip Constantino[12]; 12. 1H-Harry Shaffer[23]; 13. 74-Matt Perry[17]; 14. 12AJ-AJ Greco[19]; 15. 2K-Mike Kalkbrenner[21]; 16. 15-Greg Havlicek[25]; 17. 31J-John Dumond[11]; 18. 38SPEC-Jared LaBagh[8]; 19. 7-Dave Constantino[10]; 20. 117-Butchie Irwin[14]; 21. 78-Tanner Warner[6]; 22. 58-Jonny Feagles[16]; 23. X-EJ McAulliffe[18]; 24. 12B-Tyler Bobar[20]; 25. 1B-Brett Mortensen[5]

PALMER’S SERVICE CENTER POWER POSITION PRESENTED BY ALTON & CAROLE PALMER, JAMIE & DENISE PAGE – Dylan Madsen

GRECO’S NAPA HARD CHARGER AWARD – Stephen Gray +14

19 entries
Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stocks
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 6-Shane Playford[4]; 2. 35-Ken Gates[6]; 3. 22W-AJ Walters[9]; 4. 15-Beau Ballard[5]; 5. 8N-Nick Stone[7]; 6. 715-Jason Morrison[10]; 7. 49-Ivan Joslin[2]; 8. 2H-Luke Horning[3]; 9. 96-Andy Graves[1]; 10. 07-Chucky Dumblewski[11]; 11. 81A-Michael Achzet[14]; 12. 7C-Caden Dumblewski[17]; 13. 74N-Jim Normoyle[12]; 14. 1D-Nick Santuccione[13]; 15. 71-Rob VanAernam[15]; 16. 39-Hayleigh Gates[19]; 17. 15M-Mike Hill[8]; 18. 99-Buck Gasner[16]; 19. 94-Ryan Denton[18]

24 entries
Montgomery County Office for Aging Limited Sportsman
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 5C-Randy Cosselman[1]; 2. 797-Corky Warner[6]; 3. 14W-Timothy Wilmot[4]; 4. 44-Rocco Constantino[5]; 5. 24-Kirsten Swartz[8]; 6. 13J-Jim Mallia[14]; 7. 26-Mason Gray[9]; 8. 618-Bobby Rhinehardt[7]; 9. 7A-Steve Wagoner[2]; 10. 11-Josh Persse[13]; 11. 18-John West[15]; 12. 96B-Jimmy Beach[22]; 13. 98-Camron Hotaling[3]; 14. 349-Garrett Chillot[10]; 15. 4-Zach McSpirit[18]; 16. 87X-Bradley Gruber[23]; 17. 27R-Rusty Baumes[17]; 18. 32-Owen Mormile[16]; 19. 16H-Dylan Hutson[21]; 20. (DNS) 47-Walter Cook; 21. (DNS) 92C-Lance Hill; 22. (DNS) 2-Brandon Tyler; 23. (DNS) 1-Nick Ryder; 24. (DNS) 87J-Joel Knudsen Jr

PALMER’S SERVICE CENTER POWER POSITION PRESENTED BY ALTON & CAROLE PALMER, JAMIE & DENISE PAGE – Jim Malia

GRECO’S NAPA HARD CHARGER AWARD – Jimmy Beach +10

16 entries
Fonda Fair Four Cylinders
A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 97JD-Jay Ingersoll[9]; 2. 129D-Josh Reome[15]; 3. 12S-Ken Hollenbeck[8]; 4. 11D-Ariana Schultz[11]; 5. 26D-Len St Andrews[12]; 6. 33D-Kerrie Hollenbeck[7]; 7. 54S-Wayne Russell Jr[3]; 8. 29JD-John Ray[10]; 9. 212S-TJ Marlitt[6]; 10. 420XS-Tim Warner[4]; 11. 57S-Jeremiah Paro[2]; 12. 666D-Rudy King Jr[5]; 13. 26S-Bruce Liddle[14]; 14. K1S-William Liberatore[1]; 15. 23S-Lucas Condon[16]; 16. (DNS) 25S-ANTHONY POWERS

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