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DELORENZO TAKES FIFTH WIN OF THE SEASON ON FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT AT FONDA

By: Ron Szczerba

Fonda, NY – Samson Motorcar sponsored the $5 admission “Fan Appreciation Night� at the Fonda Speedway on Saturday evening and when the checkered flag flew on the Sunoco Modified feature event it was Matt DeLorenzo scoring his fifth win of the 2022 season and the 42nd time in his career at the “Track of Champions�.

“You’re making me sound old,� DeLorenzo joked with Mimi Lazzaro in victory lane. “Hats off to my brother again and my whole crew, my other brother is here with us tonight and Kevin from KJG Motorsports who has stood behind me for my entire career is also here tonight so that is pretty cool.�

Other winners on Sampson Motorcar Night at Fonda were Payton Talbot (Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman), Zach Dufel (Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman), Ken Hollenback (SOHC Fonda Four Cylinder), Dale VanAllen (DOHC Fonda Fair Four Cylinder), and Jason Reome (Swagger Factory Apparel Black Flag Challenge for the Crate 602 Sportsman).

The 17th Annual Hondo Classic for the Algonkin Motel Pro Stocks was also held on Saturday at Fonda with Beau Ballard getting his first win in the prestigious event along with his first win of the 2022 season at Fonda and the second of his career in the division at the “Track of Champions�. The 1st Annual Bobco (Bob James) Dash for Cash was also held in conjunction with the Honda Classic with Nick Stone taking the win in that event. A separate press release will follow this one for the prestigious Hondo Classic event.

Congratulations to Jeff from Johnstown who was the winner of the 50/50 worth $3,080! As always great job by Julie, Rose, & Heather.

After a prayer from Pastor Greg Nitz and a fantastic rendition of the National Anthem by Mimi Lazzaro the first green flag of the event was thrown in the 30-lap Sunoco Modified feature event with Nick Heywood leading from his pole position start followed by division rookie Tucker O’Connor.

O’Connor got by Heywood for the lead on the outside at the finish line when lap three was completed while Ryan Odasz and Craig Hanson also got by Heywood for the second and third positions after starting the event fourth and seventh, respectively.

Odasz and Hanson were right on the leaders rear bumper on lap ten with Hanson ducking under both Odasz and O’Connor to lead lap eleven. The top five at the halfway point consisted of Hanson, eighth place starter Demetrious Drellos, O’Connor, ninth place starter Rocky Warner, and 12th place starter Matt DeLorenzo.

DeLorenzo was the new third place car on lap 18 while Hanson and Drellos were waging a war for the lead in the event. Drellos made a slide job pass of Hanson for the lead in turn two on lap 19 with Hanson returning the favor in turn four to hold on to the lead at the completion of the lap. Then things started to get very interesting.

Drellos had a great run in turns three and four and was alongside of Hanson for the lead in turn four with Hanson then switching lanes to try to block the move putting Drellos into the front stretch wall. Both cars continued on but going into turn one Drellos got too close to the inside burm and made contact with it with his left front, darting his car to the right and coming in contact with Hanson’s left rear spinning out the car #20C and bringing out the yellow.

Hanson restarted at the rear of the while Drellos drove to the pit area, not sure if officials sent him there or he did it on his own, but he was done for the night after a great run. After watching all of the action going on in front of him, DeLorenzo was handed the lead after the spin by Hanson and chose the inside for the restart with Warner the new second place car.

“I was catching the top two a little bit I thought, and then I don’t know what happened in turn one, but I saw Hanson spin and barely missed him,� DeLorenzo said after the race. “But luckily I did miss him and was able to get by him.�

One more red flag slowed the field on the restart after a multi car wreck mid pack but when the green flag flew again for the final ten laps it was a two-car battle between DeLorenzo and Warner for the win. A quick pass to the inside of the lap car of Don Bellen and then to the outside of another lap car Dylan Scribner in turns one and two sealed the win for DeLorenzo who went on to the win in the BBL Companies #3D Bicknell car powered by an Enders Big Block.

Warner finished second followed by 10th place starter Ronnie Johnson, 13th place starter Dave Constantino, and fifth place starter Chris Curtis.

“The car was really good before the red flag,� DeLorenzo said in victory lane. “But then the lap cars got me a little bit and fortunately I was able to get through them okay. We’re on a roll, we had to change a radiator in the car this afternoon which had a crack in it from last night, so hats off to everybody on my crew it’s a lot of fun. These coil cars, you can dial yourself out in a hurry, we thought that we made the right adjustment last Sunday and I was horrible but tonight it ran real good.�

The 25-lap Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman feature was run green to checker with outside pole position starter Brendan Gibbons leading at the drop of Joe Kriss’ green flag. Fifth place starter Mark Mortensen was the new fourth place car on lap five and just before the halfway point in the event Mortensen was in the third position after getting by Cory White.

At the halfway point in the event Gibbons had a comfortable lead over Gray, Mortensen, White, and Dwyer but lap traffic started coming into play a couple of laps later. On lap 15, 12th place starter Payton Talbot was in the top five and one by one passed White, Mortensen, and Gray for the second position.

Gibbons continued to run the bottom as he did all race long but so was the lap car of Taylor LaPlante allowing Talbot to get around the outside of both LaPlante and Gibbons for the race lead on lap 21. Talbot led the remaining laps of the event in the Ted’s Body Shop, Hig Fab #14T powered by a Donath Crate Motor followed in the top five by Gray, 15th place starter Chad Edwards, Gibbons, and Mortensen.

“Once we found the top it was good,� Talbot said in F.X. Caprara Victory Lane. “I was kind of struggling on the bottom a little while. I got pinned down there for about ten laps I think but when we went to the top it was real good and I started going by people, it was just a great night. With crate racing it is so hard to make up ground so you gotta go anywhere somebody isn’t and when we switched up to the top it was a lot better.�

Ryan Sweet led the first 12 laps of the Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman feature after starting on the pole with eighth place starter Zach Dufel the new second place car on lap five. Sweet led by a straightaway at that point with Dufel closing in on the leader with five laps to go.

Dufel took the lead away from Sweet with a pass on the inside of turns three and four with two laps to go and went on to his third win of the 2022 season and the third of his career in the division over Sweet, 12th place starter Connor Prokop, 11th place starter Josh Kane, and third place starter John Anderson.

Ken Hollenback continued his dominance of the Fonda Fair Four Cylinder division with his 11th win of the 2022 season in a single overhead cam while Dale VanAllen was the winner of the dual overhead cam class after finishing second overall for his first career win in the division at Fonda. John Napoli, Kerrie Hollenback, and Bruce Liddle completed the top ten in the event.

A unique event was also held for the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman with the running of the first annual “Black Flag Challenge�. The event was held for the 16 cars that had perfect attendance this season along with the winner of last week’s Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman feature for a total of 17 cars getting the green flag for the first four lap segment.

Jeremy Tyrrell was the winner of the first round and chose an eight-car invert for positions for round two which was won by Chad Edwards. Round three was won by Troy Palmer and after a two-car invert Jason Reome who started on the outside of the front row was the winner of round four followed by Edwards, Talbot, and Palmer. A complete finish for all 17 cars can be found at the bottom of this release.

“I kind of figured that I was gonna win it to be honest with you,� a confident Reome said after the event on victory lane. “Being the first time we’ve ever done it, I like it, and will do it again.�

"I can take very little credit for this event,� Swagger Factory Apparel’s Michael Jackson said after the event was completed. “Scott Friers approached me prior to covid and said the Modifieds have the Bill Ag event, the Pro Stocks have the Hondo Classic event, the Sportsman guys need something, and I said I’m in. I would attach my name to anything Scott Friers does, he does so much for local sports and local auto racing. So, we started brainstorming the idea, this was something different and I think that it worked.�

“Hopefully, the drivers and the fans like the event,� Friers said afterwards. “We’ll try to get some feedback on the event and maybe make some changes but hopefully we’ll see it back. I Know Mike doesn’t like to say anything, but he does just as much or more for anyone in local racing, especially at Fonda, and everyone in the pits should be thanking him for what he does.�

Next Saturday, July 16 at the Fonda Speedway, One Zee Tees and AIM Autism presents Autism Awareness Night featuring the “Thunder on the Thruway Series� for the Sunoco Modifieds, the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman, and the Algonkin Motel Pro Stock divisions. The Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman, and the Fonda Fair Four Cylinders. Gates will open at 4:00 p.m. with 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 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!

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 www.facebook.com/thefondaspeedwy or follow the speedway on Twitter: @thefondaspdwy.

DATE – 7/9/2022 SAMPSON MOTORCAR “FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT�

SUNOCO MODIFIED FEATURE – 30-laps – MATT DELORENZO, Rocky Warner, Ronnie Johnson, Dave Constantino, Chris Curtis, Ryan Odasz, Tucker O’Connor, Brian Gleason, JaMike Sowle, Craig Hanson, David Schilling, Bobby Varin, Darwin Greene, Dylan Scribner, Ray Zemken, Bill August, Don Bellen, Pep Corradi, Demetrious Drellos, Nick Heywood, Steve Akers, Jim Introne Jr., Rich Christman (DNS)

5th win of 2022 and the 42nd of his career in the division at Fonda for DeLorenzo

LAP LEADERS – 1-2 Heywood, 3-10 O’Connor, 11-20 Hanson, 21-30 DeLorenzo

HEAT RACE WINNERS – $100 bonus from Sampson Motorcar – Heywood, Warner, Odasz

SWAGGER FACTORY APPAREL CRATE 602 SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 25-laps – PAYTON TALBOT, Stephen Gray, Chad Edwards, Brendan Gibbons, Mark Mortensen, Tim Dwyer, Troy Palmer, Cory White, Chip Constantino, Tanner Warner, Cody Clark, Brett Mortensen, Troy Zilles, Jeremy Slosek, Greg Havlichek, Jeremy Tyrrell, Clayton DuMond, Matthew Perry, Jason Greco, Griffen Mansmith, Taylor LaPlante, Anthony Cardamone, Jason Reome, Carter Gibbons, Brett Martin, Kurtis Hohensheldt, Harry Shaffer

2nd win of 2022 and the 3rd of his career in the division at Fonda for Talbot

LAP LEADERS – 1-20 Brendan Gibbons, 21-25 Talbot

HEAT RACE WINNERS – $50 bonus from Sampson Motorcar – Gray, Talbot, Mark Mortensen

GRECO’S NAPA HARD CHARGER AWARD – Edwards 12 positions 15th to 3rd

MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICE FOR AGING INC. LIMITED SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 15-laps – ZACH DUFEL, Ryan Sweet, Connor Prokop, Josh Kane, John Anderson, Michael Kalkbrenner, Lance Hill, Kyle Dingman, Gus Kamburelis, Mark Lighthall, Bob Rowback, Walter Cook, AJ Greco, Harold Robitaille, Wesley Sutliff (DNS), Joe McSpirit (DNS)

3rd win of 2022 and 3rd win of his career in the division for Dufel

LAP LEADERS – 1-12 Sweet, 13-15 Dufel

HEAT RACE WINNERS – Sweet, Kamburelis

FONDA FAIR FOUR CYLINDER FEATURE – 12-laps – KEN HOLLENBACK (SOHC), DALE VANALLEN (DOHC), John Napoli, Kerrie Hollenback, Bruce Liddle, Justin Ramsey, Wayne Russell Jr, Todd Morey, TJ Marlitt, Christopher Jennings Sr., David Peek-Britten, Len St. Andrews, Lee Horning, Josh Ramsey (DNS)

11th win of 2022 and 79th of his career in the division at Fonda for Ken Hollenback

1st win of 2022 and 1st career win in the division at Fonda for VanAllen

LAP LEADERS – 1-3 Napoli, 4-12 Ken Hollenback

SWAGGER FACTORY APPAREL CRATE 602 SPORTSMAN “BLACK FLAG CHALLENGE� – JASON REOME, Chad Edwards, Payton Talbot, Troy Palmer, Greg Havlichek, Troy Zilles, Brendan Gibbons, Brett Mortensen, Tanner Warner, Cody Clark, Carter Gibbons, Jeremy Tyrrell, Mark Mortensen, Chip Constantino, Connor Prokop, Clayton DuMond, Harry Shaffer (DNS)

��UPDATED 7/8

��Swagger Factory Apparel 602 Black Flag Challenge ��

🗓Saturday July 9th

�Fonda Speedway

*�Only Drivers with Perfect Attendance Are Eligible

☑�17 Cars to Compete

📈16 602 Drivers With Perfect Attendance Chad Edwards 10% Payton Talbot 14t Cody Clark 4 Chip Constantino 63 Mark Mortensen 1m 74 Troy Palmer 17 Tanner Warner 3 97 Troy Zilles 14z 97 Brett Mortensen 1b Clayton DuMond 314 Jason Reome 27 Brendan Gibbons b24 Greg Havlichek 15 Carter Gibbons 427 Jeremy Tyrrell 14J Harry Shaffer 1H

�602 Limited Feature Winner from The Previous Week Guaranteed- CONNOR PROKOP

💥4 Rounds

💥Each Round Is 4 Laps

�4 Drivers Eliminated Following Each Round

�*5 Drivers Eliminated Following the First Round

*First Round Will Be Handicapped by Points *Limited Feature Winner From Previous Week Will Start Last *Bring Out A Yellow Automatically Black Flagged *After Each Round Remaining Cars Will Stop At The Flagger Stand. Leader Will Then Draw Invert Number for The Next Round

�������������

Round 1 Winner $100 sponsored by Racin Rhino Karting And Parts Eliminated Drivers (5) $50 Round 1 Payout- $350

Round 2 Winner $150 sponsored by Chris Abele Eliminated Drivers (4) $75 sponsored by Carole and Alton Palmer worth $300 Round 2 Payout- $450

Round 3 Winner $200 sponsored by BC Repair/Brian Calabrese Eliminated Drivers (4) $100 Round 3 Payout- $600

�Final Four�

Winner- $500

2nd-$200

3rd-$150 sponsored by Auspelmyer Excavating & Paving LLC

4th-$100

Final Payout- $950

TOTAL PAYOUT- $2,350

Bonus Money

BDRspeed.com Hard Charger $200 to the driver who passes the most cars in the challenge through all 4 Rounds.

BDRspeed.com $100 Gift Certificate to the first or worst damaged car in the challenge event.

Elmo's Speed & Supply $100 Gift Certificates to the last place driver in each segment.

Elmo’s Speed & Supply $100 Gift Certificate to the overall winner of the challenge event.

Online Performance Parts $200 to the overall winner of the challenge.

BC Repair/Brian Calabrese $100 Highest Finishing Driver Without A Feature Win In 2022

33 Race Products LLC $50 to the 3rd driver eliminated in the first three rounds of the challenge

Thomas Coughlin $100 Fastest Lap In The Challenge

The Black Flag Lady/Bonnie Reuss $25 7th Place Finisher In The Challenge

The Black Flag Lady/Bonnie Reuss $25 8th Place Finisher In The Challenge

Zach Dufel 3rd Place Final Round will receive an exclusive invite to the STSS Fantasy Football League a $150 Value

MPR Racing/Martin Prokop Racing $300 Total 2nd Place Driver in each round will receive $75

H&K Towing $100 1st Car on the hook

4th Place Final Round 4 AIM Autism Chicken BBQ Tickets $60 Value

💥All Drivers with Perfect Attendance Will Be Put In A Drawing For A Swagger Factory Apparel Driver’s Suit (Value $999)!!!!

 

 

Finishing Order

Finish
Driver

Overall Winner

Round 4
1st
27 - Jason Reome

27 - Jason Reome

2nd
10% - Chad Edwards

3rd
14T - Payton Talbot

4th
17 - Troy Palmer

7th Place Overall

Round 3
5th
15 - Greg Havlichek

B24 - Brendan Gibbons

6th
14Z - Troy Zilles

7th
B24 - Brendan Gibbons

8th
1B - Brett Mortensen

8th Place Overall

Round 2
9th
3 - Tanner Warner

1B - Brett Mortensen

10th
4 - Cody Clark

11th
427 - Carter Gibbons

12th
14J - Jeremy Tyrrell

3rd Place in Final Round

Round 1
13th
1M - Mark Mortensen

14T - Payton Talbot

14th
63 - Chip Constantino

15th
12P - Connor Prokop

16th
314 - Clayton DuMond

4th Place in Final Round

17th
21H - Harry Shaffer

17 - Troy Palmer

2nd Place Finishers in Each Round

1st Round
427 - Carter Gibbons

Fastest Lap

2nd Round
1B - Brett Mortensen

Round 2 - 10% - Chad Edwards - 20.802

3rd Round
27 - Jason Reome

4th Round
10% - Chad Edwards

1st/Worst with Damage

3rd Place Finishers in 1st 3 Rounds

314 - Clayton DuMond

1st Round
27 - Jason Reome

2nd Round
27 - Jason Reome

3rd Round
14T - Payton Talbot

1st on Hook

314 - Clayton DuMond

Last Place in Each Round

1st Round
21H - Harry Shaffer

2nd Round
14J - Jeremy Tyrrell

Hard Charger

3rd Round
1B - Brett Mortensen

Chad Edwards - 16 total cars passed between all 4 rounds

4th Round
17 - Troy Palmer

Highest Finisher w/o a 2022 Feature Win

Draw for Driver's Suit

27 - Jason Reome

B24 - Brendan Gibbons

 

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