Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – FONDA, NY – While he didn’t win his qualifying race, one of the biggest stories Friday night at the Fonda Speedway was Ringoes, NJ’s Ryan Godown.
Godown, in just his second ever start at the Mohawk Valley oval, drove from 12th starting spot in the first 15-lap qualifier to make his way solidly into the redraw, bringing his #26 home in the runner-up spot to winner Billy Decker.
“I’m just happy to be here,” Godown said. “We had a tough heat race. Starting in the back, we got to the front.”
Godown knows this isn’t just about his ability to get the car to the front. It takes a total team effort.
“I just can’t thank all of my guys at home and the team that’s here today,” he said. “Without them, we wouldn’t be here. We just really busted our butts to get this thing ready for this weekend.”
Now, the Godown Motorsports team is in the Fonda 200 and is looking to take home yet another Elite Series win. Ryan captured the first victory of the season at Cherokee Speedway and would love to add the $53,000-to-win race to his resume.
“We’re just going to keep our head down and keep grinding,” he said. “Whatever happens at the end of the weekend, we’ll be okay with because we gave it our all.”
Tyler Dippel Returns; More Races Planned?
For the first time in nearly a year, Tyler Dippel is back behind the wheel of a Dirt Modified.
“I just had some health stuff I had to deal with during the off-season and the beginning of the year,” Dippel said. It’s been 11 months since I’ve been in a race car and it feels good to be back.”
Dippel made his first start of 2022 on Thursday night at Fonda in the Ultimate Underdog 33 and came home with a fifth place showing.
On Friday night, Dippel ran strong in the third 15-lap qualifier but missed locking into Saturday’s Fonda 200 by one position, bringing the Gary Upright-owned #7D home in the eighth.
For Dippel, it was good to be back behind the wheel.
“The other night, I felt a little rusty in warm-ups and the heat race,” he said. “Halfway though the feature, things seemed to be clicking again. We drove from 18th to fifth and I think we’re going to have a good weekend.”
Why did Dippel decide to make his return at the Fonda Speedway?
“This place is definitely tricky,” he said. “I told them oh, we’re going to Fonda for the first race after not being in the car for nearly a year, good plan, but I think everything’s worked so far.”
Does he like Fonda?
“I say it’s the toughest track in the Northeast,” he said. “It’s that the track changes so much. It can start being hammer down, wide open and by the end of the night, it’s glass and like an ice rink out there.”
Will fans get to see Dippel in any more races this season?
“Hopefully we can get this car in the show this weekend and keep it clean,” he said. “We’ve got to run this car at DIRT Week, Port Royal and Eastern States. There are a lot of 200-lap races coming up for this car. Hopefully we can have a nice clean weekend, a good solid finish here and that’s our goal.”