Stewart Friesen Scores Fonda Career Win #95 In 12A Opening Day Victory Wednesday

Story By: RON SZCZERBA / FONDA SPEEDWAY – FONDA, NY – After a rain out last Saturday evening, a midweek race was held at the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway on Wednesday with a familiar face in victory lane after the 32-lap event.

The event was named “12A Opening Day” in honor of Jumpin’ Jack Johnson and when the checkered flag flew it was Stewart Friesen standing in victory lane.

Ironically, Friesen started the event in the 12th position.

There have been a total of eight previous tribute/Memorial events held in past years to honor Jumpin’ Jack with Friesen winning two of them back in 2015 and 2022. Now after Wednesday nights victory he now has another in 2025.

“This is super special,” Friesen told Mimi Lazzaro in victory lane. “I mean Jack Johnson is Fonda. I grew up watching him and so did all of these race fans here tonight at Fonda. So, to win it again for Jack and his family is very special.”

The win for Friesen was career win number 95 at Fonda, and his seventh opening day victory (2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2025).

Other winners on 12A Opening Day included Dylan Madsen who won the first of his career at Fonda in the Swagger Factory Apparel Sportsman division and Kenny Gates who took home career win #99 in the Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stock division.

The special 32-lap $4,012 to win Amsterdam Truck Center Modified feature began with Cody Clark leading from his pole position start with defending Track Champion Alex Yankoski in the second position after starting third. Matt Sheppard and Stewart Friesen moved to the front quickly after starting ninth and 12th as they were fifth and sixth respectively by lap seven.

A yellow flag slowed the field two laps later and on the restart, Anthony Perrego, who started fifth, was the new second place car with Friesen now in the fourth position. Friesen got by Perrego for the second position on lap 13 and at the halfway point the top five consisted of Clark, Friesen, Perrego, Sheppard, and Yankoski.

Friesen swept around the outside of Clark for the lead in turns three and four on lap 17 with the caution out again for Jessica Friesen who came to a stop at the entrance to the pit area in turn three. On this restart, Sheppard was the new third place car and three laps later he was the new second place car after getting by Clark with Friesen out to a straightaway lead with ten laps to go.

When Eric Mack slowed on the frontstretch on lap 24, it brought out the final caution of the event with Friesen choosing the inside lane for the restart. He pulled away on the restart and stretched out his advantage to just over three seconds when the checkered flag flew. Sheppard, Perrego, Clark, and 17th place starter Bobby Hackel IV completed the top five.

“The track was smokin’ fast, as fast as I’ve ever seen it,” Friesen said. “During intermission they brought the top back to life. We were a little bit off in the heat race but then the track just changed a lot as the sun went down and we were able to keep up with it.”

“I grew up idolizing Jack (Johnson), David (Lape) and your dad, Mimi (Lou Lazzaro),” Friesen continued to say in victory lane. “It is just special to be here, you never know when the last win will come so we will savor all the ones that we can get and savor this one for sure.”

Brett Mortensen and Tanner Warner started the 25-lap $1,212 to win Swagger Factory Apparel Sportsman feature on the front row with Mortensen taking the lead at the drop of Joe Kriss’ green flag. An early yellow flag flew on lap five for Bobby Rhinehardt who spun in turn four with Mortensen again leading on the restart.

The second and final yellow flag in the event flew shortly afterwards with Dylan Madsen the new second place car on the restart after starting fifth while Chad Edwards was in the fourth position after starting 11th. Madsen closed in quickly on Mortensen and took the lead coming out of turn four on lap 10. At the halfway point of the 25-lap event Madsen led followed in the top five by Mortensen, Warner, Edwards, and Butchie Irwin.

Madsen pulled away from that point on to a comfortable advantage with Mortensen remaining in the second position to the checkered flag. Edwards continued to gain positions to the checkered flag as he got by Warner with five laps to go for the third position while defending Track Champion Payton Talbot also got by Warner for the fourth position after starting 12th. At the checkered flag that was your top four with Warner completing the top five.

For Madsen it was his first career win in the division at Fonda in the Madsen Overhead Doors #89.

“Finally, its been a long time coming,” Madsen said after the win. “We didn’t get one last year but happy that we could get it done this year. Last year I definitely didn’t make the right calls with lap cars and that screwed us out of a couple of wins. I’m happy that didn’t happen tonight.”

“It was a clean race, I know that whenever I see Brett (Mortensen) or his brother Mark you’re gonna have a clean race with them,” Madsen continued to say. “Once I got into second in the clean air, we tried the top and it was definitely working. I didn’t have to lift at all, it was just a matter of keeping the tires underneath me and not spinning them.”

The 20-lap $812 to win Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stock feature began with Nick Stone leading from his pole position start with Kenny Gates in tow. Gates and Luke Horning were side by side for the second position on lap eight with Horning able to take the position at that point.

Horning was putting heavy pressure on Stone for the lead at the halfway point and ducked under Stone for the lead in turn four. As Horning was drifting up the track thinking that he had cleared the leader, the two cars made contact up high in the turn with Gates ducking under both of them to take the lead. Both Horning and Stone were able to continue on in the event.

On a restart after a caution, Gates restarted on the low side and remained in the lead while seventh place starter Jason Morrison, Horning, and Ivan Joslin were racing three wide for the second position. When Stone spun in turn four it brought out another caution with a single file restart up next.

While Gates pulled away to his 99th career win at Fonda, the top five wasn’t decided until the checkered flag flew and when it did Morrison ended up second followed by Horning, Joslin, and eighth place starter Andy Graves.

“I was definitely in the right place at the right time,” Gates told Mimi Lazzaro about his pass for the lead. “I was a little lucky with this one as they (Stone and Horning) were both fast. After I got the lead I moved up a lane, Ivan (Joslin) showed me his nose and he also showed me the quick way around, so I had to get up there and get going.”

Fonda Speedway will be back in action on Saturday with all regular divisions in action along with the Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series (MVVDMS). Wayne Winsman, who has been a fan of the Fonda Speedway for 70 years will also be honored. Points will start in all divisions towards the 2025 Track Championships on Saturday as well.

Amsterdam Truck Center Modifieds – 19 Entrees

A Feature 1 (32 Laps): 1. 44-Stewart Friesen[12]; 2. 9S-Matt Sheppard[9]; 3. 4AP-Anthony Perrego[5]; 4. 4-Cody Clark[1]; 5. 97-Bobby Hackel IV[17]; 6. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[3]; 7. 93-Danny Varin[11]; 8. 79-Rocky Warner[13]; 9. 28T-Michael Trautschold[2]; 10. 9J-Marc Johnson[4]; 11. 21C-Brian Calabrese[10]; 12. 24-Adam McAuliffe[14]; 13. 3-Luciano (Pep) Corradi[19]; 14. 76-Jamike Sowle[6]; 15. 20C-Craig Hanson[15]; 16. 71-Eric Mack[16]; 17. 2RJ-Ronnie Johnson[8]; 18. 1Z-Jessica Friesen[7]; 19. 85-Jack Lehner[18]

PALMER’S SERVICE CENTER/JAMIE & DENISE PAGE VICTORY LANE DRAWING FOR $100 GIFT CERTIFICATE FOR ONLINE PERFORMANCE/STONE MOTORSPORTS – Marc Johnson

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 2RJ-Ronnie Johnson[1]; 2. 4AP-Anthony Perrego[3]; 3. 4-Cody Clark[2]; 4. 28T-Michael Trautschold[5]; 5. 21C-Brian Calabrese[4]; 6. 93-Danny Varin[7]; 7. 79-Rocky Warner[6]; 8. 20C-Craig Hanson[9]; 9. 97-Bobby Hackel IV[8]; 10. 3-Luciano (Pep) Corradi[10]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 9S-Matt Sheppard[3]; 2. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[2]; 3. 76-Jamike Sowle[1]; 4. 1Z-Jessica Friesen[5]; 5. 9J-Marc Johnson[4]; 6. 44-Stewart Friesen[9]; 7. 24-Adam McAuliffe[8]; 8. 71-Eric Mack[7]; 9. (DNS) 85-Jack Lehner

Hot Laps 1: 1. 4-Cody Clark, 00:18.774[2]; 2. 9S-Matt Sheppard, 00:18.989[14]; 3. 44-Stewart Friesen, 00:19.006[5]; 4. 1Z-Jessica Friesen, 00:19.062[4]; 5. 2RJ-Ronnie Johnson, 00:19.084[9]; 6. 97-Bobby Hackel IV, 00:19.134[6]; 7. 24-Adam McAuliffe, 00:19.180[12]; 8. 84Y-Alex Yankowski, 00:19.216[19]; 9. 20C-Craig Hanson, 00:19.223[7]; 10. 21C-Brian Calabrese, 00:19.356[1]; 11. 28T-Michael Trautschold, 00:19.362[16]; 12. 79-Rocky Warner, 00:19.418[18]; 13. 9J-Marc Johnson, 00:19.440[8]; 14. 76-Jamike Sowle, 00:19.474[15]; 15. 93-Danny Varin, 00:19.488[17]; 16. 4AP-Anthony Perrego, 00:19.489[13]; 17. 3-Luciano (Pep) Corradi, 00:19.538[3]; 18. 71-Eric Mack, 00:19.870[11]; 19. 85-Jack Lehner, 00:19.870[10]

Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman – 27 Entrees

A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 89-Dylan Madsen[5]; 2. 1B-Brett Mortensen[1]; 3. 10%-Chad Edwards[11]; 4. 14T-Payton Talbot[12]; 5. 78-Tanner Warner[2]; 6. 117-Butchie Irwin[6]; 7. 7-Dave Constantino[4]; 8. 1M-Mark Mortensen[10]; 9. 28-Dylan Eldred[7]; 10. 1D-Kyle Dingman[3]; 11. 27-Michael Ballestero[9]; 12. 31J-John Dumond[8]; 13. 5C-Randy Cosselman[16]; 14. 15-Greg Havlicek[13]; 15. 164-Brock Miller[17]; 16. 98-Cameron Hotaling[24]; 17. 74-Matt Perry[21]; 18. 24-Kirsten Swartz[20]; 19. 14W-Timothy Wilmot[26]; 20. 11-Josh Persse[23]; 21. 314-Clayton Dumond[27]; 22. 99-Clyde Peek[22]; 23. 63-Chip Constantino[18]; 24. 618-Bobby Rhinehardt[19]; 25. 26-Mason Gray[14]; 26. (DNS) 25-Stephen Gray; 27. (DNS) 96B-Jimmy Beach

PALMER’S SERVICE CENTER/JAMIE & DENISE PAGE VICTORY LANE DRAWING FOR $100 GIFT CERTIFICATE FOR ONLINE PERFORMANCE/STONE MOTORSPORTS – Brett Mortensen

GRECO’S NAPA HARD CHARGER AWARD – Chad Edwards +8

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 1D-Kyle Dingman[2]; 2. 89-Dylan Madsen[4]; 3. 10%-Chad Edwards[7]; 4. 28-Dylan Eldred[5]; 5. 15-Greg Havlicek[6]; 6. 5C-Randy Cosselman[8]; 7. 618-Bobby Rhinehardt[1]; 8. 99-Clyde Peek[3]; 9. (DNS) 96B-Jimmy Beach

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 14T-Payton Talbot[1]; 2. 1M-Mark Mortensen[4]; 3. 31J-John Dumond[2]; 4. 1B-Brett Mortensen[3]; 5. 26-Mason Gray[5]; 6. 164-Brock Miller[6]; 7. 24-Kirsten Swartz[7]; 8. 11-Josh Persse[8]; 9. 14W-Timothy Wilmot[9]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 7-Dave Constantino[1]; 2. 117-Butchie Irwin[2]; 3. 78-Tanner Warner[4]; 4. 27-Michael Ballestero[6]; 5. 25-Stephen Gray[3]; 6. 63-Chip Constantino[7]; 7. 74-Matt Perry[5]; 8. 98-Cameron Hotaling[9]; 9. 314-Clayton Dumond[8]

Hot Laps 1: 1. 14T-Payton Talbot, 00:19.935[25]; 2. 89-Dylan Madsen, 00:20.150[16]; 3. 25-Stephen Gray, 00:20.159[12]; 4. 10%-Chad Edwards, 00:20.221[9]; 5. 1M-Mark Mortensen, 00:20.320[19]; 6. 63-Chip Constantino, 00:20.366[3]; 7. 117-Butchie Irwin, 00:20.427[15]; 8. 27-Michael Ballestero, 00:20.480[1]; 9. 31J-John Dumond, 00:20.493[8]; 10. 78-Tanner Warner, 00:20.530[26]; 11. 1D-Kyle Dingman, 00:20.548[6]; 12. 26-Mason Gray, 00:20.626[11]; 13. 74-Matt Perry, 00:20.652[21]; 14. 1B-Brett Mortensen, 00:20.705[18]; 15. 7-Dave Constantino, 00:20.816[4]; 16. 15-Greg Havlicek, 00:20.893[13]; 17. 5C-Randy Cosselman, 00:21.028[5]; 18. 14W-Timothy Wilmot, 00:21.038[27]; 19. 98-Cameron Hotaling, 00:21.041[14]; 20. 618-Bobby Rhinehardt, 00:21.103[23]; 21. 164-Brock Miller, 00:21.199[17]; 22. 99-Clyde Peek, 00:21.240[20]; 23. 314-Clayton Dumond, 00:21.281[7]; 24. 24-Kirsten Swartz, 00:21.585[24]; 25. 28-Dylan Eldred, 00:21.768[10]; 26. 11-Josh Persse, 00:22.123[22]; 27. 96B-Jimmy Beach, 00:22.123[2]

Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stocks – 14 entrees

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 35-Ken Gates[3]; 2. 715-Jason Morrison[7]; 3. 2H-Luke Horning[2]; 4. 49-Ivan Joslin[5]; 5. 96-Andy Graves[8]; 6. 15-Beau Ballard[6]; 7. 07-Chucky Dumblewski[9]; 8. 15M-Mike Hill[13]; 9. 81A-Michael Achzet[11]; 10. 1D-Nick Santuccione[10]; 11. 7C-Caden Dumblewski[4]; 12. 8N-Nick Stone[1]; 13. 62-Nick Danna[14]; 14. 71-Rob VanAernam[12]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 96-Andy Graves[3]; 2. 15-Beau Ballard[1]; 3. 7C-Caden Dumblewski[2]; 4. 35-Ken Gates[5]; 5. 07-Chucky Dumblewski[7]; 6. 81A-Michael Achzet[4]; 7. 15M-Mike Hill[6]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 8N-Nick Stone[4]; 2. 2H-Luke Horning[2]; 3. 715-Jason Morrison[6]; 4. 49-Ivan Joslin[3]; 5. 1D-Nick Santuccione[5]; 6. 71-Rob VanAernam[7]; 7. 62-Nick Danna[1]

Hot Laps 1: 1. 35-Ken Gates, 00:22.348[6]; 2. 15-Beau Ballard, 00:22.483[2]; 3. 8N-Nick Stone, 00:22.567[13]; 4. 49-Ivan Joslin, 00:22.661[10]; 5. 96-Andy Graves, 00:22.673[7]; 6. 715-Jason Morrison, 00:22.685[11]; 7. 07-Chucky Dumblewski, 00:22.714[5]; 8. 7C-Caden Dumblewski, 00:22.787[4]; 9. 15M-Mike Hill, 00:23.416[8]; 10. 1D-Nick Santuccione, 00:23.688[12]; 11. 71-Rob VanAernam, 00:25.073[14]; 12. 62-Nick Danna, 00:25.230[3]; 13. 81A-Michael Achzet, 00:25.230[1]; 14. (DNS) 2H-Luke Horning, 00:25.230