Friesen wins 5th of the year at Fonda; Dingman comes back from tragedy earlier this year to score 1st career sportsman win

COLUMN BY: Ron Szczerba – FONDA SPEEDWAY – FONDA, NY  – On Saturday evening at the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway, Mirabito Energy Products presented Fan Appreciation Night with $5 grandstand admission and a meet & greet. Fans were treated to an efficiently run racing program that was completed just past 10:00 p.m. with a first time winner in the Swagger Factory Apparel Sportsman feature that came back after a tragedy earlier this year.

When Joe Kriss’ checkered flag came out for the 30-lap Amsterdam Truck Center Modified feature it was Stewart Friesen continuing his dominating season at Fonda after scoring his fifth win of the season and the 104th of his career at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds track.

“That was tough, the track got real slick there and really wide,” Friesen said after the win. “So, hats off to the track crew, that was a good one. It is good when the track is racy like that and you can race all over it.”

But the story of the night had to be Kyle Dingman winning the 25-lap Swagger Factory Apparel Sportsman feature event after coming back from a tragedy earlier this year when a fire destroyed his race shop and all of the equipment in it. Fortunately, there were no injuries to anyone in the fire and thanks to many people in the local racing community he was able to rebuild, ending up in F.X. Caprara Car Companies Victory Lane for the first time in the Sportsman division after being a six time winner in the Limited Sportsman division.

“This is just so surreal,” an emotional Dingman said in victory lane. “I remember when this class first started out, I was eight years old. Watching all these guys, being able to do this week in and week out. To be honest with you I thought that our year was done in March. The amount of help from everybody in the racing community who came together and gave us a hand is unbelievable. The Warner’s, the Zilles Family, the Greco Family, NYSSCA stepped up and gave us a check, it has just been very overwhelming. It has been a lot of work. This is a great competitive class and I’m happy to be here.”

Other winners besides Friesen and Dingman on Mirabito Energy Products Night at Fonda were Nick Stone (Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stocks), Brian Nelson (Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman), Bruce Liddle (SOHC) and Jay Ingersoll (DOHC) in the Fonda Fair Four Cylinders.

During opening ceremonies at Fonda on Saturday, Montgomery County Dairy Princess Addie Countermine, Abby Grant (Junior Miss Fonda Fair), and Chloe Bronk (Miss Fonda Fair) were on hand with Abby Grant also performing the National Anthem. June is National Dairy Month, so the girls were on hand to celebrate the event together with the Fonda Fair.

The 30-lap Amsterdam Truck Center Modified feature began with an all Palmer’s Service Center front row with JaMike Sowle taking the early advantage from Chip Constantino. On a lap two restart after caution, third place starter Cody Clark moved into the second position and one lap later Clark took the lead in the event after getting by Sowle. Eighth place starter Ronnie Johnson moved into the second position at that point with Brian Calabrese also getting by Sowle for the third spot.

Two consecutive yellow flags on laps nine and ten slowed the field with Johnson taking the lead away on a restart to lead lap ten with Clark following along with Bobby Hackel IV who was now in the third position. Tenth place starter Jessica Friesen and her husband Stewart both got by Hackel for the third and fourth positions on lap 11 with the top five at the halfway point consisting of Johnson, Clark, Jessica and Stewart Friesen, and defending Track Champion Alex Yankowski who started the event in the 12th spot.

With ten laps to go, Stewart Friesen got by his wife Jessica for the second position and five laps later got by Clark for the second spot. With the leader in lap traffic, it didn’t take long for Stewart to close in on Johnson and on the inside of turn one with three laps to go, Stewart found just enough room to get by Johnson for the lead. Johnson stayed close until Stewart cleared the lap car of Chase Moran with two laps to go to get a little breathing room from Johnson.

“The top has been the place to be the past few weeks here but tonight the bottom came around and that is the short way around,” Friesen said. “Ronnie (Johnson) got out there and you’re in a lane leading and think you’re doing things right then the lane changed on him, so it worked out for us.”

Stewart Friesen led the rest of the way for his fifth win of the season and the 104th of his career at Fonda in the Halmar #44 with Johnson, Jessica Friesen, Yankowski, and Clark completing the top five.

“Thanks to the Halmar Team,” Friesen told Mimi Lazzaro in victory lane. “We’re getting to the heat of summer and we’re rocking and rolling so it’s all good. We made a couple of extra changes to the car, Jess (wife Jessica Friesen) and I always come out and look at the track during the track prep intermission. We knew that we needed to be a little more than regular tonight, so we did a couple more things to the car and obviously Jess had a good car too.”

“She is really good at dissecting her race car and telling us everything she doesn’t like about it,” Friesen said about his wife Jessica. “That’s part of her talents as a driver, she’s very hard on me and Tommy (Conroy). There has been something wrong with her car the last two weeks that we can’t find but we’ll keep going to work on it. Jay, Burkey, and Tommy are digging and gouging right now, it’s been a good run for us the last couple of weeks.”

Jim Malia led the first lap in the 25-lap Swagger Factory Apparel Sportsman feature with Kyle Dingman wasting no time getting to the lead after starting third, taking the lead away from Malia on lap two on the inside of the backstretch. Garrett Chillot was on the move early after starting sixth, getting by Malia for the second position on lap four with Dingman out to a straightaway advantage.

Dingman was in lap traffic by lap 12 with the top five at the halfway point consisting of Dingman, Chillot, seventh place starter Tanner Warner, Malia, and Don Bellen. Dingman kept a comfortable distance between himself and Chillot in lap traffic for the remainder of the event and went on to the win, the first of his career in the division, in the CT/R.B. Humphrey’s (Carols Transportation/R.B. Humphrey’s) #1D over Chillot, Warner, Malia, and 11th place starter Stephen Gray.

“This car has been so fast, but we’ve had a little bit of bad luck,” Dingman said after the win. “I got to Harry (Shaffer) in lap traffic, he was running the bottom, I was good on the bottom and I’m not really a top person. I didn’t have confidence in myself to go up there to the top, so I just stayed patient and kept hitting my marks.”

“I got by a few lap cars and got a little more clean air, but I caught the yuke tire with five laps to go and started to get a little push and I thought oh boy I hope that I didn’t just knock the front end out of it. I’m just so proud of my team, my crew, and I have so many people to thank. I just can’t believe I parked it.”

Ivan Joslin and Jason Morrison started the 20-lap Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stock feature on the front row with Joslin leading at the drop of Jeo Kriss’ green flag. Nick Stone started the event in the fifth position, by lap four was up to third, and five laps later was the new second place car. Joslin led at the halfway point with Stone, seventh place starter Kenny Gates, Morrison, and fourth place starter Beau Ballard completing the top five.

Stone got by Joslin for the lead on the outside of the backstretch on lap 12 with Gates also getting by Joslin for the second position. Joslin was able to get back by Gates for the second position one lap later with the top three of Stone, Joslin, and Gates together for the lead with one lap to go. Stone held on for his fourth win of the season and the 75th of his career in the division in the Stone Motorsports #8N.

Joslin ended up second followed by Gates, Ballard, and Morrison.

“We’re having a good year as far as winning races,” Stone said after his win. “Probably a little out of the points right now with one did not start but we’re just plugging away at it. Give us a good track, something to work with, I’m sure Ivan (Joslin) didn’t know that the top was coming in, but I had nothing to lose. He probably wasn’t going to try it while leading, I decided to give it a shot.”

“The top being there is what got me here,” Stone continued to say. “I was sitting in the right spot at the right time and that is what did it for us. Thanks to Todd (Hoffman), Kirkland, Scott, Garth, all the guys in my pit and Jamie for taking care of the parts trailer for me along with everyone that helps me.”

Dylan Hutson and Chayton Young started the 15-lap Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman feature event with Young taking the early lead. Young was out to a big lead when suddenly on lap 12 the jackshaft broke in the rear end according to a post on his Facebook page, ending his race with sixth place starter Brian Nelson taking over the lead at that point.

Nelson led the remaining laps for his second win of the season and the second of his career in the division in the CC Photography & Media #647 over fifth place starter Mike Hill, fourth place starter Lance Hill, eighth place starter Steve Wagoner, and third place starter Kirsten Swartz who completed the top five.

“This feels great, we’ve struggled the last couple of weeks maintaining our cool, but accidents happen,” Nelson said in victory lane. “But we finally pulled it off. Been taking notes since the beginning of the year and those notes finally paid off.”

The 12-lap Fonda Fair four cylinder feature started out with last week’s winner Tomek Kowalczyk leading lap one after starting fourth. Jay Ingersoll started the event in the seventh position, took the lead from Kowalczyk on a lap five restart, and went on to his third win of the season and the 25th of his career in the division over Kowalczyk who pressured Ingersoll to the checkered flag, Bruce Liddle (SOHC winner), Dave Reedy, and John Ray.

“It was nice to beat my teammate (Tomek Kowalczyk), he put it to me last week and I couldn’t let him do it again,” Jay Ingersoll said after his win. “It is hard to put someone in the other car, and he makes me run my butt off. I was in defensive mode tonight like he was to me last week, so it’s fun, I’m glad we got him to run the other car, he’s a good driver.”

“This is our second win this year, it feels real good and it is long overdue,” Liddle said in victory lane. “I’ve been having issues with the car the last couple of weeks, but I think I’ve got it straightened out now. It just wasn’t firing right; it pays to check things out every week.”

This Wednesday, July 1 at Fonda the Firecracker 50 for the Short Track Super Series (STSS) Modified and Sportsman is on the special mid-week racing program along with the Online Performance Street Stocks and the Fonda Fair Four Cylinders. A gigantic fireworks display will light up the sky as well as Fonda Speedway management has declared this a “True Event” on their Facebook page. Race time this Wednesday will be 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).

RESULTS FROM 6/27

Amsterdam Truck Center Modifieds

A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 44-Stewart Friesen[13]; 2. 2RJ-Ronnie Johnson[8]; 3. 1Z-Jessica Friesen[10]; 4. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[12]; 5. 4-Cody Clark[3]; 6. 85-Jack Lehner[9]; 7. 97-Bobby Hackel IV[4]; 8. 1-Rocky Warner[5]; 9. 21C-Brian Calabrese[6]; 10. 93-Dave Constantino[27]; 11. 21P-Luciano (Pep) Corradi[19]; 12. 24-Dylan Madsen[7]; 13. 82S-Will Shields[17]; 14. 63-Chip Constantino[1]; 15. 1G-Darwin Greene[16]; 16. 4P-Chase Moran[20]; 17. 19-Todd Ryan[15]; 18. 8M-Tim Mayne[22]; 19. 4X-Al McCoy[21]; 20. 20C-Craig Hanson[11]; 21. 71-Eric Mack[26]; 22. 76-Jamike Sowle[2]; 23. 27-Jason Reome[23]; 24. 16-Aaron Jacobs[18]; 25. 6B-Robert Bublak[14]; 26. 88-Ryan Odasz[25]; 27. (DNS) 06-Jackson Gill

 

Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman

A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 1D-Kyle Dingman[3]; 2. 349-Garrett Chillot[6]; 3. 78-Tanner Warner[7]; 4. 13J-Jim Mallia[2]; 5. 25-Stephen Gray[11]; 6. 2K-Mike Kalkbrenner[4]; 7. 74-Matt Perry[9]; 8. 797-Corky Warner[5]; 9. 10%-Chad Edwards[12]; 10. 12AJ-AJ Greco[8]; 11. 15-Greg Havlicek[13]; 12. 31J-John Dumond[15]; 13. 314-Clayton Dumond[16]; 14. 9G-Tyler Peet[20]; 15. 1B-Brett Mortensen[21]; 16. 7-Rocco Constantino[24]; 17. 84-Ricky Quick[18]; 18. 9-Joe Toth[22]; 19. 66-Don Bellen[1]; 20. 1H-Harry Shaffer[25]; 21. 26-Mason Gray[19]; 22. 55-Jonny Feagles[17]; 23. 618-Bobby Rhinehardt[23]; 24. 1M-Mark Mortensen[10]; 25. 70X-Josh Coonradt[14]

 

Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stocks

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 8N-Nick Stone[5]; 2. 49-Ivan Joslin[1]; 3. 35-Ken Gates[7]; 4. 15-Beau Ballard[4]; 5. 715-Jason Morrison[2]; 6. 81A-Michael Achzet[8]; 7. 2H-Luke Horning[6]; 8. 13-George Cushman[3]; 9. 39-Hayleigh Gates[10]; 10. 1D-Nick Santuccione[9]; 11. 62-Nick Danna[11]; 12. 909-Kailey Jaycox[12]; 13. 7S-Eric Stumpf[13]

 

Montgomery County Office for Aging Limited Sportsman

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 647-Brian Nelson[6]; 2. 22M-Mike Hill[5]; 3. 22L-Lance Hill[4]; 4. 7A-Steve Wagoner[8]; 5. 24-Kirsten Swartz[3]; 6. 16H-Dylan Hutson[1]; 7. 23-Nick Ryder[7]; 8. 18-John West[11]; 9. 4C-Cole Conrad[10]; 10. 11-Josh Persse[13]; 11. 96B-Jimmy Beach[15]; 12. 77K-Kathy Bellen[9]; 13. 32-Owen Mormile[16]; 14. 16-Andrew Millard[14]; 15. 48-Chayton Young[2]; 16. 27-Chuck Lowe[12]; 17. (DNS) 5S-Cameron Snell; 18. (DNS) 4-Zach McSpirit

 

Fonda Fair Four Cylinders

A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 97JD-Jay Ingersoll[7]; 2. 11D-Tomek Kowalczyk[4]; 3. 47S-Bruce Liddle[2]; 4. 244S-Dave Reedy[5]; 5. 29JD-John Ray[3]; 6. 6D-Joshua Leonard[8]; 7. 25S-ANTHONY POWERS[12]; 8. 12D-Len St Andrews[1]; 9. 14S-Garrett Sieg[10]; 10. 212S-TJ Marlitt[11]; 11. 191D-Chris Danylieko[9]; 12. K1S-William Liberatore[6]; 13. (DNS) 54S-Wayne Russell Jr