DAVIS GETS HIS THIRD VICTORY OF THE SEASON AT FONDA
2005 has been a season to remember for Jim Davis as he won the first modified feature of his career back on the last week of May of this year. The following week, Davis started June off with his second consecutive win and Saturday night he added a third victory to the Fonda Speedway record books as he held off Jeff Trombley for the victory.
“On nights like tonight when you have to draw for starting spots for the heat races as you come into the speedway it is important to get a good draw,” Davis said in victory lane. “Usually I don’t draw very well so I had my seven year old draw for me and I ended up with a good spot.”
Griffin Motorsports & Polaris sponsored the racing activities with other winners on the night including David Towns (sportsman), Nick Stone (pro stock), Danny Ballard (IMCA), Dave Horning Sr. and Dwight Oldorf (street stock). John Bradt and Rocky Warner ended up as co-track champions for 2005 in the street stock division at Fonda after finishing tied in final points.
Many local cub scouts were on hand for the racing activities and they got to raise the flag just before the national anthem was played before the pro stock feature event.
After winning the first modified heat race of the evening, Davis was able to start on the pole for the feature and took the lead as the green flag dropped to start the event. Before lap one was completed the yellow flag was out for Paul Cirincione who was in the turn one wall. On the restart, the yellow was out again for Elmo Reckner and Tony Pepicelli who crashed in turn two.
The third restart was the charm as the first lap of the feature was finally completed with Davis in the lead and Ryan Odasz in second after starting the event in the second row. Jeff Trombley, who was back for the first time after suffering what was thought to be a season ending back/neck injury earlier in the season, drove Ronnie Johnson’s small block car up to the third spot early in the event after starting fifth with 2005 track champion Bobby Varin in fourth.
Varin’s car started to show sparks from underneath of the car at the lap two point in the event and was never a serious contender for the win after that. While running second on lap 11, Odasz went straight into the turn one wall as it appeared that something may have broken on the right front corner of the car bringing out another yellow. Odasz was shaken but walked away after taking some time to gain his composure. At the same time that Odasz crashed in the wall in turn one, Elmo Reckner and Erik Mack were also involved in a wreck in turn three. Both Reckner and Mack were also okay after their crash.
One lap later Dave Lape was out of the event after something broke on the left front of the Palmer’s Service No. 22. He was done for the night while Varin pitted under this caution to try and fix his car and restarted in the rear of the field. The race for the win from this point on was between Davis and Trombley who put on a great race for the fans over the remaining laps.
At the halfway point, Davis and Trombley were side by side for the lead for two laps with Davis able to hold on to the lead at that point. They were side by side again on lap 24 in lap traffic with Davis just barely hanging on to the lead that he had. On lap 26 the final caution of the event came out for a car in the turn one wall closing up the field one last time.
That gave Trombley one last shot at the leader but it was Davis who was able to hang on for the win over Trombley, A.J. Romano, Jack Johnson, and Mike Fusco. For Davis it was his third win of the season and third career win in the modified division at Fonda.
“My car was quick early on but I couldn’t breathe when I saw Jeff on the side of me on those restarts,” Davis said. “That is a tribute to just how good Jeff is. Even though he was out of racing for a few months he gave me everything that I wanted. On all those restarts I just had to gain my composure and try to hold it the rest of the way.”
Nine caution flags slowed the sportsman feature with David Towns, Derrick McGrew, and John Scarborough swapping the lead each time the race was restarted. A lot of contact was made between the cars of Towns, McGrew, and Scarborough during all of the restarts with double file restarts keeping the cars close together. The longest green flag period of the event was from laps nine to 17 with Scarborough in the lead during those laps.
Towns dropped back as far as fourth on lap nine but with a vary fast race car was able to get back to the second spot on a lap 10 restart after getting by both Tim Hartman and McGrew. With two laps to go in the event, Towns swept around the outside of Scarborough in turn four to take over the lead and went on to the win, his fourth of the season and 10th of his career in the sportsman division at Fonda. Scarborough, Joe Budka, Jeremiah Munson, and Hartman completed the top five. Only 13 cars completed the event of the 25 that started the feature.
After finishing second in pro stock feature events nine times in 2005 at Fonda, Kenny Gates was looking for a win before the season comes to an end. Gates led the pro stock feature at the start with Butchie Irwin in second as lap one was completed. Nick Stone started the event in the third spot and took the second spot away from Irwin on lap five. With the field close together Stone started to pressure Gates for the lead one lap later, setting up a very exciting race to the checkered flag.
Stone was the new leader on lap six after getting by Gates on the outside in turn four. Both Stone and Gates were using their traditional lines on the speedway, Stone on the outside and Gates on the inside with Gates able to retake the lead on lap eight. Stone retook the lead for the final time on lap 11 and went on to his fourth win of the season and the eighth of his career in the pro stock division at Fonda. Gates ended up second for the 10th time this season and was followed by Irwin, Chucky Dumblewski, and Speed Felon.
JoJo Donato was the leader at the start of the IMCA feature event with Jeff Jones in second on lap two after starting fourth. Danny Ballard took over the third spot on lap three making it a three car battle for the lead. On lap 12, Jones was the new leader of the event as Donato was showing smoke from his car and was forced to retire from the event. Jones was also showing some smoke from around the valve cover area of his engine which led to him oiling up his right rear tire making the car slide all over the track in the turns.
Ballard took over the lead from Jones on lap 13 with Jones able to keep his car under control enough to stay in the second position despite slipping all over the speedway. On lap 17, Jones was forced to retire from the event as the smoke took its toll on the engine with Ballard going on to his sixth win of the season and 13th of his career in the IMCA division at Fonda. Jeremy Cramer, Aaron Jacobs, Carol Parker, and Danny Ballad’s son Beau completed the top five.
The street stock “a” feature began with Dan Clemens in the lead followed by Chuck McSpirit. McSpirit took over the lead on lap two with Dave Horning Sr. now second after also getting by Clemens. When McSpirit was forced to the pit area on lap five with mechanical problems, Horning Sr. was the new leader and he ended up winning the event by a straightaway over Reuben Kennedy, Pete Broderson, Clemens, and Warren Pollock.
The street stock “b” feature had John Bradt and Rocky Warner in it as they were going for the 2005 Fonda Speedway street stock title. Don Warner was the early leader of the event with Dan Hartgraves taking over the point on lap five on a restart after the caution was out for Phil Pearson who spun out in turn three. While all of that was going on, Howard Smith came together with Rocky Warner who suffered a flat tire in the jingle. Rocky pitted and restarted at the back of the pack.
On the restart, Hartgraves continued to lead but all eyes were on Bradt and Rocky Warner who was making his way back to the front. Coming out of turn four on the final lap, Dwight Oldorf got by Hartgraves for the lead and the win. Hartgraves, Rocky Warner, Bradt, and Pearson completed the top five. With both Bradt and Rocky Warner finishing the season with 972 points they were named co-track champions for 2005 in the street stock division at Fonda. For Oldorf it was his fourth win of 2005 and the fifth of his career at Fonda.
Next Saturday and Sunday September 24 & 25 the final two events of the 2005 season at Fonda will be held. A $50,000 total purse for the entire weekend awaits competitors in all divisions.
On Saturday the 24th, Morris Ford-Mercury & Coors Light will present a 50-lap 358-modified event, a 40-lap sportsman RoC event, a 30-lap IMCA event, and a 20-lap street stock open. Pit gates will open at 9:00 a.m. with front gates opening at 10:00 a.m. and warm-ups at 12 noon. General admission will be $22 for adults and $5 for children. Reserved seating will be $24 with pit admission $30.
On Sunday the 25th, McDonald’s will present a 100-lap RoC modified tour event along with a 30-lap pro stock open. Pit gates will again open at 9:00 a.m. with front gates opening at 10:00 a.m. and warm-ups at 12 noon. General admission will be $25 for adults and $5 for children. Reserved seating will be $27 with pit admission $30.
The Fonda Futures Kid’s Club will also have many special things going on next weekend including a Banner Contest. So kid’s, get your ideas together, and get those banners done as they will be on display all weekend long.
MODIFIED QUALIFYING – 28 total cars – 4 qualify
HEAT 1 – Jim Davis, Bobby Varin, Bobby Vedder, Dave Lape
HEAT 2 – Mike Fusco, Jeff Trombley, A.J. Romano, Elmo Reckner
HEAT 3 – Ryan Odasz, Dustin Purdy, Matt DeLorenzo, Jack Johnson
GRIFFIN MOTORSPORTS & POLARIS MODIFIED FEATURE – 30-LAPS – JIM DAVIS, Jeff Trombley, A.J. Romano, Jack Johnson, Mike Fusco, Matt DeLorenzo, Robert King, Bobby Varin, Dustin Purdy, Ray Zemken, Craig Hanson, Ancel Collins, Bobby Vedder, Tim Clemons, Erik Nelson, John Ruchel, Mike Dillenbeck, Ronnie Johnson, Ryan Odasz, Dave Lape, Erik Mack, Elmo Reckner, Jerry Pennock Jr., Alton Palmer, Paul Cirincione, Tony Pepicelli
SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING – 32 total cars – 5 qualify
HEAT 1 – Derrick McGrew, Dick Bisson, Tim Dwyer, Dave Constantino, Robert Perry
HEAT 2 – David Towns, John Scarborough, Mike Tholin, Tim Hartman, Neil Erickson
HEAT 3 – Pat O’Hanlon, Luke Monroe, Jeremiah Munson, John Constantino, Mark Mortensen
SPORTSMAN CONSOLATIONS – 4 qualify
CONSI 1 – Josh Hohenforst, Joe Budka, Frank Greco, Vinny Sanganetti
CONSI 2 – Randy Hotaling, Jimmy Cottrell, Michael Ballestero, Randy Meka
GRIFFIN MOTORSPORTS & POLARIS SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 20-LAPS – DAVID TOWNS, John Scarborough, Joe Budka, Jeremiah Munson, Tim Hartman, Josh Hohenforst, Mark Mortensen, Dick Bisson, Mike Tholin, John Constantino, Danny Varin, Derrick McGrew, Randy Hotaling, Robert Perry, Vinny Sanganetti, Dave Constantino, Pat O’Hanlon, Neil Erickson, Jeff Holt, Luke Monroe, Jimmy Cottrell, Tim Dwyer, Michael Ballestero, Frank Greco, Randy Meka
PRO STOCK QUALIFYING – 17 total cars – 5 qualify
HEAT 1 – Lori Cary, Nick Stone, Luke Klob, Scott Liese, Chucky Dumblewski
HEAT 2 – Kenny Gates, Butchie Irwin, Speed Felon, Chip Smith, Dean Charbonneau
GRIFFIN MOTORSPORTS & POLARIS PRO STOCK FEATURE – 20-LAPS – NICK STONE, Kenny Gates, Butchie Irwin, Chucky Dumblewski, Speed Felon, Chip Smith, Mark Lighthall, Jim Burton, Scott Liese, Jason Brownell, Dan Rickard, Tony Stone, Bob Schmidt, Dean Charbonneau, Luke Klob, Lori Cary
GRIFFIN MOTORSPORTS & POLARIS IMCA FEATURE – NO HEATS WERE RUN AS A TOTAL OF ONLY 9 CARS WERE ON HAND – 20-LAPS – DANNY BALLARD, Jeremy Cramer, Aaron Jacobs, Carol Parker, Beau Ballard, Jeff Jones, Danny Ody, JoJo Donato, Paul Hughes
GRIFFIN MOTORSPORTS & POLARIS STREET STOCK “A” FEATURE – 12-LAPS – DAVE HORNING SR., Reuben Kennedy, Pete Broderson, Dan Clemens, Warren Pollock, David Emigh, Dan Pollock, Chuck McSpirit, Lou Zerr, Ron Tollner, Chris Fifield, Joe Smith
GRIFFIN MOTORSPORTS & POLARIS STREET STOCK “B” FEATURE – 12-LAPS – DWIGHT OLDORF, Dan Hartgraves, Rocky Warner, John Bradt, Phil Pearson, Don Warner, Ivan Joslin, Howard Smith, Dave Horning Jr., Cassidy Wilson, Jeff Crosier