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DELORENZO WINS AGAIN AT FONDA






At the season opener of the 2004 season at Fonda Speedway, Matt DeLorenzo showed up for the Big Block/Small Block Shootout and finished the feature in the eighth position. He earned a $500 bonus that day for being the top finishing small block in the feature event.



The week after that he sat in victory lane after winning his first career Modified feature at Fonda. His original plan for the 2004 season wasn’t to be a regular at Fonda for the entire season but after the win he decided to stick it out and has been a welcome addition to the Track of Champions on a weekly basis.



With all of his early season success with the small block, DeLorenzo knew that he wasn’t at a disadvantage having a small block under the hood of his BBL sponsored car. For the second time in 2004 he proved it as he beat Dave Lape to the checkered flag on Saturday, June 12 at Fonda Speedway on Freihofer’s Night.



“This car is awesome,” DeLorenzo said in victory lane. “I have to thank my brother and my father for all of their hard work on this car. Last week I overheated the motor so I brought my back-up car just incase I ran into problems tonight. I also have to thank the race fans for all of their support week in and week out.”



Jerry Pennock Jr. took the early lead in the 30-lap Modified feature from his pole position start. In the back of the pack, DeLorenzo and Lape were passing cars in pairs after starting the feature in the ninth and eleventh positions respectively.



Tony Pepicelli moved into the second position on lap three with DeLorenzo fifth one lap later. Pennock Jr. held a big lead at that point with Pepicelli finally closing in on lap twelve. Heavy lap traffic slowed Pennock Jr. on lap fourteen with Pepicelli, Mike Fusco, Chic Chandler, Bobby Varin, and Lape completing the top six.



DeLorenzo moved past Fusco for third at the halfway point and one lap later he was second after getting by Pepicelli. Fusco was having a great run in the feature but that came to an unfortunate end on lap twenty when he got up high in turn one and made contact with the wall.



On the restart, DeLorenzo was the new leader as both Varin and Lape continued their march to the front getting by both Pepicelli and Pennock Jr. for the second and third spots respectively. DeLorenzo’s small block was working well on the bottom of the speedway while both Varin and Lape were running the extreme outside line.



When Varin slowed suddenly in turn two on lap twenty-five, Lape was right behind him and the two became hooked together for a brief time before the yellow came out again. Varin was done for the night while Lape continued on in the second position with A.J. Romano now third.



On the restart, DeLorenzo pulled away racing a unique groove in turns three and four. In the middle of those turns, DeLorenzo ran way up high but would duck low coming out of turn four. That unique style earned him the victory followed by Lape who finished second for the third week in a row, A.J. Romano, Jack Johnson, and Pepicelli.



Pat O’Hanlon and Robert Perry started the Sportsman feature on the front row with both taking turns leading lap one as O’Hanlon led early while Perry led at the completion of the first circuit. Michael Ballestero and John McAuliffe were running in the fifth and sixth positions respectively when the first yellow of the event came out on lap three for Randy Meka who stopped on the front stretch.



On the restart, McAuliffe was in the third position and one lap later he was second after getting by O’Hanlon.



The yellow was out again on lap four for Bobby Hackel who was in the front stretch wall. Hackel pitted and rejoined the field in the rear. On the restart, McAuliffe was the new leader but that didn’t last too long as Ballestero swept around the outside of him in turn four for the lead one lap later. The yellow came out again on lap eight when Keith Nichols got loose in turn one and just caught the car of Erik Nelson forcing him to spin. John Constantino, Tony Farone, and Jim Meka were also involved with the red flag coming out shortly afterwards. Meka was removed from his car and was taken to the hospital for observation. Farone and Constantino were both able to continue.



On lap nine, McAuliffe ducked low under Ballestero in turn four to retake the lead with Jeremiah Munson now third behind Ballestero. Two more yellows slowed the race but McAuliffe was in a league of his own after each restart and ended up winning the event by a comfortable margin. It was McAuliffe’s first win of the 2004 season. The race for second was a good one between Ballestero and Munson as the two drivers swapped the position many times before Ballestero finally ended up second followed by Munson, Drew Fallis, and Jim Burton.



Chuck McSpirit led the Pro Stock feature at the start with Hondo Carpenter second after getting by Wayne Patrick before lap one was completed. When Chip Smith came to a stop in turn four on lap three, the caution was out with Carpenter the new leader on the restart. McSpirit was running a strong race as he along with Kevin Ward and Rob Noviczski were having a whale of a battle for the second position.



Butchie Irwin started the event in the ninth spot but moved by McSpirit for the third position behind Carpenter and Ward on lap nine. Irwin took over the second position one lap later with Carpenter now a half straightaway ahead. Irwin closed in on Carpenter on lap thirteen and pressured him for four laps before taking the top spot on lap seventeen on the inside of turn three. Irwin went on to his first win of the season at Fonda followed by Carpenter, Noviczski, Nick Stone, and McSpirit.



Skip Pabis was the early leader of the IMCA feature before Aaron Jacobs took over the lead with a quick move on the outside at the start. The first yellow flag of the event came out on lap three when Nick Candelaria spun in turn four. During the caution Jacobs was penalized two positions for jumping the start of the event putting Danny Ody into the top spot.



Jacobs didn’t let the penalty get to him as he made his way back to the front, sitting in the second spot by lap five. A yellow flag on lap eight bunched up the field with Jacobs pressuring Ody for the lead on the restart. On lap twelve, Jacobs swept around the outside of Ody for the lead on the backstretch with Danny Ballard now second. Ballard led briefly after a side by side battle with Jacobs on lap fifteen but one lap later Jacobs retook the lead and went on to his first career win followed by Ballard, George Catanzano, Jeff Jones, and Ody.



John Babcock led the Street Stock “A” feature at the start with Luke Horning second. Dave Horning Jr. took over the second spot on lap three while Rocky Warner was making his way to the front. Warner sliced his way up the middle of the two Horning’s for the second spot on lap five and caught the leader one lap later. On lap eight, Warner was the new leader after getting by Babcock for the lead on the backstretch. The race was now for second between the Horning’s as Warner went on for the win followed by Luke Horning, Dave Horning Jr., Neil Cosselman, and Ron Cummings.



Cassidy Wilson was the early leader of the Street Stock “B” feature until Jeff Crosier took over the point before lap one was completed. Bob VanAernam started the caution filled event in the tenth position but was already up to the second spot on lap two. VanAernam took the lead on the inside of the backstretch on lap five and ended up winning the event by a straightaway over Phil Pearson, D.T. Pickard, Dan Clemens, and Sam Surnear. It was VanAernam’s fifth win of the season.



On Saturday, June 19 at Fonda a regular show in all divisions is on the racing card for the Mid Season Championships. The 4-Cylinder class will also be in action on North Norwich Motors & Trailer Sales Night with racing set to begin at 6:00 p.m.



MODIFIED QUALIFYING – 32 total cars – 5 qualify

HEAT 1 – Jerry Pennock Jr., Alton Palmer, Mike Fusco, A.J. Romano, Jeff Trombley

HEAT 2 – Bobby Varin, Tony Pepicelli, Steve Akers, Jack Johnson, Ronnie Holmes

HEAT 3 – Chic Chandler, Ken Hanson, Dustin Purdy, Billy Osta, Bobby Vedder

HEAT 4 – Dave Lape, Craig Hanson, Matt DeLorenzo, Erik Gall, Ryan Odasz

MODIFIED CONSOLATION – 6 qualify – Robert King, Jim Davis, Ray Zemken, John Marsh Sr., Mike Romano, Ken Aanonsen

FREIHOFER’S MODIFIED FEATURE – 30-LAPS – MATT DELORENZO, Dave Lape, A.J. Romano, Jack Johnson, Tony Pepicelli, Jim Davis, Jeff Trombley, Mike Romano, Jerry Pennock Jr., Robert King, John Marsh Sr., Alton Palmer, Craig Hanson, Bobby Vedder, Ken Hanson, Ray Zemken, Chic Chandler, Erik Gall, Bobby Varin, Billy Osta, Mike Fusco, Dustin Purdy, Ryan Odasz, Steve Akers, Scott McCoy, Ronnie Holmes



SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING – 26 total cars – 5 qualify

HEAT 1 – Michael Ballestero, Tony Farone, Pat O’Hanlon, Erik Nelson, Mark Mortensen

HEAT 2 – Jeremiah Munson, David Towns, Robert Perry, Bobby Hackel, Keith Flach

HEAT 3 – Mike Ketchum, Elmo Reckner, John McAuliffe, Drew Fallis, Joe Williams

FREIHOFER’S SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 20-LAPS – JOHN MCAULIFFE, Michael Ballestero, Jeremiah Munson, Drew Fallis, Jim Burton, Mark Mortensen, Bobby Hackel, David Towns, Tony Farone, Joe Williams, Keith Flach, Robert Perry, Pat O’Hanlon, Keith Nichols, John Constantino, Frank Greco, Ricky Quick, Mark Kislowski, Elmo Reckner, Josh Hohenforst, Mike Ketchum, Erik Nelson, Jim Meka, Randy Meka



PRO STOCK QUALIFYING – 17 total cars – 6 qualify

HEAT 1 – Steve Welch, Chuck McSpirit, Honda Carpenter, Rob Noviczski, Kenny Gates, Kevin Ward

HEAT 2 – Butchie Irwin, Mark Lighthall, Nick Stone, Luke Klob, Dan Rickard, Wayne Patrick

FREIHOFER’S PRO STOCK FEATURE – 20-LAPS – BUTCHIE IRWIN, Hondo Carpenter, Rob Noviczski, Nick Stone, Chuck McSpirit, Kevin Ward, Kenny Gates, Luke Klob, Dan Rickard, Joey Duncan, Jason Brownell, Wayne Patrick, Mark Lighthall, Steve Welch, Chip Smith



IMCA QUALIFYING – 24 total cars – 4 qualify

HEAT 1 – Skip Pabis, Aaron Jacobs, Steve Bidwell, Shawn Simmons

HEAT 2 – George Catanzano, Kurt Olsen, Eric Stumpf, Dennis Vroman

HEAT 3 – Danny Ballard, Jeff Jones, Jeff Davis, Danny Ody

FREIHOFER’S IMCA FEATURE – 20-LAPS – AARON JACOBS, Danny Ballard, George Catanzano, Jeff Jones, Danny Ody, Steve Bidwell, Kurt Olsen, Skip Pabis, Jeff Davis, Tom Funk, Shawn Simmons, Dennis Vroman, Eric Stumpf, Chris Reckner, JoJo Donato, Pete Knapp, Darcy Volans, Rob VanAernam, Carol Parker, Bob Wilkie, Joe Rohaevich, Malcum Warner, Steve Vrooman, Nick Candelaria



FREIHOFER’S STREET STOCK “A” FEATURE – 12-LAPS – ROCKY WARNER, Luke Horning, Dave Horning Jr., Neil Cosselman, Ron Cummings, John Babcock, Brian Cosselman, John Quintana, Howard Smith, Dwight Oldorf, Guy Klob, Howie Clark, Dan Hartgraves



REIHOFER’S STREET STOCK “B” FEATURE – 12-LAPS – BOB VANAERNAM, Phil Pearson, D.T. Pickard, Dan Clemens, Sam Surnear, John Bradt, Cassidy Wilson, Ivan Joslin, Pete Broderson, Philip Tenerowicz, Jeff Crosier, Paul Hughes, Don Warner, Joe Smith, Mike Burdo