A.J. ROMANO DOUBLES UP AS DOES TROMBLEY AND DAVIS
CRAIG CRISCONE AND CHRIS MORRIS BECOME FIRST TIME CHAMPIONS
Labatt’s Night at the Fonda Speedway last evening was a pressure packed night for a couple of reasons. One reason was that it was a night of double features for the Modified, Sportsman, and Pro Stock divisions. The other was the fact that track champions would be determined in those divisions along with the 358-Modified class meaning that drivers who were on top of the point standings going into the night had to get through both features and maybe had to be a little more cautious than they normally would be.
The racing was great despite all of the pressure that was on the drivers shoulders with A.J. Romano taking both Modified wins; Kenny Martin (career first in the Sportsman division) and Tim Clemons winning the Sportsman features; Rob Noviczski and Kenny Gates taking the Pro Stock features; while Steve Bidwell (IMCA); Jeff Davis, Dave Horning, Jr., and Bob VanAernam were the Street Stock winners.
As far as the track championship’s were concerned, Jeff Trombley won his second Big Block Modified championship in a row, Craig Criscone won his first ever 358-Modified title, Jim Davis won his second Sportsman championship (the other one coming in 2000), and Chris Morris won his first ever Pro Stock championship.
At the start of the first Modified feature, Ronnie Holmes was the leader in the #28 Small Block powered car followed by Craig Criscone in a car recently purchased from Mike Fusco after Criscone flipped his own #3 last week at Fonda. Criscone also had Small Block power under the hood of his car and was driving with broken ribs after his crash last week. A close call for point leader Jeff Trombley on lap one as he and Bob Sitterly made contact in turn three. Both were able to continue.
Alton Palmer got by Criscone for second on lap two and set his sights on the leader. On lap three, Palmer blasted by Holmes for the lead in turn four using the outside groove on the speedway to his liking. This set up a great lead swapping few laps between Palmer and Holmes.
Holmes led lap five after gaining the advantage on a restart, but Palmer was back out front on lap six as they swapped the lead two more times within the next four laps. A.J. Romano moved by Holmes for second on lap ten and three laps later took over the lead from Palmer. Bobby Varin took over second on lap fourteen as he got by Palmer as Dave Lape and Jack Johnson battled side by side for the sixth position.
Mike Romano stopped in turn four on lap nineteen, bringing out the yellow and ending his top five run along with any hopes for the track championship after beginning the night in the third place in points. Varin pressured A.J. over the remaining laps of the twenty-five lap feature but A.J. was up to the challenge taking his third win of the season over Varin, Palmer, Holmes, and Lape.
“That was a tough race and Bobby (Varin) was fast but you could race on any spot on the track tonight,” A.J. said in victory lane. “I felt like it was going to be a race to the front between Bobby and I because we started so close to each other.”
Tony Pepicelli rocketed to the front at the start of Modified feature number two from his pole position start after the top eight finishers from the first event were inverted for the second feature. Craig Criscone was second as Dave Lape and Jack Johnson continued their battle from the first feature into this one sitting third and fourth on lap two. Lape made it past Johnson for third on lap three but he wasn’t done yet.
On lap five, Lape rocketed around the outside of both Criscone and Pepicelli in turns three and four taking over the number one position. At that point A.J. Romano who started eighth was already up to fifth and moving to the front. As Lape held a straightaway lead over Pepicelli, A.J. made his way by Criscone for third and by lap nine was up to the second position. Bobby Varin made his presence known on lap ten as he also got by Criscone for the fourth position.
Lape’s lead was down to a half straightaway on lap thirteen as A.J. was steadily closing the gap on Lape who was now in lap traffic. Back in the pack Criscone, Jeff Trombley, and Mike Romano battled for sixth when the yellow came out on lap nineteen for John Marsh who stopped in turn two. This closed up the field and put A.J. and Varin on Lape’s rear bumper.
With five laps to go, A.J. moved to the inside of Lape in turn four and took over the lead only to have Lape come right back to retake the lead coming out of turn two. Lape was using the outside groove to his liking but got a little too high on the backstretch and had to back off to stay out of the wall allowing A.J. to retake the lead and Varin to get alongside for second.
Lape and Varin ran side by side over the remaining few laps as A.J. stretched out his advantage and went on for the win, his fourth of the season and third in a row after also winning last week. Lape, Varin, Mike Romano, and Jack Johnson completed the top five.
“I felt bad because I got into Dave a little bit when I went around him but he came back and challenged me for the lead again,” A.J. said. “That was a fun race and to win both especially this one over a great champion like Dave was great.”
Kenny Martin started on the pole position of Sportsman feature number one and immediately took the number one spot. It was a spot that he would never relinquish for the remainder of the event. Point leaders Jim Davis, Ryan Odasz, and John McAuliffe (who was coming off a one week suspension) were all running outside of the top ten by the lap four point of the eighteen lap event as Jeremiah Munson made his way by Tim Clemons and Drew Fallis for the fourth position.
McAuliffe was the first of the top three in points to break into the top ten, running seventh at the lap eight point of the event with Odasz next in line. Davis blasted by Robert Perry and Josh Pieniazek for ninth on lap ten as Martin continued to lead by a comfortable margin. Bobby Hackel made his way by Elmo Reckner for second on lap eleven but wasn’t able to challenge Martin as Kenny went on to his first career Sportsman win followed by Hackel, McAuliffe, Reckner, and Fallis.
After a nasty flip the week before, Michael Ballestero was the early leader of Sportsman feature number two with an early yellow out at the completion of lap one. As Ballestero continued to lead, Ray Zemken was second with Tim Clemons now third and pressuring Zemken for second. On lap two, Clemons took over the second position from Zemken and began pressuring Ballestero for the lead.
On lap five, Clemons got by Ballestero for the lead in turn one with point leader Jim Davis moving his way up into the top five. Davis moved past Zemken for the third position and by lap ten was sitting in the second position after getting by Ballestero. The top two of Clemons and Davis was now secure as John McAuliffe and Ryan Odasz battled close and hard for the fourth position with five laps to go. Clemons went on to his second win of the season followed by Davis, Ballestero, Odasz, and McAuliffe.
Scott Govertsen, Joe Mottoshiski, and Nick Stone ran three wide at the start of the first eighteen lap Pro Stock feature with Govertsen gaining the early advantage. When Butchie Irwin slid sideways in turn four on lap four, second place point man Kenny Gates had nowhere to go and spun his car around to keep from getting into Irwin. Gates was able to continue at the rear of the field.
Rob Noviczski got by Mottoshiski for second on lap four and the next time around he snuck by Govertsen for the lead in turn four. Chris Morris made his way up to third by lap seven with Irwin also getting by Phlan Hart for fourth. Back in the pack Gates was battling side by side with Jeff Patrick for eighth. Morris and Irwin battled for second the rest of the way as did Gates and Patrick for the eighth spot.
The top three of Noviczski, Morris, and Irwin battled close over the last few laps of the event with Noviczski going on to his first win of the 2002 season over Irwin, Morris, Mottoshiski, and Hart.
Kenny Gates started on the front row of the second Pro Stock main event and immediately took the lead. An early yellow was out as lap one was completed for Nick Stone who ended up in the front stretch wall after Bobby Gile and Jerry Pepper made contact forcing Pepper into Stone and causing the accident. Stone was not injured in the wreck.
On the restart, Gates continued to lead as Chris Morris and Butchie Irwin made their way to the front sitting in the fourth and fifth positions by lap four. When Morris tried to get by Jeff Patrick for second on lap five his outside lane was blocked by a lap car forcing him to almost hit the backstretch wall. That was a close call for Morris as he lost three positions and it could have cost him even more as the point title was also on the line.
Irwin closed in on the leader with two laps to go but Gates went on for third win of the season followed by Irwin, Morris, Patrick, and Mottoshiski.
Pete Knapp led lap one of the IMCA feature until Willy Reed took over the advantage on lap two. A yellow flag slowed the field on lap three with Billy Ward and Steve Bidwell involved. Both were able to continue and Bidwell would become a factor later on in the event. Steve Hough was next to lead on lap three as Danny Ody made his way into the third position. When Hough slowed with a mechanical problem in turn two on lap eleven, Reed was right there to retake the lead.
Bidwell was back up to third by lap twelve as Reed led with Ody now second. When Bidwell made a move to the inside for the lead on lap fourteen, Ody rocketed to the outside of both of them for the lead. Ody led until the two to go sign when Bidwell snuck by for the lead and held on for the win, his third of the season followed by Ody, Curt Olsen, Joe Williams, and Danny Ballard.
Roger Keeny was the early leader in the Street Stock “A” feature event with Jeff Davis second by lap two. One lap later Davis was the leader which was a spot that he wouldn’t relinquish as he went on to his tenth win of the season followed by Keeny, Brandon Lehr, Lori Cary, and Carol Parker.
Ed Bradt took the lead at the start of the Street Stock “B” feature with Dave Horning, Jr. fourth by lap two after starting back in the field. Two laps later Horning, Jr. was the new leader but the race for the win was not an easy one as Jeff Crosier put pressure on the leader over the final four laps of the event. Horning, Jr. withstood all challenges and went on to his seventh win of the season followed by Crosier, Jo Jo Donato, Jim Colson, and Dave Horning, Sr.
The third and by far the most exciting of the three Street Stock features saw Ron Tollner as the early leader with smoke immediately showing from his car. The smoke didn’t slow the car any as he was fast through the early stages of the event. Bob VanAernam was also fast as he took over the lead on lap three but it was short lived as Tollner retook the top position on the next lap as these two drivers put on a great show for the fans.
When Tollner spun in turn four on a lap seven restart while leading the event, VanAernam was quick to retake the lead and held that position for the remainder of the event going on to his fourth win of the year followed by Randy Moore, Shawn Simmons, John Johnson, and Paul Hughes.
The next event at Fonda will be on September 28 as the final Big Block/Small Block Challenge event will take place with a fifty lap event for the Modifieds. All other divisions will also be in action with track champions in the IMCA and Street Stock classes being decided on this night. The IMCA feature rained out on July 28 will also be run with Andy’s Service & Speed Shop the sponsors of the night with racing starting at 4:00 p.m.
QUALIFYING – top fifteen in points handicapped for the “A” main, remaining starting positions to be determined by “B” main events in the Modified, Sportsman, and Pro Stock divisions – starting positions in feature number two were inverted by a number chosen out of a hat by the winner of feature number one
MODIFIED “B” MAIN – 15 laps – 10 cars qualify for the “A” main – RONNIE JOHNSON, Bob Savoie, Billy Gray, Harry Shaffer, Troy VanAllen, Joe Geniti, John Marsh, Don Mattison, Wayne Figler, Bob Enright
MODIFIED FEATURE #1 – 25 laps – A.J. ROMANO, Bobby Varin, Alton Palmer, Ronnie Holmes, Dave Lape, Jack Johnson, Craig Criscone, Tony Pepicelli, Jeff Trombley, Ronnie Johnson, Bob Savoie, Bob Sitterly, Randy Snyder, Ken Hanson, Harry Shaffer, John Marsh, Bobby Vedder, Wayne Figler, Joe Geniti, Mike Romano, Bob Enright, Don Mattison, Troy VanAllen, Billy Gray, Craig Hanson
MODIFIED FEATURE #2 – 25 laps – A.J. ROMANO, Dave Lape, Bobby Varin, Mike Romano, Jack Johnson, Tony Pepicelli, Alton Palmer, Jeff Trombley, Ronnie Holmes, Craig Criscone, Randy Snyder, Erik Gall, Bob Sitterly, Harry Shaffer, Bobby Vedder, Ken Hanson, Wayne Figler, John Marsh, Aaron Jacobs, Ronnie Johnson, Joe Geniti, Craig Hanson, Ancel Collins, Bob Enright
SPORTSMAN “B” MAIN – 15 laps – 9 cars qualify for the “A” main – TONY FARONE, Ray Zemken, Jeff Jones, Jessica Zemken, Joe Rando, Mike Ketchum, John Scarborough, Jason Otty, Allen Powell
SPORTSMAN FEATURE #1 – 18 laps – KENNY MARTIN, Bobby Hackel, John McAuliffe, Elmo Reckner, Drew Fallis, Ryan Odasz, Jeremiah Munson, Jim Davis, Tim Clemons, Josh Pieniazek, Michael Ballestero, Ray Zemken, Tony Farone, Jessica Zemken, Jim Burton, Robert Perry, Jeff Jones, John LeClair, Joe Rando, Mike Ketchum, Allen Powell, Jason Otty, Billy Osta, John Scarborough
SPORTSMAN FEATURE #2 – 18 laps – TIM CLEMONS, Jim Davis, Michael Ballestero, Ryan Odasz, John McAuliffe, Josh Pieniazek, Drew Fallis, Jeremiah Munson, Ray Zemken, Elmo Reckner, Billy Osta, Joe Rando, Jessica Zemken, Bobby Hackel, John LeClair, Kenny Martin, Jeff Jones, Mike Ketchum, Jason Otty, Jim Burton, John Constantino, Robert Perry, Allen Powell, Tony Farone, John Scarborough
PRO STOCK “B” MAIN – 10 laps – 9 cars qualify for the “A” main – ROB VANAERNAM, Erik Nelson, Henry Tanner, Joe Humet, Steve Burega, Kerry Jordan, Tom LaPlante, Jay Ingersoll, Mike Walters
PRO STOCK FEATURE #1 – 18 laps – ROB NOVICZSKI, Butchie Irwin, Chris Morris, Joe Mottoshiski, Phlan Hart, Mark Lighthall, Jeff Patrick, Kenny Gates, Jerry Pepper, Bobby Gile, Rob VanAernam, Nick Stone, Steve Burega, Joe Humet, Kerry Jordan, Dan Rickard, Tom LaPlante, Mark Sullivan, Jay Ingersoll, Jay Resch, Erik Nelson, Mike Walters, Scott Govertsen, Henry Tanner
PRO STOCK FEATURE #2 – 18 laps – KENNY GATES, Butchie Irwin, Chris Morris, Jeff Patrick, Joe Mottoshiski, Mark Lighthall, Rob Noviczski, Phlan Hart, Bobby Gile, Scott Govertsen, Mark Sullivan, Rob VanAernam, Steve Burega, Kerry Jordan, Jay Ingersoll, Erik Nelson, Tom LaPlante, Jay Resch, Joe Humet, Jerry Pepper, Henry Tanner, Nick Stone, Dan Rickard
IMCA QUALIFYING – 19 total cars – 5 qualify
HEAT 1 – Willy Reed, Darcy Volans, Skip Pabis, Jim Rajczi, Kevin Buff
HEAT 2 – Pete Knapp, Danny Ballard, Danny Ody, Steve Hough, Fred Proctor
IMCA FEATURE – 20 laps – STEVE BIDWELL, Danny Ody, Curt Olsen, Joe Williams, Danny Ballard, Dennis Vroman, Fred Proctor, Skip Pabis, Darcy Volans, Kevin Buff, Billy Ward, Pete Knapp, Joe Hallenbeck, Willy Reed, Jason Miller, Steve Hough, Russ Miller, Jim Rajczi, Bob Wilkie
STREET STOCK “A” – 10 laps – JEFF DAVIS, Roger Keeny, Brandon Lehr, Lori Cary, Carol Parker, Ricky Quick, Donnie Oldick, Cory Laport, John Babcock, Justin Labombard, Rod Slater, Kathy Bellen, John Ketchum, John Bradt, Jason Samrov, Jamie Tesiero
STREET STOCK “B” – 10 laps – DAVE HORNING, JR., Jeff Crosier, Jo Jo Donato, Jim Colson, Dave Horning, Sr., Buck Gasner, Howard Smith, Steve Cosselman, Denver Wilson, Rocky Warner, Ellis Shaffer, Chris McMurray, Ed Bradt, Brian Cosselman
STREET STOCK “C” – 10 laps – BOB VANAERNAM, Randy Moore, Shawn Simmons, John Johnson, Paul Hughes, Neil Cosselman, Pete Sisler, Joe Smith, Tom Harper, Mike Burdo, Justin Knight, Jim Whitiker, Ron Tollner, Ron Cumming, Erik Wager, Thom Schmidtmann, Rich Walters, Sandy Ferrara