HEARN TAKES $6500 WIN AT FONDA

By Ron Szczerba

FONDA, NY – So far in 2008 Brett Hearn has made a couple of visits to the Fonda Speedway for the Go Green NMX Fonda Thunder Series events with finishes of fourth and sixth which are quite uncommon for Hearn who had seen so much success at Fonda in past years.

All it took to change the result was a different car with a different motor which is what took him to victory lane last evening at Fonda for his 23rd career win at the Track of Champions in the Vinny Salerno owned Delaney Construction sponsored #4 Teo car.

“We came here earlier this year with a great car (the Smith Brothers #74), the same car that we won the big race with last September here at Fonda,” Hearn said. “This past week we decided that we needed a small block to win at Fonda this year and it worked out for us as this is the same small block car that I run at Albany Saratoga.”

The win was worth $6500 to Hearn which included a $500 bonus for an outsider coming in and beating the regulars as Hearn beat Dave Camara and defending Modified Track Champion Matt DeLorenzo to the checkered flag.

Other winners at Fonda on a special Tuesday evening mid week show were Jeremy Wilder (Sportsman Open), Justin Barger (Earl Halaquist Memorial for ESS Sprint cars), and Jason Barney (360 Sprint Open).

Jim Davis started the 60-lap Modified main event from the pole position and took the lead at the drop of the green flag with Dave Camara in tow. A rash of flat tires plagued many drivers as first Bobby Varin fell victim to one on lap six with many others following suit before the race was done.

Varin came to a stop in turn four with the flat tire bringing out the first yellow flag of the event but was able to pit for a new tire and restart at the rear of the field. On the restart, Ryan Odasz was able to sneak by Camara for the second position but that was short lived as on the next lap Camara retook the spot with Hearn also getting by Odasz for the third spot after starting seventh.

Davis was next to suffer a flat tire on lap 10 as he came to a stop on the backstretch while leading the event bringing out the caution and handing the lead over to Camara. Davis like Varin was able to pit for a new tire and restart at the rear.

On the restart Hearn and Matt DeLorenzo were in the second and third positions with Hearn able to get alongside of Camara for the lead which Camara was able to hang on to at that point.

Lap after lap Camara was running the outside line on the track while Hearn made the inside groove work for him with Camara better on the straight-aways and Hearn faster in the turns. When Dustin Delaney brought out the caution on lap 25 it was a signal for Hearn to make a move.

“On that last double file restart I knew that it was time to make a move,” Hearn said. “I wasn’t abusing my car so I wasn’t worried about tire issues like the others had but I knew that it was time to go.”

Go is just what Hearn did too as on the restart he took over the lead and from that point on he stretched out his advantage lap after lap even in lap traffic. Hearn took the win by a straightaway over Camara, DeLorenzo, Ronnie Johnson, and Stewart Friesen.

“That 3D car (Matt DeLorenzo) scares people away from this place,” Hearn said. “Matt is a great driver but this win is to show the other drivers not to get scared away.”

“I have to give Brett (Hearn) a lot of credit,” Camara said. “He could have slid up in front of me many times but he was a real gentleman. I just didn’t have enough horsepower to keep up with Brett but I’ll take a second place finish between these guys (Hearn and DeLorenzo) any day.”

“I had a couple of good restarts,” DeLorenzo said. “But the longer I ran the car it started going away and I had nothing for either Dave or Brett.”

Jeremy Wilder ran the fastest lap in the three Sportsman heat race events and drew a number for a redraw to set the starting positions for the 20-lap Sportsman Open. Wilder drew a three inverting three cars and setting JaMike Sowle and Tony Farone on the front row.

At the drop of the green flag Farone took the early lead but when lap one was completed Sowle was the race leader after going from third to first in a quick move in turns three and four. At the completion of lap one the first of a total of six yellow flags in the event was out for John Scarborough who spun in turn two collecting defending Sportsman Track Champion David Towns who came in contact with the rear of Scarborough’s car.

Towns was done for the evening while Scarborough retook his fourth spot in the running order because nobody in the tower saw the incident and couldn’t determine what position Scarborough should be in when he rejoined the field after he spun. It was originally thought that Scarborough never stopped on the track after his spin and therefore he was put back into his spot on the grid.

Farone took over the lead on the restart while Scarborough took over the second position with two consecutive yellow flags coming out on laps three and four for spin outs by Don Bellen and Vinny Sanganetti. On the restart, Wilder made the move of the evening as he went in between both Scarborough and Farone in turn three to take a lead that he would never relinquish.

As Wilder continued to pull away from the rest of the field, Scarborough stayed in the second position while Dave Constantino and Mark Mortensen were racing hard but clean to better their positions in the field. Constantino and Mortensen stayed side by side for two laps before Constantino slid up high coming out of turn two allowing Mortensen to get by for the third position at the halfway point.

For the remainder of the event Mortensen tried everything to get by Scarborough for the second position as the two ran side by side at times but when the checkered flag was waved if was Wilder getting his first win of the season and the second of his career at Fonda over Scarborough, Mortensen, Constantino, and Mark Kislowski.

“I was glad that I started up front in the fourth position,” Wilder said. “On that restart I just darted through and slid out front to take the lead but that last restart (on lap 16) made me nervous as John (Scarborough) showed me the nose of his car under caution so I knew that he was back there.”

The Fifth Annual Earl Halaquist Memorial event for the Empire Super Sprints (ESS) began with Jessica Zemken in the lead from her pole position start with the caution out at the completion of lap one for Chuck Hebing who spun in turn one while running fourth. Steve Poirier was also collected and both cars were done for the evening.

On the restart, Zemken continued to lead with Justin Barger now second after starting third. On lap seven Jeff VanDusen was the new third place car while Zemken stretched out her lead over Barger to a half straightaway. Zemken was in lap traffic on lap 10 and was now being pressured by Barger for the lead.

On lap 11 Zemken and Barger made a sandwich of the lap car of Kory Gurney as Zemken went outside of Gurney while Barger ran down low around him. Barger was able to get by Zemken for the lead on lap 12 but the caution came out before the lap was completed allowing Zemken to retake her spot on the point because of the last completed lap rule.

Barger and VanDusen were running side by side at the halfway point in the event allowing Zemken to again stretch out her lead. Barger and VanDusen swapped the second position a few times before Barger took it back for good on lap 17.

Barger was now closing the gap between himself and Zemken and as lap 20 was being completed Barger was the new leader at the line. Barger kept the lead to the checkered flag to take his third career win at Fonda with Zemken second, Jason Barney third after starting 14th, Van Dusen, and Schenectady, NY driver Jami Russell fifth.

“On the short runs she (Zemken) was running good but on the longer runs her car was getting loose off of the corners and I was able to close in on her,” Barger said. “I was a little better on the long runs and she made me run the top because she was down low for most of the event.”

Jason Barney was the winner of the 360 Sprint Open for his first career feature win at Fonda over Barger, Doug Emery, Russ Bennett, and VanDusen completed the top five.

During one of the Modified heat races Andy Bachetti was involved in a wreck in turn two when he spun collecting the car of Bob Henry Jr. who made hard contact with the stopped car of Bachetti. According to Fonda Speedway management on Wednesday Bachetti was suffering from a torn muscle in his shoulder.

Also during one of the Sportsman heat race events John McAuliffe crashed hard into the inside wall on the frontstretch after contact from Shawn Gibbons as the cars came out of turn four. According to Fonda Speedway management McAuliffe suffered a slight concussion. Both drivers were home at the time this press release was written.

On Saturday, August 5 an action packed racing card is on the Fonda Speedway schedule as all divisions will be in competition starting at 6:00 p.m.

Along with a regular show in all divisions the 6th Annual Wilma Smith Memorial Dash for Cash for the IMCA division will also be run for non-tobacco using drivers and the event will be run topless meaning the drivers will take the roofs off of their IMCA cars for the event.

Also on Saturday August 9 at the Fonda Speedway the 7th Annual Jack Lockhart Memorial Dash for Cash will be held. The six lap dash will consist of drivers who are in the top 20 in Fonda Speedway Sportsman points as of 8/5/08 who have never won a Sportsman feature at the Track of Champions. Previous winners of the event are not eligible to participate. The lineup will be set by an inversion of the driver’s position in the point standings as of 8/5/08.