FONDA, N.Y. — After opening day at Fonda Speedway was cancelled two Saturdays in a row due to week-long rains, the track decided to hold opening day on a Sunday, April 24.
The rest of the season brought rain-free Saturdays, with two first time track champions, along with four repeat champions in their respective divisions.
THE 2022 CHAMPIONS
The track champion in the Sunoco Modified division was Matt DeLorenzo, who was crowned for the fourth time in his career after championships in 2004 and 2006 (358-Modified), and 2007 in the Modified division.
“It wasn’t our plan to be here at Fonda every week, but we started running real well at the beginning of the year so we kind of worked things out that I could race here every Saturday,” DeLorenzo said. “The track kind of threw me a curve ball the last month being choppy and stuff, and the car just really wasn’t comfortable. We also had motor problems, but it all worked out.”
Payton Talbot was crowned champion in the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman division for the first time in his career.
Nick Stone earned the title in the Algonkin Motel Pro Stock division for the fourth time in his career with the other championships coming back in 2014, 2020-2021.
“Preparation is everything,” Stone said. “I guarantee we have the most prepped out race car. The body looks a little rough, but you take this body off and the car looks brand new underneath it. We got the tires that we needed and didn’t have to be conservative, everything was always prepped out perfect.”
Zach Dufel was victorious in the Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman division for the first time in his career.
“I honestly have no words, I’ve dreamt of being here just as a crew member and being here as a driver is so special to me,” Dufel said. “Obviously with Mike (Jackson, car owner) and his long road to recovery I can’t thank him enough, Harry Shaffer, the whole Shaffer family, Harry has been there for me since day one. He’s been there all season telling me what to do, I’m taking his and Mikey’s tips and it worked out. It’s insane, I literally have no words, it’s awesome.”
Fonda Fair Four Cylinder Division Track Champions for the 2022 season was Kerrie Hollenback in the DOHC class.
Ken Hollenback won the title in the SOHC class for the ninth time.
CHAMPIONS STATS
• DeLorenzo competed in a total of 20 events in the Sunoco Modified division during the 2022 season at Fonda, finishing the season with five wins, nine top five finishes, and 15 top ten finishes. His five wins moved him up to the 10th position on the Fonda Speedway Modified all-time win list with a total of 42 wins.
• Talbot competed in a total of 19 events in the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman division in 2022 with two sixth place finishes being his worse finishes of the season. Talbot had a total of three wins in 2022 to go along with 17 top five and 19 top ten finishes. His three victories places him in a tie for ninth on the all-time win list in the division with a total of four.
• Dufel competed in a total of 18 races at Fonda in 2022 with five wins, 13 top five and 15 top ten finishes.
• Ten wins in a total of 17 events propelled Stone to the track championship in the Algonkin Motel Pro Stock division along with 16 top five and 16 top ten finishes.
• Ken Hollenback won 17 out of 18 races during the 2022 racing season in the Fonda Fair SOHC Four Cylinder division raising his win total to 85 (First on the all-time win list in the division)
• Kerrie Hollenback won 13 out of 18 races during the 2022 racing season in the Fonda Fair DOHC Four Cylinder division raising his win total in the division to 33 which is second on the all-time win list behind his brother Ken.
DIFFERENT WINNERS IN DIFFERENT DIVISIONS
There were 11 different winning drivers in the Sunoco Modified division, led by Stewart Friesen with six including the $12,000-to-win Jack Johnson Memorial event in April, and the $10,000-to-win Firecracker 50 in July. Track Champion Matt DeLorenzo was next with five feature wins followed by Craig Hanson with two.
Eight drivers took one win apiece including Danny Varin, Dave Constantino, Brian Gleason, Nick Heywood, David Schilling, Demetrious Drellos, Jack Lehner, and Matt Sheppard who won the prestigious $53,000-to-win Fonda 200 in September.
Chad Edwards led the way with six wins in the Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman division. In all there were nine different winning drivers in the division with Cody Clark winning four times and Talbot three times to fall next in line. There were six drivers who won single events including Brian Calabrese, Mark Mortensen, Rocky Warner, Clayton DuMond, Brett Mortensen, and Troy Zilles.
Dufel led the way with five feature wins in the Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman division followed by Kyle Dingman with four wins, Connor Prokop with three wins, and Josh Kane with two wins. Completing the list of eight different drivers who won features in the division were Lance Hill, Harold Robitaille, Bob Rowback, and Wesley Sutliff who were all single event winners.
There were seven different winners in the Algonkin Motel Pro Stock division led by Stone with 10. Beau Ballard and Ivan Joslin were next in line with two wins apiece. Single event winners in the division were Luke Horning, Jason Morrison, Josh Coonradt, and Kenny Gates.
There were six different winners in the Fonda Fair Four Cylinder division led by Ken Hollenback with 17 wins in the SOHC class. The only other SOHC feature held was won by Todd Morey, who celebrated his first career win in the division.
Kerrie Hollenback led the way in the DOHC class with a total of 13 wins followed by John Napoli with three, Dale VanAllen and Brandon Ely with one win apiece.
“Pretty amazing season really,” Fonda Speedway promoter Brett Deyo said. “We survived through a lot of factors, tire shortages, inflation, and no rain-outs. Who would have thought that when we moved the first race to a Sunday to get it in that we would get every other race in? We were struggling with a wet spring, but everybody stuck with us.
“The 50/50’s were great, I think we survived a wild season and now we can regroup and get ready for the Fonda 200. I am excited going into the 200, I think we have a lot of momentum and no conflicts this year on the schedule, so it should be pretty wild.”