FONDA – For local race fans, Labor Day Weekend is a time for big money races and championship nights.
Two-time Fonda Speedway track champion Matt DeLorenzo is in position to add the Albany-Saratoga modified track championship to his list of accomplishments. DeLorenzo has a solid 59-point lead over Peter Britten heading into the final point show for the modifieds on Friday night.
It is also the final points race of the season for the sportsman and pro stock divisions.
Jason Casey and Chad Jeseo are neck-and-neck for the pro stock title, with Casey leading Jeseo by two points, 926-924. Casey has one win this season, while Jeseo has five. Chuckie Dumblewski is in third with five wins and 906 points.
Tim Hartman Jr. has picked up three feature wins this season at Albany-Saratoga and locked up his fourth sportsman track championship last week to break a tie with his father Tim Hartman Sr., who has three. Hartman Jr. enters Friday’s racing with a 105-point lead over Andrew Buff in the standings with Zach Buff third with 718 points.
The limited sportsman, street stock and 4-cylinder championships will be finalized on Sept. 9.
Utica-Rome Speedway will crown its track champions this Friday.
Matt Sheppard romped to 10 feature wins at Utica-Rome to lock up the modified track championship over Rocky Warner, while Matt Janczyk also has 10 wins and holds a 36-point advantage over Fonda Speedway and Thunder on the Thruway champion Payton Talbot.
In the pro stock points chase, Beau Ballard has five wins and leads Josh Coonradt, who has six wins, by 22 points, 804-782, heading into Friday night’s program.
Andy Bachetti is looking to sweep the modified track titles at Lebanon Valley Speedway.
Bachetti has a 16-point lead over Brett Haas heading into the final points night for the big block modifieds and has a 100-point advantage over LJ Lombardo in the battle for the 358-modified championship, which will be decided Sept. 10.
Hartman Jr. has made The Valley his Saturday night home this season and is leading Whitey Slavin by two points, 580-578, with two nights of racing left for the division. Jeseo wrapped up the pro stock championship with a 94-point advantage over Nick Hilt, 806-712, heading into Saturday’s event.
Luke Horning, Adam Tranka, Jay Ingersoll and Billy Hillman have locked up the track championships in their respective divisions at Glen Ridge Motorsports Park.
Horning has posted nine feature wins and wrapped up his fifth pro stock track championship in six years (2017, ’18, ’19, ’20, ’22) with Beau Ballard winning the 2021 title.
Adam Tranka has eight street stock feature wins and a 300-point lead over Matt Mosher heading into the final two weeks of racing. Ingersoll and Hillman have respectively locked up the single and dual cam mini stock championships.
In the Red Chair DIRTcar 602 Crate Sportsman championship battle, two-time defending track champion Andrew Buff is 26 points up on his brother Justin with two events left on the schedule. Andrew has six wins this season at The Ridge, while Justin has one and their brother Zach has three. The Buff brothers has combined to win 10 of the 14 crate sportsman features this season, with Garrett Poland, Rick Quick, Cody Ochs and Brian Calabrese accounting for the other four.
Butchie Irwin and Mike Hill have six wins apiece in the limited sportsman division with Irwin clinging to a 30-point lead over Hill, 914-884.
In the slingshot divisions at The Ridge, Adam Fusco has as 26-point advantage over two-time defending track champion Dan Ballard, 765-739, in the All-Star division, while Connor Crane has seven wins and a 70-point lead over Sloan Cherko in the junior slingshot division.
Glen Ridge will crown its champions on its final night of racing for the season, which is Sept. 11.
As for the big races, Saturday’s race card at Lebanon Valley Speedway will feature the 100-lap Super DIRTcar Series Mr. DIRT Track USA along with features for the sportsman, pro stock and street stocks.
General admission for adults is $28, with admission for kids under 11 set at $2.
Utica-Rome will return to action on Sunday, hosting the Short Track Super Series (STSS) and the 29th running of the 50-lap, $25,000-to-win New Yorker for modifieds along with $1,000-to-win features for the 602 sportsman and pro stock divisions and $500-to-win feature for the limited sportsmen.
The New Yorker has been contested 18 times on dirt and 11 times on the asphalt track at Utica-Rome. Grandstand admission will be $30 for adults, $28 for seniors and kids under 11 are admitted free.
POLAND WINS GLEN RIDGE SPORTSMAN FEATURE
Garrett Poland picked up his first career Red Chair DIRTcar 602 Crate Sportsman feature win Sunday night at Glen Ridge Motorsports Park.
Poland and early-race leader Tony Farone broke away from the third-place battle between Rick Quick and Cody Ochs.
After getting crossed up with a lapped car, Farone went pit side as Poland maintained his advantage over Quick, finishing a half-track ahead in the caution-free Hall of Fame Classic 40. Quick held off Justin Buff for second, while Andrew Buff and Ochs rounded out the top five.
Poland will add a second sport to his weekly program as he starts his senior year as a member of the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk football team. The Indians defeated Gloversville (Go Huskies!) last year to win the Section II Class B football championship.
Slater Baker picked up his second career victory in the 20-lap Yurkewecz Auto Crushers DIRTcar Pro Stock main event. Baker beat out Johnny Rivers, Ivan Joslin, Luke Horning and Steve Cosselman for the victory.
Butchie Irwin picked up his sixth Cherko-Fusco Realty Limited Sportsman feature win of the season over Mike Hill, Jonathan Feagles, Jeffrey Bobilin and John Cole.
Nathaniel Boesse led from green-to-checkers to pick up the win and the $500 top prize in the Northeast Paving and Sealcoat All-Star Slingshot division. Kirstin Swartz finished second with Kolton Weiler in third, Adam Fusco in fourth and Joe Melius in fifth.
Jaden Pierce scored the victory for the Northeast Paving and Sealcoat Junior Slingshot division over Sloan Cherko, Connor Crane, Bodie Marks and Carson Hamlin.
Matt Mosher picked up the win in the street stock main, while Jay Ingersoll (single cam) and Gina Voris (dual cam) claimed the mini stock feature wins.
