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By: Ron Szczerba
Fonda, NY – On Saturday evening at the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway, Doug’s Pool and Hot Tub Sales & Service presented the racing program featuring a total of $2,400 in bonus money given out by the company in all divisions in addition to the regular purse. Thanks to them for their support of the Fonda Speedway and it’s drivers.
When the checkered flag flew at the completion of the 30-lap Amsterdam Truck Center Modified feature, “Fonda’s Fastest Mom” as she is referred to by many, Jessica Friesen bested her husband Stewart after a drive to the front from her fifth place starting position in the One Zee Tees sponsored #1Z. For Jessica Friesen it was her second career win in the Modified division at Fonda, the first one coming back on 7/10/2021!
“This is pretty awesome, awesome to be here and cool to be here with my boy in victory lane again,” Friesen told Mimi Lazzaro after the win. “I knew he (husband Stewart Friesen) was right behind me the whole time. I’m sure I’m going to hear about it tonight, all the times I messed up, but I’m pretty rusty. I’m sure he’s going to give it to me later, all the critiquing, but I deserve it.”
“I’ve got to thank the boys, Tommy, Jaybird, Burkey, and Stewart, they get me here every week,” Jessica continued to say. “I have so many other things going on that I’m fortunate to be able to get behind the wheel of this thing, they always put together a good piece. I’m a little rusty and sometimes I make mistakes and complain but they always stick with me, and they work really hard to get me here so I’m really appreciative of that.”
Other winners on Doug’s Pool and Hot Tub Sales & Service Night at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds track included Randy Cosselman (first career win in the Swagger Factory Apparel Sportsman division), Nick Stone (Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stocks), Chayton Young (Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman), Wayne Russell Jr. (SOHC Fonda Fair Four Cylinders) and Len St. Andrews (first career win in the DOHC Fonda Fair Four Cylinders), JaMike Sowle (Doug’s Pool and Hot Tub Sales & Service Night Modified Dash), and Joe Fischett Jr. (Enduro).
Brian Calabrese and Dave Constantino started the 30-lap Amsterdam Truck Center Modified feature on the front row with Constantino taking the early race lead. On lap three, Jessica and Stewart Friesen were the new third and fourth place cars after starting fifth and 12th respectively as Constantino was in lap traffic by lap eight with Calabrese chasing close behind the leader at that point.
Calabrese got a great run on the leader going into turn four on the next lap, ducked under Constantino and slid up in front of the leader but wasn’t clear as the two made contact and ended up in the turn four wall bringing out the caution. Jessica inherited the lead at that point with her husband Stewart now second.
“I’ve got to be honest, I was just waiting for it, I knew it was going to happen,” Jessica Friesen said of the accident in front of her. “Just a fast track tonight with the rain, it was real racy and a lot of fun out there. You’re going a lot faster than you are used to here because this place is already fast but with the extra moisture it was a lot of fun to rip around, I just had to be patient, I knew I had a really good car.”
Yellow flags on consecutive laps 10, 11, and 12 forced restarts after every one of them but Jessica Friesen was up for the task and maintained her lead each time. At the halfway point the top five consisted of Jessica Friesen, Stewart Friesen, 11th place starter and defending Track Champion Alex Yankowski, third place starter Dylan Madsen, and sixth place starter Robert Bublak.
Jessica Friesen was in lap traffic with ten laps to go but was able to negotiate the lap cars a little better than Stewart was and maintained her race lead. In turn two on the final lap, Jessica slid up the track in turn two as many others did during the event, allowing Stewart to close in and get alongside but it wasn’t enough as Jessica pulled away down the backstretch and held on for the win, lapping cars up into the top ten.
Stewart Friesen, Yankowski, Madsen, and Bublak maintained there spots in the top five at the finish, the same spots that they had back at the halfway point in the event.
“I knew the 44 would be coming, I just had to be consistent and try to hit some consistent laps, but it was tough,” Jessica Friesen said in F.X. Caprara Victory Lane. “I’ve been pushing for more races; it is awesome to get a win here. We’ve been consistent but had some issues so this is awesome. I have to thank everyone for their support, a year ago we were having a really rough time after Stewart’s accident, watching these races in the hospital. It’s pretty cool to be here, run one and two, and be back to doing what we love to do.”
Randy Cosselman started the Swagger Factory Apparel Sportsman feature on the pole and led lap one of the 25-lap event. Outside pole starter John DuMond took over the race lead on lap two and held the position up to lap seven when he slowed on the frontstretch with a blown motor.
Cosselman inherited the lead at that point with third place starter Brett Mortensen the new second place car and 16th place starter Brian Calabrese now the third place car. Cosselman maintained the lead the rest of the way in the Hoose Construction #5C for his first career win in the division followed in the top five by Mortensen, Calabrese, 11th place starter Stephen Gray, and 13th place starter Tanner Warner.
Cosselman was also a two time winner in the Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman division before moving up to the regular Swagger Factory Apparel Sportsman division.
“We have two wins in the Limited Sportsman division, and it’s been a rough go for sure,” Cosselman said after his first career win. “It’s been a rough year, I would have never dreamed of being here at all. I was just waiting for those guys to come flying right by me that’s for sure, but I was lucky.”
“This one is more gratifying for sure,” Cosselman continued about this win compared to the Limited Sportsman wins. “You never think of coming out competing against Chad Edwards, the Mortensen Brothers, Tanner Warner, Tyler Peet, they are all fast. One week you think that you can’t run with them, and then here we are in victory lane. I’ve been doing this for 22 years, to win in a Street Stock, Limited Sportsman, and now the regular Sportsman, another one checked off the bucket list.”
Jason Morrison led the first lap of the Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stock feature with an early caution out before lap one was completed. After the restart on the backstretch, going into turn four, Morrison and the second place car of Luke Horning both slid high in turn four allowing sixth pace starter Nick Stone to duck under both of them and take over the race lead.
Another caution slowed the field on lap four and on this restart Morrison retook the race lead over Stone as the two raced side by side for the top spot. Stone got back by Morrison on lap eight at the line to complete the lap and went on to his sixth win of the 2026 season and the 77th of his career in the division at Fonda in the Stone Motorsports/Todd Hoffman #8N.
Tenth place starter Kenny Gates finished second followed by Morrison, third place starter George Cushman, and fifth place starter Ivan Joslin completed the top five.
“We just figure out ways to gain traction when the left side lifts up, try to keep the car turning,” Stone said after his win. “I think that I made a lot of mistakes on those last three laps and felt like a rookie for a minute there. When the flagger showed me the cars were close and I saw other cars around me, I missed my marks a couple of times. Been working on these things for years, to get them to handle like that and then they always throw a new rule at us, so we’ve got to play with that again but we’re always going to come out on top.”
Chayton Young led every lap of the 15-lap Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. feature event for his second win of the season and the second of his career in the division in the CDY Racing #48. Sixth place starter Brian Nelson, third place starter Nick Ryder, second place starter Kirsten Swartz, and 12th place starter Lance Hill completed the top five in the event.
Len St. Andrews started the 12-lap Fonda Fair Four Cylinder feature in the third position and made it by the top two starters for the lead at the completion of lap one. St. Andrews led the remaining laps for his first career win in the division (DOHC) with Jay Ingersoll, Blake Smart, Wayne Russell Jr. (SOHC class winner), and William Liberatore completing the top five.
“All year I’ve had everything go wrong that could go wrong,” St. Andrews said in victory lane. “I lost the steering wheel, lost a fuel pump, lost a ball joint, all while leading. This is awesome, I’ve raced 20 years and never won here. I help anybody that needs help, anybody, as long as they are good to me I try to be good to them, because when I started I had nothing, I didn’t have any money, so I understand what it is to be a broke racer.”
Next Saturday August 15, Benjamin Moore Paints presents Championship Night with Track Champions crowned in all regular divisions along with the Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series (MVVDMS). Starting time will be 7:00 p.m.
If you are a race fan that gets to the track early, be sure to check out the history of the Fonda Speedway at the Fonda Speedway Museum & Hall of Fame which is located on the Fonda Fairgrounds at the rear of the parking area going down towards turn four. The museum is open from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on race days and admission is free!
Fonda Speedway weekly feature winners, their race teams, and sponsors are invited the following week to display their cars at the museum and watch their feature win on Flo before the races. The victorious car display can begin as early as 3:00, and you are welcome to arrive and stay as late as your schedule allows.
Please message the Fonda Speedway Hall of Fame and Museum Facebook page to RSVP or with any questions!
Also please visit the Fonda Speedway Kid’s Club under the grandstands at gate two!
All Fonda Speedway events are broadcast LIVE on FloRacing (www.floracing.tv).
The “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway has hosted the best in stock car racing for 75 years. The speedway operates weekly on Saturday nights from April through August plus several special events. Fonda Speedway is located on the Montgomery County Fairgrounds off New York State Thruway Exit No. 28 at 21 S. Bridge Street Fonda, NY 12068.
Fonda Speedway is on the web at www.thefondaspeedway.com. To learn more, call the office at 518.915.4395, like Fonda Speedway on Facebook or follow the speedway on Twitter: @thefondaspdwy or Instagram: @fondaspeedway.
21 entries
Amsterdam Truck Center Modifieds
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 1Z-Jessica Friesen[5]; 2. 44-Stewart Friesen[12]; 3. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[11]; 4. 89-Dylan Madsen[3]; 5. 6B-Robert Bublak[6]; 6. 06-Jackson Gill[7]; 7. 4-Cody Clark[18]; 8. 21P-Luciano (Pep) Corradi[4]; 9. 85-Jack Lehner[8]; 10. 1-Rocky Warner[9]; 11. 76-Jamike Sowle[19]; 12. 1G-Darwin Greene[15]; 13. 63-Chip Constantino[14]; 14. 8M-Tim Mayne[13]; 15. 4X-Al McCoy[16]; 16. 97-Bobby Hackel IV[20]; 17. 23C-Tommy D’Angelo[17]; 18. 2RJ-Ronnie Johnson[10]; 19. 1JR-Darwin Greene Jr[21]; 20. 93-Dave Constantino[2]; 21. 21C-Brian Calabrese[1]
MODIFIED BONUSES
DOUG’S POOL & HOT TUB SALES & SERVICE – $500 winner’s bonus Jessica Friesen – $100 to win each heat race Robert Bublak, Dave Constantino, Dylan Madsen – $300 Dash for Cash JaMike Sowle.
358-MODIFIED BONUS – $250 to the first 358-Modified across the finish line in the Modified feature event – Chip Constantino
PALMER’S SERVICE CENTER POWER POSITION – $100 Gift Certificate to Online Performance/Stone Motorsports – #06 Jackson Gill
LEXIE & DONNIE DELUREY/JACK LEHNER JLR TECHNOLOGIES 10TH PLACE WEEKLY BONUS – $75 – Rocky Warner
26 entries
Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 5C-Randy Cosselman[1]; 2. 1B-Brett Mortensen[3]; 3. 21C-Brian Calabrese[16]; 4. 25-Stephen Gray[11]; 5. 78-Tanner Warner[13]; 6. 9G-Tyler Peet[12]; 7. 10%-Chad Edwards[9]; 8. 797-Corky Warner[10]; 9. 621-Seth Martin[22]; 10. 98-Camron Hotaling[15]; 11. 44-Rocco Constantino[14]; 12. 618-Bobby Rhinehardt[7]; 13. 314-Clayton Dumond[8]; 14. 2K-Mike Kalkbrenner[18]; 15. 84-Ricky Quick[17]; 16. 99-Clyde Peek[21]; 17. 70X-Josh Coonradt[6]; 18. 55-Jonny Feagles[26]; 19. 1D-Kyle Dingman[20]; 20. 12AJ-AJ Greco[4]; 21. 31J-John Dumond[2]; 22. 26-Mason Gray[5]; 23. 1H-Harry Shaffer[19]; 24. 1M-Mark Mortensen[23]; 25. 74-Matt Perry[24]; 26. (DNS) 6-BRAD ROTHAUPT
SPORTSMAN BONUSES
DOUG’S POOL & HOT TUB SALES & SERVICE – $300 winner’s bonus Randy Cosselman – $100 to win each heat race Brett Mortensen, Randy Cosselman, John DuMond.
PALMER’S SERVICE CENTER POWER POSITION – $50 Gift Certificate to Online Performance/Stone Motorsports – #4 Stephen Gray
GRECO’S AUTO & TRUCK CENTER HARD CHARGER AWARD – $100 Gift Certificate to Greco’s Auto & Truck Center (in the event of a tie the driver starting furthest back will get the award – must have Greco’s Auto & Truck Center sticker on the racecar to be eligible for the award) – +13 Seth Martin
10 entries
Leatherstocking Credit Union Pro Stocks
Feature (20 Laps): 1. 8N-Nick Stone[6]; 2. 35-Ken Gates[10]; 3. 715-Jason Morrison[2]; 4. 13-George Cushman[3]; 5. 49-Ivan Joslin[5]; 6. 1D-Nick Santuccione[1]; 7. 62-Nick Danna[9]; 8. 2H-Luke Horning[4]; 9. 39W-Matt Wells[7]; 10. 909-Kailey Jaycox[8]
PRO STOCK BONUSES
DOUG’S POOL & HOT TUB SALES & SERVICE – $200 winner’s bonus Nick Stone – $100 to win each heat race Jason Morrison.
13 entries
Montgomery County Office for Aging Limited Sportsman
Feature (15 Laps): 1. 48-Chayton Young[1]; 2. 647-Brian Nelson[6]; 3. 23-Nick Ryder[3]; 4. 24-Kirsten Swartz[2]; 5. 22L-Lance Hill[12]; 6. 22M-Mike Hill[7]; 7. 32-Owen Mormile[4]; 8. 20-Preston Trautschold[8]; 9. 4C-Cole Conrad[10]; 10. 7A-Steve Wagoner[9]; 11. 5S-Cameron Snell[11]; 12. 11-Josh Persse[5]; 13. 96B-Jimmy Beach[13]
LIMITED SPORTSMAN BONUSES
DOUG’S POOL & HOT TUB SALES & SERVICE – $100 winner’s bonus Chayton Young – $100 to win each heat race Chayton Young, Kirsten Swartz.
PALMER’S SERVICE CENTER POWER POSITION – $50 Gift Certificate to Online Performance/Stone Motorsports – #10 Steve Wagoner
GRECO’S AUTO & TRUCK CENTER HARD CHARGER AWARD – $50 Gift Certificate to Greco’s Auto & Truck Center (in the event of a tie the driver starting furthest back will get the award – must have Greco’s Auto & Truck Center sticker on the racecar to be eligible for the award) – +7 Lance Hill
SWAGGER FACTORY APPAREL HARD CHARGER AWARD – $50 Gift Certificate to Swagger Factory Apparel – Limited Sportsman – +7 Lance Hill
16 entries
Fonda Fair Four Cylinders
Feature (12 Laps): 1. 26D-Len St Andrews[3]; 2. 97JD-Jay Ingersoll[6]; 3. 78D-Blake Smart[5]; 4. 54S-Wayne Russell Jr[2]; 5. K1S-William Liberatore[8]; 6. 47S-Bruce Liddle[7]; 7. 6D-Joshua Leonard[1]; 8. 244S-Dave Reedy[10]; 9. 29JD-John Ray[4]; 10. 25S-ANTHONY POWERS[11]; 11. 11D-Tomek Kowalczyk[16]; 12. 12D-Kendra St Andrews[15]; 13. 191D-Chris Danylieko[12]; 14. 212S-TJ Marlitt[13]; 15. 14S-Garrett Sieg[9]; 16. (DNS) 9D-David Frame
FOUR CYLINDER BONUSES
DOUG’S POOL & HOT TUB SALES & SERVICE – $100 winner’s bonus (overall) Len St. Andrews.
ENDURO – Joe Fischett Jr.
