FONDA, N.Y. — The luck of the draw placed Rocky Warner on the pole for the start of the 40-lap, $12,000-to-win Montgomery County Open at Fonda Speedway on Saturday night in the Jake Spraker-owned No. 1j Teo Pro Car.
At the conclusion of the 40-lap event, Warner celebrated the win in the Fuccillo Automotive Group Mike Cole Memorial Victory Lane.
It was Warner’s first win at Fonda since July 27, 2019.
Warner led from his pole position start at the drop of the green flag in the 40-lap Montgomery County Open Sunoco Modified main event with Jackie Brown Jr. in tow. Craig Hanson started the event in the seventh position, but he didn’t stay there long as he was already up to the fourth position on lap two with the yellow flag slowing the field at that point.
Another caution was out on the restart resulting in the next one being single file with Ronnie Johnson getting by both Bobby Varin and Hanson for the third position after Johnson started in the eighth position. Warner held a straightaway advantage by lap six with 11th place starter and defending track champion Michael Maresca making his way through the field up to the fifth position.
A restart on lap eight saw Warner continue to lead with Johnson now the new second place car while Hanson and Maresca were next in line. Maresca slowed coming out of turn four on lap 14 and drove to the infield ending his night while running fourth.
Warner was in lapped traffic at the halfway point in the event with the top five consisting of Warner, Johnson, Hanson, 12th place starter Matt DeLorenzo, and Varin.
With Warner having issues getting by the lap car of Shane Jablonka it allowed Johnson to close in just past the halfway point with the final yellow of the event coming out on lap 23 for Jablonka who came to a stop on the backstretch.
Warner pulled away again on the restart and led the remaining laps for his seventh career win in the division over Johnson, Hanson, DeLorenzo, and 14th place starter Anthony Perrego who was the winner of the Montgomery County Open at Fonda last fall.
“I actually hate starting on the pole I’d rather start fifth or sixth, but I just stayed on the bottom and after trying to decide whether to run a softer tire we ran the same tire that we run here weekly and it worked,” Warner said. “Last week the car just wouldn’t run, Jake came in the shop and said what’s wrong, so we sent the carburetor out and thanks to Pro Power and Willy’s for their help getting it straightened out.”
Other winners on Andy’s Speed Shop Night at Fonda included Chad Edwards (Swagger Factory Apparel Crate 602 Sportsman), Devon Camenga (Algonkin Motel Pro Stocks), Carter Gibbons (Montgomery County Office for Aging Inc. Limited Sportsman), Slappy White (Fonda Fair Cruiser DOHC), Wayne Russell Jr. (Fonda Fair Cruiser SOHC), Darral Hulbert (Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series Modified), Curtis Condon (Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series Late Model), Jon Kuleszo (Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series Sportsman), and Frank Blanchard (Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series Antique).
The finish:
Rocky Warner, Ronnie Johnson, Craig Hanson, Matt DeLorenzo, Anthony Perrego, Tim Fuller, Bobby Varin, Jackie Brown, Jr., Billy Pauch Jr., David Schilling, Alan Johnson, Adam McAuliffe, Josh Hohenforst, Jeff Hoetzler, Dave Constantino, JaMike Sowle, Dave Marcuccilli, Rich Christman, Shane Jablonka, Chris Curtis, Michael Maresca, Alan Barker, Brian Pessolano, Danny Tyler, Cale Ross, Brian Gleason, Brandon Hightower