Auto Racing News - 11 May 2025

The Saratoga Automobile Museum opened its latest exhibit this week titled, Speed-Style-Legacy: The Corvette Story, which displays the evolution of one of the most iconic sports cars in the world from its introduction in 1953 to current models. Tomorrow is also the S.A.M. annual Spring Auto Show on the grounds of the Saratoga Spa State Park from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Nearly 1,000 classic, exotic, and custom cars will be on display.

The big news this week was the release of the 2025 inductees for the Fonda Speedway Hall of Fame. Those being honored this year include John Bacon, Orville “Bud” Countryman, Pepper Eastman, Paul Jensen, Les Kellerhouse, Mike Ketchum, and Bob Lansing. Induction and award ceremonies will take place on Saturday, May 24th, at 1:00 p.m. at the Fonda Speedway Museum on the Fonda Fairgrounds. This event is free and open to the public.

Tonight, on Upstate Spray Foam and Applied Coatings Night, Utica-Rome Speedway in Vernon will offer $5 general grandstand admission, and the first 150 moms coming through the grandstand gate will receive free admission, courtesy of Berthel Construction LLC and MJ Keith & Son Construction. Don't forget that next week, U-R will race on Saturday, May 17th, when they host the Kubota High Limit 410 Winged Sprint Cars. Reserved seating is available.

Results from last week are light; fortunately, with only slight rain delays, two of our local tracks were able to get their shows in.

Friday at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, in the held-over Next Generation Roofing Modified division feature from the previous week, feature number one saw Kolby Schroder earn his first career feature victory over Brian Calabrese and Jack Lehner. In the second Next Generation Roofing Modified division feature, Demetrios Drellos took the victory over David Schilling and Ronnie Johnson. In the Doug Wholey's Ideal Excavating Crate 602 Sportsman division, Donovan Lussier scored the feature win over Chris Jakubiak and Tim Hartman Jr. The Haun Welding Supply Limited Sportsman division feature was won by Bodie Marks, with Dave Zelker and James Calarneau completing the top three. The Saratoga Masonry Supply Pro Stock division feature was won by Pete Stefanski as he beat Chris Stalker and Kim Duell to the finish line. The Cornell's Auto Parts Street Stock division feature went to P.J. Cram Jr. ahead of Mark Burch and Al Relyea. In the Greg's Towing 4-Cylinder division feature, Josh Ramsey earned the win over Josh Reome, David Frame, and Ben Ladd, who was the first single-cam car. Next week, Albany-Saratoga will hold a practice session on Tuesday, May 13th, from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m., and on Friday, they will host their annual Law Enforcement Night, which will also be another round of the DiCarlo's Auto 358 Modified Shootout.

At Utica-Rome Speedway, in the 3 Bastards Brewing Modified division feature, Alex Yankowski earned the victory over Matt Sheppard and Matt Janczuk. In the Taylor’s Trailers Crate 602 Sportsman division, Payton Talbot took the win over Tyler Peet and Brett Mortensen. In the Next Generation GraphiX Pro Stock division feature, it was Devon Camenga grabbing the checkers ahead of Jim Normoyle and Brett Belden. In the Fastline Performance Limited Sportsman division feature, fourteen-year-old Jayden Wust won his career-first Limited Sportsman feature, as he led Jeff Bobilin and Sullivan Dickey to the checkered flag. In the JB's Sewer and Septic 4-Cylinder division feature, Jacob Kimball earned the win over Wayne Russell Jr. and Hank Wedgren.

NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series was in the Lone Star State at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday night on the one-and-a-half-mile asphalt oval, where they were scheduled to compete in the 167-lap event. Stewart Friesen of Sprakers was there competing in the SpeedyCa$h.com 250-mile race. Due to qualifying being canceled by inclement weather, the starting lineup was set by the rule book, and Friesen started 23rd. Friesen finished 18th in stage one (40 laps). He missed a competitor's spin in stage two, finishing fifth in the 40-lap stage. Stage three was 87 laps. Stewart continued to work towards the front. Unfortunately, while running in the top three with twelve laps to go, disaster struck, and Stewart slipped in the corner and crashed out of the race, finishing 24th. He now sits 11th in points.

Saturday morning, all our local speedways made the smart decision to cancel their programs. Glen Ridge Motorsports Park also canceled its program for Sunday. Weedsport Speedway canceled early Sunday morning and will change its schedule slightly in the near future. Orange County Fair Speedway was also forced to cancel.

Tomorrow, Fonda Speedway will hold twin 22-lap features for the Amsterdam Truck Center Modified division. All weekly divisions are on the program. Grandstand admission is $20, and wristbands from the April 26th rainout will be honored.

This week, Fonda also has a mid-week show on Wednesday, May 14th, when they will hold River Rage, with the 358 Modified division leading the way. Sportsman, Street Stock, and 4-Cylinder divisions are also on the program.