All About Racing

By Ed & Betty Biittig

Jessica Friesen of Sprakers and Crossroads Center for Children was honored at the NASCAR banquet last week with a nomination in the Comcast Community Champion of the Year. With the nomination came a $30,000 donation to Crossroads from Comcast.

Jessica works tirelessly on the annual Autism Awareness Night at Fonda Speedway each year that includes the very popular barbecue and auction. Congratulations to Jessica and Crossroads Center for Children in Schenectady.

Fonda’s 602 Sportsman 2023 champion, Payton Talbot of Gilbertsville was awarded the Advance Auto Parts Weekly Racing Division II Championship at the NASCAR award banquet in Nashville this past week.

Grandstand and pit area season passes are on sale and would make a great Christmas gift. The five-for-four special is included in the offer as well, buy four season pit passes, get a fifth one free.

Season passes will be valid for all 2024 racing events, including the High Limit Racing 410 Sprint Car “River Rage” on May 18 and the $53,000 to win Fonda 200 Weekend. Grandstand season passes are $300 (adults), $280 (seniors) and pit passes are $650. Season passes can be purchased online or via paper form. The online link is https:/shopstss.com/store-1. The same deal applies for Utica-Rome.

Fonda Speedway racing begins on April 13, 2024 with a weather date of April 14 for open practice sessions. The Jack Johnson Memorial, April 20 will kick off the season honoring the most winning driver at Fonda and paying $12,000 to win for the Modifieds.

Fonda’s sister track, Utica-Rome, will kick off their season with two open practices, Friday, April 12 and Tuesday, April 16.

Friday, April 19 Utica-Rome’s season opener will be the “Honoring Alex” event in memory of the late promoter and driver, Alex Friesen, paying the Modified winner $6800.

The STSS schedule was released this week and in 2024 the series will travel to six states (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Vermont and Florida) and two Canadian provinces (Ontario and Quebec). The events will include 12 point races and will kick off at Gary Palmer’s Accord Speedway, Tuesday, May 14.

The fifth annual Sunshine Swing will travel to All-Tech Raceway in Lake City, Florida on February 6-10, 2024, the first night being practice night. Then four nights of racing will culminate with a 50-lap, $10,000 to win top prize for the Short Track Super Series (STSS) Modifieds. The STSS Crate 602 Sportsman will also be on the card all four nights. The Sportsman top prize will be $2500 for 30-laps of racing on the final night.

We will be taking time off for the winter and resume when area racing begins in the Spring with an occasional column when information dictates.

In closing we wish all our readers a happy and healthy holiday season.

Until next time please send all news and/or comments to biittig@yahoo.com