Bob Rhinehardt’s crate 602 sportsman as it sat on display at the annual Fonda Speedway car show in March at the ViaPort in Rotterdam.
Before you make plans for today, due to wet grounds, Utica-Rome Speedway has cancelled their practice session scheduled for tonight. Albany-Saratoga Speedway will swing open their pit gates this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. for pre-season test and tune/open practice for any division, with on-track practice scheduled from 6:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. If needed, Tuesday, April 14, will be used as a rain date. Grandstand admission is free, with pit admission being $25.
Outlaw Speedway in Dundee will kick off their David Guererri Sr. Memorial Weekend tonight with open practice and dashes. The dashes will set the front row for Saturday's features. Tomorrow's modified feature will pay $4,161 to win and $400 to start. The sportsman feature will pay $2,161 to win and $200 to start. Street stocks, 4-cylinders, and hobby stocks are also on the program. For Saturday, pit gates open at 1:00 p.m., grandstand at 2:00 p.m., hot laps at 2:45 p.m., and heats at 3:30 p.m.
Tonight is the rebuilding fundraiser for crate 602 sportsman driver Kyle Dingman, who lost his race car and equipment to a fire recently. It will take place from 6:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. on Friday, April 10, at Venue 91 at 91 Main Street in Gloversville. The event will consist of food, live music, basket raffles, and more. Cost will be $15 per person or $25 per couple.
Fonda Speedway's track crew was manicuring the racing surface on Tuesday and will hold open practice tomorrow. Gates open at 1:00 p.m., drivers meeting at 2:30 p.m., and on-track practice at 3:00 p.m., with divisions rotating through until approximately 6:00 p.m. Weather dates include Sunday, April 12, and possibly a mid-week date. Just another reminder for those interested in singing the National Anthem at Fonda Speedway: it’s not just open to individuals. The opportunity is offered to groups, bands, choirs, and just about anyone that would like to start the evening program at the Track of Champions. Reach out to Mimi Lazzaro or the track to get on the schedule.
Afton Motorsports Park will try again tomorrow to hold their first practice session for 2026. Gates open at 2:00 p.m. and on-track practice is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Lebanon Valley Speedway will open tomorrow with a $4,000-to-win crate 602 sportsman feature. Also on the program are limited sportsman, pro stock, street stock, and 4-cylinder divisions. Sunday will be the Ivan Joslin Racing Chicken Barbeque and wine tasting fundraiser at Hummingbird Hills Winery. Even if you did not order dinner, there will be wine tasting and plenty of raffles and fun.
Next Friday will be the 61st opening night at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. The Super DIRTcar Series will be on hand to compete in a 61-lap, $6,100-to-win modified feature. Also on that night, Utica-Rome Speedway will have their non-point season opener with DIRTcar 358 modifieds, pro stocks, crate 602 sportsman, and limited sportsman.
In staying with Utica-Rome, Sunday, April 26, will be the 2nd annual Jim Normoyle Memorial Race for the pro stock division. The feature winner will earn $1,074 plus added bonuses and a boosted purse. Bonuses last year were around $7,000. This year they would like to see that amount near $10,000. In order to achieve that, they are asking for your help. You can reach out to the track by a number of methods: through Venmo at the link https://venmo.com/u/uUica-RomeSpeedway or via Facebook Messenger.
Hall of Fame driver and car owner Alton Palmer had a serious medical procedure performed earlier this week and will be taking it easy for some time, which is a very hard chore for Alton to do. Get-well cards can be sent to 320 Junction Road, Howes Cave, N.Y. 12092. Additionally, the Hotel Broadalbin in Broadalbin, N.Y. will hold a weekly Car Show/Cruise-In on Tuesday nights from May through September from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., weather permitting.
Notes of interest going into 2026: the Fonda Speedway all-time modified division feature winners list finds Stewart Friesen with 99 wins, currently sitting fourth behind Jack Johnson (149), Lou Lazzaro (113), and Dave Lape (99). Another added bonus of $75 has been attached to the tenth-place finish payout in the weekly modified division feature, now bringing that up to $775.
Results from last week: Friday afternoon Mike Christopher Jr. was in the Halmar-Friesen Racing Toyota Tundra number 62 as a teammate to Stewart Friesen at The Rock—Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina for the Black's Tire 200. Sponsorship this week for Christopher was from Mohawk Northeast Inc. Stewart would qualify 19th; Christopher would qualify 30th. Both drivers would advance four positions to end Stage 1, with Stewart 15th and Christopher 26th. In Stage 2, Stewart was 7th and Christopher was 27th. The third and final stage would find Stewart finishing 4th and Christopher 23rd. Corey Heim won, and Stewart currently sits 9th in the standings.
Friday night at the 3/8-mile Big Diamond Speedway in Minersville, Pennsylvania, they held the 25-lap Thaw Brawl for the 358 modified division. Mike Lisowski earned the $4,054 feature victory, followed by Jared Umbenhauer and Louden Reimert. Alex Yankowski finished 5th, Alex Payne 6th, and Anthony Perrego 8th.
Saturday night, Outlaw Speedway in Dundee hosted the Lucas Oil Nationals. Alex Payne took the modified feature and a check for $4,011 over Matt Sheppard and Mat Williamson. Michael Maresca finished 5th and Bobby Varin 13th. In the crate 602 sportsman division feature, it was Tyler Peet earning the victory and $2,011.
Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania also raced on Saturday night when they opened for their 64th season with the 9th annual Bruce Rogers Memorial 50-lap feature. Louden Reimert earned the win on the 1/3-mile dirt oval. Anthony Perrego finished 6th and Alex Yankowski finished 8th. Brad Brightbill would win the sportsman feature.
