MAY 23, 2021 - FONDA, NY – On Saturday evening at the “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway, Mike Mahaney won for the fourth time in his career, but for the first time on a regular Saturday evening racing program.
Mahaney’s first win at Fonda came back on 4/7/2012 on opening day in the $4,000 to win “Ice Jam” event. The #21 car that he was driving at that time was sponsored by the family-owned Woodside Farms, but nobody really knew who Mahaney was as he said in victory lane on that day “nobody knows who I am, we just came here today to try out our Finger Lakes motor”.
Turns out that Mike is the son of former competitor Jim Mahaney and as the years went on people started to find out just who Mike Mahaney was. He won at Fonda again on 9/23/2012 in a $12,000 to win, 112-lap event that was a tribute to Jack Johnson in the Woodside Farms sponsored car. Another win for Mahaney came in the Buzz Chew #88 on 8/2/2017 in an event called “The Jack”, a 50-lap event that paid $5,000 to win.
Fast forward to 2021 in a year that Mahaney announced that he was going to be a Fonda Speedway regular in the Adirondack Auto #35 owned by George Huttig. On Saturday evening Mahaney won a regular $2,400 to win Saturday night event for the first time in his career after taking the lead away from JaMike Sowle on lap 19 of the 30-lap Sunoco Modified event.
“It is so cool to be back here in Fonda’s victory lane,” Mahaney told Mimi Lazzaro after his win. “It has been harder for me to win a regular show here than other times that we have been here, and I have been able to win.”