FONDA MOURNS DEATH OF CARPENTER BY RON SZCZERBA FOR THE DAILY GAZETTE Last Saturday evening before the racing program began at Fonda, I sat on the tailgate of Hondo Carpenter's truck and we discussed the great 2005 season that he was having. On Tuesday morning, I got up for work after a long holiday weekend, and when I walked by my answering machine, the red light was flashing. I pressed the button and heard the message left by Fonda Speedway announcer Jim King: Hondo had been killed Monday eveing in an ATV accident. My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe that I had just talked to him on Saturday, and now he was gone. How things in life can change in only a matter of days. Interview in 2000 In an interview that I had done with Carpenter in 2000 for Redline Motorsports Magazine, I asked if that was his real name. "Everyone asks me that all the time, and when I tell them that it is my real name, some people don't believe me," he said. "There was a John Wayne show or movie way back when named Hondo Lane. When I was born, I had six older brothers. Hondo is what my mom and dad wanted to name me, and they did." Carpenter's first involvement in racing came behind a video camera, as he was taping races for his cousin Bob James of Bobco Video. He always joked with James about buying an Enduro Car just to have something to do. And James told him that if he bought a car, that he had a garage that Hondo could put the car in. One day, Carpenter showed up at James' house with a car, one thing led to another, and Carpenter started racing. The first car that Carpenter had was one that he actually helped build. The guy had the roll cage put in the car, and I helped him finish it," Carpenter said. "When the guy rolled the car in an Enduro event, he decided to get out of racing, and I decided to buy the car." Carpenter showed the car to his friend Kenny Martin, who didn't think the roll cage was safe. Martin brought his trailer over to Hondo's, loaded the car up, and took it back to his house. After four months at Martin's house, the car was done, and Carpenter started racing in 1997 in the hobby stock division at Albany-Saratoga. In 1998, he ran at both Albany-Saratoga and Fonda with the car and had success at both tracks, with one win at Albany-Saratoga and five at Fonda. The fans voted Carpenter the Most Popular Driver in the hobby stock division at Fonda in 1998, which started a string of Most Popular Driver awards that Hondo collected up to last season. Carpenter moved up to the pro stock division in 1999, and because he did so well at Fonda the previous year, he decided to run there full time. A new car was built for Carpenter by Chris Fain of HRD Racing, which started an association between the two that lasted throughout Hondo's racing career. In 1999, Carpenter won Rookie of the Year in the pro stock division at Fonda after finishing in the top-10 in points. His first pro stock win at Fonda came on May 19, 2001, with the second one coming on Aug. 14, 2004. He also won the Most Popular Driver Award in the pro stock division at Fonda four out of the last five years. Successful Season Last Saturday on the tailgate of Hondo's truck, he spoke about the 2005 season being his best since moving up to the pro stock division. "It feels real good," he said. "It took me six years to get two wins out of my old car, and I've got two wins on a brand-new car already in 2005, so it feels good. Winning here at Fonda means a lot to me." The car Carpenter was racing this year was a new car that he actually had for two years. "I've had the car for two years, and have been putting it together, little by little," he said. "It is all brand new, it just took me two years to get it together. Once you start racing, there is only time to work on one car." This was Carpenter's seventh year in the pro stock division, and after his two wins, he said that it was great to hear all of the fans cheering for him. "It is awesome because I guess that I'm still new to this winning thing, and they are still cheering for me," he said. "If I keep it up, they will probably start booing me, sooner or later." Bob James bought the motor from Walt Markert, and it has been a strong motor ever since he got it. "The motor was built in 1992 by Walt Markert for Mike Budka, Sr.," he said. "Jack Johnson, C.D. Coville and Joe Budka all had wins in the past with that motor. Bob bought the motor used, we've had it six years and I can still put wins on it. We actually loaned it to Kenny Martin, and he got his only sportsman feature win with it back in 2002." That wasn't the only time in his racing career that they loaned another driver a motor: they loaned Jim Burton an engine after Burton blew his motor in 2000 while racing for a championship. Last Victory Carpenter's last win came two weeks ago on June 25. It was an exciting event, with Hondo getting the lead on lap five, followed by Kenny Gates. When a yellow flag came out on lap seven, Gates was the new leader on the restart after Carpenter decided to restart on the inside row, allowing Gates to get by on the outside. That was when King said, "Why would he take the inside line on the restart? That was a dumb move, in my opinion." That comment by track announcer ended up on the Bobco Video of the race. Carpenter made King eat his words as he got back by Gates and went on to win that night, but that isn't where the joking among Hondo and King would get started. Actually, it started a long time ago. Jim and Joy King were personal friends with Hondo, and in the past, Jim exchanged some joking words about how Gates would eat Hondo's lunch. When King went into the announcers tower last Saturday, he found a present that Carpenter had left him. It was a brown bag with the DVD recording of Hondo's win on June 25. On the bag was writted: "Hondo's Lunch." "His death hit us hard," Jim King said. "Joy and I were probably closer to him, personally, than anyody else." When Carpenter came out on the racetrack and King would announce his name, he would say: "HONDOOOOOOO Carpenter." and after that, the horn lady would blow her horn. Fonda Speedway regulars will treasure moments like that. Final Thoughts My association with Hondo Carpenter began at the races but continued away from the track a few years ago. When the company I worked for moved out of Amsterdam, I was left without a job. Carpenter worked as the production supervisor at AFG Glass in Scotia. When I needed a job, Hondo offered me one. Carpenter gave me a break at the best possible time, and I will never forget that. I will always feel fortunate to be able to remember my conversation with Hondo on the tailgate of his truck last Saturday night at Fonda, discussing with him his best season ever in the pro stock division. His energy and enthusiasm will be missed by all the people that knew him. The kind, friendly way that he treated and helped his friends, his competitors and all of the people that knew him should be a life lesson to all on how people should be treated. Last Saturday at Fonda, Hondo finished third in the pro stock feature event and moved up to third in points. It was his last race at the Track of Champions, a place that was special to him. And Hondo Carpenter was special to all who knew him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Racing Statistics 1997 Albany Saratoga Speedway - Hobby Stock Division 7th Place in Points New York State Stock Car Association Newcomer of the Year 1998 Albany Saratoga Speedway – Hobby Stock Division 5th Place in Points 1 Feature Win Fonda Speedway – Street Stock Division 2nd Place in Points 5 Feature Wins Named Rookie of the Year by Speedway Voted Most Popular Driver by fans 1999 Fonda Speedway – Pro Stock Division 8th Place in Points Named Rookie of the Year by Speedway New York State Stock Car Association Newcomer of the Year 2000 Fonda Speedway – Pro Stock Division 8th Place in Points Voted Most Popular Driver by fans 2001 Fonda Speedway – Pro Stock Division 5th Place in Points 1 Feature Win Voted Most Popular Driver by fans 2002 Charlotte Motor Speedway – Pro Stock Division Time Trial 17th out of 35 entries Finished 17th in feature Fonda Speedway – Pro Stock Division Finished 12th in Points – Car was severely damaged and unable to finish points season 2003 Fonda Speedway – Pro Stock Division 1 Feature win Finished 9th in Points Voted Most Popular Driver by fans 2004 Fonda Speedway – Pro Stock Division 1 Feature win Finished 3rd in Points Voted Most Popular Driver by fans 2005 Fonda Speedway – Pro Stock Division 2 Feature Wins 3rd in Points at the time of his death Voted Most Popular Driver by fans