10/13/2002
LONG ISLAND
ENDUROMANIACS HEAD WEST
by Mike Brown
Despite a steady rain through the entire trip, and some
Enduro drivers almost not making it there, Riverhead Raceway was
well represented at The Mountain Speedway on October the 13th. Nestled in the beautiful foothills of the Poconos, nearly
half the field was made up of competitors from our own Enduro class.
After a two warm-up sessions, which would help iron out any
wrinkles in car set-up, the lineup was drawn from a hat by our own
ladies enduro driver, Laura White, wife of Jim White who would later
turn in a solid ninth place finish in his #9LI Laura White
Counseling Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
The four-cylinder event would hit the track to the sounds of
Limp Bizkit, and after two parade laps, the green flag flew.
Early in the 200 lap race, our own Bob Haeger and the #16
Francesca’s Pizza Acura would sit comfortably in third place until
cutting down a tire coming out of turn two, sliding him up into the
guard rail, and sending him to the pits.
Haeger would later recover to post a ninth place finish. Mike Albasini, driver of the #66 Super Pro Truck, would pilot
his Ford Focus, to a very respectable fifth place finish.
Racing veteran Bob Viala would take his #7 Flushing Auto Salvage
entry to a fourth and place highest
amongst the Riverhead drivers in this four cylinder race.
Also joining the ranks was the #09 of Bob Baker and the #43
of Chris Siwek who would finish right behind Mike Albasini in fifth.
The #417 of Bob Wink have handling problems all race due to
bad tire selection while the #11x of Brad Steigerwalt would blow an
engine.
But getting the early lead and holding on to it throughout
the race, would be the #5t of Kevin "Troublekowski"
Truszkowski hailing from nearby Bangor Pa.
This would come as no surprise to the local racers as Kevin
has won 6 of 9 races at the Mahoning track and was the points
champion there this season. Kevin
drove an impressive, clean race and was two laps ahead of the second
place car of #34 Andy Rodgers and #44 Brian Labar both of Palmerton.
Also worthy of mention was the eighth place finish of Bill
"I'm the oldest guy in this race...57!" Verwys, who came
from East Stroudsburg, PA with three of his relatives to make up a
powder blue contingent of 4 cars.
Bill is originally of East Rockaway, and has raced at our
beloved Riverhead Raceway.
When it came to the 8-cylinder race, the action was fast and
non-stop. Tommy
"Wild Child" Walkowiak was there with his "Wild
Wife" and two-time ladies enduro winner Gayle.
Tommy was plagued by rear-end problems the entire afternoon
and threw in the towel at 129.
Doug Watson wouldn’t fare any better, as he wouldn’t make
the start after blowing his engine in practice.
Lil' John Always, a Riverhead familiar, would show up with a
huge group and turn out having a safer time out on the track than he
did on I-80, when a rain slicked highway nearly caused far more
trouble than the flat tires he suffered enroute.
Rounding out the Riverhead invasion was the#23 of Eugene
Malverty who would finish his race in eighth just in front of Jim
White. Also in
attendance was "Racin'" Rich Johnson in hid #4 car, with
the #11 of Michael Rommeney, and the #16 of Dominic Ranieri.
The action heated up with the #16x of frequent victory lane
visitor Ray Fitzgerald moving into the number two slot at lap 160
and staying there after a door handle to door handle dogfight with
the #29 and Howie Bott of Budd Lake, NJ, and a serious late race
charge by the #43 Monte Carlo of Richard Petey from Hackettstown,
NJ. Ultimately
the "Big man in red," Glenn Osborne would drive his #15 to
the checker flag and the win.
The Mountain Speedway is somewhat primitive in
facilities when you compare it to other tracks, but the racing
spirit and the camaraderie there was contagious.
Billy B. puts on a heck of a show, and treats all the drivers
with the respect that they deserve.
This past Sunday was a great day despite the weather, and
great day of racing for all.
Special
Thanks go to Mountain Speedway & Billy B.
Sources:
Mike Brown/LongIslandJam.com
Posted: October 15, 2002
