05/03/2003

J.R. BERTUCCIO CRUISES TO MODIFIED WIN

    It didn't take J.R. Bertuccio of Centereach long to pick up where he left off last season.  The 21-year old talent scored the opening night NASCAR Modified victory in a 50-lap contest Saturday night at Riverhead Raceway. The NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series triumph was worth $1,800 to the Gershow Motorsports team.
    "Yeah it was pretty easy tonight" J.R. exulted upon exiting his victorious machine, "but that's just a tribute to this team".  In pre-race time trials for the double point affair Bertuccio set fast time at 11.878 and later drew the outside pole alongside Joe Hartmann who picked the pole. When the green winked on Bertuccio rode the outside lane to the lead with Hartmann in tow.
    A quick yellow and ensuing restart on lap 3 found Frank Vigliarolo Jr. slipping under Hartmann for second and the former two time champions set sail for the leader. However on another double file restart on lap 8 Hartmann slipped by Vigliarolo for second in the low groove.
    With Hartmann, Vigliarolo, John Fortin and Chuck Steuer becoming further involved in a 4 car race for second that allowed Bertuccio to drive away into the sunset. Later in the race a torrid battle between Hartmann and Fortin raged for second, as did a fight between Vigliarolo and Steuer for fourth.
    With Bertuccio taking the checkers a half-lap ahead Joe Hartmann of Riverhead in the Watermill Lumber Chevy came in second, as he was able to ward off John Fortin of Holtsville who was third in the Honda of Riverhead entry. Chuck Steuer of Bohemia raced his way to fourth in the Savin Copiers mount, while Mike Andrews Jr. of Quogue made a late race charge for fifth in the R.G. Hahn & Son Fuel Oil Chevy.
    Former Late Model champion Peter "Buzzy" Eriksen of Baldwin put his rivals on notice when he won the 25 lap feature event for the class. Eriksen steering the Harley Davidson of Nassau County Pontiac drove under Jarrod Hayes exiting the second turn to take over the lead on lap 12. Hayes had earlier taken the lead from an impressive Doug Wholey who paced the 20-car field for the first five circuits and wound up fifth in the final tally.

    While Eriksen was racing below Hayes for the lead Roger Oxee was able to take advantage of the opening to race by Jarrod for second. However
the remainder of the race saw Eriksen and Oxee always have a car length or more between them, as both seemed very equal. With Peter Eriksen taking the checkers Roger Oxee of Peconic would have to be content with runner-up money in the Hellman Group Pontiac, with defending LM champion Scott Kulesa of Calverton making a late race surge for third in the Ranco Sand & Stone entry.
    Another defending champion picking up right where he left off last year was Tom Rogers Jr. of Patchogue who was victorious in the 20-lap Figure Eight feature. Second generation driver Will Farrell was very strong in setting the tone for the first 8 laps of the tilt before he was overtaken by Rogers for the lead on lap 9. Just one lap later Farrell fell from the race just as George Sprague was working his way by for second. The final half of the race saw Rogers and Sprague stay a few car lengths apart while dodging slower traffic at the "X". In the end Tom Rogers would drive the Ford Swimming Pools Probe to victory lane. George Sprague of N. Patchogue was second in the Unique Golf Chevy, while Mike Mujsce of Hampton Bays placed third in the Pro-Tech Automotive mount.
    Rough would be an understatement in describing the 20 lap Charger feature that actually ran its time limit with just 4 laps or one mile in the books. When time expired Richie Hubbard of Mastic was leading the race and became the winner in his NAPA Auto Parts racer. Hubbard himself was involved briefly in one of the many early race incidents, but he was able to drive away without stopping allowing him to hold his position. Disappointed by the expiration of time no doubt was Rob Tribuzio of Riverhead who wound up second in the Moutafis Motors Dodge, as it appeared Rob was lining up Hubbard if he could've gotten some green flag laps. Mike Bologna of Huntington took home third place money in the Schlaugies Fuel Oil entry.
    One of the best races on the evening came in the 30-lap Blunderbust feature event, which carried double points. Kevin Clarke of Rocky Point scored the victory in his East Coast Well Drilling mount. After Doug Watson paced the field for the first 6 laps, Bryan Sescila made a bold move on a restart to race from third to first. Sescila looked as though the night would belong to him, however a late race yellow allowed second place Kevin Clarke to tuck onto his back bumper. With just four laps to go Clarke dove under Sescila in turn 4 for the lead and eventual win. Bryan who races out of Baldwin had to settle for runner-up honors in the Victory Fleet Maintenance backed racer, while Doug Watson of Islip Terrace was in the hunt all night placing third in the Coyote Catering mount.
    It was a career first victory for Mike Albasini of Bayside, Queens when he took the 20 lap Super Pro Truck event. Starting from the pole Albasini wasted little time in racing to the lead in his Major Police & Fire Supply machine. After John Denniston chased him, Mike Jurkowski would do the same but the real heat was about to come. Danny Grennan worked his way to second on lap 14 and was testing Albasini to the outside when he was forced high, which allowed Lou Maestri to duck underneath for second on lap 15. Maestri and Grennan then became concerned about each other, thus allowing Albasini to drive to that all-important first win. Lou Maestri of Deer Park in the Schwing Electric Ford would edge out Danny Grennan of Glen Cove in the Gulfway Marine Chevy for second in a fender rubbing photo finish.

Sources:  Bob Finan/Riverhead Raceway PR
Posted:  May 6, 2003