07/05/2003

SURPRISES GALORE THIS PAST SATURDAY AT RIVERHEAD
by George Maccarone, Jr.

Last night's program at Riverhead Raceway featured a few big surprises to go along with the traditional fireworks show.  Perhaps the greatest surprise of all was that it didn't rain!  No siree, not a drop.  As a result, the stands were packed, with many people showing up early on a hot and hazy afternoon in order to take in the qualifying heats and Modified time trials.

In a development that may prove to have a huge impact on the final standings in the Modified division, J.R. Bertuccio, the point leader, was absent for the second of the season's three critical double-point races.  Throughout the evening, the stands were abuzz with the question, "Where is J.R.?"

The third surprise of the night is that perennial fan favorite Bob "Whiplash" Genovese did NOT win the Demolition derby.

BLUNDERBUSTS

The action got underway with a 20-lap Blunderbust feature.  Pole sitter Jason Carpenter in the #77 car, jumped out to an early five-length lead and it looked like it was going to be his night.  But a Caution flag on Lap 4, caused by debris in Turn 2, brought the field back together.

On the ensuing restart, Kevin Clarke, in the #80 car, got a great run on the outside and took the lead, while Carpenter got up out of the groove and faded rapidly, eventually finishing 18th.  Just as Carpenter had done in the early stage of the race, Clarke sped away from the pack to a comfortable lead of seven car lengths.  Meanwhile, a battle was developing for second place between Scott Maliszewski in the #22 car and Chris Busick in the #61.  They raced nose-to-nose from laps 8-13, while Clarke continued to add to his lead.  The last thing Clarke needed to see at that point was a Caution, and – sure enough, on lap 13 the caution flew again for debris in Turn 2.

On the single-file restart, Busick, starting 3rd, got a great jump on Maliszewski, went outside into Turn 3 and captured 2nd place.  Now he put race leader Clarke in his sights.  He quickly ran him down and coming off turn 4 on Lap 14, he executed a great inside pass, took the lead and never looked back.

After the race, Chris thanked his girlfriend, who helped him build his new Blunderbust over the winter.  He also gave credit to Lars Mord of Scorpion Race Engines for the power he needed to get to the front.  He also revealed that it was his birthday.  What better way to celebrate than with a trip to Victory Lane!

Following Busick to the line would be the #80 Chevrolet of Kevin Clarke and rounding out the top three would be defending Blunderbust champion, Eugene Malverty in the #23 All Stock Auto Parts Buick.

CHARGERS

The Charger race, like the rest of last night's program, went off largely without incident.  However, that doesn't mean that the race was boring.  Like the Blunderbust race, there was a lot of hard, clean racing, with the drivers often going three-wide, but with everyone showing good judgment at the right time, so as to avoid wrecks.  The outside pole sitter, rookie Eric Goodale in the orange #05 Pontiac, quickly got a nose in front of pole sitter #02 Shawn Wanat, and led the rest of the way, at times by as much as 10 lengths. The only time Goodale's lead appeared in jeopardy was on Lap 16, where he was slowed down by some lapped traffic, allowing Chris Turbush in the #81 car to get to within 3 car lengths.  But once he got clear, Goodale quickly put some distance between himself and Turbush, taking down an 8-car length win in only his fifth start.

There was one brief moment of excitement on Lap 8, when Jay Henschel, in the #28 LMR Pontiac got loose in Turn 1, hitting the wall.  But Henschel made an excellent save and recovered to finish 16th.

After the race, Goodale said that when he qualified for the front row, he figured that he had a shot at getting into the lead.  How right he was. He also thanked his parents for their support, noting that when he expressed the desire to move up from go-karts, his mother suggested that he get his start in Blunderbusts.  He declined, saying he wanted to race something with more horsepower.  His Jack-Merkel powered Pontiac certainly delivered the horsepower last night.

Third-generation driver, Chris Turbush would have a dazzling run in the #81 SPONSORS WANTED Chevrolet, taking runner-up honors, while Sal Accardi, Jr. in the #39 Aable Auto Salvage Pontiac would continue to surprise in recent weeks, taking down the third place finish.

MODIFIEDS

With point leader J.R. Bertuccio absent last night, the door was opened for a big change in the Modified point standings.  When Frank Vigliarolo, Jr., second in points entering yesterday's action, took fast time in the time trials, it looked like Vigliarolo and the #14 Empire Water Dodge was poised to rush through that open door into the points lead.  It looked like third-place driver Eddie Brunnhoelzl, Jr. and the #8x Jamaica Brake & Clutch Chevrolet was positioned to make a big jump up in the standings, too. But the "Gods of Racing" had other ideas.

In the re-draw after the time trials, Vigliarolo drew the outside pole, while Ken Heagy in the #33 SPONSORS WANTED Chevrolet drew the pole.  For Heagy, the re-draw proved to be the "Move of the Race," as he took the lead from the drop of the green and led wire-to-wire for the win.

As the race began, Heagy got a wheel in front of Vigliarolo and quickly built up a three-car length lead.  On lap 4, Howie Brode, in the #96 Petro Fuel Oil Chevrolet, got inside of  Vigliarolo for second place.  Two laps later, Lenny Fischer, in the #85 SPONSORS WANTED Buick, spun off turn 2, bringing out the first caution flag.

On the restart, Heagy got a tremendous jump, while Vigliarolo powered his way under Brode back into second place.  Brode got up out of the groove and quickly lost several spots, which he was unable to recover the rest of the night.

On lap 8, Ed Brunnhoelzl, Jr. cut down a left rear tire, which took him out of contention for the night.  He eventually finished a disappointing 19th.

Vigliarolo maintained contact with the lead until Lap 22,when he got loose coming off Turn 4.  As he struggled to regain control, the #15 Eastport Feeds Chevrolet of Wayne Anderson got into him and sent him into the infield.  On the ensuing caution, Vigliarolo had to take the #14 to the pits.  When the race resumed, Vigliarolo attempted to make up lost ground, but a skirmish between the #19 of John Shortell and the #77 of Ken Vogel, Jr. in turn 4 on lap 29 bunched up the back of the field and blunted Vigliarolo's forward momentum.  Seven laps later, the #19 spun again off turn 2, bringing out a caution.  At the same time, Vigliarolo and Ed Brunnhoelzl, III in the #83, who had been jostling each other for several laps, also made contact.  The #83 cut down a left rear tire and went to the pit.  Vigliarolo eventually limped home to a very disappointing 14th-place finish, with his car looking somewhat the worse for wear by the end of the evening.

Meanwhile, back at the front of the pack, Dan Jivanelli, who had started 5th and kept out of trouble all race long, was now up to second place.

Following the re-start, he began probing for an opening to get around Heagy, but he couldn't close the deal.  Although he could catch Heagy in the corner, Heagy was much stronger down the straightaway.  By Lap 44, Heagy had a comfortable 10-length lead and he cruised to an easy win.  John Fortin in the #84 and Howie Brode engaged in a spirited duel for 5th place, with Fortin eventually nailing down the spot.

After the race, Heagy noted that he was racing under a one-race sponsorship deal with Olde School Floor Covering.  He certainly gave his sponsor a big bang for the buck last night.  Here's hoping the sponsor will have “second” thoughts.  After all, it would be a heck of a shame to waste that nice new paint job on Heagy's Chevolet Monte Carlo, not to mention the efforts of a very talented driver with a good car.

Heagy's win moved him up to 7th overall, 44 points out of first place. The biggest winner of the night was John Fortin and the #84 Chevrolet.  His 5th place finish vaulted him into first place overall.  Third-place finisher Chuck Steuer in the #11 Savin Chevrolet moved up five places to second overall, and fourth-place finisher Wayne Anderson made the biggest move of the night, up a remarkable dix places to #3 overall.  On the minus side, Vigliarolo dropped four places to #6 overall, and Ed Brunnhoelzl, Jr. dropped five places to #8 overall.  Former point leader J.R. Bertuccio now occupies the #4 spot, some 36 points off the pace, by virtue of his no-show last night.

Other Modified notes:

Car #72, piloted by Bo Gunning, didn't qualify for last night's feature.  He was scheduled to run in the consi, but the car didn't make an appearance in the lineup; it was reported that he had already loaded the car on his transporter before the start of the consi.

Ken Vogel, Jr., in only his second start of the season, has now fully recovered from a long bout with mononucleosis, and qualified 13th in time trials, earning a spot in the starting grid.

FIGURE EIGHTS

The entire Figure Eight roster turned out for last night's race.  The action started as soon as the green flag dropped.  As the field crossed the intersection on the start, Guy Loomis in the #00 car got into the back of Ron Harrison's #8, sending him sideways and collecting Tommy Kraft's #4 and Dennis Kurras' #6 in the process.  On the restart, pole sitter Kenny Hyde in the #58 Maples Bar & Grill Chevrolet jumped out to a lead, with Mike Mujsce, Sr's #13 Pro Tech Automotive Pontiac right on his tail.  The two engaged in a nip and tuck duel, with Mujsce having the faster car, while Hyde's car was handling better.  Finally, on turn 4 of lap 16, Mujsce got into Hyde's rear and sent him into the infield.  For his efforts, Mujsce was directed to the "time out chair" at the south end of the oval. After a discussion with the official, he was black-flagged and retired for  the night.  During this time out, several cars went to the pits for repairs; at one point there were only nine cars circling under caution, although a few eventually returned.

The restart found George Sprague's #10 Golden Auto Body Chevrolet and Tom Rogers, Jr. in the #1 Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Long Island Dodge at the front.  Roger Maynor, in the #28 Barrasso & Son Mason Supply Dodge stalked the two front-runners like a lion on the prowl, seemingly waiting for one or both of the leaders to make a mistake.  But, although they went fender-to-fender, both drivers kept their cool and neither man made the blunder, which could have cost either or both of them a good finish.  Sprague took down the win, followed by Rogers and Maynor.  Not coincidentally, these three drivers are also the “Big Three” in the overall points, with 2002 champion Rogers again showing the way followed by Maynor and Sprague.

DEMOLITION DERBY

Following a spectacular display of fireworks by the world-famous Zambelli company, nine cars entered the arena for the final event of the night. The derby got off to a slow start, with the cars pacing around the infield like high-schoolers at their first dance, each wondering who's going to be the first to ask for a dance partner.  But when the action began, the crowd got its money's worth, with one car, Mark Harrup's "Death Metal" ending up on its roof.

Although he didn't win the derby, Alex Ilchert, in the #330 car, was easily the star of the show.  He was in the thick of the action from the very beginning, using his red-white-and-blue Lincoln like a battering ram.  Perhaps because his car stood out so well, he became everyone else's target, and was on the receiving end of some hits that should have put him out of action long before the end.  After one hit, his engine compartment caught fire and the track crew had to come running out with the extinguishers, but like the monster in a bad horror movie, he refused to die.  Every time the crowd thought he was done for, Ilchert fired up the engine, spun all four-- make that three wheels, and charged back into the fray, prompting a huge roar from the crowd.  He delivered his greatest hit to the right quarter panel of Bob "Whiplash" Genovese's station wagon, bending the car like a paper clip and ending the night for "Whiplash."  Shortly after that, Ilchert took one on the chin from race winner Jimmy Hummel, and the #330 finally gave up the ghost right in the middle of the infield, like a star on center stage.  As he got out of the car Ilchert received a tremendous (and well-deserved) ovation from the fans.

Sources:  George Maccarone, Jr./LongIslandJam.com
Posted:  July 6, 2003