07/26/2003
JOHN FORTIN SCORES
SECOND RIVERHEAD NASCAR MODIFIED VICTORY
John
Fortin of Holtsville scored his second NASCAR Modified victory
of the season when he won the Buzz Chew Chevrolet, Oldsmobile
and Cadillac night feature event in a 35-lap contest. Fortin,
who started 16th in the 24 car field, earned $1,450 for his
efforts and also padded his point lead.
The race got off to a shaky start, as
it took no less than five attempts to complete the first five
laps of the tilt before a large crowd. Lew Hallock moved into
the lead early in the race pursued first by Joe Hartmann for
the first lap and then Ron Hlatky for laps two and three. On
the fourth circuit Chris Young raced by Hlatky on a double
file restart for second and set sail for his second straight
win. However on lap 5 Young's right front tire went flat and
ended his night in the fourth turn wall.
On the ensuing restart John Fortin
wasted little time in working his way by Hallock for the lead
on lap 7, bringing J.R. Bertuccio to second with him. For the
next 28 laps Fortin and Bertuccio fought for the lead with the
latter getting right up on the rear spoiler of the leader.
However Fortin, a master in lapped traffic and points racing
was able to keep his cool in the hottest of circumstances.
At the checker John Fortin in the
Honda of Riverhead Chevy took an important victory. "I
can't thank Performance Technology enough for the horsepower
that kept me out front" Fortin commented. "My crew
did it again, I was away all week and they got us back to the
winners circle. I can't say enough about their
dedication".
J.R. Bertuccio of Centereach was
runner-up in the Long Island Truck Parts Chevy, with Tom
Rogers Jr. of Patchogue third for the second straight week in
the Sunburst Tree Experts entry. Dan Jivanelli of Hampton Bays
and Chuck Steuer of Bohemia completed the top five.
Peter "Buzzy" Eriksen of Baldwin gave himself a
birthday gift with his third victory of the season in the
Sonnenberg Nursery 25 for the Late Models. After Keith Rotzi
led the first six laps "Fast" Eddie Stein took the
lead on the seventh cycle with an inside move. Stein was
quickly joined by Dennis Krupski who raced his way to second
as Stein took the lead. The tandem ran one-two for the
following ten laps with both Peter Eriksen and Roger Oxee
closing in. On lap 18 Eriksen made his bid for victory payoff
when he worked his way by Stein for the lead off the fourth
corner. Krupski moved to second and was hounded by Roger Oxee
for the final laps as Roger came to third on lap 19. As Peter
Eriksen took the checker flag in the Harley Davidson of Nassau
County Pontiac, Dennis Krupski and Roger Oxee came together
off turn four sending Oxee spinning to the infield. Dennis
Krupski of Calverton held on for second in the Select
Marketing entry, while Dave Brigati of Baiting Hollow was
third in the Formula 113 Car Wax mount.
Defending Charger champion Rusty
Turbush of Manorville won his first main event of 2003 when he
won its 20 lap feature event. Chris McGuire jumped into the
lead at the drop of the green. Shawn Wanat chased McGuire for
the first lap, with Steve Ratti taking that spot on lap 2.
Steve's night went sour 4 laps later when he got a right front
flat forcing him to pit during a caution flag period. That
propelled Rusty Turbush into second on lap 7 and he spent the
next five laps looking for a way by leader McGuire. On lap 12
exiting turn four Rusty rim rode the outside groove to move
into the lead by McGuire and lead the remaining laps to score
the victory. For Rusty Turbush it was a good thing the race
was not longer than 20 laps. When he pulled the
Northeastern Office Equipment Pontiac into the winners circle,
the car overheated after throwing a fan belt in the final
laps. Chris McGuire of Shirley posted his best effort of 2003
with a runner-up finish in the Wrestling Cage Promotions
entry, while Rob Tribuzio of Riverhead was third in the
Riverhead Trailer Monte Carlo.
Bobby Gardner of Westbury notched his
second win of the year when he raced to victory in the 20 lap
Blunderbust main event. For the first three quarters of
the race it looked as though "Pistol" Paul Parisi
would score his first career win as he raced into the lead at
the start of the race. Jason Carpenter chased Parisi for the
first ten circuits of the race before he was over taken by
Bobby Gardner on lap 11 with an inside move entering turn one.
Once to second Gardner spent the next four laps trying to pass
Parisi for the lead in a bumper-to-bumper duel. On lap 15
Gardner made the winning move on Parisi, who was then passed
for second by Jason Carpenter one lap later. At the line Bobby
Gardner steered the N.Y. Metro Peterbilt Cadillac to victory
lane, with "Jumping" Jack Handley of Medford making
a late race surge for second in the Warehouse Tool machine.
Third went to a hard charging Artie Pedersen of Moriches in
the Sherwin Williams Paint racer. Paul Parisi wound up fourth
after leading the first 15 laps.
Nine cars battled in the Car Rollover
Contest and when all was said and done "Slim" Jim
Donaldson of Shirley scored the win in the Body Piercing by
Slim entry. Jim scored 24 points to edge out his close friend
Anthony Aiello of Bayport who earned 20 points. Third went to
Jeff Wolf of Selden who totaled 18 points.
In the 12-lap Train Race Peter
Bertuccio of Bohemia and Scott Schelin of Southold once again
prevailed in the North Fork Sanitation Train. Stan Wangenstein
of Holtsville and Kevin Clarke of Rocky Point would place
second.
In the thrill a hit Mini-School Bus
Demolition Derby "The Wildchild" Tommy Walkowiak of
Middle Village, Queens out smashed Bob "Whiplash"
Genovese of S. Farmingdale to score the win as the large crown
howled with approval.
Sources:
Riverhead Raceway PR
Posted: July 28, 2003
