08/10/2003
LIL' JOHN ALWAY FINDS VICTORY LANE
by Kim Watson
Mother nature was on our side once again,
holding off the rain for the fifth Enduro of the year. Drivers
and fans came out for the day’s action of Spectator Drags, a
Grand Enduro, two Full-Size Enduros, 4/6-cylinder trucks,
4-cylinders, and a Car Roll Over contest. Those who were at
the track early got to watch John Dennison practice in his #3
modified. Charlie Rittenhouse blew the dust off of his charger
and joined drivers Jimmy McDermott and Shawn Wanat for a few
practice laps after their Saturday night off.
Four cars were on hand for this round of
spectator drags. The car count may have been low, but the
excitement was high when these cars pulled onto the track. In
the first round Mark Corraro in a white Oldsmobile ran against
Tommy “Wild Child “ Walkowiak in a Corvette Stingray.
Tommy took an early lead and won the race, moving himself to
the final round. Next up was Paul Fox in his 1992 Acura
against David Sabala in a classic Camaro. Both cars light it
up at the line but Fox got out first, and fended off
Sabala’s rally in turn 3 to move on to the final. It was a
two-lap Polish style shootout to decide the winner. Walkowiak
was off the line first but new spectator drag king Paul Fox
muscled his way under the ‘Vette and went on to take the
win, his third in a row..
Drivers in the Grand Enduro seemed to
only have one question, can any one beat “Dynamite” Danny
Webster again this year? The SPONSORS WANTED entry of Webster
has been dominating the grands this year except for April run
when he finished second to Eugene Malverty. Twenty-five
drivers were on hand to find out the answer. Lil’ John Alway
found himself with a two car lead on the field at the drop of
the green flag. There were car troubles in the early laps for
David Johansen and Peter Rabaglia in the Industrial Metals
International, Ltd. Oldsmobile. The #23 P.J. Wyer Construction
car driven by Caesar Cunaccia found a fast line. On lap 11
Danny Webster ended his winning streak when he pulled into the
infield. Track conditions became hazardous as five cars pushed
up into turn 4. A few laps later three cars tested the lock on
the gate.
When Jody Fickeissen lost his wheel, it
went back under his car and he dragged it into the infield
with him. Joe Parcelluzzi in the Blue Point Auto Body entry
had a rough spin that left him with a left flat. Whipping out
of the turns sideways was Spiro Germanakos and his Westwood
Financial Group Chevrolet as he had his hands full with a
loose car. Jam fans cheered when a side-by-side battle started
between photographers Ralph “The Zookeeper” Soluri &
Howie “Cam” Nathanson. Racin’ Rich Johnson cruised a
smooth line in his Constant Performance Chevrolet. In the
closing laps Walter Little and Paul Olmstead in the Rocky
Point Carquest Chevrolet pulled into the infield. Bob Pease
and Tim Hammel looked like they had a great time running
together around the track. Thirteen cars were left when the
checkered flag flew for John Alway. Patience and clean racing
had finally paid off for the track veteran. After doing a few
donuts John pulled into victory lane for the first time in
seven years. Racin’
Rich Johnson brought Constant Performance in for second,
Michael Sorrentino finished third and Bob Pease was fourth in
the Giant Locker Fabrication Chevy.
The first full-size Enduro had 60 cars
set to run for 70 laps. When the field lined up by twos for
the green flag it filled half of the track. Jeff Duryea led
the opening laps to the back of the field. With the extra
room, cars raced into three wide action. There was a quick
four-car pile-up in turn 1. Robert Chieffo in the #29 took
quite a few hard hits. Cars running four wide in the
backstretch left two tangled together. After 10 laps the field
was moving fast. It was tightly packed but there was still
room for Eugene Malverty in the Malverty Racing entry to get
around. Louis Tiano and the Tiano Creations Fine Jewelry
Mercury went for a wild ride when his car was pushed sideways
down the frontstrech. As the hard hits continued Chip
Piotrowski’s hood of his KP Welding Pontiac was pushed in
and Suburban Exterminating’s Joseph Paolucci’s car had
some left side damage. Dominic Ranieri and his Local Cesspool
Chevrolet took over to lead for a few laps. Ron Jones made up
a few positions with a low dive in 3&4. Chasing down the
leader John O’Rourke had some great laps. Phillip LaManna
led some laps in his Mohawk Racing/Kmac Electric entry.
Trouble arose for drivers Ed Primavera (radiator), Daniel
Carmody in the Mam’s Auto entry (smoking), and Dominic
Ranieri (flat tire).
On lap 36 Walter Stroud Jr. became the
new leader with an outside pass. Walter had a bit of a bounce
to his car as he began to lap cars. A tire rub slowed down
Anthony Orsi and Robert Miller was off the pace in his
Popeye’s Pub car. Philip Lamanna had a great run going as he
tried to chase the leader. John Gallotto made some nice clean
inside passes. At the end of the race there were 16 cars still
on the move.
Walter Stroud came in 1st for
Peanut’s Bar and Grill/ NY Discount Tire & Wheel.
That’s the third win this year for the enduro veteran.
Philip Lamanna finished second for Mohawk Racing, Eugene
Malverty took third in his Malverty Racing entry. And John
Gallotto finished fourth in his All County Wielding car.
Twenty-seven 4/6-cylinder trucks were on
the track for their forty-lap race. As the tailgate brigade
lined up by two’s Bob Finan noted the absence of
front-runners John Cozza and Ulf Becker. Both were unable to
race due to prior commitments.
Rob “the Kid” McCormick in the Blue
Point Auto Body Chevrolet was out first but his lead was cut
short by Scott Graham and Dan Jones. The drivers ran three
wide battling for the top spot, and it went to Dan Jones. Andy
“Daddy Cool” Owen gained a few positions running a fast
outside line in his NY Dragons Arena Football Dodge. By lap 13
the field seemed to slow down a bit as Dan Jones began to lap
trucks. Jones lost the lead for a few laps to Stanley
Wangenstein Jr, but regained it as the Stan’s Towing truck
started experiencing mechanical problems. Robert Endlekofer
had some troubles and pulled his Station Auto Parts truck into
the infield. A few drivers made some great saves as Donald
Elliston (into turn 3), and Doug Watson in the Coyote Catering
Mitsubishi (out of turn 2) managed to avoid some serious
mishaps. Unfortunately Thomas O’Malley would not be so lucky
and found trouble on the backstretch wall. Anthony Montano and
Wayne VanDriessche tangled a bit as Terry Stiles found a fast
line through the field.
Dan Jones led the way and got his first
win in the 4/6-cylinder truck division. The Blue Point Auto
Body driver has had an impressive year placing in the top 5
for every run so far. Thomas M Bake of Medford came in second;
the NY Dragons Arena Football truck of Andy Owen third and Bob
Haegar brought Hampton Fleet Service Toyota to fourth.
Next to run was the popular and wild
4-cylinder enduro. Sixty-six competitors revved and roared
their way to the three wide line up. The wall-to-wall brawling
started quickly as Robert “Flash” Gordon took the lead
with Mitchell Omlar on his tail. Turn 2 became a mess as cars
blocked the backstretch. Early victims of the melee included
Peter Verwys (bumper drag), Pasquale Vecchio (tire rub), and
Bob Haeger in the La Capannina Pizza Honda (flat tire). A red
flag stopped the race on lap 7 for a driver on the
backstretch. The driver was helped out from the back of his
car and walked to the Metro Ambulance. This break in the
action gave the track workers a chance to clear a few bumpers
and fender panels off the track.
After the re-start James Bresnahan ran
some great laps and Christian Conklin in the Spit’s Speed
Shop Volkswagen moved up into the lead. Once again parts were
falling off of cars covering the track with debris. Eric
Kidder was having a good run while Stanley Wangenstein had to
pull into the infield. A hard spin out of turn 3 kept Brian
Mohrman holding onto his loose car. As the cars continued to
smoke, spin and wreck Jarrod Hayes took over the lead. Michael
Smith was doing everything he could to try to catch up with
the leader. Bob Pease and John “Ox” Bailey looked like
they were having a great time as they ran door handle to door
handle. When the smoke and debris finally stopped moving it
was Jarrod Hayes in his little red car that could in victory
lane.
This was Hayes’ second top 5 finish in
the 4 cylinder enduros this season. Currently the Late Model
driver is ninth in points with his #08 Pauls Signs/USA Crane
Rentals Chevrolet. Shawn Wanat came from the back of the pack
to finish second for Spit’s Speed Shop. Steven Jappell had
his second third place finish this season in the Trade Auto
Wreckers Mitsubishi and Medford’s Kevin Orlando took home
fourth.
Four contestants were on hand for the car
rollover contest. Former champ Tom Lindsey earned 7 points for
his roll. Next up was first timer Jerry Kelly. Jerry was a bit
too fast on his first and second try but managed to earn 1
point by landing on his side on the third try. The “Green
Hornet” Jeff Wolfe wowed the crowed with 2 ½ rolls for 12
points on his first try. Then he backed it up with 7 more
points for a roll and a half. “Slim Jim” Donaldson earned
15 points with an impressive three rolls in his second run at
the ramp, but was unable to roll on his third try. Showing
true sportsmanship Slim honored the “Green Hornet” with a
victory lap ride on the hood of his car.
The final run of the day was a second run
for the full-size Enduros. About 30 cars were out for the last
chance at the payout window. Linda Weingarten in her Irwin
Contracting was off the line first with Dominic Ranieri
hanging on the outside in the Local Cesspool Chevrolet. Scott
McGovern found himself stuck in turns 3&4 and took a hard
hit from the field. Dominic Ranieri took over the lead and
began to lap cars. Unlike most of the day’s races this one
was pretty clean. Tommy Walkowiak had plenty of room to run
his fast line in the C&A Auto Parts entry.
There was a three-way battle for 1st
between Ranieri, Walter Stroud and Eugene Malverty. Malverty
came out ahead leaving Stroud and Ranieri to race for second.
James Heym went for a spin in turn 4 in his Port Jefferson
Beverage ride. Anthony Maltese made a great save avoiding a
stalled car in turn 4. The Landscaping Impression #25 pulled
into the infield after loosing a tire.
Eugene Malverty won the final race of the
day. This was the current Blunderbust point leader’s third
enduro win this season. Walter Stroud ended his day with a 2nd
place finish. Dominic Ranieri held onto 3rd and
Robert Endlekofer finished 4th for Station Auto
Parts.
I’d like to take a moment to wish
Martha O’Rourke good luck. This Sunday was her last Enduro
day before she leaves for Florida. Martha has been an asset to
Riverhead Raceway for many years and will definitely be
missed.
Also I’d like to give a safety tip from
a fan’s point of view. Window nets guys! Not only is there
danger of track debris entering your car but it will also help
protect you from loosing a limb. I saw quite a few of you
waving your arms and even leaning your head out as you went
around the track. This is not safe. Another hazard has been
people plowing into stalled cars. Chances are if someone is
stuck in the same spot for five laps they’re not going to
move. Be aware of them, and don’t force your fellow
competitors to hit their cars. That’s not racing it’s
demoing. A lot of red flags have been dropped this season to
check of the safety of these stranded drivers. Remember to
treat all other drivers with the respect you want them to have
for you!
Sources: Kim
Watson/LongIslandJam.com
Posted: August 12, 2003
