10/09/2003

MAKING THE GRADE - MODIFIEDS
by Peter Milano

1.  #84 - John Fortin: A+, This season belongs to one driver who started all 15 races and ended up with 15 top tens! Out of those 10 he had 5 top fives and he finished with 2 wins this year at Riverhead. The fuel man was on a roar all season long even he started in the back of the pack he always moved up using his head, without causing any wrecks.  The last race of the year John was forced to go home during the afternoon hours and pick up his 2001 Championship car and brought the car from dead last  to second that night with a car that hasn't seen race action in quite some time. With the 2003 Championship in hand John Fortin and crew deserves not only the "A" but the plus on top of that, great season! A+

2. #11x - Chuck Steuer:  A+, Chuck looked to be having a great season from the beginning.  For 2003, he had an all-new Modified to do battle with and blazed the track in August in the Miller Lite 200, setting fast time. Throughout the season Chuck brought in 14 top tens in 15 races, 5 top fives and 1 win. This season looked to be headed to a great ending until it all came to a screeching halt; when Chuck's wife Chrissy lost her battle to cancer. In what looked like a season damper, Chuck came back out and still continued to race on behalf of Chrissy, as many drivers had the Chrissy logo, the angel with wings in prayer placed upon their machines. Chuck came out four weeks later and took an afternoon 35-lapper, that was scheduled because of a rain-out the week before. Later that afternoon Chuck set quickest time during time trails for a 75 lap event. Chuck looked strong the whole race until an incident with J.R. Bertuccio in turns 3 and 4. While J.R. seemed to have the fastest machine with 20 laps the go, Chuck held on tight, and raced hard. This season was hard work for Chuck and his crew, they stuck through it together during the fun times but more so during the harder times, with that said they all deserve the A+.

3. #15 - Wayne Anderson: A, Wayne sent a lot of people back home with their tails between their legs for comments made last season about being the old gun at Riverhead. Last season Wayne and crew came in 11th in points, the only thing that might have seemed better was the one win last season. The one win seemed to be the only thing missing this year for Wayne. 12 top tens with 7 top fives in 15 races, he could have had a higher toll if not for some incidents a few weeks back, but probably would have still ended third in points this year. This team really stuck together this year and brought home some well deserved finishes for their work on the car. Will this five time veteran champion at Riverhead bring home a sixth title? If this team keeps their head together like this season, he will be in the run for top points! A.

4. #6 - Tommy Rogers: A, What can be said about this first full season driver in the Modified division? 13 top tens, with 6 of them being in the top five. Rogers was impressive all while keeping his head clean and keeping out of trouble with his fellow drivers. Tommy finally sold the figure 8 car and will be totally committed next year to his modified team. Next season looks to be very bright for this young gun; totally impressive to say the least, can’t wait to see what the future holds for Tommy Rogers. A

5. #20 - Bill Park: B, 9 top tens with 3 top fives, not a bad season but considering last year he finished 9th in points, this he season improves his sitting with a fifth. Bill's car wasn't really noticed much this season, is it because he wasn't in the top five as much or was it because he kept to himself without getting into trouble? Maybe in 2004, this former champion can cause a stir once again. B

6. #8x - Eddie Brunnhoelzl, Jr.: B+, even though he finished one spot down from Bill Park, Eddie took home one win with 12 top tens and 5 top fives. Eddie and his son Eddie III seemed to be holding the black eight ball towards the end of the season with bad luck following them all around the track. It is surprising that Eddie finished with 12 top tens in 15 races with the luck he seemed to have this season. It just goes to show that they kept plugging away, each time they faced another hill ahead of them, they climbed it and then some. B+

7. #12 - Dan Jivanelli: B, this season looked to be getting better towards the end of the year, maybe a bit too late. Dan brought home 1 win, 9 top tens and 6 top fives in 15 races. Dan looked to be on a charge that everyone had to take notice; maybe next year he'll be the bull inside the bullring. Jivanelli is another veteran of the historic Riverhead track and seems to go back and forth in being consistent. I know with some more money behind the team, they could be a bigger force next year. The past month and half Dan was on a tear and maybe in 2004 he will resume his winning ways from the late 2003 season! B

8. #85 - Lenny Fisher: B-, I wanted to give him the full "B" and while I should have I couldn't even drop him down to a "C". Lenny has to be one of the drivers everyone wants to see win a race. Lenny seemed to fall to a lot of bad luck on the track this season and none of it seemed to be his fault at all. Even though he ended up in the back of the pack or back in the pits because of someone's stupidity that he had to pay for, he still came home 8th in points with 8 tops tens and 3 top five in 15 races. I heard rumors awhile ago that he was looking at some older Ruggiero equipment, if he had a big sponsor he could get a better engine and stay up front away from the inexperienced drivers that seem to get in his way. B-

9. #10x - Mike Andrews Jr.: B+, why? The skies the limit if this kid keeps his head focused! Mike Andrews Jr. took home two wins and one of them being the qualifying event for Concord, NC, North vs. South Shootout in November. Mike came home with 8 top tens and 6 of them being in the top five. Mike made everyone a believer in him this season and next year he only looks stronger! B+

10. #33 - Ken Heagy: B, Ken took home tenth in points but had a season that really had a lot of people pulling for him from seasons previous. Ken seemed to be doing a lot on his own with a huge team to back him up. KND Motorsports did this with almost no sponsorship until mid-season. But it was before mid-season that Ken had everyone looking at his beautiful #33. With 1 win, 7 top tens and 5 top fives, Ken seemed to have a better run than tenth in points. B

11. #2 - J.R. Bertuccio: B-, J.R. had a off second half of the season, but J.R. did take 3 wins, even though they came the first three races, he still ended up with 8 top tens and 7 top fives. With that being the reason why he didn't get a worse grade, the reason why he gets "B-" is because of on track behavior. With one race sitting out because of off track issues, he still came back strong. But because of his hard driving on a small track, which is hard to do, he ended up with a one race suspension with an altercation with Frank Vigliarolo Jr., which ended with blows by each driver. But due to a rain-out he didn't miss the race, cause the suspension was for one week, not one race and he bought himself a ride for the race, but ended up in the pits in only a few laps. Later that night in a 75-lapper J.R. looked to be headed to victory lane for the fourth time this year and enhancing his grade, but tangled with leader Chuck Steuer that had the officials call it a bad move. B-

12. #49 - Chris Young: B-, the only reason why Chris gets into the "B" bracket is because of the 3 wins this season, which a lot of the top guys don't even have!  But, he only came home with 5 top tens!  With a new troyer for 2004, maybe Young's bad woes can turn around next season and he can return to championship contender. B-

13. #05 - Joe Hartmann: C, Joe only came out for 12 races, but he did head to other tracks on the weekends he didn't spend at Riverhead. Joe brought home 1 win, 5 top fives. Those other times seemed to hit hard quite literally, as Joe would end up with misfortune and a mangled racecar.  C

14. #14 - Frank Vigliarolo, Jr.: C-, Frank left the track after his incident with J.R. Bertuccio and never came back. However in that short time he did manage 7 top tens and 3 top fives. He looked to be sharp in the tour race but couldn't out run his former equipment which was under Donny Lia. Frank could have gotten a better grade, but he tried so hard to run for the top that it cost him many times! C-

15. #83 - Eddie Brunnhoelzl III: C-: It seemed Eddie learned a lot from last year but unfortunately he was hit hard with the accident bug. While last season seemed to be from learning the car, this season seemed to be from bad luck as most of the incidents he was involved in was not his fault. Hopefully he'll add more to the car this season and take this year as a learning tool. On the bright side he did have 2 top tens in 15 races. C-

16. #19 - John Shortell: D, ugh! What can be said about this season? "Ugh" about sums it up! He did get start towards the front of the pack but ended up in back most times. He walked away with 3 top tens with 12 races under his belt this year. D

17. #07 - Lew Hallock: D-, with one top 10, Lew Hallock didn't get much time up front or in the spotlight. I guess the one thing we did notice was the yellow rims. D-

18. #64 - John Manno: D, no top tens, but Manno spent most of his first season behind the wheel of a stockcar learning. In addition to his learning experience he also got caught up in a lot of bad stuff! D

19. #42 - Ron Hlatky: D-, 2 top tens in 7 races. No one saw him towards the end of the season, where was he? D-

20. #77 Ken Vogel Jr.: D-, Vogel was ill for half the season and missed quite a few races. However in the few races he was in, he struggled with no top 10's in nine races. Maybe next season he'll make a better run to the front with full health.  D-

Sources:  Peter Milano/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:  October 9, 2003