04/10/2004
NEW FACES IN NEW PLACES
by Walter Johnston
Greetings to Long Island racing 2004! On a breezy but
beautiful day, the Riverhead Raceway held their first of two
practice sessions, and it was well attended, probably because
everyone wants to put Winter behind them, and get on with
racing again. What could be called full fields for almost all
divisions were on hand, and needed to be broken into smaller
groups for practice. Many of the cars have new paint schemes,
and were not completed as of this writing, so it was sometimes
difficult to identify which car was which, but eventually, Bob
Finan and Jeff Bressler were able to identify most for the
crowd on hand.
The Modifieds were well represented, with at least 25
present for the shake-down of the cars. Some drivers had 2
cars on hand, and tested both at some point during the
afternoon. Thankfully, everyone left in one piece, and will be
ready to either test again next week, or they will take what
they learned, and start to prepare for the season opener on
April 24th. Almost all the rookie candidates were
on hand, and did well in their first tries on the track. One
particularly good looking rookie was Steve Tooker in the
unsponsored #55, which is painted a nice bright yellow. It is
nice to have Steve back racing again, and hopefully, a sponsor
can be found. Tom Sherman debuted his #24 mod, another good
looking car, and reportedly he will make Riverhead his regular
Saturday night track this year, while also pursuing the R.O.C.
tour throughout the Northeast. Dan Jivanelli is back to his
familiar orange car, and was looking good on the track. John
Denniston, in the Ambrose #3, will reportedly concentrate on
running just that car this year, as he’s parked his
Super-Pro Truck, and sold the Charger car. Tom Rogers showed
up with 2 mods one white and one black. He’s planning on
running the white one weekly, saving the other for Featherlite
Tour races. Eddie Brunnhoelzl Jr has a new paint scheme,
purple over white, and it looks real sharp.
The Late Models were out in good numbers, with a few
minor changes to various cars, and of course, a couple had
totally new cars on hand, among them Scott Kulesa, and Fast
Eddie Stein. The returning series drivers had a few subtle
changes to their paint schemes, but should be easily
recognizable to the regular fans. This division had a good day
for themselves, and all look as competitive as ever,
foreshadowing an exciting season for the fans.
The Charger division was also out in force, with over
25 cars on hand. Many sported new paint jobs, noticeably Chris
Turbush, who now has a red car with black accents
These cars have shown growth, despite losing some of
their regulars to other divisions, and should be the
entertaining group they’ve always shown themselves to be at
Riverhead. A few driver changes, notably Ron Hlatky, who will
be driving Charger #44 this year, as Jimmy O’Connor will be
moving to North Carolina later this year, and won’t be
available to complete a full season. Reportedly, Rob Tribuzio
will be competing in both Chargers and Late Models this year.
Like the mods, there were so many of these cars, they had to
sometimes divide them into 3 groups for their practice
sessions. A very promising year seems to lie ahead for this
division.
The Fig-8 guys were present, though not in great
numbers (yet), but looked good in their practice runs. I only
counted 7 or 8 cars, but this division should be able to hold
their own this year, if the 29 cars that are registered make
it out each week. Obviously, many regulars were not on hand
today, but next week could tell a different story. Stay tuned.
The Super Pro Trucks had about the same turnout, 7 or 8
trucks, and all went well for them. Perhaps next week will
bring a fuller number of these fine racers out to practice.
Lastly, the Blunderbusts were there as well, some with
new bodies or totally new cars, and all looked ready to race
at the drop of the first green flag. This division probably
has greater parity than any other, as all the cars were
running close to the same times during practice. Hopefully,
next week will bring these cars out in greater numbers, and we
will be able to get a true feel of what the season will bring.
So, 2004 is looking like it will be a good year at
Riverhead, and we all look forward to the drop of the first
official green flag on the features of our favorite cars and
drivers. More next week on how that practice session goes.
Sources: Walter Johnston/LongIslandJam.com
Posted: April 10, 2004
