05/15/2004

LATE MODELS PUT ON A HOT SHOW
by Walter Johnston

After hearing the last few days it would rain on Saturday night, the sky remained clear and a good night of racing awaited both driver and fan. There were a few glitches along the way, but the show was a good one.

We'll hit the glitches first. The almost disaster of the night was a wreck between Ed Brunnhoelzl Jr. and Ken Vogel Jr. during the second Modified heat. Occurring on lap 2, the two got together, with Vogel riding up over Brunnhoelzl's wheels and up on top of the retaining wall, down the front stretch into turn one, where Vogel's car struck the light pole, causing a track light to become dislodged and fly into the (empty portion) first turn stands. Surprisingly, the car remained atop the wall, sitting precariously on the edge. Ken was okay, as was Ed, but their cars were another story. Neither would be fit to run the rest of the night, but more on that later.

The Late Model time trials saw 16 cars take time, with Mighty Mike Mortimer setting fast time, followed by Glenn Tyler, Dave Brigati, Greg Kleila, Scott Kulesa (in his back-up car) and Shawn Patrick. Four cars did not take time due to tech problems, but those were all corrected by feature time, and 21 cars started the race.

The race was fabulous, to start with anyway. Greg Kleila drew the pole, while Glenn Tyler drew outside pole. At the drop of the green, it remained that way for 12 laps, with Tyler gaining about a 1/2 car length advantage, but Kleila wasn't giving up any time soon. It was only a caution on lap 12, for Jack Handley's turn one wreck, that caused the first restart of the race. On the restart, Tyler jumped into the lead, with Kleila right on his tail, but it only lasted one lap, as the #12 of Dennis Krupski and the #90 of Joe Paschitti came together in turn 2. Another attempt at a restart resulted in a multiple car wreck off turn 2 involving the 88, 72, 23, 84, 98, and 5. Unfortunately for Greg Kleila's 72, the night was over, though he would return later, only to drop out again. The restart after the cleanup was waved off after officials judged that Mike Mortimer had jumped the start on leader Glenn Tyler. The next attempt was successful, and Tyler got the lead at the drop of the green, remaining there until a caution on lap 20 for a turn 4 spin by the 88 of Shawn Patrick, which also involved the 08 of Jarrod Hayes and 35 of Ken Alfano. The officials decided a single file restart was in order, and on lap 20, the race was under way once again. On lap 22, Mortimer got past Tyler, and remains in the lead. After a brief caution on lap 29 for debris on the front stretch, Mortimer took off once again and pulled away to a 3-4 car length lead, never to be challenged again. At the conclusion of the race, officials performed a tire check of the top 3 cars, Mortimer, Tyler and Kulesa.

In the Modifieds, Ed Brunnhoelzl III gave up his ride to his father Ed Brunnhoelzl Jr, who started the night second in points, but failed to qualify for the feature, even after running Frank Saladino's #25 in the consolation race. He, of course, had to start near the back, but he was in the race.

The Modifieds took the green, and Chris Young immediately jumped from outside pole into the lead, chased by Ken Heagy and Dan Jivanelli until a lap 7 crash involving JR Bertuccio and John Fortin brought out the yellow. Both had considerable damage, and were unable to continue, affecting both as they started the night as point leader (Fortin) and third place in points (JR). Now you see why it was wise of Eddie Brunnhoelzl Jr. to borrow his son's car.

Resuming the race, Chris Young took off with Heagy and Jivanelli in tow; the three of them building some distance on 4th place Lenny Fischer. The top three positions would remain the same until the checkered flag, with others advancing behind them, but no one catching them. It certainly had to feel good for Chris Young, after leading most of the 50 lapper few weeks ago, losing that lead, and now this time remaining in front until the end, getting his first victory of the year.

In the Chargers, it was Jack Orlando's night to shine, as he worked his way up from his 8th starting position, taking the lead on lap 13, and after surviving a lap 16 restart, coming home a winner, a big change from losing an engine a few weeks ago. Except for the lap 16 yellow, caused by Steve Ratti hitting the first turn wall (he feels he had help), the race was run with no other interruptions, a welcome change from the last few weeks of caution fever.

The Blunderbusts ran an excellent race, a lot different than their previous races this season, caution free, and fan satisfying. James Havens bolted out from his outside pole starting position into the lead at the drop of the green, and no one ever got close, as he went on to win this incident free race. It was nice to see this division get their groove back, as they run more caution free races than any other division at Riverhead.

The Truck division was ran a very good race as well. Hank Hallock started on the pole, and maintained his lead position until Lenny Costa passed him on lap 3. Behind all this, a battle was being waged between Dave Brigati #98, Lou Maestri #1, and Frank Dumicich Sr. in the #5 for third place. As Hallock fell further back, Maestri moved up into second, right on Costa's tailgate. A brief caution was thrown on lap 17 for dual, but separate spins, by Hallock and Dumicich in turns 1 and 2. When racing resumed for a green, white, checker finish, it was Costa holding off all others for the victory.

 The Figure Eight troops put on a great show, with a spectacular finish. Ken Hyde jumped into the lead and held it until being passed by Tommy Kraft, just before a yellow was thrown for debris on lap 8. On the restart, T.K. took off with Hyde, Steen, Maynor and Sprague in pursuit. Maynor just wove his way through to the lead, and passed T. K. on lap 23 for the lead. Maynor's car was truly strong and not to be denied a win, as on the last lap, He encountered Ken Darch at the X, with Darch getting the worst of it, but Maynor holding on for a truly exciting finish, spinning just after crossing the line in 1st. Darch's rear panel was almost ripped off the car, and yet Maynor's Ford seemed almost undamaged, until steam started to emerge during his victory lap. For Roger, it was his 3rd win in 4 starts this season, something he is extremely happy about.

Sources:  Walter Johnston/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:  May 17, 2004