05/29/2004

BEAUTIFULLY CLEAR NIGHT, OVERCAST WITH YELLOW FLAGS
by Walter Johnston

   On what might have been an ideal night to get in a quick show, yellow fever set in for every division  except the Modifieds, making it a tough night for all concerned. Frank Bonsignore’s arm got a real workout waving the yellow, the track crew earned their pay, and the fans suffered through what was otherwise a decent night of entertainment.

 

  The Modifieds ran a truly decent race, without much incident, as Chuck Steuer, who started on the outside pole, jumped into the lead at the drop of the green, and never had to fight off any challenges after that. The race itself was run with only 3 cautions, a blessing compared to previous events, and Chuck Steuer, in the Savin Copiers 11x, won his first Modified feature of the season. There were only minor incidents bringing out the yellow, the first occurring on lap 20 as Chris Young spun his #49 Chevrolet after contact in turn 3. The field was soon back in order for another 6 laps of racing before the 2^nd yellow flew for a spinning Sal Accardi Jr in turn 2. When the green flew again, Steuer resumed a comfortable lead, which he held through another yellow flag on lap 32 for a spinning #19 of John Shortell. The race quickly restarted for Steuer to lead the last 3 laps, with the #3 JYD Enterprises Mercury of John Denniston holding on for 2^nd, while the #33 SPONSORS WANTED Chevrolet of Ken Heagy, Tom Rogers Jr. and his #6 Riverhead Auto Mall Chevrolet, and Lenny Fischer’s #85 SPONSORS WANTED Dodge rounded out the top 5.

 

   The Late Models ran their 25-lap feature race with Keith Rotzi’s #21 PEK Construction Chevrolet on the pole and #72 J&R’s Steak House Pontiac of Greg Kleila on the outside. Kleila immediately jumped into the lead, with Doug Wholey and the #98 Pontiac taking second. On lap 9, #39 Roger Oxee’s Helman Group Pontiac’s hood pins let go, with the hood now plastered to the windshield as he traveled around turns 1 & 2. At almost the same moment, Keith Rotzi, #21,got loose coming off of turn 4, and collected the #08 Paul’s Signs Chevrolet of Jarrod Hayes, the #23 SPONSORS WANTED Chevrolet of Kevin Metzger, the #84 Big Bast Chevrolet of Andy Lokkeberg, and the #10 Ranco Sand & Stone Pontiac of Scott Kulesa in a grinding crash at the Start/Finish line. Kulesa was able to get away, but Hayes, Lokkeberg and Metzger were locked together against the wall on the front stretch After a long cleanup of all 3 cars and fluid that had been dumped on the track, racing resumed for one lap before the #1x of Dave Brigati collided with and went over the #98 of Doug Wholey. Brigati was able to continue, but Wholey’s car was done. The officials decided on a single file restart and the race resumed, with Kleila maintaining the lead, and the #01 Moutafis Motors, Ltd. Chevrolet of Rob Tribuzio now second. One more yellow was needed on lap 21 as the #1x of Brigati spun in turn 4.  When racing resumed, it was Kleila holding on to finish 1^st, with Tribuzio 2^nd, an amazed Roger Oxee in 3^rd, with the hood STILL on his windshield, and the #14 SPONSORS WANTED Pontiac of Mike Mortimer 4^th, and the defending champion Glenn Tyler, in the #28 Spring & Summer Activities Pontiac 5^th.

 

    Charger action started with the #3 Pinnacle Tax Service Chevrolet of Don Ahlers on the pole and the #13 T.R. Whitney Masonry of Garret Frabizio on the outside. At the drop of the green, Frabizio had something go wrong and slammed the 1^st turn wall, bringing out the 1^st yellow. On the complete restart, Ahlers #3 went over the hood of Mike Coll’s #61 Dodge in the 4^th turn, scattering the field and bringing out the yellow once again. On the restart, a new duo was in front, the #89x Wrestling Cage Productions Pontiac of Chris McGuire, and the #11x Slomin’s Chevrolet of Dave Xavier. That lasted until Xavier spun in turn 4 on lap 2, bringing out another yellow. On the restart, before a lap was completed, yet another yellow was thrown for the right front fender of Eric Lutz’s #36 Marjam Supply Chevrolet, which had come off in a skirmish in turn 2. Racing got going again for 2 more laps, until Rusty Turbush’s #17x DebtCoach.com Pontiac broke a driveshaft and sent him spinning into turn 1, for yet another yellow. Back to racing once again, this time it lasted until lap 18, when Mike Bologna’s #00 PCHS Racing Engines Chevrolet hit the wall in turn 3, as Xavier, McDermott, and Van Houten came together in turn 2. McDermott was black flagged for rough riding, and the racing resumed, only to have another yellow thrown for debris in turn 2. At this point, many cars had sheet metal from other cars dangling off their nerf bars. In the end, McGuire held on to in, with Hlatky in the #44 “Pub Car” 2^nd, and Jack Orlando’s #99 Glamour Transportation Dodge 3^rd. The race had taken 40 minutes, but was finally over.

 

   In Figure 8 action, much the same went on. 19 cars took the green, which only stayed out until the #00 Chevrolet of Guy Loomis spun into the X on lap 3. During the yellow, leader Mike Mujsce in the #13 Pro Tech Automotive Dodge was found to be leaking, and went to the pits. Racing resumed for 1 lap until a spin in turn 4 brought out the yellow again. The #23 Euro Tech Auto Body Dodge of Bill Steen was penalized for hitting one of the cones set up to keep the cars above the white inner line around the course. Racing resumed once again, this time making it to lap 11 before a debris caution was thrown. On the restart, Roger Maynor, #28 Barrasso & Sons Mason Supply Ford, had worked his way into second and set his sights on 1^st, but that would have to wait until after another caution on lap 13 when Fred Kraft spun his #99 SPONSORS WANTED Ford and stalled near the X. On the restart, Maynor passed Ken Hyde’s #58 Maples Bar & Grill Dodge on the outside to take the lead, which he would hold through the last 7 laps of near misses at the X, unitl claiming his 5^th victory in 6 events this year.  Arne Pedersen in the #85 Maples Bar & Grill Chevrolet would take third, followed by George Sprague’s #10 M&R’s Daycare Chevrolet in fourth, and rounding out the top 5 would be the #29 Dodge of Will Farrell.

 

    Now came the events of NASCAR Family night.  The rollover contest was first. Taz took his three runs at the ramp, successfully doing complete rollovers twice and getting it on the roof on the 3^rd try. Ian Arthur was next, in a Ford II Broncho, but he could only manage to flip it on the driver’s door on the first try, and did a 1 and ¼ on the second, but he was done, unable to start it a 3^rd time. Slim Jim Donaldson was next, but his car wouldn’t fire. In the spirit of the event, a tow truck pushed him for all 3 tries, and he managed to roll it on the drivers door, over completely and on to the roof in those three tries, handing the victory to TAZ.

 

    Next came the train race. Five trains took the green, with Joe Bertuccio/Todd Scheilin getting the lead, but the team of Shawn Wanat and Jeff Feruggia fought their way back and took the victory.

 

    In the School Bus Figure 8, it was Slim Jim Donaldson grabbing the lead, followed by Eugene Malverty, and that duo would not be challenged throughout the race. Bob Genovese, in the 444, had transmission trouble and only had reverse, so that’ the way he ran the race, slowly, but the whole 10 laps in reverse, finishing 5^th. 3^rd went to Matt Brown, and 4^th was Speedo. Jeff Wolf claimed the 6^th and final position.

Sources:  Walter Johnston/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:  May 30, 2004