06/12/2004

MIKE ANDREWS JR. TAKES MODIFIED SQUEAKER

    Using a lapped car to his full advantage Mike Andrews Jr. of East Quogue became the first repeat winner of the 2004 NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series.  Andrews won the 35-lap NASCAR Modified feature event in a photo finish with John Fortin of Holtsville. The triumph earned the young talent $1,460.
    When the race went green Joe Hartmann got the early advantage over Eddie Brunnhoelzl III with Bill Park sitting third. On lap 4 Park rode the inside line under Brunnhoelzl for second.  The complexion of the race changed drastically on lap 8 when a double file restart saw Hartmann and Park side by side. When the green waved Park stayed even with Hartmann when both went wide the inside lane opened for John Fortin.  At the three wide move Hartmann and Park tangled under the starters stand, forcing both to pit.
    When the field was realigned John Fortin was the new leader, with Mike Andrews Jr. now perched in second. For the final 27 laps of the contest Andrews stayed right on the back bumper of Fortin while the tandem started to work heavy lapped traffic. With just two laps to go they hit a bevy of cars trying to stay on the lead lap and with less than a lap to go Andrews was able to use one of those cars as a pick trapping Fortin for a moment. As they raced off turn four toward the checker Mike Andrews Jr. rode the outside lane to win by less than a foot over John Fortin.
    Upon exiting the Jazz Audio Chevy, Andrews who was hobbled by a work related knee injury commented, "I really enjoy racing with John, he runs you real clean. But when I saw I had a chance to use the lapped car as a pick I took it, it was really close at the line and I can't tell in the car if we won or not. Thankfully we did".
    John Fortin further padded his point lead with a runner-up tally in the MortgageOne/Assist2Sell Chevy while Wayne Anderson of Yaphank came from deep in the field to claim third place money in the Eastport Feeds entry. Tom Rogers Jr. of Patchogue and Chris Young of Calverton rounded out the top five.
    In a wild Doug Wholey Excavating 50 for the Late Models defending champion Glenn Tyler of Hampton Bays pocketed his second win of 2004. Scott Kulesa set fast time in time trials with a lap 12.786, but when the top six redrew the former champions luck ran out when he picked 6th. Greg Kleila raced from the front row into the early lead and for the first 22 laps was chased by both Mike Mortimer and Dave Brigati who swapped second numerous times. Roger Oxee climbed to second on lap 24 and "RJ" set sail for leader Kleila. Suddenly on lap 28 Kleila's car sputtered entering turn three forcing him to slow to the high side with a broken camshaft. That moved Oxee into the lead and the crowd on hand anticipated the veteran driver scoring his 50th career win.
    A series of late race yellows marred the event and just over 10 laps away from his milestone victory Roger Oxee was passed by Glenn Tyler, as well Tyler's teammate Billy Wheeler on lap 40. With just laps left in the tilt the time limit expired and when it did under caution Glenn Tyler crossed the line first in the Sypher Construction & Paving Pontiac. Billy Wheeler of Sag Harbor was runner-up in the Mattituck Inlet Marina machine, while Andy Lokkeberg of Manorville was third in the Big Bast Chevy entry on a right rear flat.
    Mike Mujsce of Hampton Bays was able to derail the Roger Maynor express when he won the 25-lap Figure Eight feature event. Right from the outset Mujsce showed he was the car to beat as he raced to the lead at the drop of the green with Guy Loomis in tow, Lap 3 found Tom Kraft working his way by Loomis for second and "TK" then went hunting for leader Mujsce. In the mean time Roger Maynor who started 18th in the 18-car field methodically picked off car after car and by lap 18 he worked his way by Kraft for second. For the final seven laps Mujsce and Maynor played a high-speed game of cat & mouse, with Maynor nearly getting by Mujsce at one point. However in the end Mike Mujsce drove to victory lane in his Pro-Tech Automotive Dodge. Roger Maynor of Bay Shore was second in the Win-Kiel Roofing Ford with George Sprague of N. Patchogue a close third in the Unique Golf Chevy. Sprague made a late race surge to third and was right in the thick of the Mujsce-Maynor fight for the win.
    Former Charger champion Rusty Turbush of Manorville shook off an early season run of bad luck when he won the 20-lap Charger main event. Freshman drivers Sean Byrne and Mike Coll, both up from the Blunderbusts, broke out front early with Byrne leading the first lap and Coll taking over on lap two. On lap 4 Rusty Turbush passed Byrne for second after a double-file restart. Turbush and Robin Vollmoeller swapped second from lap 6 until lap 11 when Turbush took control of the position. As the field hit the five laps to go mark Coll looked ready to score his first career Charger win, but on lap 16 exiting turn four Rusty slid under Mike for the lead bringing Rob Tribuzio to second with him. At the finish it was a relieved Rusty Turbush taking the victory in the Debtcoach.com Pontiac, with Rob Tribuzio of Riverhead runner-up in the Speedlock Inc. Dodge. Jack Orlando of Riverhead raced from deep in the 26-car field to post a third place effort in the Glamour Transportation Dodge.
    Lou Maestri of Deer Park made it two in a row and three wins overall in 2004 when he won the 20-lap Super Pro Truck main event after starting 13th on the grid. Former champion Frank Dumicich Sr. sped into the lead when the green light came on chased for the first five laps by Hank Hallock before he was passed by Troy Ferdinando on lap 6. Troy stayed second for two laps before he was over taken by Mike Albasini on lap 8. With all that changing of positions behind him Dumicich was able to open up a fairly comfortable lead, however a yellow flag later erased that cushion. On the 12th cycle Lou Maestri drove his Joe DeGangi prepared mount to second and with just five laps to go Lou raced under Dumicich in turn four for the lead and the eventual win in the Schwing Electric Chevy. Frank Dumicich Sr. of East Quogue had to be content with runner-up money in the Wesemann's Sand & Mason Supplies Ford, with Bryan Sescila of Patchogue third in the All System Brake Dodge.
    In the 12-lap Train Race Stan Wangenstein of Holtsville and Kevin Clarke of Rocky Point scored their second win of the season. Both Stan and Kevin would admit they were looking at a distant second place finish, as Donald Oliver and Justin Conklin enjoyed a huge lead for most of the race. However on the final lap after taking the white flag the Oliver/Conklin train got pinched into the wall by a lapped train allowing the Stan's Towing team of Wangenstein and Clarke to drive by for the win.

Sources:  Bob Finan/Riverhead Raceway PR
Posted:  June 14, 2004