06/19/2004

J.R. BERTUCCIO VICTORIOUS IN HEATED RIVERHEAD MODIFIED FEATURE

    J.R. Bertuccio of Centereach scored his second NASCAR Modified feature victory of 2004 this past Saturday night at Riverhead Raceway in a heated and controversial contest with Mike Curtis of Riverhead. The win was worth $1,460 to Bertuccio.
    Eddie Brunnhoelzl III set the pace for the first five laps of the race with Mike Curtis in tow.  Curtis then made a successful bid for the lead on lap six.  Brunnhoelzl followed Curtis until lap 10 when Sal Accardi Jr. worked by and held the spot until a 16th lap double bill restart.  J.R. Bertuccio Accardi immediately went to work on Curtis for the lead.
    From the moment he got to second Bertuccio was all over the back bumper of Curtis, attempting to pass.  On lap 29 Bertuccio gave Curtis a shot to the back bumper and Mike lost the handle in turn three spinning from the lead.  When the race was lined back up Bertuccio was the new race leader with Chuck Steuer and John Fortin now in tow.
    Over the final six laps J.R. Bertuccio led the way taking the controversial win in the Long Island Truck Parts Chevy. "Hey, yes I gave Mike a shot in the back stretch and he couldn't hold onto his car."  Bertuccio recounted. As for the mixed reaction of the crowd which greeted Bertuccio the brash youngster commented, "you either love me or hate me, but that's okay"
    Chuck Steuer of Bohemia in the Savin Copiers Chevy was runner-up, while John Fortin of Holtsville further padded his point lead with a third in the MortgageOne/Assist2Sell Chevy. Tom Rogers Jr. of Patchogue and Mike Andrews Jr. of east Quogue rounded out the top five.
    In the Late Model feature, Scott Kulesa, of Calverton rebounded from an early season spell of engine problems and simple bad luck to lead all 25 laps of the Eagle Chevrolet night feature event. When the cars lined up for what would turn out to be a caution free main event Dennis Krupski and Scott Kulesa would occupy the front row.  Kulesa in the Ranco Sand & Stone Pontiac rode the outside line to take the lead with Krupski second for the first three laps. Dave Brigati made an inside
pass of Krupski for second on lap 4.  However Scott Kulesa took a much-needed trip to victory lane. "Boy we needed this, I have to thank my crew.  They never quit and in fact worked harder when things got rough" the happy winner boasted. Dave Brigati of Calverton was runner-up in the Formula 113 Car Wax entry, while Dennis Krupski of Calverton completed his solid outing with a third in the Sky Materials Pontiac.
    The Roger Maynor express is back on track as the Bay Shore driver collected his 6th Figure Eight feature win of the 2004 campaign. Fred Kraft led the first two circuits of the race with Guy Loomis in tow, but before lap three each of them had separate problems dropping them from the front of the field. Bill Steen moved to the front and was pursued by Tom Ferrara, George Sprague and eventually Roger Maynor.  On lap 9 Maynor raced his way into the lead with a fast Sprague right with him.  When the checker flew Roger Maynor in the Edward Horton Builders Ford notched his
sixth win in eight tries.  George Sprague of North Patchogue was runner-up in the ESP Racing Chevy with Bill Steen of Oakdale third in the J&J Auto Body Dodge.
    Rusty Turbush of Manorville collected his second consecutive win when he won the 30-lap Charger main event that carried double points. In the pre-race time trials Dan Turbush clocked in quickest with a lap of 13.295. After a redraw among the top six from time Chris McGuire broke into an early lead with Rusty Turbush sitting second. A quick yellow after one lap set up a double file restart that found Rusty Turbush riding the outside line to the lead when the race went back green with McGuire now second. Chris held that spot until the halfway mark when Jack Orlando took over, bringing "Dynamite" Dan Turbush to third with him.
    The final half of the contest saw the three cagey veterans run nose to tail until the conclusion of the tilt. At the finish it was the Debtcoach.com entry of Rusty Turbush once again in victory lane, with Jack Orlando of Calverton second in the Warehouse Tool Dodge. Point leader Dan Turbush of Hampton Bays further padded his lead in the ranking with a third in the Boots Built Pontiac.
    In what could very well have been his final race of 2004 Tommy "Wildchild" Walkowiak of Middle Village won the 20-lap Blunderbust main event for his second triumph of the year. Walkowiak, in a car borrowed from Ron Langdon, took the lead on lap 2 when he race by early pace setters Mike Brigandi and Dale Arnold. Once out front Walkowiak, who lost an engine in his own car two weeks back, opened up a very large lead over Artie Pedersen who raced his way to second on the 5th lap. Only a yellow flag would cut into Walkowiak's advantage, but when the green flag waved once again it was all the Langdon's Automotive machine as Tommy drove to victory. Artie Pedersen of Center Moriches was runner-up in the Sherwin Williams Paint mount.

Sources:  Bob Finan/Riverhead Raceway PR
Posted:  June 22, 2004