08/07/2004

LONG ISLAND DOMINATES RIVERHEAD 200
by Walter Johnston

    The Featherlite Modified Tour made it’s second visit of the season to Riverhead, and with 45 Modifieds signed in, it turned out to be a really competitive show.  Time trials produced some pleasant results, with Chuck Steuer, Donny Lia, Frank Vigliarolo, Tom Rogers Jr., Chris Young, John Fortin, Ken Heagy, Gregg Shivers, Kevin Goodale, Howie Brode, and Wayne Anderson all making the field by timing in the top 23.

    The 200 lapper went green at 8:45 PM, with Chris Young on the pole after the top ten redrew for starting positions. He took off, with Frank Vigliarolo and Donny Lia battling for 2^nd. The filed settled into a single file formation in the first 14 positions, and a yellow came out on lap 14 when Tony Hirschman spun the 48 in turn 2. Because this jumbled up the field with cars behind trying to avoid Hirschman’s car, a few went to the pits to replace flat tires, and all but the 20 of Ken Barry returned. Green flew again on lap 22, with Young once again leading the charge, with Ed Flemke and Donny Lia battling for 2^nd, while Jerry Marquis was 4^th  and Frank Vigliarolo was in 5^th.  On lap 27, the yellow flew again for the crash in turn 3 of the 0 of  Nevin George and the 15 of Zack Sylvester. Green was out once again by lap 31, with Young still in the lead, being chased by Flemke, and Lia in 3^rd. Lia soon overtook Flemke for 2^nd on lap 33, bringing Vigliarolo with him to 3^rd and Doug Coby to 4^th , as Flemke faded back in the field.  A few laps later, it was Lia closely chasing Young as Coby and Vigliarolo battled for 4^th place. Lia passes Young for 1^st on lap 48, and Young stays with him as they get caught up in lapped traffic.

    Further back, Tom Rogers Jr. and John Fortin were dicing for 5^th spot, with Rogers eventually taking sole possession of the spot. Up front, by lap 72, Chris Young appeared to have used up his tires as he faded back and was passed by  Vigliarolo and Coby, while John Fortin got past Rogers and moved into 5^th. On lap 78, the yellow flew once again for Chuck Hossfield, who rubbed the wall and came to a stop in turn 1. Back to green on lap 86, with Lia and Coby were out front, with Vigliarolo, Fortin, and Mike Stefanik running 3-4-5. On lap 94, Zack Sylvester brought out yet another yellow when he hit the wall in turn 3. Racing resumed again on lap 99, with no change up front, but was halted by another yellow on lap 103 as the 1 of Rick Fuller and 58 of Kevin Goodale spin separately in the back stretch.

    The race went back to green on lap 110, with a single file restart, with Lia still running out front. On lap 112, Coby in the 28 spins in turn 4, with another yellow coming out, but racing resumed on lap 118. Instantly, there is a wreck in turn 3 involving Tommy Cravenho, Zack Sylvester, and Rick Fuller. With fluid leaking on the track, a long yellow is avoided by NASCAR putting out the red flag on lap 125. When the clean-up was complete, the field was placed back under yellow, and went green on lap 130, with Lia still leading, but now 2 lapped cars were behind him, and in front of 2^nd place Vigliarolo. On lap 137, Ted Christopher scraped the back stretch wall, bringing out another yellow.

   The race went back to green again on lap 143, with Lia still leading, followed by Vigliaroloa , Marquis, Fortin, and Tony Ferrante.  A long stretch of green followed, with Lia and Vigliarolo pulling away from the rest of the field. On lap 167, Hirschman  went around in turn 2, bringing the yellow out once more, but only for 2 laps, as racing resumed on lap 169, and from seemingly out of no where, Wayne Anderson moves into 5^th. By lap 173, Anderson was up to 4^th, and pressuring Marquis for 3^rd a few laps later, and gets 3^rd from Marquis on lap 185. Lia is still leading, with Vigliarolo dropping back a few car lengths, but Anderson is closing as the laps run out and Donny Lia scores a big win in front of his hometown crowd, with Vigliarolo 2^nd, Anderson 3^rd, Marquis 4^th, and  Tony  Ferrante 5^th.

Sources:  Walter Johnston/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:  August 8, 2004