HOT
NIGHT PRESENTED HOT ACTION AND HOT HEADS
by Walter
Johnston
On a warm night at the end of
August, things would get hotter after the sun went down and
the moon came out. In Modifieds, Chuck Steuer turned a late
race pass into victory, as did Roger Maynor in the Figure 8's,
“Buzzy” Eriksen would rule the Late Model 50 lapper from
the pole, and Tommy “Wild Child” Walkowiak would grab yet
another Blunderbust victory.
In the Late Model double point 50
lapper, “Buzzy” Eriksen and the #68 Harley Davidson of
Nassau County Chevrolet set fast time in time trials (12.844),
redrew pole, and would lead the whole race. However, it was
not as easy as it might sound, since Mike Mortimer and the #14
SPONSORS WANTED Pontiac was right on Buzzy’s tail almost the
whole way, but would have to settle where he started, 2nd. It
was a really good battle from the start, with the cars running
one behind the other through the first 32 laps, though changes
were happening behind the duo of Eriksen and Mortimer, as #28
Spring & Summer Activities Pontiac of Glenn Tyler and #10
Ranco Sand & Stone Pontiac of Scott Kulesa changed
positions for 4th & 5th. On lap 32, “Bubba” Zwickel
spun going into turn 3 & 4, bringing out the caution. On
the restart, Dave Brigati’s #1x Dodge and Roger Oxee’s #39
Helman Group Pontiac slipped by a fading #72 J&R
Steakhouse Pontiac of Greg Kleila, and Glenn Tyler also got by
to maintain 5th. 4 laps later, Jarrod Hayes and his #08 Paul
Signs Chevrolet got by Kleila, followed 4 laps later by the
#01 Prestigious Motors Pontiac of Rob Tribuzio. That would set
up the finishing order that was the top six, as they ran the
final 12 laps in that order. Buzzy Eriksen would enjoy the
largest amount of lap money ever paid in Late Model history,
thanks in a large part because of the generosity of Ranco Sand
& Stone, and the hard work of Gina from the tire truck,
who worked tirelessly to gather lap sponsors for this race,
and others yet to be run this season in other divisions.
The Modified main was preceded by a
moving ceremony to commemorate the life of “Tiger” Tom
Baldwin, who lost his life in a race at Thompson, CT 10 days
before. Bob Finan told of Tommy's devotion to racing and
helping others race, of his playful ways with people, and of
his belief in himself at all times, which helped make Tommy
the self-made success that he was. At Bob's request, the
capacity crowd gave Tommy one more standing ovation. Father
Dan Bitsko closed out the ceremony with some very spiritual
words about Tommy. Though he is no longer among us, Tommy will
live on in good memories for many years to come. Finally, Bob
announced that in 2005, a memorial race for Tom Baldwin would
be held, but set up so that Tom Baldwin’s son and #9 Nextel
cup Crew Chief, Tom Baldwin Jr. would be able to attend.
After getting the command to start
engines from honorary starter Ray Morturano, the race itself
was preceded by 7 pace laps, led by Charlie Jarzombek's fully
restored coupe, which was driven by Tommy just a year ago in a
test session during the nostalgia weekend reunion. Tonight,
driven by Harold Seamon, it led the field of Modifieds around
in a “missing man” formation. At the actual start of the
race, Ray Morturano, gave the field the green flag, and the
race was under way. Polesitter Ed Brunnhoelzl Jr. in the #8x
Jamaica Brake & Clutch Chevrolet bolted out into the lead,
with John Denniston’s #3 Sunoco Race Fuels Mercury 1/2 car
length back on the outside. On lap 2, Howie Brode’s #96
Ideal Cesspool Chevrolet hit the wall coming out of turn 2,
and the first yellow flew. The #20 of Bill Park was also
involved and the two cars retired for the night. With green
out once again, Brunnhoelzl was out in front, Denniston still
along side, and John Fortin, Dan Jivanelli, and Chris Young
running tight behind them. On lap 4, #10x Prestigious
Properties Chevrolet of Mike Andrews and #05 Watermill Lumber
Chevrolet of Joe Hartmann came together in turn 2, and another
yellow flag was out. The field then got the green, but only
for one lap, as #83x Ed Brunnhoelzl III, #05 Joe Hartmann, and
#5 Mike Curtis came together in turn 4 for another caution
period. When green came out again, it was Brunnhoelzl and
Denniston still battling side by side, but this time
Brunnhoelzl pulled away, with Fortin’s #84 MortgageOne
Chevrolet right behind as Denniston began to fade back in the
outside groove. Dan Jivanelli’s #12 Dunkerley’s Office
Products Chevrolet and Chris Young’s #49 Riverhead Building
Supply Chevrolet hung on in 3rd and 4th place. Suddenly on lap
20, Brunnhoelzl and Fortin came together entering turn 1, and
Young and Jivanelli got by as the yellow flew once more. Both
Fortin and Brunnhoelzl were sent to the rear. On the restart,
the evening’s fireworks started early, and Fortin and
Brunnhoelzl got tgoether once again, this time damaging both
cars badly enough that they left the track permanently. The
fireworks and end-of-season tempers spilled over into the pit
stands and the pits, as arguments and fights developed out in
a few different places. With calm finally restored, the race
resumed with Young in the lead, and Jivanelli, Chuck Steuer,
Wayne Anderson, Ken Heagy and point leader Tom Rogers running
in the top 6. The top eight ran tightly until on lap 30, when
disaster struck Young with a right front tire flat, and the
yellow was out once more. When the green came out once again,
Dan Jivanelli lead the field, with pressure being applied by
the #11x Savin Chevrolet of Chuck Steuer, and on lap 33,
Steuer got by Jivanelli and went on to win the feature, with
Jivanelli, Anderson, Heagy and Rogers filling out the top 5.
In the Figure 8 race, Will “The
Thrill” Farrell led at the drop of the green, and did a
masterful job of staying out front as he kept the Figure 8
mayhem going on behind him, with many close calls at the X. On
lap 14, George Sprague’s #10 M&R Home Daycare Chevrolet
had nowhere to go crossing the X and collided with the stopped
car of #7 Dorothea Hyde. The extensive damage to Sprague's car
not only concluded his night, but may very well have ended his
championship hopes. On the restart, the top 4 were Farrell,
Arne Pedersen, Ken Darch, and Roger Maynor. At the
drop of the green, the #28 Barrasso & Sons Mason Supply
Ford of Maynor shot up into 2nd, and Farrell did everything he
could to hold of the hard charging Maynor, who was trying
every move he knew to get by Farrell. Maynor finally pulled
off the pass on the last lap as they came of the last turn and
crossed the line in front of Farrell, giving Maynor his 7th
victory of the season.
The Blunderbusts saw the #42 SPONSORS WANTED
Chevrolet Wayne Meyer start on the pole, with the #5 SPONSORS
WANTEDE Buick of rookie Joe Oliver on the outside. At the drop
of the green, Oliver was quickly overtaken by Dale Arnold,
Peter Cataldo, and Tommy Walkowiak. On lap 4, Chris
Chirico’s return was short-lived as his #87 NEW OWNER WANTED
Chevrolet lost its right rear axle and wheel, bringing out the
first yellow. On the restart, Arnold and Walkowiak once again
challenged Meyer for the lead but a collision in the rear of
the pack 2 laps later once again brought out the yellow and
eased the heat on Meyer. With green out again, on lap 7
Walkowiak and the #90 Langdon’s Automotive Chevrolet passed
Meyer for the lead, but Peter Cataldo’s #35 Cadillac spun on
lap 8, and yellow was out again. On the restart, Walkowiak led
Meyer once more, with Arnold and Eugene Malverty’s #23 All
Stock Auto Parts Chevrolet, now up to 4th, battling right
behind them. A bit further back, #22 Scott Maliszewski and Tom
Pickerell’s #4 Pete’s Auto Parts Chevrolet were edging
towards the front. With the rest of the race going green,
Walkowiak hung on for the win, Malverty moved up to finish
2nd, Dale Arnold and his #53 CustomVinylGraphics.com Chevrolet
3rd, Maliszewski 4th, and Pickerell hung on for 5th.
The REAL
fireworks came next, as Bay Fireworks once again did a
masterful job with their display of pyrotechnics to help
Riverhead "Celebrate America" in style. A tip of the
hat to the people who put this wonderful display together to
entertain us all.
In the rollover contest, there was only a few rolls
and not much contest, as the last to attempt a rollover was
“Slim Jim” Donaldson, and he scored 12 on his first try,
besting the next entrant by 6 points and winning the event.
In the train race, which had 7 trains entered, the
team of Don Oliver and Dennis Jones held on thru 12 laps to
come home the winners. Jarrod Hayes and Robin Vollmoeller
tried valiantly to catch them, but came in 2nd for their
effort.
Finally, in the Regular Sized School Bus Demo,
“Slim Jim” Donaldson once again bested 8 other entrants,
including the now famous Ed “Speedo” Jager, to win the
event.
Pit news and notes: Jac Handley wants to send out a big
thanks to RJ Oxee for loaning him a driveshaft to qualify with
after Jac's went bad during warmups. 28 Modifieds on hand, as
well as an astonishing 28 Late Models, one of the highest car
counts for that division in years. Blunderbusts also had 28
cars on hand. 28 must be the magic number for the night and
Late Model competitor Glenn Tyler would agree.
Glenn Tyler and his #28 Spring & Summer Activities
Pontiac would successfully defend his championship as he
clinched the 1st place spot, 64 points ahead of
second with one race to go.
See you all next week. Sure did miss the Chargers and
Trucks being there tonight.
