09/25/2004
CHAMPS
WIN ON FINAL NIGHT
"Dynamite" Dan Turbush of
Riverhead capped off his 2004 Charger championship season in
fine fashion Saturday night at Riverhead Raceway by winning
the Miller Lite night 50 and earning $1,211. Three other
divisional champions also capped off their season with
victories during the final card of the season.
After Rusty Turbush set fast time with
a lap of 13.278 the 50-lap contest became a Turbush family
affair. Chris Turbush, nephew to Rusty and son of Dan Turbush
picked the pole and led his uncle Rusty for the first seven
laps of the race. On a lap 8 double file restart Dan Turbush
raced by brother Rusty for second and set his sights on his
son Chris for the lead. Utilizing the outside lane
"Dynamite" Dan worked his way around Chris for the
lead on lap 14, with the former leader now in a heated battle
for second with his Uncle Rusty. That duel got too intense on
lap 33 when the duo touched and spun into the infield throwing
rocks up onto the track drawing a yellow. Track officials
thought the two were driving aggressively and put them to the
rear of the field.
When the race went back to green Dan
Turbush remained the race leader with Mike Coll and Rob
Tribuzio second and third behind him. With Coll and Tribuzio
hooking up in a battle for the second position Dan Turbush was
able to pull away to a comfortable enough lead. Tribuzio moved
by Coll for second on lap 40, bringing Ron Hlatky to third
with him.
At the checkers it was Dan Turbush
first across the line in the Carpet Express Pontiac icing the
cake on his second straight championship campaign. Rob
Tribuzio of Riverhead was runner-up in the Riverhead Trailer
Dodge, with Ron Hlatky of Medford third in the Post Office Café
entry.
Roger Maynor of Bay Shore also topped
off his championship season in stellar style as he won his 9th
Figure Eight feature event of the 2004 season in the Miller
Lite night 25. George Sprague moved to the early lead of the
tilt with Jim Donaldson in tow for the first two laps before
Roger Maynor got by on lap 3. With criss-crossing traffic at
the intersection Sprague and Maynor were tip toeing their way
around the congestion and on lap 15 Maynor worked his way by
Sprague for the lead. Just after that change of position, in a
bone jarring hit at the "X" Tom Kraft who was
running third tried to catch both Maynor and Sprague hitting
Mike Mujsce, Sr. hard in the right side of his car. Kraft
would eventually get out of his car and walk off the track.
Mike was awake and moving, but placed on a backboard and taken
to a local hospital for further evaluation.
With ten laps remaining when the race
went back to green Roger Maynor set the pace the rest of the
way to earn the record tying victory in the Barrasso &
Sons Mason Supplies Ford. The 9th win ties him for the single
season record, which was set twice by Joe Biondolillo Jr. in
1993 and 1997. George Sprague of N. Patchogue was runner-up in
the Unique Golf Monte Carlo, with Arne Pedersen of Moriches
third in the Strong Arm Decking Beretta.
Tom Pickerell of Huntington capped off
a career season by scoring the win in the Miller Lite
Blunderbust 50-lap main event. Pickerell also set a new
track record in time trials with a lap of 15.169, eclipsing
the old mark of Jarrod Hayes at 15.174. Picking the outside
pole in the redraw among the top six Pickerell quickly bolted
to the lead with Tommy Walkowiak coming to second. For
the first 34 laps the tandem ran in that order. On lap 35 with
Pickerell getting loose, Walkowiak seized the opportunity to
take the lead with an inside pass off turn two. Walkowiak,
seeking his 6th win of 2004 had lady luck turn on him ten laps
later. With only one caution flag, which came on lap 44 for
debris, Walkowiak, while circling the track under yellow, had
a right front ball joint break ending his hopes for victory.
This moved Tom Pickerell back out front and elevated third
place Scott Maliszewski to second.
In what amounted to a six-lap dash for
cash, Pickerell and Maliszewski thrilled the fans with a
classic short track slugfest that found Tom Pickerell taking
the hotly contested win in the Pickerell Clam Buick. It was
Tom's first win of 2004. Scott Maliszewski of Deer Park was
runner-up in the Victory Junction Gang machine, with Bill
Wegmann of N. Bellmore third in the Premier Staffing
Oldsmobile.
Another 2004 champion, Lou Maestri of
Deer Park, scored his 4th win in the 20-lap Super Pro Truck
feature. Troy Ferdinando jumped into the lead at the drop of
green flag, but he got a flat left front tire on lap two. Lou
Maestri, who was peppering Ferdinando for the lead was now the
new leader with Danny Grennan and Bryan Sescila in hot
pursuit. Sescila moved by Grennan for second on lap three and
stayed with Maestri for a spell, but Grennan roared back to
test Bryan for second later in the race, allowing Maestri to
pull away some. On lap 15 Grennan did work his way by Sescila
for second, but at the finish it was the Gallett Air
Conditioning #1 of Lou Maestri scoring a very popular victory.
Danny Grennan of Glen Cove was runner-up in the Gulfway Marine
Chevy, with Bryan Sescila of Patchogue third in the Victory
Fleet Maintenance Dodge. In pre-race time trials Sescila was
fastest with a lap that set a new track record at 13.162
breaking Ron Humes mark from several seasons ago.
In one of the hardest hitting National
Demolition Derby championship events ever Bob
"Whiplash" Genovese of South Farmingdale after
15-years of trying scored his first career win in the Miller
Lite night event. The contest boiled down to four drivers with
Bob Genovese and Bob Anderson in one end of the track slugging
it out, while Jimmy Hummel and Mike O'Keefe went toe-to-toe at
the other end of the raceway. In the end the Quality Collision
#444 of Bob Genovese scored the win. Bob Anderson of Brockton,
Ma was named Judge's Choice in the Shoe City entry, while Mike
O'Keefe of Manorville was voted Fan's Choice.
In the Full Size School Bus Demolition
Derby Luke Eddy of East Hampton scored his first career win in
the Riverhead Building Supply bus. Luke and Bob Genovese were
the main combatants in this contest with Eddy coming out on
top.
The cars and stars of the Riverhead
Raceway Enduro series had to share their season finale this
past Saturday night with the rained out September 18th
program. When the dust settled in the 50-lap Grand
Enduro Caesar Cunaccia of Lindenhurst earned his first career
victory. In the NY Team Federal Credit Union Train Race Jarrod
Hayes of Calverton and Robin Vollmoeller of Riverhead took the
12-lap triumph.
With the September 18th and 25th shows
being combined after the remains of hurricane Ivan wiped out
the card on the 18th, Riverhead Raceway track officials did
yeoman's work presenting a huge program. Some twelve-feature
events were presented in just over seven hours.
In the 50-lap Grand Enduro Jess
Martines crossed the line first, but for the second time this
season Martines lost the victory in post-race tech due to
unapproved tires. This made Caesar Cunaccia who crossed the
line second the actual winner of the race in his TTB
Construction Corp. Chevy.
In the 100-lap 8-Cylinder Enduro
Anthony Pizzo scored his second win of the year in his
unsponsored machine taking the lead just around the halfway
mark of the race.
For the second consecutive race Donald
Lawrence of Hampton Bays topped the 100-lap 4-Cylinder Enduro
in his Peconic Auto Repair Ford, while Dan "The Man"
Jones of Blue Point in the Blue Point Auto Body entry won the
50-lap 4/6-Cylinder Truck Enduro. John Vaughan Sr. of Bayport
took home the 30-lap 6-Cylinder Enduro victory in his Bayport
Auto Body mount.
In the NY Team Federal Credit Union
Train Race, Jarrod Hayes and Robin Vollmoeller broke out to
the early lead and never looked back in the Young Guns Racing
train. With Hayes driving the lead car and Vollmoeller working
the brakes in the "caboose" car the tandem led wire
to wire. Stan Wangenstein of Holtsville and Kevin Clarke of
Rocky Point clinched the 2004 Train Race championship in the
Stan's Towing Train with their runner-up finish.
Sources: Bob
Finan/Riverhead Raceway PR
Posted: September 27, 2004
