GREAT DAY OF RACING ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND
by
Walter Johnston
All gathered together
for the third Saturday of racing at Riverhead, and were treated to the held
over features from May 21st to start the show. After that was
cleared off the card, the regular Saturday night show was run, but with a
twist. Due to impending doom in the form of a likely Thunderstorm, the
officials decided no division would need qualifying heats, except for the
Modifieds, which had a strong showing of 29 drivers on hand (and more cars).
All other divisions would run only features, since there were many added
things to do during the Viagra sponsored holiday show.
Resumption of the
Modified feature on lap 14 saw #6 Tom Rogers keep his lead as the next 6
laps clicked off. Yellow flew on lap 22 as JR Bertuccio clipped the wall
coming out of turn 4, damaging the front suspension on his Purple #2. Rogers
and #15 Wayne Anderson remained the front two as the green flew again and
they were hotly pursued by #11x Chuck Steuer, #12 Dan Jivanelli, and #20
Bill Park. Rogers jumped out into the lead once again, with Anderson and all
others close behind, but knowing they need to save their cars for later in
the evening, some ‘aggressively conservative’ racing was being done. On lap
28, there was a tangle of cars coming off turn 2, but with the exception of
#33 Ken Heagy (right front flat), all made it through as Rogers went on to
best Wayne Anderson for the win.
Next came the
originally unscheduled, but now rescheduled due to weather, Figure 8
feature. 16 Figure 8 cars took the green flag, with #29 Will Farrell, the
pole sitter, getting the early lead for the first 2 laps until a yellow was
thrown for one of the cones being hit and dragged out of turn 3. On the
restart, #3 Ken Darch grabbed the lead with a great move past Farrell, as
#23 Bill Steen and #10 George Sprague battled with each other to gain 3rd.
By lap 8, #28 Roger Maynor and #8 Tom Kraft were battling their way to the
front, as George Sprague had taken the lead, and they chased him. Yellow
came out on lap 9 to put out a fire in Slim Jim Donaldson’s #47 Ford, which
had left with problems earlier. On the restart, Maynor chased Sprague, with
Darch, Kraft and Steen in tow, but not within reach. Darch drops out on lap
14, leaving it a 4-car chase. Another caution on Lap 16 (cone again) bunched
up the field for an exciting restart. At the drop of the green, Maynor
looked high and low around the course until he passed Sprague and Kraft kept
the pressure on Sprague, preventing him from mounting a serious challenge on
Maynor, who held on for the win in this exciting contest. It certainly was
worth the weeklong wait.
A little break in
the action, as a few warm-up sessions were held before the 3 Modified heats
were run. The modified heats went off without too much trouble, and it was
on to the National Anthem, with the presentation of the Flag by the Nassau
County Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America, to honor our fighting men
and women this Memorial Day Weekend.
The Blunderbust
feature came first. #27 Scott Pedersen sat on the pole, and jumped into the
early lead. 2 laps in, yellow was out for debris and a suspected leaker, and
the pattern for the race was set. On the restart attempt, #63 John
Delavergne hit the wall in turn 1, and yellow was right back out. The
restart saw #69x Paul Parisi get a good start and the lead, followed by S.
Pedersen, #53 Dale Arnold, #99 Russell Broy and #42 Wayne Meyer. On lap 8,
the yellow flew again as #31 Tony Puckett, Jr. spun. On the lap 8 restart,
Parisi held the lead for one more lap, and then Dale Arnold grabbed the
lead, and 2 laps later, the yellow was out once more as Broy suffered a
flat. The restart saw Arnold hold the lead, but yellow flew once again on
lap 12 for debris on the track. Broy, having changed the flat, was back out,
but on the restart, fluid had been dumped on the track in turn two, and as
the field came through, cars started spinning every which way. The yellow
was shown once again, and the officials declared the time limit had been
reached and called the race official, making Dale Arnold the winner.
Next, the Chargers
took to the track for their feature, 24 cars strong. On the start, the #99
of Kevin Orlando collided with the #44 of Mark Gibbs, before even a full lap
was completed. Next restart, after one lap, #73 Brian Doyle, #21 Chris
Beutler and #05 Eric Goodale brought out the second caution when the all
came together going into turn 1, with Doyle going off on the hook. #10 Brad
Van Houten took the lead on the restart, with #15 Rob Tribuzio, in a ride he
borrowed from Wes Zaleski, running second. Those two took off, leaving #25
Charlie Rittenhouse, #57 Thore Foss and #27 Jimmy Donnelly battling each
other for the 3rd position. Yellow was out again on lap 9 as the
#30 of Daryn Miller went around in turn 4. On the restart, Tribuzio grabbed
the lead, but #81 Chris Turbush lost a L/R tire and the yellow was right
back out. After a good restart, Tribuzio takes the lead, but after 3 cars
come together on lap 13 in turn 1, the yellow is out once more. On lap 14,
Beutler, #3 Ahlers, and #22x Bonsignore come together in turns 3-4, bringing
out he yellow once more. Green flew once more as #36 Eric Lutz and #8 Dan
Turbush battle it out for second, but Tribuzio holds on for the win. In
Victory lane he thanked Wes Zaleski for the use of his car. Rob’s LM motor
had problems, and he has switched his Charger motor to his LM. Wes, due to
medical problems, isn’t racing and has his car for sale, making it available
to Rob on this night, and Rob proved to all it is a good car to consider
buying by bringing it to Victory Lane.
Next up, the Late
Models, with the aforementioned #01 Rob Tribuzio on the pole, and #8 Sean
Paterson on the outside. Many think Tribuzio will not last long up front
running his Charger motor, but the drop of the green, he proves them wrong
as he pulled away from Paterson, who is passed within laps by reigning Late
Model Champion, #28 Glenn Tyler, followed by #1x Dave Brigati in 4th and #08
Jarrod Hayes in 5th. #01 Tribuzio is now up to his bumper in top contenders,
but manages to hold off all of them and actually pulls away by about six car
lengths distance as the ten cars behind him battle nose to tail with each
other. Tribuzio manages to do the impossible, holding off all comers as he
wins his second feature of the night in less than ½ hour! Can you say
victory celebration?
Finally, the
Modifieds came out to run their regular 35-lap feature, sponsored by Viagra.
#33 Ken Heagy and #93 Sal Accardi Jr. lead the field to the green, with
Heagy getting the lead after an almost 3-lap battle with Accardi. As Accardi
faded back to 4th, #2 JR Bertuccio in his backup white car and
#12 Dan Jivanelli battled briefly for 2nd with JR eventually
grabbing it. On lap 6, #8x Eddie Brunnhoelzl III got into #15 Wayne Anderson
off 4, sending Wayne on a scary trip driver’s side first into the front
stretch wall. Wayne exited the car a bit shaken, but was thankfully okay.
The officials put Brunnhoelzl to the rear for rough riding.
On the restart,
Bertuccio gets a great start and blows by Heagy for the lead. By lap 11,
Bertuccio has a comfortable lead as multiple cars collide coming off turn 2,
with Heagy getting the worst of it and heading for the infield, but it was a
self-cleaning wreck and no caution was flown. Moments later, #3 John
Denniston spins his car and the caution comes out. When the green comes back
out, Bertuccio and Accardi take off, with #85 Lenny Fischer and Jivanelli
battling for 3rd spot. On lap 14, #03 Ken Darch hits the front
stretch wall after contact with Denniston, and the yellow flies again.
On the next restart,
Bertuccio takes the lead convincingly as Accradi is busy holding off a
charging Lenny Fischer, while #20 Bill Park and Jivanelli contend for 4th
and 5th. On lap 19, #6 Tom Rogers and #36 Dave Sapienza make
contact and spin, but keep on going, and there is no yellow. Bertuccio now
has his mirror full of Accardi trying to catch him as a torrid battle is
waged for 5th spot, as Jivanelli has it, but #96 Howie Brode, #10x Mike
Andrews and #11x Chuck Steuer all want it. Up front, Bertuccio holds onto
the lead, with Accardi in tow, as Fischer, Park, and Jivanelli battle each
other for 3rd spot. Bertuccio holds off a still trying Sal
Accardi Jr. as the checker flies, ending a very exciting race.
Pit notes: Weather held off until later
on in the show, and all events got in without anyone needing an umbrella.
Reported storms off to the West never arrived at Riverhead, appearing
instead to pass North of the happy crowd. A few drops fell, but none of any
consequence… We spotted a former Riverhead driver taking in the show, not
racing in Connecticut as he previously mentioned… Only 17 Late Models on
hand, although many are rumored lurking about, still getting ready… Fans
witnessed debut of a new female Blunderbust driver, the #54 of Rayna Smith,
just back from her honeymoon in Vegas. She drove a very conservative race,
getting a feel for the track. Smart driving for Rayna. Same to Charger
Rookie Debbie Fleming, whom is still getting the feel of her #18 “raffle
car”… Good job by track officials, getting the regular divisions run off by
8:15... Not too many fans rushed off to catch the TV race, but having the
option was nice… Finally, long ride home for this writer, as my ride had car
trouble, and I ended up being his ride home (with my wife‘s help)… Hope his
car is easily and cheaply repaired and off the LIE... Now, off to Dover next
week, and J.A. will be returning to story writing duties next week. I’ll be
back in 2 weeks, enjoy the racing, and be SAFE!
Source: J.A. Ackley/LongIslandJam.com
Posted: May
30, 2005
