ANDERSON WINS TRAILER TRANSPORT 50
by Walter Johnston
Fans were greeted by pleasant Spring weather on their arrival at
Riverhead, and threatened showers never materialized, so a good night
was had by all, or mostly all, depending on who your are as an
individual. Some of the racing wasn't pretty, but overall, it was a very
competitive night and saw one of the best Modified races of the season
thus far take place.
The show began with time trials for the Chargers double point
30-lapper. #22x Justin Bonsignore set fast time at 13.307. Next the
Modifieds took time trials, with Whelen Modified Tour visitor, #18 Donny
Lia, taking fast time at 11.833, just .004 seconds faster than Wayne
Anderson in second.
With time trails out of the way, the top six from each redrew for
starting positons and more on that in the individual division stories.
The first feature of the night, the Blunderbusts, started off with
a yellow flag when #54 Rayna Smith got squirrelly and tagged #20 Mike
Rommeney hard in the left rear before making hard contact with the turn
2 wall, doing major damage to her #54 Blunderbust. She was okay
thankfully, but the car will be another story. The second attempt saw
#09 Joe Fischett and #19 P.J. Vecchio come together in almost the same
place, and once again the yellow waves. Third time the charm, as #35
Peter Cataldo got out into the lead and #27 Scott Pedersen quickly moved
into second. By lap 10, the top 3, Cataldo, Pederson, and #00 Tommy
Walkowiak had pulled away from the rest of the field. On lap 12,
Walkowiak got around Pedersen, and set his sights on Cataldo. Coming off
turn 2 on lap 15, Cataldo went a little high, and Walkowiak got under
and passed him for the lead as 4th place #67 Wayne Okula suffered
another transmission failure, but was able to clear the track and racing
remained underway. Tommy Walkowiak held on over the last laps to take
his second victory of the year in the #00 Unique Golf Shop Chevrolet.
The Chargers were out next for their 30 lapper, with Bonsignore on
the pole, and #2 Robin Volmoeller on the outside. At the drop of the
green Vollmoeller shot into the lead, with Bonsignore tagging closely
behind. On lap 2, someone's brake pads fell off, and a yellow was thrown
to clear them from the track. On the restart, Vollmoeler once again
assumed the lead, but this time, #05 Eric Goodale took second from
Bonsignore, as the yellow came out again one lap later for a multi-car
tangle in turn 3. Another restart and Vollmoeller took off once again,
this time with Goodale and Bonsignore slugging it out for who would be
second. On lap 6, #65 Sean Byrne lost his hood coming down the front
stretch, and yellow flew once more. This restart was exactly the same as
their last, with the top 3 still doing their thing. Almost immediately,
another yellow came out for a tangle between #99 Kevin Orlando and #15
Garret Fabrizio in turn 1. Back to racing after a short cleanup, with a
single file restart this time, and Vollmoeller once again assumed the
lead, but #10 Brad Van Houten tagged the front stretch wall after a
bumping incident in turn 4, doing major damage to his #10 racer. Another
restart and 2 laps later, Sean Byrne spins to bring out yet another
caution. One more restart, and Vollmoeller now led Goodale, Bonsgnore,
#61 Mike Coll and #17x Rusty Trubush, who now made up the top 5 spots.
Getting some green flag laps in now, Coll and Turbush got under
Bonsignore, putting him back to fifth, as Goodale tried desperately to
catch Vollmoeller, who with the green out, was now building a lead no
one would take from him, as he won his 3rd feature of the season in the
#2 Solar Salon Tanning Pontiac, a car which is also for sale.
Now it was time for the Late Model feature. #35 Kenn Alfano was on
the pole, with #10 Scott Kulesa outside, and at the drop of the green,
Alfano pulled into the lead, as Kulesa and #8 Sean Patterson battled for
second. Kulesa finally took sole possession of 2nd, and was bumping
Alfano as they went through each turn, but Alfano was able to get a
little breathing room on the straights. At the halfway mark, Kulesa was
able to get alongside Alfano on the outside, but unable to make the
pass. Jeremy McDermott, driving Jack Handley's recently sold #49, spun
and the yellow flew. On the restart, #12 Dennis Krupski and Patterson
made contact and the yellow was out immediately. Alfano maintained his
lead on the restart, and on lap 21, #01 Rob Tribuzio got into Kulesa
going into turn 3, and Kulesa spun, but recovered before a yellow came
out. One lap later, #1x Dave Brigati performed a similar feat with
Tribuzio and Tribuzio went around, bringing out yet another yellow. On
the restart, with 3 laps to go, Alfano maintained his lead over Brigati,
who now had #08 Jarrod Hayes on his bumper, followed by #14 Mike
Mortimer, #28 Glenn Tyler and #39 RJ Oxee rounding out the top 6. Alfano
made all the right moves over the last 3 laps and held on for a very
popular win in the #35 Habberstad BMW/Mini Dodge, his first in over 6
years.
Next, the Trailer Transport 50 for the Modifieds found #79 Dave Roys
on the pole, with #18 Donny Lia outside. At the green, Roys bolted into
the lead, with Lia right on his tail, running side by side in a battle
for second with #96 Howie Brode. Brode won the battle, with Lia slipping
back to 3rd, and Roys built a comfortable lead. Yellow came out on lap
15, as #8x Ed Brunnhoelzl III came to a halt against the turn 1 wall.
Roys once again maintained his lead on the restart, but coming out of
turn 4, Lia fishtailed, and the cars behind had to check up, triggering
a multi car pile up near turn 1. The field got realigned, and Roys once
again took command, but only for one lap, as Brode passed him coming out
of 2. One lap later, in a move that shocked many, Wayne Anderson shot
from third to first as Brode and Roys exited 2 a little high. Moments
later, #74 Marisa Niederauer and #07 Lew Hallock came together,
resulting in a caution. On the restart, Anderson took off like a rocket,
and over the next laps, built a 5 car length lead over Brode, Lia, Roys,
and #11x Chuck Steuer. On lap 26, #35 Larry Altholtz spun in turn 2,
bringing out a caution, closing up the field. On the restart, Anderson
was right back at building a commanding lead, which at one point was up
to 10 car lengths. On lap 30, Steuer got around Roys for 4th, and set
his sights on catching Lia for 3rd. Lapped cars were now a factor for
all of the lead pack, but the yellow soon flew for a 4-car wreck in the
backstretch. After a lengthy cleanup, a 5-lap shootout was set up, and
Anderson in the #15 Eastport Feeds Chevrolet once again took off at
the drop of the green. Brode tried valiantly to catch him, but Anderson
just motored away to take the win, and a hard charging Chuck Steuer got
around Brode for 3rd just feet from taking the checkered flag to cap off
a very exciting race. It was vindication for Anderson after a
disappointing week before when a spin cost him the lead in that week's
feature race.
The last feature of the night, the Figure 8's, saw #29 Will
Farrell and #1 George Brown on the front row, with Farrell taking the
lead at the green as Brown quickly slipped back to 4th when #22 Bill
Batsche and #74 Carl Baxter got by him. Batsche grabbed the lead on lap
2 and a few laps later, Brown gets into #28 Roger Maynor entering turn
4, resulting in both spinning, but no yellow. With the field now split
by this incident, mayhem reigns, and finally, yellow comes out for
debris (a cone). Batsche keeps his lead on the restart, but #85 Arne
Pedersen hits the wall in turn 3 and yellow is back out. Batsche
maintains the lead on the restart over Baxter and #10 George Sprague.
Yellow flies again for a minor wreck on lap 10. Batsche continues to
lead as the battle behind him becomes intense, and on lap 16, Baxter and
Sprague wreck coming around turn one and spin together off course as the
field stays green and Batsche goes on to victory in the #22 Island
Moving Supplies Chevrolet over #13 Mike Mujsce, #8 Tom Kraft and #28
Roger Maynor.
Notes: Robin Vollmoeller and 'Racin' Rich Johnson have formed a new
club, Old Guns Racing, whose motto is, "Age and
treachery will beat out youth and exuberance, every time"... Artie
Pedersen demonstrated his 'secret' method of wheel alignment. Don't ask,
I was sworn to secrecy... Congrats to Justin Bonsignore on setting fast
time in Chargers. I think he gets a trophy or maybe his first razor,
something like that... Congrats also to Donny Lia for setting fast time
in Mod time trials, nice to see he still remembers the fast way around
Riverhead. I'm off next week, but J.A. Ackley will have the full story
of the racing excitement at Riverhead Raceway. Enjoy!
Source: Walter Johnston/LongIslandJam.com
Posted: June
20, 2005
