STROUD
SWEEPS, PEASE FINALLY WINS
by J.A. Ackley
The second round of Enduros took place this past
Sunday, presenting lots of action for the fans and a lot of fun for the
competitors.
Super Pro Trucks:
Two snake bit drivers led the field to the green.
Mike Albasini in the #66 M&M Motorsports Chevrolet would start pole with
Rich Giordano in the #7 G-Force Collision Dodge on the outside. On the
green, the two would race side-by-side for the first few laps, providing
thrilling action as the two truck veterans duked it out with each ready
to capitalize on the other’s mistake. The first to make the mistake
would be Albasini, as he would get loose off turn 2, providing a way for
the #7 of Rich Giordano to take the lead. Giordano would quickly
develop a sizeable lead until caution would wave for the disabled #45
AuctionDepot.org Dodge of Bobby Gardner, whom suffered a flat tire.
Taking advantage of the caution would be the #5 Teddy Bear Racing Ford
of Frank Dumicich, whom suffered a flat as well. In addition, the
NASCAR officials determined the #34 Victory Fleet Maintenance Dodge of
Bryan Sescila had been rough riding and was sent to the back.
For the restart, the front row would consist of the
#7 of Rich Giordano and the #44 WPW Growers Ford of exciting rookie
Jason Agugliaro. The green would wave and the both seemed to equal each
other efforts, but before the exciting duel could take place, caution
would wave. The #9 Magic Island & Aquarium Center Chevrolet of Troy
Ferdinando would break a suspension part and wind up tagging the #97
Nelson Auto Salvage Chevrolet of Dave Koenig, sending him spinning in
turns 1 and 2.
The race would restart, with the #7 of Rich
Giordano once again leading the field to green, with the #66 of Mike
Albasini and the #98x WPW Growers GMC of Dave Brigati in tow. Soon
after, Dave Brigati would make an exciting outside groove pass on the
#66 and reel in the #7 of Rich Giordano. Brigati would be right on
Giordano’s rear bumper, ready to pounce on any mistake. Unfortunately
the action got real hot and heavy, and with racing so close, the #98x
Dave Brigati would get into bobble of the #7 of Rich Giordano going into
turn 1 bringing out the caution flag once again and ending Rich
Giordano’s fine run.
The #98x of Dave Brigati would lead the field to
green, but before Brigati could be challenged, the #44 WPW Growers Ford
of Jason Agugliaro would find himself sliding against the front stretch
wall, with the #30 Eddy’s Long Island RV Center Chevrolet of Shaun
Gouldsbury tangled with him on the inside.
#98x Dave Brigati would once again lead the field
to green, but caution would wave once again. #5 Frank Dumicich would
tangle with the #66 of Mike Albasini, and Albasini would spin and
overheat. Officials ruled the incident to be another case of rough
riding, and the #5 Teddy Bear Racing Ford of Frank Dumicich was sent to
the rear.
With only 2 laps left (as was the tally the last
two cautions), the third time was the charm, as the #98x Dave Brigati
took off and never looked back to take his second Sunday show in a row.
Finishing second in this uncharacteristically messy Super Pro Truck
race, would be 2004 Champion, Lou Maestri in the #1 Schwing Electrical
Supply Ford and rounding out the top three would be Charger invader, Dan
Turbush in the for sale #10 Chevrolet.
One-on-One Spectator Drag:
10 Spectator Drags would on hand to do battle on the tough quarter-mile
bullring known as Riverhead Raceway. First at bat would be Eric Brill
in a Chevrolet Lumina versus Billy “Ric Flair” Slotkin in a Chevrolet
Caprice. Brill would wind up laying down the Smackdown on the Riverhead
Raceway celebrity. The next set would be a battle of Firebirds with Dan
Carisiti overtaking Chris DeBartlemeo. In the battle of GM might, Jason
Savoy would rocket his Buick Regal past Rich Lentin’s Oldsmobile Cutlass
for the win. The next set saw defending Spectator Drag winner, Paul Fox
and his Chevrolet Beretta overtake the unknown phantom in a black Fiero.
And the last set of the first round saw Shawn Wanat take his Ford
Thunderbird to the checkers while Tim “Hammer” Smith’s 2004 Chevrolet
pickup didn’t have much pickup at the green.
The second round saw Dan Carisiti’s Firebird rocket
past Eric Brill’s Lumina, while Savoy upset Fox’s Beretta in the Regal.
The third round saw Dan Carisiti beat out Wanat’s Ford Thunderbird
paving the way for the final showdown. In another battle of GM might,
Dan Carisiti’s Firebird would best Jason Savoy’s Buick Regal for the
One-on-One Spectator Drag.
Grand Enduro:
The Grand Enduro saw two Enduro veterans lead the
field. Ralph Zegel in the #15 NAPA Auto Parts entry would start from
pole, while the #20 BV Sprinklers entry of Bobby Pease would take the
outside. At the drop of the green, Pease would jump to the lead. Zegel
would quickly be joined by Blunderbust competitor, Tommy Walkowiak and
his #0 and the two would have an exciting duel with Walkowiak winding up
as the victory. However, the first Grand Enduro winner of 2005, Ray
Fitzgerald was busy carving up the field in his #16. However, Pease
seemed to cut through the field just as well, maneuvering through lapped
traffic with great ease. Kevin McCarthy would earn the honor of being
the first one out, as he took his #24 K-Mac Electric entry to the
infield. Quickly thereafter Brian Brown in the #32 would do the same.
Meanwhile, the #16 Constant Performance entry of
Ray Fitzgerald caught up with the #20 of Bobby Pease and challenged him
for the lead. However, Fitzgerald would start to suffer a myriad of
problems, including lapped traffic blocking his path and his car going
up in smoke. Fitzgerald’s #16 coats the track with a nice slick, making
the #14 Liberty Auto Repair Chevrolet of Pete Cherouvis and #9 Laura
White Counseling Chevrolet spin like tops. The #20 of Bobby Pease was
being very cautious on the slick track and the #16 of Ray Fitzgerald was
quickly catching up once again. However, with 10 to go, Fitzgerald’s
#16 had enough of the abuse and called it a day, paving the way for
victory for the likeable Bobby Pease and the #20 BV Sprinklers
Chevrolet. Finishing second would be the #1 Constant Performance
Chevrolet of “Mr. Enduro” Rich Johnson, and rounding out the top three
would be the #0 Unique Golf Shop Chevrolet of Tommy Walkowiak.
4/6-cylinder Truck Enduro:
The #41 of Kevin Conley and #29 Mercedes Benz of Massapequa Chevrolet of
Andy Owen would lead the field to green, with Owen taking off on the
start. Owen would get a good lead, but the #40 of Anthony Vecchio was
steadily approaching. Meanwhile, the #28 of James Badalato had a scare
when the #32 spun right toward the front wall and into the side of the
#28 but Badalato kept on trucking. Leader, #29 Andy Owen visits the
Heartbreak Hotel, as he slows and brings it into the infield, becoming
the first of the race to visit the infield and end his day early. The
#40 of Anthony Vecchio briefly took the lead, but rising to the occasion
would be the #28 entry of James Badalato. In a scary moment, the #32
spun off turn 4 and nailed the #14 of Erin Dumicich in the infield. The
sister and daughter of the Super Pro Truck tag team of Frank Sr. and Jr.
was okay, but the young lady is definitely earning her dues as she has
gotten hit on more times than in a club.
As the race wound down, the #5 Island Auto Parts
Outlet entry of John Cozza and #20 of Grand Enduro winner Bobby Pease
steadily caught up to #28 James Badalato and at the checkers Badalato
would win, and the threesome would finish bumper-to-bumper.
8-cylinder Enduro – Race #1:
#1 Billy Innes and #2 Walter Stoud, Jr. would lead the field to
green. Stroud, the previous winner of the past Sunday 8-cylinder
Enduros would take off with the lead. Meanwhile, typical enduro style
racing took place. The #46 of Joe Palmeri would become a pinball, as he
would get hit a few times and wind up nailing the turn 3 pit gate as
well. #19 Jody Fickeissen did some hot dogging as he spun along the
back stretch and raced backwards until spinning it frontwards on the
front stretch. He also tried the “inside groove” for a few laps before
pulling it in. Ralph Soluri would have the dubious honor of becoming
the first one out. The #52 took a hard hit in the middle of turns 3 and
4, with the officials checking on the driver, but the driver gave a
thumbs up and continued his trek. After the carnage and dust settled,
if you guessed the #2 of Walter Stroud, Jr. won, you guessed right as it
seems that no one can stop him in the 8-cylinder Stocks. #4 Edward
Brown would finish a respectable second while #13 Dwayne Sipila finished
third.
6-cylinder Enduro:
#4 Matt Brown would take the early lead, in the
newest Enduro class at Riverhead. The #9 of Steve “Pretzels” Williams
and the #12 of Robert Eggers would tangle of turns 3 and 4.
Unfortunately for Williams, soon thereafter he would be the first one
out, bringing the pretzel machine to the infield. Meanwhile, the #5 of
Tim Fontana would take the lead but soon after the #18 would grab the
lead. Once Riverhead Announcer Bob Finan announced the new leader, he
was jinxed as he lost a tire off turn 2 ending his day. Inheriting the
lead would be the #14 of Shawn Wanat and he would simply take off with
the win. Following Wanat to the line would be the #6 of Frank Brown,
Jr. and rounding out the top three would be the #11 of Eric Kandler.
4-cylinder Enduro:
#2 of Ken Ferrer would grab the early lead while
the #19 of Jason Walters would be the first to take it to the infield.
The #44 and the #14 of Jimmy White Jr. would tangle in turn 4 on lap
15. The #5 of Woot Lawrence would clear the wreck and grab the lead.
In the Enduros, normally tempers do not flair, but the #30 of Modified &
Figure 8 competitor Ken Darch and the #41 of Demolition Derby competitor
Tim “Hammer” Smith were swapping paint and sent each other to the
infield. Smith would try some demo moves before climbing out and trying
to go after Darch. The sole red flag of the day would wave while the
officials broke up the action. Upon the restart the #5 of Woot Lawrence
would take off. Lawrence appeared flawless until the lapped car of the
#37 of Pete Mikos got into Woot’s #5, causing a left front and ending
Woot Lawrence’s fine ride. The #10 of Bob Haeger would inherit the lead
and never look back, taking down the win. #26 William Schwarz, nephew
of Late Model #1x/Super Pro Truck #98x & #44 Crew Chief Brian Schwarz
would take down second. And rounding out the top three would be early
race leader Ken Ferrar in the #2.
8-cylinder Enduro – Race #2:
Taking the early lead would be the #5 Go Express Chevrolet of Lou
Bozzella. However, the #46 Joe Palmeri would quickly overtake the
lead. However, the wily veteran #27 Bob Haeger, fresh off victory and
hungry for more, would reel the #46 Joe Palmeri in and take the lead.
However, lurking in the back would be “3 for 3” #4 Walter Stroud, making
his way up the front. Meanwhile the #6 of Peter Verwys, Jr. would
become the first to pull it in. However lapped traffic would be
Haeger’s nemesis, getting caught in and out of it, providing the chance
for Walter Stroud, Jr. to catch up. The #46 of Joe Palmeri would be
Haeger’s worst nightmare, and Stroud’s best dream as Palmeri would crash
along the front straight in front of Haeger, providing Stroud the
pathway to victory. Finishing second would be a defeated #27 Bob Haeger
and finishing out the top three would be the #2 of Tom Lacoste.
Car Rollover Contest:
The master of rolling over, "Slim Jim" Donaldson bested fellow
Figure 8 competitor Ken Darch and Super Pro Truck competitor John
Bittoni for the win.
Source: J.A. Ackley/LongIslandJam.com
Posted: June
20, 2005
