Super Pro Trucks, Enduros,
Rollovers, Drags and More Enduros!
by
Walter Johnston
A fine sunny day of racing
took place at Riverhead. The Super Pro Trucks were the
headliners, and they were joined by Grand Enduros, 8-cylinder
Enduros, 4 & 6-cylinder Truck Enduros, 4-cylinder Enduros,
6-cylinder Enduros, a Rollover Contest, and Spectator One-on-One
Drags. And the long day of events were enjoyed by the fans in
attendance.
The Super Pro Trucks were out in
force, 15 strong, for their feature. #2x John Denniston and #66
Mike Albasini started on the front row, with Mike Albasini
getting the early lead with a good jump on Denniston, who had to
contend with #97 Dave Koenig and #5 Frank Dumicich Sr. to hang
onto second spot. On lap 2, Denniston shot by Albasini, followed
by Dumicich Sr., with Albasini falling back to third, while #34
Bryan Sescila ran fourth. The first caution flew on lap 6 as #9
Troy Ferdinando suffered a right rear flat and came to a stop on
the track. On the restart, Denniston held his lead, with
Dumicich Sr., Albasini, #98x Dave Brigati, and Sescila in close
pursuit. Brigati got by Albasini for third spot and Sescila was
passed by #45 Bobby Gardner for fourth, as Albasini faded from
the top 5, leaving Denniston, Dumicich Sr, Brigati, Gardner and
Sescila to settle it amongst themselves. Denniston battled hard
to hold Dumicich Sr. at bay, while Dumicich Sr. had his hands
full with Brigati looking to find a way by, but as the checkers
waved, it was Denniston still the leader in the #2x JYD
Enterprises Chevrolet with Dumicich Sr., Brigati, Gardner and
Sescila rounding out the top 5.
In Spectator One-on-One drags,
Don Carasiti outlasted 8 other competitors to take the 2 lap
finale.
Grand Enduro action saw 15 cars
take the green for 20 laps, with the #21 of Caesar Cunaccia
getting a huge lead early as second place #14 Pete Cherouvis
spun on the initial start, blocking most of the field behind
him. Eventually, #20 Bobby Pease and #0 Tommy Walkowiak worked
their way up to the front and passed Cunaccia, with Pease
holding on to take the preliminary win, but after tech, the top
4: Pease, Walkowiak, Cunaccia, and Billy Weigelt were
disqualified for various reasons, and #15 Ralph Zegel, the fifth
place runner, was declared the winner, followed by #42 Walter
Little and #5 Jess Martines.
4 & 6-cylinder trucks ran next,
with 28 trucks running 50 laps. Multiple wrecks occurred, some
partially blocking the track, making it mandatory that the
drivers pay attention to negotiate the track, and when it was
all over, #5 John Cozza held on for the win, which was the first
time he'd won with his wife and family in attendance. #29 Andy
“Daddy Cool” Owen finished second, with #28 James Badalato
coming home third.
The regular 8 cylinder enduro was
next, with 44 cars running 75 laps. It was near impossible to
describe mayhem that took place almost immediately, as one crash
led to another and then another. As they eventually settled in,
or so it seemed, another crash took place in turn 1 and 2, but
all involved continued, though some retired with flats a lap
later. Walter Stroud had survived all this mayhem, and had a
comfortable lead over Dege Russell. At the 50 lap mark, only 24
cars were left running, and Stroud was all alone in the lead,
with no one near him. He sailed home to victory without a
challenge again over the final laps. Second place went to Peter
Rabaglia, and Dwayne Sipila finished third.
Next, the 4-cylinder enduro cars,
41 of them, ran 60 laps. A bit racier and not so crash prone as
their bigger counterparts, they looked a s though they'd be
okay, until suddenly, a few got together coming out of turn 4,
and Mike Sorrentino cartwheeled doing a flip just before the
starters stand, bringing out a red flag. Mike was okay, climbed
from the car none the worse than when he strapped in, and the
race resumed, though without him. Four of the competitors were
held for a 1 lap penalty for not observing the red flag quickly
enough, but the rest of the field went green again, with Peter
Verwys in the lead. He lasted until a flat put him out on lap
22, when Ken Ferrer assumed the lead he would hold until the
end. Rich Auer finished second and Pete Mikos was third.
The ever growing 6-cylinder
enduros were next, with 19 cars to run 40 laps. While 3 cars
were out almost immediately from early wrecks, Steve Elicati led
over John L. Vaughn Sr. The worst incident of the race was a
single car accident in which Dorothea Hyde crashed in the
backstretch with a loud BOOM, which turned out to be her airbag
going off, according to Bob Finan. Dorothea was okay, able to
get the car to roll down the track and escape and she emerged
uninjured, scrambling into the infield. Elicati was able to hold
off Vaughan Sr. for the win, with Eric Kandler coming in third.
In the rollover contest, everyone
expected Slim Jim Donaldson to put on his usual show, which he
tried very well to do, but a miss of the ramp on his first try
was followed by a double rollover on the second, which
unfortunately left the left side front and rear wheels so badly
mangled that a third attempt failed, even with help from a push
by the tow truck. That left Thaddeus Latonzio, whose three tries
as the first to go was the winner with his combined total of 14
points for the event which saw 5 different drivers taking their
best shots to roll their cars.
One last 8-cylinder enduro saw 14
cars take the green for a 40 lap contest. Once again, Walter
Stroud proved how dominant he is, as he took the lead early on
over John Totten. They ran that way until lapped traffic held
them up as Stan Wangenstein caught up to them to take third
spot, and Ed Brown ran fourth. Lapped traffic was such a problem
that Totten got held up as Wangenstein and Brown got by late in
the race, with Brown getting by Wangenstein to second and all
any of them could do was watch Walter Stroud win his second 8
cylinder race of the day. Brown was 2nd, with Wangenstein
finishing up third.
News and notes: perennial
competitor Rich Johnson was a last minute scratch after finding
water in his engine oil... A small, but enthusiastic crowd on
hand, enjoying sunny skies and the moments of overcast, when the
clouds provided a little shade... NASCAR Whelen Mod Tour Race
Director Joe Larsen helped out with Roll Over contest duties,
but only laughed when I approached him afterwards and told him
no need to stay any longer, 'his' race had been over for more
than 18 hours... A big thanks to Captain Video for helping us
out with victory lane photos after last minute emergency took
Jam Photographer Jon Keo elsewhere for the day... Over 160
different Enduro cars signed into the pits, along with 5
rollovers, 9 spectator cars, and 15 Super Pro Trucks... Everyone
seemed to enjoy their day, with laughs all around amongst the
competitors as they finished their events and joined friends in
the stands... I had fun covering my first Sunday show, a really
enjoyable experience for me, and hopefully the first of many...
Until next time, be safe, and enjoy yourself...
Source:
Only on LongIslandJam.com
Posted: July 31, 2005
