Martinsville Sidetrack or the Story from the Pits As We've
Seen It
by Walter
Johnston
I made the long drive to
Martinsville to cover the first ever night race at the historic
Martinsville race track for the "Whelen Made In America 300". It
was actually a 250 lap feature, the other 50 being the 50-lap
qualifying race for those who didn't make the top 20 in time, or
the 8 provisional starting positions, 5 North and 3 South, based
on current points. The outcome of the 250 can be found elsewhere
on the site, so we are going to present here the story of the
50-lap Chatlee Boat qualifying race, which saw 18 cars take to
the track to battle for 15 starting positions.
#44 Reggie Ruggiero, an
infrequent competitor on the Whelen Modified Tour the last few
seasons, was the polesitter for the event, which was lined up
according to time trial results. #57 Jay Foley was on the
outside pole. From the drop of the green, it was apparent that
"The Reg" was going to take this race, as he lept out into the
lead by over 5 car lengths on the first lap alone. #09 Anthony
Sesley of Matawan, NJ, got by Foley for secondnd and they were
trailed by #89 Brian Cranmer and #81 Brian Pack to round out the
top 5. Most of the drivers realized since this was a qualifier
that it was more of a test for them than a race as only 3 of the
starters would not make it to the feature. One exception was #0
Daren Scherer of Buffalo, NY, who though scheduled to start
eighth, was placed at the rear due to missing the driver's
meeting. So the competitive part of this race would take place
at the back, as all knew whoever finished in the last 3
positions would take a long ride home and wouldn't take part in
Martinsville's first ever night race.
As the race progressed, it was
apparent to all in attendance that Reggie would dominate. At one
point, he had at least a half-straightaway advantage over the
entire field. By lap 15, he passed the #47 of Jimmy Storace, and
continued to pass others running toward the rear. By lap 35,
he'd passed the #47 again, and on lap 39, #9 Jake Marosz spun,
bringing out the first yellow of the race. With the field closed
back up, Reggie once again ran away with the lead from the drop
off the green, but 2 laps later, #87 Alex Hoag spun, and yellow
flew once again. All the cars on the lead lap lined up at the
front for the restart, but by lap 45, Reggie was 15 car lengths
ahead of Anthony Sesley, and "The Reg" cruised home for a
convincing victory in the event. Sesley finished second, with
Foley, Cranmer and Brian Pack rounding out the top 5. The
non-qualifiers were Storace, #04 Kevin Powell, and Jake Marosz,
who earned $200 for their efforts, as all entrants were paid
that amount for running the event. Reggie Ruggiero was also
presented with a trophy by Chatlee Boats, the sponsor of the
event.
Pit stops and notes: Originally,
some 60 cars were entered for the event, but many chose to skip
it due to being involved in point races at their home tracks.
Locally, they included Bill Park, Wayne Anderson, and Joe
Hartmann, with the Ken Heagy team also opting not to go as
originally planned... Martinsville track President Clay Campbell
welcomed all the participants at the driver's meeting, and said
not only how happy he was to have the Modifieds back, but due to
the overwhelming response to the event, it would be scheduled
again next year. I think if they scheduled it for a later date,
after points races have been decided, many more would
participate in the event... He also thanked NASCAR and SpeedTV
for arranging to cover the event, on a tape-delayed basis...
Reggie Ruggiero, driving for the Dick Barney team, had to
renumber his #41 to #44 for the event, a little nostalgia for
him, which I brought up in speaking with him. He laughed at the
irony of it, and mentioned it just might bring him some luck.
The results show it did at first, but it didn't last the full
event... I spoke to a representative from SpeedTV about an air
date, but he could only guess as to a late November or early
December airing of the race. Keep an eye on your TV listings, or
right here on LongIslandJam.com for further news on this
broadcast... #2 Gregg Shivers ran a good race, until mechanical
ills put him out near the end... #58 Kevin Goodale involved in a
tangle with #44 Reggie Ruggiero in turn 1 on lap 157, putting
both out of the race... #18 Donny Lia ran well in the beginning,
but had to make repairs after an involvement in a multicar
crash, and lost 30 laps doing so, ending a chance for at least a
top 10 finish in a race he was running very well in before that
tangle... #48 Tony Hirschman recovered from being penalized
(sent to rear of longest line) for changing his front bumper
during 15 minute competition yellow at midpoint of the race...
#50 Chuck Hossfeld was penalized for going over 25MPH pit road
speed, was not eligible for "lucky dog" pass around on next
yellow after that, as ruled by Ed Cox, because he was a lap down
due to penalty, which negates eligibility for 'lucky dog'... I
congratulated pace car driver, Joe Larsen, after the race for
leading so many times (12), but not winning the race... For
those wondering, drivers were not allowed to change tires under
yellow before the mid race break, and would be penalized one lap
per tire changed for violations of the rule. Noone did so,
unless it was for a flat or damaged wheel, both of which were
exceptions to that rule... Many NASCAR VIP's on hand to view the
historic race, among them Jerry Cook and Don Hawk... Musco
Lighting was adequate, with minimal driver complaints, biggest
being glare from tower of lights in the 4th turn-main
straightaway area... That light almost caused the race to be
started late, as Musco had trouble with the supply generator for
it, and had to rush in a back-up, which also didn't want to run
initially, but after a few minutes of adjustments, Musco workers
got it fired up about 10 minutes before scheduled start of the
race... Martinsville High School band, over 150 strong, did a
great job performing the National Anthem before the race...
Lastly, on the drive home, I saw over 300 military vehicles, in
many separate convoys, headed South on I-81, obviously headed to
the Gulf Coast disaster area with relief supplies and manpower
to join what will be the biggest effort so far to help after
Hurricane Katrina devastated the area... Until next week, when I
return to Riverhead, be safe and remember those poor people in
the Gulf region any way you can.
Source: Only on LongIslandJam.com
Posted:
September 6, 2005
