Riverhead officials, led by Bill Denniston, held the 2006 driver informational meeting today at the Polish Hall in Riverhead to inform drivers of upcoming rule and procedural changes for the 2006 Riverhead Raceway season. The meetings were held in four different sessions to accommodate the large number of participants expected for the meetings.

  Bill started the proceedings by introducing the raceway staff that was in attendance. New to the tech group is Elaine Vollmoeller, who will be working with the officials in the scale and tech area. Almost all other positions are the returning officials from last season. It was also announced that they will have a sonic tester available this season to check for minimum thickness of .90 tubing in roll cages in all divisions. Anyone not meeting this requirement will not race that night, and will be subject to being retested.

  HANS devices are mandatory this season by order of NASCAR in the Modified and Late Model divisions. While being optional in all other divisions, it is strongly recommended that those drivers look into getting one soon, as they may be mandatory in all divisions in the near future. Walt Boncyk also brought up that discussions are taking place in NASCAR about using crate or spec motors in the future to try and hold down costs, and level the playing field somewhat. He felt that Spec motors would probably end up being the choice made by NASCAR, but that is still unknown at this point. The advantage of spec motors so far in testing is that a little engineering can still go into them to find an edge if one so desires.

   New rules for the season brought the most discussion. Starting this year, all restarts during a race will occur at the stripe in turn 4, not turn 3 as it has been in the past. This is being tried to prevent bottlenecks and their ensuing wrecks caused by the cars bunching up in the turn. Also, a holdover from last season, lapped cars will be put to the rear of the field on restarts occurring with 10 or less laps left in an event to give the competitors still racing for the win a clean track to race on. The other new rule being instituted is Victory Lane ceremonies. They will now be limited to the driver, and any race sponsor, posing for on track photos, and all other pictures being taken in a newly constructed area, off the track, that can include team members, sponsors and family members. It was found that too much time in the program was being spent getting people on and off the raceway for victory celebrations, with an average 6 division night using almost 90 minutes of time. This rule is being instituted to speed the program along, and all requests to include others in victory photos taken off the track will be accommodated, according to track officials.

  Other changes were announced for handicapping cars that are tied in handicapping points. In the past, the tie was broken by 'best finish'. In the future, it will be broken by giving the advantage to the car with the 'worst finish'. When registering for trailer space, teams must include ALL of their radio frequencies on the registration form. Also, assigned spaces will not be held after 4:30, so make sure you arrive before that. Lastly, if someone is in your spot, Erin Denniston says rather than take the next one or one that you like, to let her know and she will assign a temporary spot for that event. This is to prevent a 'domino effect' of you being in someone else spot, and so forth. Makes perfect sense, so hunt Erin down if you encounter a problem.

   Another important item that was addressed was restarts and the time consumed lining up the cars for a restart. The Scoring officials ask that you just fall into a single line and let them send down the restart order to the starters stand. They will put you in the spot you belong in. Any questions after that should ONLY be addressed to the person on the track near the Start/Finish line who is handling the line-up. Stopping near the ramp because you dispute the position will not help get things done faster, as the final word is up to the scorers. For the few instances where this does not apply, the officials on the ramp will advise the scoring team of any changes that need to be made. It was strongly suggested that stopping and arguing at the ramp will earn the offender a starting position in the rear.

   Tech days were also announced. They will be held April 1st, 8th and 15th, with practice sessions scheduled for April 22 and 29th. On those days it would be wise to renew NASCAR licenses to avoid a long line later on. On the tech inspection dates, the track will be open between 9AM and 4PM for all wishing to get that task completed. All drivers were also reminded that only new tires would be used in competition, so purchasing them ahead of time would also be advisable. All helmets will be inspected to insure they are Snell certified 2000 or newer. Fuel cells must be no older than 5 years old, and belts should be dated within the last 2 years. In Figure 8s, a question was raised about after-market starters, and after a short discussion, Bill Denniston said they would be allowed, and the new rule book will reflect that change. Lastly, in the modifieds, a system will be put in place to allow for a provisional starting spot for any top ten cars that fail to make a regular program on nights that at least 28 cars are entered. That number would increase to include top 15 cars on any night that more than 30 mods are on hand.

   Bits and pieces: I spoke with Carl Rackoff about his plans for the upcoming year. He has already brought Dave Brigati on board to drive his Victory Fleet Maintenance Super Pro Truck, but also mentioned that if a sponsor can be found, along with refurbishing for his Late Model, that Roger Maynor would drive a limited schedule for him in that division. Dave Roys was in attendance and told me his plans right now are to run Riverhead in the Mike's Place #79 Modified full time this season. I also learned that Ron Gibbs will name Henry Cataldo as the driver of his #44 Charger for the upcoming season. Keith Rotzi is now finished with his training and home from North Carolina, and planning to run the full schedule in his #21 Late Model. A question arose about an increase in the purse for all divisions, but Bill Denniston said due to increased costs for insurance, and a desire to keep the back gate admission the same as last season, that there is no money in the budget for an increase in any of the purse structure. Also mentioned by Bill in answer to what improvements, if any, have been done to the track during the off season, he told me extensive reworking and upgrading of the tracks electrical systems was done, but that not much else was planned for this year.

   That's it for now, keep working on the countdown to race season, enjoy the Daytona 500, and stay safe and healthy. Lastly, don't forget to remind all your friends and acquaintances that Riverhead Raceway is still going strong, and is a great place to watch your local heroes race each week, all season long. Long Island Jam will be there as always, doing our best to bring you the latest news about your favorite sport.