SUNDAY ENDURO'S KEEP AUGUST HEAT
GOING STRONG

    The Sunday Enduro’s are back at Riverhead as of this week, with a good car count, and a bright, sunny day to compete or watch, whatever your choice. The drivers put on a terrific show, and were joined by Spectator Drag races and a Rollover contest. The Grands were joined by the 4/6 cylinder trucks, 2 8 cylinder enduros, a 6 cylinder enduro, and a 4 cylinder enduro. Car counts were good in all the races and the day went well.

    First up were the Grand Enduro cars, 23 strong, for a 50 lap race. Wayne Meyer drew the pole, and Tommy Walkowiak started to his outside. At the drop of the green, Walkowiak took off, with Ray Fitzgerald and Greg Zaleski coming through to 2nd and 3rd, while Brian Obiedzenski and Caesar Cunaccia rounded out the early top 5. Walkowiak built a large lead early, over 7 car lengths, as Cunaacia was doing his best to hold off Jess Martines for 5th. On lap 11, Zaleski took 2nd as Ray Fitzgerald was involved in a tangle in turn 2, but Fitagerald recovered quickly, and was right back up on Zaleski’s bumper within a few laps, and passing him, with Bobby Pease following through for 3rd. Pease passed Fitzgerald for 2nd on lap 25 as Fitzgerald became involved in a tangle with a lapped car. Pease now set his sights on Walkowiak, gaining on him slightly each lap, but Walkowiak had a sizeable lead at this point, and Pease knew he had his work cut out for him. On lap 29, Zaleski spun into the frontstretch wall, knocking him from contention. Pease by now was only 5 car lengths behind Walkowiak and gaining, but there were lapped cars to be dealt with, so Pease still had some work to do. By lap 35, Pease and Walkowiak were clear of lapped cars, but suddenly, Walkowiak slowed dramatically, and pulled off the track with overheating problems, handing the lead over to Pease on lap 37. John Cozza was now up to 2nd, but a distance behind pease, who only had to maneuver through lapped cars to maintain his lead and drive on to victory.

    Next out were the 4/6 cylinder trucks, with Paul Fox on the pole, and Kevin King to his outside. At the drop of the green, King took the early lead, with Shawn Wanat getting by Fox for 2nd, as Rob McCormick slipped into 3rd. A spin early in the backstretch caused the field to slow, and Wanat got by King for the lead, as McCormick followed into 2nd. McCormick set his sights on Wanat for the lead, and had caught up to him by lap 15, but on lap 20, Tom Doherty clipped McCormick going into turn 1, spinning McCormick up into the wall, and putting him out of the race entirely due to heavy damage, though McCormick did make it into the infield under his own power. A lap 24 wreck involving 3 trucks in turn 2 spread water on the pavement, causing many to adjust their line to get through the slippery stuff, Wanat among them, but no one was harmed by the water, which cleared up on the hot afternoon quickly. After that, Wanat was never seriously challenged for the lead, and cruised to victory over James Badalato by ¼ of a lap.

    The next event on the program was the 75 lap, 1st 8 cylinder enduro, with David Hertling, Michael Nesbitt, and Walter Stroud Jr. on the front row. When the green waved, Dominic Ranieri Jr. shot down low and took the immediate lead. An early 3 car wreck in turn 3 partially blocked the track for a few laps, but all pulled away within 2-3 laps. Dan Piotrowski and Donna Hulse came together entering turn 1 a few laps later, with Hulse getting up on her left side wheels momentarily before coming to a halt on all 4. This made passage difficult there until both cleared out a few laps later. Ranieri continued to hold the lead through all this mayhem, as Stroud Jr. and Robin Schewire fought over 2nd spot, with Stroud Jr. eventually pulling past Schewire for 2nd, and setting his sights on catching Ranieri. On lap 45, Stroud jr. had to battle 4 wide at one pint to keep pace with Ranieri, and the duo raced around the track dodging lapped cars at every turn, with Stroud gaining slightly, and Ranieri doing his best to maintain his lead. By lap 55, they were out of traffic, and Stroud was only 5 car lengths back by lap 60, and gaining with each passing lap. He caught Ranieri as Ranieri got caught behind a pack of lapped cars on lap 62. Stroud got up into a pack of cars 4 wide, and gets blocked on his attempt to get by Ranieri, but on lap 66, with both in the clear again, Stroud passed Ranieri in turn 4 and took over the lead. Stroud now stretched his lead over Ranieri lap by lap, and Ranieri slowed a bit on lap 71, allowing Robin Schewire to get past to take 2nd, but Stroud wasn’t losing any ground to anyone, and sped home for the win.

    Next out was the 4 cylinder car race, which was followed by the 6 cylinder car race,and the 2nd and final 8 cylinder car race. Due to scoring errors on the part of the scorers the drivers picked themselves, there were inconsistencies in the official finish and the finishes I would have written about, leaving us at LI Jam with no choice but to report the official finishes instead of providing an account of these races. It’s just my opinion, but it is imperative that each driver make sure their scorers know all the rules for keeping track of them in the event, and situations like this could be avoided in the future. This in no way reflects on the officials at the track who can only judge the race by the information provided. As of press time, all of these results are official.

    News and Notes: The late Rich Johnson’s twin brother Alan, entered in the 2nd 8 cyl. Enduro, started 22nd and came home 5th at the end. Congrats go out to him…Dave Brigati doing some modified testing in the Ambrose #0 before the events of the day started…Robin Vollmoeller made the comment in Victory Lane ceremony that he’s ‘pretty sure’ that he’s retired from stock car racing, said he’s enjoying enduro racing too much…wreckers were needed to turn 2 rollover cars back upright after they came to a rest on their roof…Spectator drag finale saw Don Carasciti get the jump, and almost defeat Steve Pallone in the two lap contest, with Carasciti hitting the 4th turn wall going high at the end of the contest. Slight R/F damage to his fender and hood, with a ding on the rim of the R/F wheel, but he was able to drive it off the track and take it home…good size crowd, though not really large, enjoyed a sunny afternoon of racing festivities, with many umbrellas being employed to provide shade…The next enduro events at Riverhead wil take place as part of the Monster Truck Show, featuring Big Foot, on Labor day weekend Sunday…until next week, live well and stay safe.