Championships Settled in Modifieds & Late Models
by Walter Johnston
The 2006
Modified and Late Model championships were decided on their final night
of racing at Riverhead, and both turned out to be suspenseful battles to
the end, as wrecks in both races were almost deciding factors in the
outcome. The Blunderbust title, thought to be final after last nights
feature, still remains up in the air until next week, due to some post
race decisions about on track incidents in that race. More on that
later. The Chargers and Figure 8’s also edged closer to the final
standings with two very interesting races also run last night. Next
week’s show will close out the season for all the regular racing
divisions, and as always, we will have the results for you as we get
them.
First, we will
cover the Modified feature, the Allstate Insurance Night 50 lapper.
Time trials were run for qualifying, and Bill Park’s Smithtown Nissan
#20 set fast time at 11.813 seconds around the ¼ mile. Second fastest
was Tom Rogers’ Nicolock Stones of Distinction #5, at 11.945 seconds,
and third was John Denniston’s Gershow recycling #02, at 12.018. The
top 6 redrew for position, and Rogers and 6th fastest
qualifier Chris Young’s #49 Riverhead Building supply sat on the front
row. After a first failed attempt at getting a start, due to Tracy
Christiansen’s Trailer Transport 22 spinning in turn 4, Rogers edged out
front of Young, and took the sole lead after one lap, with Young, Justin
Bonsignore’s United Spinal Association #28, Denniston, and Howie
Brode’s LI Freightliner #96 rounding out the top 5.
Bill Park got by Brode to take 5th
on lap 3. Rogers was setting a nice, even pace as the top 5 ran in a
single line. A bit behind them, JR Bertuccio’s Greshow recycling #2,
Bonsignore, Wayne Anderson’s Eastport Feeds #15, Sal Accardi’s SJ Aire
#93, and Dave Sapienza’s Sponsors Wanted #36 rounded out the top 10.
Rogers then started to pull away from the pack by 3 car lengths from
Young by lap 15, and continued to stretch out his lead as he started
lapping slower cars. By the lap 25 halfway mark, Rogers had built a 7
car length lead, but one lap later, Bertuccio apparently had contact
with Denniston, as Bertuccio stopped on the track, with caution coming
out, and both went to the pits for repairs, as Dave Brigati’s WPW
Wholesale Growers #0 joined them. Denniston and Brigati returned as the
cars were being realigned, with Bertuccio joining the field last. In
spite of that, for some reason he restarted ahead of Denniston and
Brigati, with no notice from the officials. With the green flying once
more, Rogers again set a torrid pace, pulling away from Young, as
Bonsignore, Park, and Brode followed, as now the top 13 runners were all
in a single line. Bonsignore looked high to get by Young and on lap 40
was able to do so, and took off after Rogers, but on lap 42, disaster
struck, as Young and Brode made contact going into turn 3, resulting in
both spinning and the field behind them having nowhere to go, resulting
in a 7 car pileup, and a caution flag. With sheet metal damage to
most,and a flat here and there, the only car with severe damage was Ken
Darch’s, which was towed off during the red flag that was thrown for
track cleanup. On the restart, Rogers took off once more, but Dave
Brigati’s Steering broke, and he hit the 4th turn wall,
necessitating another restart. On this one, Rogers took off once more,
with Bonsignore right on his tail, but in the back of the field,
Bertuccio made contact with Frank Curtis’ Insula Dome #75, sending
Curtis into the 3rd turn wall hard, and yellow flew once
again. After that was cleaned up, Rogers took off once more, in a light
rain shower, with Bonsignore making another attempt to pass him, but
Rogers held him off as Bonsignore slipped on the damp track, and Bill
Park got by to take 2nd, while Bonsignore recovered to hold
onto 3rd. With the track becoming wetter as the rain fell
harder, the race was put under caution, and when the field was properly
in order, the race was red/checkered on lap 47 due to the rain. Chuck
Steuer, who drove a conservative race, finished 8th, giving
him the 2006 Riverhead Modified Championship, the 2nd time he
has won the honor.
Next, we come to
the Late Models, who ran their Safelite Auto Glass 25. With Ken Alfano’s
Habberstad BMW/MINI on the pole, and Scott Kuleas’s Ranco Sand and
Stone #10 to his outside, Alfano and Kulesa ran side by side for
the first
lap, but Kulesa took the lead on lap 2, with Shawn Patrick’s Sponsors
Wanted #88 taking over second, as Jeremy McDermott’s B. Sexton site
Development #91 ran third. Dave Brigati’s WPW Wholesale
Growers 1x and Mike Mortimer’s Unique Golf #14 got by a fading Alfano to
takeover 4th and 5th respectively. On lap 5, Buzzy
Eriksen’s Nassau Harley #68 and Ken Matlach’s NY Peterbilt #5 came
together in turn 4, with Matlach stopping against the wall, and the
first
caution flew. On the restart, Kulesa and Patrick ran side by side, with
Kulesa pulling away for the lead, as McDermott got alongside Patrick
entering turn 3, and disaster struck, as the 2 collided and spuun,
collecting almost the whole field behind them in one of the biggest
wrecks in recent memory in any division, and bringing out yellow once
more while the whole mess was untangled. While at least 12 or more cars
were involved, most only suffered sheet metal damage, and a few flats.
Track officials called for a single file restart, with Brigati now in
the lead, followed by Alfano, and at the drop of the green, Alfano hung
with Brigati, taking the lead one lap later with a great move off turn
2, as Jarrod Hayes’ Complete Landscaping #08 and Roger Oxee’s Helman
Group #39 also got by as Brgiati dropped to 4th. On lap 11,
Dennis Krupski’s KRI #12 spun in turn 4, bringing out caution once more.
On the next restart, Alfano lead the field to the line, with Hayes
chasing right behind him, but Hayes started losing a muffler or tailpipe
out the right side of his car, and while officials decided whether to
black flag him or not, Hayes got by Alfano for the lead, and the
muffler/pipe fell off the car, with yellow coming out once more to
remove the pipe. During the yellow, Hayes was black flagged for a water
leak, and sent to the pits, giving the lead back to Alfano once more,
who took off on the restart, with Oxee right on his tail. Suddenly, Greg
Kleila, the point leader going into the race, developed a slowly leaking
right front tire, and dropped to the rear of the field, but still
running. He was saved when Eric Lutz’s Bonwitt Inn #36 spun in turn 2 on
lap 18, and a caution came out, allowing Kleila a chance to pit and fix
the tire. On the next restart, Alfano lead at the green, but Oxee passed
him on lap 20 to take the lead, but Rob Tribuzio, in the Prestigious
Motors #01, bumps Oxee entering trun 2, getting oxxe loose, and Tribuzio
takes over the lead, while Alfano also passed Oxee to retake second, as
Oxee held onto third after recovering from the bump and run
maneuver. Tribuzio just took off after that, taking a very convincing
victory in the feature, and Greg Kleila held on to finish 14th
and clinch the 2006 Riverhead Late Model Championship. The top 3 in this
event split an extra $175 donated by various track personnel, which was
a nice gesture on their part to make the win, place and show positions
worth racing for. A big Thank You to all involved.
The Chargers
ran in the Doug Wholey Excavating/Ideal Cesspool Night 20 lapper, with
Daryn Miller’s Miller Motorsports #30 on the pole, and Charlie
Rittenhouse’s Applebee’s Restaurant #25 to his outside. After a failed
start because of Brad Van Houten’s Riverhead Building Supply #10 with a
flat, on the restart, Miller jumped into the lead, with Henry Cataldo in
the Post Office Café #44 getting by Rittenhouse to take 2nd,
and Cataldo began his pursuit of Miller. But on lap 2, Steve Ratti’s
Newsday #37 and Rob Tribuzio’s Tuckahoe Sales #01 collided going into
turn 1, and caution flew again. On the restart, Cataldo jumped into the
lead, as Brian Doyle’s National Pest Control #73 moved up into 2nd,
with Chris McGuire’s Gershow Recycling #89x getting 3rd away
from Miller 1 lap later. On lap 7, Mike Bologna Schlaugies Fuel #00 spun
in turn 2, and yellow was out once more. After officials called for a
single file restart, Cataldo, Doylew, and McGuire took off from Miller,
who had Eric Lutz’s Marjam Supply #36 right on his bumper. They ran that
way until 3 laps to go, when McGuire made a move on the high side of
Doyle to get by him for 2nd spot after a 2 lap battle, while
Cataldo sailed home the winner. All 3 top finishers were awarded
trophies by Doug Wholey in victory lane after the race.
The Figure 8
race, also sponsored by Ideal Cesspool, saw a 12 car field take the
green, with Slim Jim Donalldson’s Napa Auto Parts #47 on the pole, and
Carl Voelker’s Sponsors Wanted #64 to the outside. Voelker grabbed the
early lead, with Donaldson following and Paul Specht’s Sponsors Wanted
#63 running 3rd. On lap 5, yellow flew for Specht’s spin in
turn 1. On the restart, Donaldson retook the lead, with Mike Mujsce’s
Pro-Tech Automotive getting by Voelker to take over 2nd.
Mujsce was then all over Donaldson to take the lead, and passed
Donaldson on lap 9. Mujsce then seemingly looked like he would run away
with the win, as Donaldson, Voelker, Tom Kraft’s Four Season Awnings #8,
George Sprague’s Pavco Industries #10, and Roger Maynor’s Daniel’s Inn
#28 rounded out the top five, but 6 car lengths behind Mujsce. On lap
11, Kraft got by Voelker to 3rd, but Maynor, in a bold move
on lap 13, went to the inside and passed both Donaldson and Kraft to
take 2nd spot, and started hunting down Mujsce, gaining on
him as the laps wound down. Maynor caught up by lap 16, and passed
Mujsce for the lead on lap 18. Maynor then stretched it out to 5 car
lengths, as his car seemed to get stronger as the race went on, as he
took the convincing victory after starting from the 12th, and
last, spot, and added to his victories as the all time leading active
Figure-8 driver.
The
Blunderbusts ran their 20 lap feature to open the night, with Sam
Blanton’s Sponsors Wanted #46 on the pole, and Scott Sepe’s Sponsors
Wanted #6 to his outside. Sepe grabbed the lead from Blanton at the
start, with Artie Pedersen’s Sherwin-Williams Paints quickly moving
into 3rd. Wayne Okula’s Artisan Appraisals #67, Tommy
Walkowiak’s Unique Golf #00 locked bumpers early on, but were able to
get separated without the yellow coming out, and the race up front
continued as Pedersen moved by Blanton into 2nd, but one lap
later, Dale Arnold’s CustomVinylGraphics.com #53 passed them both for 2nd.
On lap 7, Arnold got by Sepe to take over the lead, but Matt Pepitone’s
Professional Carpet Systems #17 started putting down water from a leak,
and yellow was out. On the restart, Sepe held the lead, but blew a tire
going into turn 1, as Tom Pickerell’s Pickerell Clam #4 took over the
lead after a battle with Pedersen and Arnold, while Neil Feola Jr‘s
Hammerhead Promotions #16 took advantage of the opening created by the
battle for the lead, and moved into 2nd. Caution flew once
more on lap 11 as Blanton spun in turn 2. On the restart, Pickerell took
off once more, with Feola hanging right with him, as Pedersen, Arnold
and Ed Mistretta’s Sponsors Wanted #32 now made up the top 5. On lap 15,
Arnold got by Pedersen to take over 3rd spot, while behind
Mistretta, Bill Wegmann, Scott Maliszeski, and Tommy Walkowiak jockeyed
for position, with Maliszewski getting by, along with Wegmann and
Walkowiak to put Mistretta back to 8th spot, as Pickerell
sailed on to victory. Walkowiak, thinking he’d placed high enough to win
the Blunderbust Championship, celebrated in turn 1 with a smoky burnout,
only to have track officials rule afterwards, on a complaint by
Mistretta that Walkowiak roughrode him, and Walkowiak was DQ’ed, and
placed 23rd in the finishing order, instead of 7th,
so the title will be decided in next week’s finale.
Riverhead Racer
Magazines “Most Popular Driver’ awards were given out during a break in
the action, with Wayne Anderson (Modifieds), Mike Mortimer (Late
Models), Chris McGuire (Chargers), Tom Kraft (Figure-8), Tommy Walkowiak
(Blunderbusts), and Danny Grennan (Super Pro Trucks) picking up the
awards. Congratulations to all the winners in this fan driven contest.
News and Notes:
Very unusual night, with major crashes in the only two divisions with a
point championship on the line, all the drivers seemed to be edgier than
usual…then there was the evenings rain, not in an forecast that anyone
heard, and just hard enough to bring the festivities to an end before it
stopped…Brad Van Houten broke his arm in 3 places in a freak accident
involving his hand getting caught in his steering wheel just as he was
involved in what seemed to be a minor collision on the track. We wish
him a speedy recovery…Some people still a bit anxious after the racing
was finished, with some heated arguments, but cooler heads were able to
prevent any of the incidents to get beyond shouting matches…Chris
Beutler’s #21 Spabco Racing Charger sporting a new paint job on new and
repaired sheet metal, it looked really sharp…Well, I’m back from the
cushy Media Center at Martinsville, but happy to be at Riverhead after a
2 week absence, just sorry there is so little of the season left…it
seems like only a few weeks ago we got started, so don’t miss out on
next week’s extra distance events for the Chargers, Figure-8’s,
Blunderbusts and Super Pro Trucks, along with the World Championship
Demoliton Derby, and the full sized School Bus Demo, followed a week
later by the season ending Enduro Night. Both should be a lot of
fun….until next time, live well and be safe.
Source: Walter
Johnston/LongIslandJam.com PR
Posted:
September 10, 2006