Enduros
= Action Packed Racing
by J.A.
Ackley
Despite threatening weather, Riverhead Raceway
managed to get their last stock car race of 2006 in, with plenty of
action to please racing enthusiasts. The pits were full of Enduros for
their last hurrah of 2006.
Grand Enduros
The Grand Enduros saw a field of 22 take the green, minus #59 John
Cozza who fell ill before the green. The front row saw a pair of Grand
Enduro vets - #5 Jess Martines and the #21 Caesar Cunaccia. #21
Cunaccia grabbed the early lead but lurking in the background would be
the venerable #16 of Ray Fitzgerald. On lap 10 Fitzgerald would catch
the #21 Cunaccia, and seven laps later he would outwit Cunaccia using
lapped traffic for the lead. Fitzgerald would see smooth sailing from
there on, taking down his third win of 2006. Following Fitzgerald to
the checkers would be the #12 Peconic Sign Co. Chevrolet of Greg
Zaleski, and rounding out the top three would be the #58 Flanders
Automotive Chevrolet of Donny Oliver.
4/6-cylinder Truck Enduros
The trucks saw a wonderful field of 28 trucks on hand, with the #13
Tommy Lutz and #38 Rapid Repair Service Chevrolet of Don Nelson. At the
wave of the flag, the #38 of Don Nelson took off rapidly. However, the
#83 of Gregory DiCanio was quickly catching up. On lap 7 #83 DiCanio
makes his move, but lurking in the back is the #17x of Rob McCormick.
The two would swap the lead through lapped traffic a few times, before
it would settle upon the #17x Rob McCormick, who would eventually take
the win in dominating fashion, his third of the year. Following
McCormick to the line would be the #40 of Anthony Vecchio and the #0
“Snot Rocket” Chapel Auto Wrecking GMC of Russ Jansen.
6-cylinder Enduros
The 6-cylinders saw a field over 30, with the #1 of Greg Finlan and
#2 of Becky Long leading the field to the green. However at the wave of
the flag, the #3 of Jack Schneider would grab the early lead. At lap 7,
the #10 Gene Burbol would assume the lead with the #9 of Mike Mujsce,
Jr. right behind. One lap later, #9 Mujsce would take the lead with the
battle continuing between Mujsce and Burbol and the #13 of Shawn Wanat
waiting for the wrong move between the two to take the lead. Wanat
would make his move upon the two and grab the lead on lap 10 and never
look back. This would be Wanat’s first 6-cylinder win of the year, but
amazingly his fifth win in Enduros across the Northeast. Following
Wanat to the line would be #10 of Gene Burbol and the #12 of Paul Fox.
1st 8-cylinder Enduros
The 8-cylinders saw well over 60 cars take the green in one of the
messiest Enduros of the year, which brought back many memories of how
Enduros were in its heyday. #1 Walter Stroud, #2 David Hertling, and #3
Gary Hubbard would lead the field to the green, but the #4 of Dominic
Ranieri would take the early lead. A lot of action took place around
the racetrack with many hits, dumps, smashes, and crashes. About
mid-race a red-flag would wave for the #33 of former Blunderbust and
Super Pro Truck competitor, Bryan Sescila, whom had a fire in the
infield of turns 3 and 4. In a wild race, #34 Ed Brown, Jr. would take
the win (his fifth of 2006), followed by the #12 of Robin Schewire, and
the #10 of Joe Warren.
4-cylinder Enduro
The 4-cylinders saw well over 40 cars take the green, with
4-cylinder vet, #1 Bob Haeger along with #2 Jon Hull and #3 John
Saladino lead the field to the green. The field would see many of the
young guns and second-generation of Riverhead entering the race. Mike
Van Houten Jr. would wheel the #5, finishing 14th. #9 Shawn Wanat would
make another appearance in his marathon of Enduro racing. #15 Mike
Mujsce, Jr. was also running the gauntlet of Enduros, a
second-generation racer, with his father being the infamous figure 8
driver, Mike “Moon Juice” Mujsce, Sr. The Turn 1 Cowboys were absent
from their perches in Turn 1 because they were wheeling entries from
Marrzmotorsports. #40 Jimmy Walsh fell out early due to a flat tire,
but the #41 of Johnny Thompson would earn himself a 6th place finish.
And while the young guns were duking it out, Robert Endlekofer in the #4
would take the checkers, his first win of 2006. Following Endlekofer to
the win would be #15 Mike Mujsce, Jr. and #14 Matt Brown.
8-cylinder Enduro
The 8-cylinder race was the wildest of the night, and the most
exciting. #1 Dege Russell and #2 Dominic Ranieri would lead the field
to the green, but the contest became a battle of two Enduro legends,
Ranieri and #5 Walter Stroud. The two would duke it out lap after lap,
swapping the lead throughout the race. The race would come down to the
last lap, last turn, as #5 Walter Stroud was leading and going high, and
the #2 of Dominic Ranieri would push up from the low side and the two
would make contact into the turn 4 wall, and surviving the mayhem for
the win would be #5 Walter Stroud, followed by the #2 Dominic Ranieri
and in third, #20 Dan Collins.
News & Notes:
- Grand Enduro #59 John Cozza
fell ill before the races took the green. Cozza was complaining of
chest pains and was admitted to Central Suffolk Hospital for
observation. To view updates on his status and/or post your get
well wishes, click here
http://racerhub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9968
- Grand Enduro #81 Mark Wolf
was racing hurt this past weekend as he injured his shin in a
Legends Car at Catskill Speedway. A get well to the former
Blunderbust competitor as well!
- Grand Enduro #4 made its
triumphant return, with the likeable Ralph Soluri behind the wheel.
Soluri has been battled and beaten his health demons over the past
year, and it was good to see him out there.
- 8-cylinder Enduro
competitor, and Blunderbust competitor, “Turbo” Tom Sullivan was
seen racing a Chevrolet once again. We are wondering if he has
become a traitor to his Ford loyalty…
- In the 4-cylinders, two
shady looking characters were seen racing Unique Golf Shop entries
under the names of the #19 Terrance Alouyshus Mahoney and #20 Alfred
E. Neuman. We feel these are aliases and may be covers for who they
may be. One looked as if he came straight out of prison, which
could be a reason for their aliases. Although I heard he drove a
Late Model too, one with flames…
- “Pretzel Boy” Steve
Williams made an appearance in the 6-cylinders after missing a few
races. It was good to see him back, although we miss his chants of
pretzels.
- While the Riverhead Enduros
are over for the year, we do hear of some Enduros taking place
during the offseason.
- 9/30 – Femduro @
Mountain Speedway (6/8-cylinders & 4-cylinders, female-male tag
teams)
- 10/7 – NYS Enduro
Championship @ Chemung Speedrome (6-cylinders, 8-cylinders, and
4-cylinders)
- 10/28 – Frankenduro @
Mountain Speedway (6/8-cylinders, 4-cylinders, 4/6-cylinder
Trucks)
- 11/18-19 – Mutha of All
Enduros @ Mountain Speedway (6/8-cylinders, 4-cylinders,
4/6-cylinder Trucks)
Source: J.A.
Ackley/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:
September 23, 2006