A Sunny Day Welcomes
Racing Back At Riverhead Raceway
By
Walter
Johnston
The much anticipated
opening practice at Riverhead Raceway, combined with a Nextel Cup Car Match
race, was run under sunny skies on a warm, comfortable afternoon at Long
Island’s only ¼ mile oval in front of a nice sized crowd of fans who took
advantage of the great weather to get some racing and fresh air after months
of indoor confinement from the recent poor weather. While not everyone’s
cars were ready to compete, a good number of competitors came out to shake
down their racers in preparation for the 2007 racing season.
In the Nextel Cup
Match race, held in the middle of the practice session, Eddie Brunnhoelzl
III bested his father, Ed Brunnhoelzl Jr. in their shoot-out for bragging
rights by a little over a car length. Eddie III grabbed the lead from the
start, with a few serious challenges mounted by his father, but he held him
off at the finish as guest starter Ray Morturano waved the checkered flag.
The race was a real treat for the crowd on hand, and a good way to fill a
break for the regulars after a few rounds of practice had been completed by
all the regular divisions. A big thanks to Bob McCormick from
Marrzmotorsports, the great Marty Himes, Mike Penso of West Islip Car Wash &
Detail Center, and Scott Rose of Lee Miles Transmissions of Bay Shore for
their efforts to make this event possible.
There were 10
Modifieds on hand for the day, down from the usual amount, but with a True
Value Modified Racing Series race at the Waterford Speedbowl, and other
competitors committed to the rescheduled Ice Breaker WMT race at Thompson,
it was a nice turnout. The Late Models were also low on car count, but with
a few surprise paint schemes. Scott Kulesa forego his long time black paint
job for a new, day-glo orange, and Roger Oxee switching to a blue paint
scheme. Dan Turbush was also present to shake down his new Howe chassied
Late Model, and he seemed pleased with how it ran. Jarrod Hayes had
mechanical woes, spending more time at Sony Densieski’s welding truck in one
afternoon than most drivers spend in a season.
The Charger, Figure
8 and Super Pro Truck groups also had a few cars on hand, with 10 Chargers,
6 Figure 8’s and 6 Super Pro Truck vehicles on hand shaking down their cars
to get ready for another year of racing. With many more drivers reported to
be a bit behind in their preparations for the season, many more should be on
hand for the practice session scheduled for next Saturday. While the light
fields of these 3 divisions was somewhat disappointing, it gave those who
did show up a lot of practice time to shake down their cars.
The Blunderbusts
showed up in force, with 20 cars on hand, almost enough to run a feature
race, and many new rookies took a turn at figuring out the Riverhead oval
before the points and money would be on the line. It also allowed for some
mechanical bugs to be ironed out by all, though few seemed to have any major
troubles during the course of the afternoon, as practice went smoothly with
no major incidents.
It was nice to see
all the smiles as people renewed their friendships after having the winter
off, as small circles of drivers stood chatting with each other throughout
the afternoon. Following the regular practices for the Saturday night
divisions, the Enduro cars got in a few rounds of practice for themselves.
I spoke to Gina and
Ellen about the tire policy at the track this year, as there has been a
change in how tires will be distributed. Tires must now be ordered two weeks
in advance if you want to be guaranteed they will have what you need. You
need to let them know how many you’ll need, and can specify a choice on
sizing. Tires will come in either + or - ¼” on the chalk marks. All attempts
will be made to fill the first set ordered. Tires can be measured and
refused or exchanged as long as it has not been mounted and aired. Once you
leave the tire area, they will not be accepted for return. Ellen also
assured me that there will be extras on hand for those that need to replace
any tire that gets damaged during competition. Full details of the new
policy can be obtained at the track as well as on our site –
LongIslandJam.com.
News & Notes: You
couldn’t have asked for better weather for the day. It’s actually too bad
there wasn’t regular racing scheduled, as conditions were ideal… Many teams
lacked graphics on their cars, making it difficult in some cases to tell
who’s was who without asking… Scott Kulesa will not have to worry about not
being seen this season with his new day-glo orange paint job. Any competitor
that doesn’t see Scott’s car should be given an immediate eye test… With the
start of the regular season just 2 weeks away, some drivers were in
attendance without their cars, but promised they’ll be ready in time… the
new go-kart track in the infield looked really good, and should provide a
much needed boost for go-kart racing at Riverhead this season… Peter Rotzi
has shelved his Late Model for now as he has purchased a Super Pro Truck and
plans on racing in that division this season… That’s all from here for now
as we at LongIslandJam.com continue gearing up to bring you the best
coverage of racing at Riverhead and beyond, with ever expanding coverage of
all your favorites. Please make sure your profiles are up to date and keep
letting us know of any additional sponsorships on your cars so we can give
the sponsors exposure here and help you to help them…until next time, live
well and be safe.
Source: Walter
Johnston/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:
April 21, 2007
