Round Two
of Practice
by J.A. Ackley
Once again the racing gods have blessed Riverhead
Raceway with gorgeous weather for six divisions of stock racing plus enduro
cars. We at the Jam were busy scouring the pits to see how racing folks are
doing after this past off-season and what sneak peaks can we get into the
upcoming season.
Modifieds:
17 cars were on hand to take advantage of the final
practice session. #15 Eastport Feeds Chevrolet of Wayne Anderson was back
the second week in a row, as well as the #28 Double Diamond Realty Chevrolet
of Justin Bonsignore. #20 Smithtown Nissan entry of Bill Park made his 2007
debut. Chris Young and the #49 Riverhead Building Supply Chevrolet were on
hand as well, looking forward to a full 2007 campaign. #93 Peter J. Dunn
Attorney at Law Chevrolet of Sal Accardi, Jr. had plenty of sponsors, but in
dire need of a crew. In a surprise appearance, the #84 J. Murphy Cesspool
Chevrolet of John Fortin was on hand, and if his season starts off right,
you may see him venture for a full-season. #96 Freightliner Trucks
Chevrolet of Howie Brode was numbered #98, fresh from his True Value
Modified Racing Series attempt. Expect Brode to run a full campaign at
Riverhead. #21 Spabco Racing Chevrolet was on hand with Chris Beutler for
his first full season of open-wheeled competition. #6 Riverhead Auto Mall
Chevrolet of Tom Rogers, Jr. is the former #5 Frank Vigliarolo entry which
garnered Rogers so much success last year. J.R. Bertuccio is back, taking
turns in the white car and the now black-primered, former purple entry as
well for the Gershow Recycling #2. Dave Brigati looked fast in his two #3
WPW Growers entries. Chuck Steuer also had two cars on hand for the #11x
Savin Copier team. Dennis Krupski made his 2007 Riverhead Raceway debut in
an immaculate looking #66. Krupski plans on running True Value races along
with the occasional race out of town. #10x Mike Andrews, Jr. is back in his
family-owned team, but in desperate need of sponsors. The talented hot shoe
could take your name to the front, so be sure to see him in the pits if
you’re interested. Bobby Gardner was back out again in the #45 Gardner
Racing entry. Lew Hallock made an appearance in the #07 LLKS Construction
Chevrolet, after running Mountain last week. #44 YES Network Chevrolet for
J-4 Motorsports, driven by Dan Jivanelli made their debut as well.
Late Models:
6 cars were on hand for the premier fendered division
of Riverhead. Mike Mortimer’s #14 Mortimer Racing Pontiac was on hand in
racing prime. Dan Turbush had his #8 Ideal Cesspool entry on hand once
again as well, trying to figure out his new car. #39 Roger Oxee was
sporting the blue look in his quest for his second championship. #23 Kevin
Metzger was on hand as well. #08 Jarrod Hayes has more funding this year
for a run for the championship, thanks to Big Brothers and Big Sisters of
Long Island. Scott Kulesa has had me mixing up his #10 for the #01 with his
bright orange car. He’s hopeful the new change in color will result in some
change of luck.
Chargers:
12 cars were present for practice. #81 Spano Floors
Pontiac of Chris Turbush was looking race ready. #48 Pontiac of “Slim” Jim
Donaldson looked great as well. Tom Anderson seemed to spend more time
under the hood of his #23 Chevrolet than on the track. Joe Oliver had his
#24 Oliver Racing Chevrolet in the pits. Ralph Beaver was sporting a new
paint scheme and a new “used” body on his #47 Cavalier Modular Homes
Chevrolet. #57 Thore Foss had new home-built power under his Biltor Welding
& Erection Pontiac. This week Dennis Scott made it on the track in the #28
Scott Racing Dodge and turned quite a few laps. #13 of Garrett Frabrizio
seems to tempt the racing gods with bad luck, with the #13 and green
colors. #51 Alan Reeves had his entry on hand to take in some more
practice. #30 Daryn Miller also was sporting new colors.
Figure 8’s
8 cars were on hand to grace the X of Riverhead
Raceway. The Double Zero Racing tandem of #00 Tom Graff and #0x Tom Ferrara
looked good in form. #28 Barrasso & Sons Mason Supply Ford of Roger Maynor
is back, after a weekend in his Late Model earned him a third-place at
Mountain Speedway. #63 Paul Specht was out again in his SPONSORS WANTED
machine. #69 John Delavergne made his X debut, but unfortunately had
mechanical woes towards the end of the day. #16 Farrell Racing entry saw
2006 champion, Tom Kraft behind the wheel. And last but not least, Kenny
Hyde was out there as well in his #58 entry.
Blunderbusts:
18 cars were on hand in this growing division. #29
Jessica Larsen was back in her immaculate Big Brothers and Big Sisters of
Long Island Chevrolet. Her fellow female rookie, #8 Jessica Cohan was out
with her new car, the former #09 of Joseph Fischett of a couple years ago.
Another rookie, the #5x Rob Bader took turns around the quarter-mile
facility. #22 Scott Maliszewski is looking for sponsors with his
Chevrolet. #00 Tommy Walkowiak looked fast in the Unique Golf Shop
Chevrolet. Rookie #15 Tony Battisti took out the former William Schwarz
entry. #1 Artie Pedersen was out once again, and surprisingly the car was
still waiting to be lettered. #21 Gary Caldwell is back after an extended
absence the past few years. #28 Dennis Cunningham is back as well, aiming
to turn around his luck in his sophomore year. #66 Matt Brown is an enduro
graduate looking good in his rookie season. #01 Matt Greenan had his car
painted up like his Super Pro Truck hero, Lou Maestri. #05 Donny Oliver is
another rookie moving up from the Enduro ranks. Tom “Fred” Sullivan was
seen with another car this week, his #7 Chevrolet, and we heard the Lincoln
at the shop was jealous. #76 “Mighty” Joe Pingatore’s car looks unchanged,
but we look forward to seeing good things from this likeable driver. #11 of
Mike Rommeney was fully painted up in yellow and blue. #64 Ray Shannon had
his car out as well. #69x of Paul Parisi has yet to be lettered, as he’s
been busy lettering everyone else through The Vinyl Answer. #67 of Wayne
Okula was fully lettered up and he’s obtained so many sponsors, that we
simply do not have the space to list them all.
Super Pro Trucks
9 trucks represented the tailgate brigade today. #6
Gil Smith returned this week in the former Bobby Gardner truck. #1 Lou
Maestri looked strong in the Schwing Electric Ford. #32 of Matt Odwazny
made his 2007 debut with a nice paint scheme. The Dumicichs were in full
force - #5 Frank, #42 Frank Jr., and #95 Erin. #31 Anthony Daleo made his
Riverhead Raceway Super Pro Truck debut. #19 PJ Vecchio also made his debut
in the former #34 Victory Fleet entry. And lastly, the #41 of Wayne Meyer
made his first appearance, the former potent #8 of Dan Turbush.
Other News & Notes:
- NEMA Midget driver - #80 Pete
Pernesiglio had his midget on hand, and it made quite a few people wish
that midgets would tour our quarter-mile home track.
- That’s it for now, next week
Walter Johnston will be back. So stay tuned to your favorite site for
Long Island Racing News & Information – LongIslandJam.com.
Source: J.A.
Ackley/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:
April 28, 2007
