Extra Distance Races
Highlight Warm Night of Riverhead Racing
by
Walter Johnston
Time trials kicked off the Saturday twilight program
at Riverhead Raceway, with Howie Brode setting fast time in the modifieds,
and Jon Ellwood setting fast time in the Chargers. The top 6 in each
division later redrew for starting spots. With the Super Pro Trucks enjoying
a night off, 3 heats for the Blunderbusts and 2 for the Late Models
followed, all of which went fairly smoothly. Best of all, the forecasted
occasional thunderstorms never showed up.
The Blunderbust feature started the festivities,
with Artie Pedersen’s Sherwin Williams Paints #1 on the pole, and Paul
Parisi’s The Vinyl Answer Signs & Graphics #69x to the outside, leading the
27 car starting field to the green. Pedersen got the lead on the start, but
Tim Gersbeck’s Trafficanti Contracting, Inc. #55 quickly moved to 2nd to
challenge Pedersen, and passed him to take the lead on lap 2. Meanwhile,
Parisi hung in, but hooked bumpers with Pedersen coming down the front
stretch, allowing Bill Wegmann’s Crackerjack Auto Supply #79 to move up to
2nd, just as Pedersen and Paris got unhooked to follow in 3rd & 4th, while
Crazy Eddie Mistretta’s BAM’s Auto Body #32 ran 5th. On lap 10, Wegmann got
by a fading Gersbeck to take the lead, as Pedersen looked for his own way by
Gersbeck, pulling it off 1 lap later, followed by Mistretta, Joe Pingitore’s
J&C Auto Salvage #76, and Scott Maliszewski’s Blaze Fuel Oil #22, as
Gersbeck totally faded from the top 5 in less than 2 laps. On lap 15, Matt
Greenan Exclusive Tire #01 blew gallons of water out entering turn 1, and
yellow came out quickly. On the restart, Pedersen was pressuring Wegmann
for the lead, but Mistretta was pushing even harder to get by Pedersen for
2nd, and as he did, Pingitore went by to takeover 3rd spot. But that was
short lived, as “Wild Child” Tommy Walkowiak got under both to take 3rd spot
on lap 21. Mistretta was now catching up to Wegmann due to lapped traffic,
as Walkowiak caught up to and passed Mistretta to grab 2nd, but on lap 25, a
quarter panel stuck to Walkowiak’s car from an earlier incident fell off in
turn 4, and caution was out to clean that up. On the restart, things heated
up as Walkowiak ran high through turn 2 to get passed Wegmann, but Wegmann
battled back, and entering turn 4, Walkowiak spun at 3 laps to go, and
Mistretta, in a brilliant move under it all, took the lead as Wegmann tried
to hold off Maliszewski’s effort to pass him, with Mistretta hanging on for
the win, as Wegmann and Maliszewski followed Mistretta across the line in
one of the closest 3 car finishes in quite some time, much to the delight of
the fans.
The Charger 30-lap feature was up next, with Chris
McGuire’s Gershow Recycling #89x on the pole, and fast time trialer Jon
Ellwood’s Lolly’s Hut #17x on the outside. At the drop of the green, McGuire
and Ellwood took off side by side, and remained that way through the first 3
laps, until a caution came out for a spin by Kevin Orlando’s Neat & Complete
Drywall #99 in turn 4. On the restart, Ellwood pulled slightly ahead of
McGuire, but McGuire fought back, and they ran side by side once more, until
Chris Turbush’s Ideal Cesspools #81 got under them both going into turn 3,
at which point, Ellwood Bobbled a bit in turn4, dropping back as Turbush
took the lead, while McGuire and Eric Lutz’s Marjam Supply #36 battled for
2nd. Ellwood now ran 4th, contending with Jeremy McDermott’s Sandy Shore
Builders #5. Turbush pulled away to a 1 car length lead by lap 12, but then
spun from the lead in turn 4 on lap 14 after contact with a slower car,
bringing out the yellow, and giving the lead back to McGuire. On the
restart, Lutz got out front immediately, as McGuire spun entering turn 1,
bringing yellow back out. On the next restart, it was now Lutz and
McDermott, and Lutz jumped out front once more, as McDermott and Ellwood ran
side by side for 2nd, with Ellwood taking the spot a lap later. Ellwood now
rode Lutz’s bumper, looking for a way by, but Lutz managed to hold him off,
as McDermott, Jim Donaldson’s Sponsors Wanted #48 and Tom Anderson’s Mike’s
Place #23 made up the top 5. On lap 21, McGuire spun out once more in turn
2, and yellow came out when he was unable to refire the car. On the restart,
McGuire’s bad luck continued, as he hit the wall in the back stretch,
bringing out yet another yellow and ending his night. On the restart, Lutz
held the lead, as Ellwood stayed right with him, but Chris Turbush, working
his way up from starting in the back after his earlier spin, was now in 4th
and looking to get by McDermott to take 3rd. On Lap 26, Turbush caught and
passed McDermott, and set his sights on Ellwood in 2nd. Turbush catches up
with 2 to go, but Ellwood has one more chance at Lutz, as he got under him
coming out of turn 2, but Lutz held on, taking sole possession of the lead
going into the final turns, as Turbush tries the outside of Ellwood, and the
3 of them come across the line a half car length ahead of each other, as
Lutz takes the victory in an exciting 1-2-3 finish.
The Late Models were next, with Shawn Patrick’s
Sponsors Wanted #88 on the pole, and Kevin Metzger’s Metzger Racing #23 to
the outside. Patrick grabbed the lead from the start, as Metzger now had his
hands full with Ken Matlach’s NY Metro Peterbilt #34 quickly taking 2nd
spot. On Lap 4, Matlach passed Patrick to take the lead, with Scott Kulesa’s
Ranco Sand & Stone #10 coming to 2nd, but 2 laps later, Metzger stopped in
turn 3 with a flat, and yellow was out. On the restart, Kulesa got out
front, but Matlach recovered quickly as Kulesa bobbled momentarily and
Matlach took the lead back. Dan Turbush’s Ideal Cesspool #8 (no longer #81)
was now 2nd, and worked his way around Matlach on lap 12 to take the lead,
as Mike Mortimer’s Unique Golf Shop #14 was challenging Matlach to take 2nd
away, and did so in short order. Turbush pulled away from Mortimer to a 2
car length cushion, as Matlach dropped back about 5 car lengths behind
Mortimer, while Kulesa ran a distant 4th. Turbush set a nice, even pace, but
as the laps wound down at the end, Mortimer closed back up to within 1 car
length, but Turbush held on to take the victory.
The Modifieds rolled out next, after a brief
intermission, with Dan Jivanelli’s Long Island Collector Car Garage #44 on
the pole, and Chris Young’s Riverhead Building Supply #49 to his outside.
Jivanelli took the lead as Wayne Anderson’s Eastport Feeds #15 came quickly
to 2nd, while Young, Tom Rogers’ Big Brothers & Big Sisters of LI, and JR
Bertuccio’s Gershow Recycling #2 rounded out the top 5, as they ran single
file. Jivanelli and Anderson were pulling away from Young, as Rogers tried
to get around Young, while Bertuccio and Bill Park, in the Smithtown Nissan
#20, tagged along and watched. By lap 12, Jivanelli had caught the cars at
the rear of the field, and all the leaders had to ride the high line to pass
them. Rogers took advantage of Chris Young’s brief contact with one of them,
and pass Young for 3rd spot and began to reel in Anderson. On lap 24, Mike
Andrews spun in turn 4 after contact with another car, and caution came out
as others stopped to avoid Andrews’ car. On the restart, Rogers got by
Anderson for 2nd, as did Bertuccio, but a nerf bar on the back stretch
brought yellow out once more on lap 26. With the single file restart,
Jivanelli pulled away with Rogers right on his bumper as Bertuccio and
Anderson watched. Bertuccio made his move to get under Rogers for 2nd, and
Anderson came through to take 3rd as Rogers fell back to 4th, with John
Fortin’s J. Murphy Cesspool Service #84 now in 5th. Jivanelli sailed away
easily as Bertuccio and Anderson continued to do battle for 2nd. Jivanelli
now had a commanding 8 car length lead, as Bertuccio pulled away from
Anderson. Bertuccio was finally able to close on Jivanelli towards the end,
but the laps ran out as Jivanelli took the wire to wire victory.
Last on the night were the Figure 8’s, with Paul
Specht’s Sponsors Wanted #63 on the pole, and “Altar Boy” Tom Ferrara on the
outside. Specht took the lead at the start, but Ferrara and Mike Mujcse, in
the Mike’s Auto Service #13, came together before the first lap was
completed, and a complete restart came after caution flew. On the restart,
Ferrara jumped out front, while Tom Kraft’s Four Seasons Sunrooms #16 came
into 2nd as Specht and Carl Baxter, in the Blast-it Sandblasting #74 battled
for 3rd. Roger Maynor’s Barrasso & Sons Mason Supply quickly challenged
Specht to takeover 4th, with Ken Hyde’s Maples Bar & Grill #58 also moving
up. Maynor was on a mission, as he passed Kraft a lap later and set his
sights on Ferrara by lap 8. On the next lap, Maynor passed Ferrara on the
outside to take the lead, but yellow flew one lap later as Ferrara’s car
went up in a puff of steam as the cooling system blew water all over the
track. On the restart, Maynor slingshotted away from Baxter, and then paced
himself to avoid traffic as the X as the race wore on. Baxter now had sole
possession of 2nd, unchallenged, but couldn’t gain any ground on Maynor,
whose car ran perfectly as he collected the 81st win of his career.
News and Notes: Don’t forget next week’s Vintage Car
Show, as we are told at least 12 Modifieds are expected to be there from 3
different clubs, even though the Garden State Vintage Club had to scale back
due to a prior commitment. This will be a great preview of Riverhead’s own
Old Timers reunion, scheduled for Sunday August 26th this year. If you love
the old Modifieds, or never got to see them, don’t miss these two events…LI
Jam personnel all got new, blue uniform shirts, compliments of ASI
Sportswear of Deer Park. Now we are easily found by anyone who needs to
speak with any of us…The Turn 1 Cowboys got some jesting from the Turn 2
Gang last night, as Connor Halpin carried a sign that read, “Save A Horse,
Beat Up A cowboy”, as the friendly feud continued between the two groups of
fans. I think I have to go with the Turn 2 Gang here, many more years of
experience in the racing world. Oh well, the rivalry continues, I guess,
except for both factions mutual love of Miller Genuine Draft, that
is…Getting word that a few more Late Models will be on hand in the coming
weeks, a nice addition to an exciting class of cars. Keith Rotzi expected,
along with a possible new car for Mike Bologna, and Buzzy Eriksen due to
return after a week off for a family function. Even Rob Tribuzio may show up
to run a show soon. Nice to see Joe Cerabino in the Cerabino Landscaping #9
among the competitors last night…after a long, hot afternoon, it was
surprising how cool it got as darkness fell, but the show was over early
again, and all got to warm up in their own way…until next time, live well
and be safe. We hope to see you all at next weeks’ show.
Source: Walter
Johnston/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:
June 3, 2007
