Wild Night of Racing Opens Summer Season
at Riverhead Raceway
by Walter
Johnston
The Blunderbusts started off the night’s feature races, with outside
pole sitter Ray Shannon’s Centereach Transmissions #64 taking the lead
at the drop of the green, as Caesar Cunaccia got off to a slow start.
Bill Wegmann’s Crackerjack Auto Supply #79 quickly came up to 2nd, as
Wayne Okula’s Elite Transportation #67 ran 4th behind Cunaccia. By lap
4, Okula saw an opening and passed both Cunaccia and Wegmann. By lap 8,
lapped cars became a factor, but Shannon held on to the lead until lap
10, when Okula took advantage of an opening in traffic and shot past
into the lead. As Okula was now building on his lead, 15th place
starting Tommy Walkowiak had worked his way up to 3rd spot, and passed
now 3rd place Shannon for 2nd on lap 16. On lap 17, a multi-car spin in
turn 2, caused by water on the track in turn 1, necessitated a caution
because of all the dust thrown up, and the field was closed up for the
restart. At the drop of the green, Okula took off, but Walkowiak stayed
right with him, as Artie Pedersen’s Sherwin-Williams Paints #1 was taking over 3rd
spot from Wegmann who’d suffered a flat and pulled off. Coming off turn
2 on the final lap, Walkowiak got under Okula to make the pass for the
lead, but as they started into turn 3, Okula came down into Walkowiak’s
right rear quarter, and Walkowiak spun hard into the turn 3 wall,
resulting in a yellow/checker finish to the race. NASCAR Whelen
Officials quickly had it announced that Okula, who crossed the finish
line 1st, was being set down for rough riding for his part in
Walkowiak‘s wreck, and Artie Pedersen’s Sherwin Williams Paints #1 was
declared the winner.
The next event to be run was the Late Models. With 15 cars scheduled to
run, Shawn Patrick’s Sponsors Wanted #88 sat on the pole, with Kevin
Metzger’s Metzger Racing #23 to his outside. Patrick got the lead at the
green, but immediately suffered a flat right front tire, bringing out a
caution. On the restart, with Metzger now on the pole and Doug Wholey’s
Ideal Cesspool #98 to his outside, Metzger took the lead as Mighty Mike
Mortimer’s Unique Golf Shop #14 came to 2nd, while Ken Matlach’s NY Metro
Peterbilt came to 3rd, with Greg Kleila’s J&R Steakhouse #74 4th, and
Roger Oxee’s Suffolk Water Connection #39 5th. On lap 3, Mortimer took
the lead with a move under Metzger, with Matlach coming to 2nd as
Metzger dropped back to 3rd. 2 laps later, Kleila, Oxee and Dan
Turbush’s Thrifty Beverage #8 all got by the fading Metzger, as Mortimer
and Matlach pulled away from all the others by about 5 car lengths. On
lap 11, Mike Andrews Jr., filling in for the injured Jarrod Hayes in the Big
Brothers Big Sisters of LI #08, hit the wall in the back stretch, and
came to a stop with a flat in turn 1, bringing out the caution. On the
restart, Mortimer and Matlach raced side by side, but behind them, Oxee
spun in turn 4, getting hit like a ping-pong ball as others tried to
avoid him, and caution flew again. On the next restart, Mortimer and
Matlach gain battled side by side, but Matlach took over the lead a lap
into it, while Turbush and Kleila also battled momentarily for 3rd spot
before Turbush took that spot. At the back of the field, Patrick and
Metzger, battling for position also, had side to side contact, with
Metzger suffering a flat, with another yellow coming out to halt the
race. On the restart, Matlach took off to a 3 car length lead, as
Mortimer did all he could to try and catch him, while Turbush, Kleila
and Rob Tribuzio's #01 followed. Mortimer was able to close the gap a
bit during the closing laps, but Matlach held on for his first ever win
in the Late Models.
Next came the Modifieds, operating under a new rule which required the
top 10 in points to start the race on sticker tires. Ken Heagy’s Buoy
One Restaurant #38 started on the pole, with Marissa Niederauer’s House
of Cool #74 to his outside. Heagy shot out into the lead at the drop of
the green, and Niederauer faltered, and Chris Young’s Riverhead Building
Supply #49 came to 2nd behind Heagy, as John Fortin’s J. Murphy Cesspool
Service #84 and Bill Park's Smithtown Nissan #20 followed. But Heagy and
Young pulled away to a 10 car length lead over the others, with Young
stuck to Heagy’s rear bumper like they were chained together. On lap 8,
Heagy got a little lose in turn 4, but Young courteously backed off, and
Heagy quickly recovered. The duo now encountered lapped cars, but
skillfully weaved their way through traffic, and once again found
themselves a clear track to race on. Heagy never got more than a car
length ahead of Young at any given point, running a low line through the
turns, giving Young the choice of following or trying to pass on the
outside, but Heagy’s speed made that impossible, as Young got all his
car had to give just staying in 2nd. Heagy sailed on to take the
checkers in this non-stop feature, but post race tech found Heagy’s tire
were altered, and Young was awarded the victory, while Heagy lost all
points and money for the night.
The Figure 8’s were next with the running of the Ernie Maynor Memorial
25, on the 25th anniversary of the untimely passing of the great
figure-8 driver. Artie Schenck’s restored version of Maynor‘s #82
Dillahunt Chevrolet Vega paced the field before the start of the race. At
the drop of the green, polesitter Tom Ferrara’s DeMartino Enterprises
#0x took the lead, as outside polesitter Tom Kraft’s Four Seasons
Sunrooms #16 and Kenny Hyde's Maple’s Bar #58 followed, with Paul
Specht's Sponsors Wanted #63 4th and Mike Mujsce’s Mike’s Auto Service
#13 5th. Carl Baxter’s Blast-it Sandblasting #74 worked his way to 5th
on lap 3 as Ferrara continued to hold a 3 car length lead. Baxter worked
his way into 4th just as Tom Graff’s DeMartino Enterprises #00 slammed
into the wall in turn 1, bringing out a yellow. On the restart, Ferrara
and Hyde led the way side by side, but Ferrara pulled out front as
Baxter challenged Hyde for 2nd, while Roger Maynor’s Barrasso & Sons
Mason Supply #28 ran a strong 4th. Baxter shot into the lead a lap later
as Maynor also came up to 2nd by lap 8 with a daring move, going between
Ferrara and Hyde coming off turn 4, but on lap 9, John Delavergne’s
Delavergne’s Towing #69 spun, and caution waved again. On the restart,
Baxter and Maynor rand side by side, but Maynor took the lead going into
lap 15. Baxter stayed with him, but Maynor held his lead, stretching it
out to 4 car lengths over Baxter as the traffic at the X got just a
little dicier, causing Maynor to drive defensively, and allowing Baxter
to catch up, but with only 3 laps left, Paul Specht found himself
against the 1st turn wall as caution flew one last time. On the restart,
Maynor took off while Baxter and Hyde followed, but Maynor held on
masterfully to the lead and took the victory in the race he always want
to win most, his Dad’s Memorial race, giving him his 3rd win of the
season and the 83rd win of his career.
News and Notes: I spoke with Wayne Okula concerning his
altercation with Tommy Walkowiak, and Wayne says it was caused by a
brake problem in his car, as he thought Tommy had cleared him before
they made contact. Officials felt otherwise, and had yet to determine if
any other penalties were forthcoming…Walkowiak’s car, by the way, will need extensive repairs before it
races again, according to a member of the team that I spoke to…Slim Jim
Donaldson won the Mini School Bus Figure 8 race in one of the most
exciting races seen on the Figure 8 course in quite some time. I gave up
counting the “almost’s “ at the X on lap 8, and there were at least 12
by that point. Slim Jim bonzaied his way to quite a win, and his fellow
competitors weren’t shy either…nice early finish kept everyone from
getting a chill as it was a weather perfect night of racing…nice to see
George Bock bring his mod out for the first time in recent memory. His
10th place finish not a bad one for someone who’s not a regular…Tommy
Walkowiak still working the bugs out of the Unique Golf LM, and
scratched it from the feature, but in time, those guys will find a way
to make it race well…Rob Bader’s Robert’s Express Fuel Oil #5
Blunderbust finished in 10th, making him the highest placing rookie on
the night, and closing up the Rookie of the Year points chase in the
BB’s…that’s it for this week. Be sure to remember that next week is the
Bay Fireworks show, along with the Police Car Demo Derby and One on One
spectator drags. Until then, live well and be safe.
THE END
Source: Walter
Johnston/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:
June 23, 2007
