Long Night
of Racing Greets Scores of Fans
by Walter Johnston &
J.A. Ackley
In one of the longest nights of racing in recent
weeks, packed stands took witness to Super Pro Trucks, Blunderbusts, Late
Models, Modifieds, Car Rollovers, One-on-One Spectator Drags, and a full
8-cylinder Stock Enduro. Some familiar names returned to victory lane this
week, for the first time in 2007.
The Super Pro Truck feature saw two rookies leading the
field to green – #31 Joseph Daleo Contracting Chevrolet of Anthony Daleo and
the #6 GBS Racing Dodge of Gil Smith. At the drop of the green, #6 Smith
moves into the early lead, but before it could get interesting caution would
wave for the spun #38 PCHS Racing Engines Chevrolet of Danny Grennan in
turns 3 and 4. The race would resume with #6 Smith out in the lead being
challenged by #66 NY Metro Peterbilt Chevrolet of Mike Albasini, and a lap
later #66 Albasini would grab the lead followed by the #97 Nelson’s Auto
Salvage Ford of Dave Koenig moving to second. Meanwhile, the #1 Schwing
Electric Supply Ford of Lou Maestri duels with #6 Smith, as the #42
Stephanie McCormack Fund Chevrolet of Frank Dumicich, Jr. awaits his turn at
the battle. Moving up steadily through the field would be #38 Grennan, who
restarted 15th and by lap 6 was in 6th. On lap 16, the #3 SPONSORS WANTED
Chevrolet of Peter Rotzi and the #94 Hallock Racing Chevrolet of Kathleen
Hallock collide off turn 4, with #3 Rotzi spinning to a stop on the front
straightaway, brining out yellow. At the restart, the #66 Albasini jumped
to the lead and cruised to his second victory of 2007. #97 Koenig would
settle for second, followed by the #1 of Lou Maestri in third. Honorable
mention goes to Grennan who would claim 4th spot, working his way from the
back to the front.
The Blunderbusts saw 26 cars in the pits, but 24 would
make the call to the green. The #20 TTB Construction Co. Chevrolet of
impressive rookie Caesar Cunaccia and the wily veteran, Bill Wegmann in the
#79 Crackerjack Auto Supply Oldsmobile would lead the field to green. The
flag would wave, but in turn 2 the #69x The Vinyl Answer Signs & Graphics
Chevrolet of Paul Parisi and #32 BAM’s Auto Body Chevrolet of Eddie
Mistretta came together bringing out the first yellow. The green would wave
again, and #20 Cunaccia would grab first, #6 SPONSORS WANTED Buick of Scott
Sepe second, ad #79 Wegmann third. Caution would wave soon thereafter, with
the #69x Paul Parisi winding up in the turn 1 wall, as well as the #72 Stock
& Carr, Esq. Chevrolet of Tom Alt. On the restart, #6 Sepe shows his might
and grabs the lead while the #20 Cunaccia takes second, and #01 Exclusive
Tire Chevrolet of Matt Greenan is third. #20 Cunaccia looks to the outside
of #6 Sepe, while the #01 Greenan and #11 C&A Auto Parts Chevrolet of Mike
Rommeney battle for third. However, sneaking through the field would be the
#00 Unique Golf Shop Chevrolet of Tommy Walkowiak, as the savvy veteran
would get by the #01 Greenan, #11 Rommeney, and #20 Cunaccia to second
place, and then at lap 10, he would power his way on the outside of #6 Sepe
for the lead. On lap 15, #8 American Old Fashioned Ice Cream Chevrolet of
Jessica Cohan spun in turn 4, bringing the yellow out. The green would
resume, and #00 Walkowiak would take first, #6 Sepe second, and the #22
SPONSORS WANTED Chevrolet of Scott Maliszewski would move into third. #6
Sepe and #22 Maliszewski would duke it out for second, with #6 Sepe
protecting the low line. However, #22 Maliszewski would grab the second
place spot, #6 Sepe would take third, while #00 Tommy Walkowiak would earn
his 28th career win, and his 6th of 2007.
The Late Models returned after two weeks off with the
#88 SPONSORS WANTED Ford of Shawn Patrick and #98 Ideal Cesspool Chevrolet
of Doug Wholey leading the field to green. Green flag waves and Patrick
jumps out front with the #23 Metzger Racing Chevrolet of Kevin Metzger
grabbing second, and then the lead. 1 lap later the two would swap
positions again, with #88 Patrick resuming the lead. The yellow would wave
soon thereafter as the #23 Metzger would spin after contact with the #08 Big
Brothers & Big Sisters of Long Island Pontiac of Jarrod Hayes. The race
would restart but as fast the green waved, caution would wave as well, as
the #98 Wholey would spin after contact with the #23 Metzger. They would
try to restart again, and the #88 Patrick would grab the lead followed by
#08 Hayes, but the #00 Schlaugies Fuel Oil Chevrolet of Mike Bologna spun,
bringing out yellow once more. They restart again, and the #88 Patrick and
#08 Hayes battle for the lead, but in turn two the #10 Ranco Sand & Stone
Pontiac of Scott Kulesa and #08 Hayes collide in turn 2, bringing out
yellow. They restart yet again, with the #88 Patrick grabbing the lead, as
the #39 The Helman Group Pontiac of RJ Oxee following in second and the #01
Iguana’s Restaurant & Nightlife Pontiac of Georgia’s Rob Tribuzio in third.
On lap six, the #39 Oxee ducks low off turn 2, outraces #88 Patrick into
turn 3, to take the lead. However, the #14 SPONSORS WANTED Pontiac of Mike
Mortimer suffers a flat entering turn 1 and spins, bringing out the yellow.
Upon the wave of the green once again, the #39 Oxee leads #01 Tribuzio and
the #34 NY Metro Peterbilt Dodge of Ken Matlach. By halfway, Oxee would
garner a 3-car length lead over #01 Tribuzio and #34 Matlach. As the race
winds down, the #34 Matlach would take away second from visiting #01
Tribuzio, while #8 Ideal Cesspool Pontiac of Dan Turbush decides to do the
same to take third. While this is happening, #39 Roger Oxee cruises to
victory, his first of 2007, and his 55th of his career.
In the One-on-One Spectator Drags, 19 cars would brave
out their wives, parents, friend’s, company’s and yes their own cars for a
one lap duel to see who’s the fastest fan out there. Even two brought out
their tow trucks, including Thaddeus Lattanzio and his ramp truck to see if
they got the need for speed. However, in the end it would be the classic
battle of Pontiacs, with Mike Schlaugies and his 1970’s Pontiac LeMans
versus Don Carisiti’s 1980’s Pontiac Firebird. At the drop of the green,
they both get an even start, but Schlaugies would get the lead into turn 1
on the second lap and earn himself another trophy to the huge mantle that
Schlaugies must have, as one of the all-time winningest Spectator Drag
competitors.
The Car Rollovers would see seven entrants testing the
ramp to see who can roll the most. Brian Savoy would take three runs at the
ramp, with points of 5, 0, and 7 earning him a total of 12 points. Next up,
Mike “Mad Dog” Roth would take a turn at the ramp, earning points of 0, 2,
and 2; a total of 4 points. Former Blunderbust competitor and current
Charger competitor Dennis Scott took his turn, earning 2, 5, and 5 points
for a grand total of 12 points. Jason Savoy would try to out do his
brother, and did with a 10 point run, but unfortunately couldn’t make any
further runs, thus ending his night with 10 points. Chris “Crazy” Kinlinger
would prove that conservation and consistency earns you points in the long
run, with 5 points each run, with a total of 15 in the end. Figure 8
competitor, Tim “Tornado” Farrell would follow the same strategy, and earn 5
points each run as well, with a grand total of 15. Thaddeus Lattanzio tried
to take it up a notch, and earned 7 points in the first and second runs, but
failed to make the call for third, missing the win by a mere 1 point with a
grand total of 14. Nick “Taz” Herzberg had an uncharacteristically bad run,
with a 2 and 3 points in the two rounds he only made for a total of 5. So
in the end, slow and steady won the race, and Chris “Crazy” Kinlinger and
Tim ”Tornado” Farrell would named co-winners.
The Modifieds saw 21 cars on hand, but 2 would fail to
take the green. #74 House of Cool Ford of Marisa Niederauer would hit the
front straightaway head on, ending her night early, and possibly the
season. Likewise, the #66 Sky Materials entry of Dennis Krupski blew a
motor, which ended his night and possibly season early as well. The race
would see the #26 Lakeland Landscaping Supply Chevrolet of Gary McDonald and
the #03 Century 21 – Stanzoni Realty Pontiac of Ken Darch lead the field to
green. #26 McDonald gets the early lead, but before the race could get
interesting #03 Darch and #44 Long Island Collector Car Garage Chevrolet of
Dan Jivanelli get together in turn 2 bringing out the yellow. On the
restart, the #26 McDonald grabs the lead with #2 Gershow Recycling Chevrolet
of J.R. Bertuccio and #15 Eastport Feeds Chevrolet of Wayne Anderson duking
it out for second. Once again yellow would wave as the #16 Lakeland
Landscaping Supply Chevrolet of newcomer Sean McDonald would spin on the
back straightaway. On the restart, #26 McDonald and #2 Bertuccio both
restart well, with McDonald on the inside and Bertuccio on the outside doing
battle, but before it could get interesting, yellow would wave for two
disabled cars in unrelated incidents, the #84 J. Murphy Cesspool Chevrolet
of John Fortin in turns 3 and 4, and the #49 Riverhead Building Supply
Chevrolet of Chris Young off turn 2. The #26 McDonald and #2 Bertuccio lead
the field to green once again, but as the green waves, the caution waves
once again as mayhem all over the field occur bringing out the yellow. #2
Bertuccio and #26 McDonald battle again, and as the green waves, #2
Bertuccio jumps to the lead, followed by the #21 ADM Productions Chevrolet
of Chris Beutler, and the #20 Smithtown Nissan Chevrolet of Bill Park.
Caution would wave yet again on lap 6, as the #11x Savin Chevrolet of Chuck
Steuer was disabled on the back stretch. Single file restarts are dictated
for the remainder of the race. On the restart, #2 Bertuccio takes off as
the #21 Beutler and #20 Park pursue him. The field remains single file, as
the #20 Park looks to pass #21 Beutler with no success. #93 Checkers
Chevrolet of Accardi is now looking to pass the #20 Park but can’t find a
way. Meanwhile, #3 WPW Growers Chevrolet of Dave Brigati gets under the #93
Accardi, for fourth spot. #2 Bertuccio starts stretching his lead over #21
Beutler while #21 Beutler stretches his distance over third-place #20 Park.
#3 Brigati, in his recently purchased championship-winning Modified, is
looking for a way around the venerable veteran, #20 Park, but runs out of
time. #2 J.R. Bertuccio earns his first win of 2007, following by #21 Chris
Beutler and #20 Bill Park.
The Mini School Bus Figure 8 race saw their biggest
field yet, consisting of 11 buses. The biggest battle was up front, with
Late Model competitor #01 Rob Tribuzio battling Super Pro Truck competitor
#19 PJ Vecchio. Figure 8 competitor Tim Farrell tries to challenge them for
the lead, but red flag waves for the flipped #44 bus. After righting the
#44, the race resumed with Rob Tribuzio earning the win.
In a race reminiscent of yesteryear enduros, 77
8-cylinder stock enduro cars took to the track under the lights. Long-time
enduro competitor, #9 Dege Russell takes the early lead as absolute mayhem
occurs with cars 3 wide and then some all around the track. Turn 1 became
crowded with wrecked cars with the field managing to make one line through
the dirt in turns 1 and 2. The #58 of Chris “Short Round” Lescenski, a Late
Model crewmember for #08 Jarrod Hayes, is shown as the provisional leader at
lap 10. The race featured a lot of action and a lot of wrecks, providing
much smoke and dust fueling the aura of the carnage of this enduro.
Attrition was high, as by lap 20, 15 cars sat disabled. With 30 laps in the
books, less than 50 cars were still running, with an average of 8 dropping
out every 10 laps, mostly with benign but fatal flat tires. On lap 33 the
#1 of long-time enduro competitor, Spiro Germanakos is your provisional
leader. At lap 40, little over than 30 cars are managing to still run, with
4 disabled cars on the track, and many on the infield. #1 Germanakos spins
in water in turn 2, but manages to quickly recover. On lap 50, 23 cars
remain. At lap 63, enduro master and legend, #30 Walter Stroud, Jr. is
shown as the leader as the car count and laps left drop. When the dust
settled enduro veteran Walter Stroud is crowned victor, followed by two
other enduro veterans, #23 Ed Brown, Jr., and the #45 of Anthony Pizzo.
News & Notes:
- After wrecking the front and
rear clip of his customary car, Dave Sapienza used the #10x of Mike
Andrews, Jr., which he is hoping to close the deal to purchase the car
for the rest of the season.
- Sean McDonald, son of Modified
driver Gary McDonald, debuted the #16 Modified. Sean will be sharing
the driving duties of the car with his twin brother Chad.
- Former Modified driver Peggy
Smith was seen in the stands taking in the action.
- Late Model #8 driver, Dan
Turbush would like to welcome aboard his newest sponsor, Another Pest
Control Company.
- Advice from the pits is do not
let Tom Sullivan use your Blunderbust. Sullivan has blown up his
primary and back-up motor in his #7 Lincoln, the motor in his back-up
#71, and the loaned ride of the #43 Portney Racing entry of Bill
Portney, Jr. Seriously though, Sullivan is looking for some racing
luck, and hopefully its in the form of a motor.
- Doug Watson decided this week
was a racing week, not a fishing week, but unfortunately as he took to
the track his starter went. It was rumored that a fish may have
sabotaged his starter.
- NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
driver, Danny Sammons, in the #0 Solhem Racing Chevrolet looked good
this past Saturday night. In addition to Sammons Modified experience,
he has quite a bit of experience in USAR Hooters Pro Cup.
- Tony Anello returned to the
Modifieds and made his first Riverhead appearance since a Charger race
in 2001.
- Justin Bonsignore made his
return to NASCAR Modified action, after last week schooling his old
contemporaries in the EKRA Lites. Bonsignore had a solid finish of 10th.
- Scott Sepe earned a top 5 in
the Blunderbusts, his first since his win a few years back. Sepe has
been looking surprisingly strong in recent weeks.
- Next week, Walter Johnston is
away, so J.A. Ackley will be doing the writing. Expect quite a bit of
outsiders to invade Riverhead Raceway this upcoming weekend for the
Baldwin/Evans/Jarzombek memorial 77-lap race. A great race to honor
some great competitors, and a possible tune-up for the NASCAR Whelen
Modified Tour annual visit.
Source: J.A.
Ackley/Walter Johnston/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:
July 15, 2007
