Lee USA held its annual Oktoberfest weekend October 19-21,
and two Riverhead regulars made the trip up North to take part
in the racing action. Dave Koenig was on hand with his #97
Super Pro Truck, and he was joined by Chris Turbush in the #81
Charger. Both teams sent along some news and notes to
share with LongIslandJam.com.
With practice rained out on Friday, both Riverhead teams
looked to get in some serious practice time on Saturday, in
spite of wet grass and dirt in the infield. Chris Turbush
reports that he was among the fastest cars in time on Saturday,
prior to an incident that could and should have taken him out of
contention for the remainder of the weekend. Dave Koenig
blew a clutch, and the team lost all of their practice time
Saturday replacing the clutch and pressure plate in the truck.
Fortunately, Dave's truck was ready to go on Sunday.
According to his team, the truck was not fast enough to keep up
with the leaders, though, and they changed the carburetor but
continued to have issues. Among those helping out was
fellow Riverhead Raceway Super Pro Truck competitor Bobby Jones.
In spite of all of his troubles, Dave was able to collect an
11th place finish for his efforts.
While Chris Turbush may not have had as impressive of a
finish as Koenig, his weekend tale was nothing short of amazing,
according to reports. Chris' car was heavily damaged
during practice on Saturday. According to Chris, his
wheels got off the track a little, and the car spun because of
the water. He was hit first in the left rear, causing the
car to spin, and then he was hit in the passenger side door.
The situation left Turbush with a car that had a severely bent
rear and the right side chassis was pushed over roughly one
foot. Since no one had the parts available that Chris
needed for his rear end, the team obtained a rear from one of
the locals, and they set to work torching, cutting and welding
the rear back together.
Turbush was able to get the car ready to race on Sunday,
a task that was apparently just short of a miracle. Among
those helping were the Turbush family (including Chris' father
Dan and brother Roger), former Super Pro Truck competitor Hank
Hallock and the crews from both Turbush's car and Koenig's
truck. Misfortune would strike Turbush once again,
however, as he was only able to complete a few laps before the
axle popped out of the rear.
"We all go racing to win," noted Turbush, "but sometimes the
driver messes up, sometimes you get caught in other people's
wrecks. You can never take anything for granted." On
a lighter note, Turbush also stated, "I would rather lose with
my family than win with anyone else."
In other notes coming out of the Oktoberfest weekend,
LongIslandJam.com has been informed that Roger Turbush will be
behind the wheel of Dave Koenig's other Super Pro Truck for the
2008 season. Chris Turbush's car is already stripped down,
as the team must decide whether to try to repair it or build a
new frame. LongIslandJam.com would like to thank both
Chris Turbush and Joe from the #97 Super Pro Truck crew for
providing us with this information.
Source: Tracy Chirico/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:
October 24, 2007
