There was snow cover in some of the pit
area and a little bit still left on the track, but bright, sunny
skies and relatively mild temperatures greeted competitors and
fans for the Frostbite II Enduro at Mountain Speedway this
weekend. This was the first of the Mountain Madness Enduro
series events for 2008, and provided many with a much-needed
winter racing fix. There were numerous Long Islanders at the
track – drivers, crew members and fans alike. Riverhead Super
Pro Truck driver Matt Odwazny was also spotted, spending the day
working security at the back gate and later driving the track
wrecker.
The first feature of the day was the 4
cylinder race. There were 42 cars on hand to take part in the
100 lap event. The #666 of Duane Garrison took the early lead,
but the #5 of David Bentley Jr. would make an inside move on lap
1 to take the position. On lap 3, the #168 of Bob Wohlegmuth
headed to the pits. The #19c of Bobby Coco suffered a flat on
lap 6, and took the car to the pits. The following lap, the X of
Keith Llewellyn headed to the pit area as well. On lap 24, the
#13T of Travis Schwenk spun between turns 1 and 2, but managed
to right the car without any contact from the other cars on the
track. The #67 of Larry Spencer III pulled into the pits on lap
26. On lap 28, the #168 would return to the track. The #24 of
Larry Spencer Jr., the #2x of Robin Vollmoeller Sr. and the #29F
of Larry Fisher all got together coming out of turn 2 on lap 34
and all would drive away, but the #29F would head into the pits.
On lap 36, the #70d of Denise Siegel would end up backed into
the wall in turn 4 and would pull off, making contact with the ?
of Charles Barbesich in the process. The #24 of Larry Spencer
Jr. would pull off on lap 40. The red flag flew for the first
time in the race on lap 41. At that time, the ? was against the
wall between turns 3 and 4, and the #67 of Spencer III was
facing traffic at the opposite end of the track. The #02 of
Shawn Wanat would leave the track under the red flag due to
seatbelt issues, and would not be allowed to return. On the
restart, the #19x of Jimmy White Jr. didn’t go, and was hit hard
from behind by the #28 of Allen Myers, resulting in another red
flag on lap 43. White Jr. was removed from the car unhurt. On
lap 47, the #83 of Randy Ahner Jr. and the #38 of Bob Haeger
would make contact in turns 1 and 2. Two laps later, the #27v of
Mike Ventura, the #8 of Travis Fisher, the #67 of Spencer III
and others would slide through the infield, with contact being
made with the dead #19x. The red flag would be thrown again on
lap 51 for the #27v. The #308 of Ken Harper would pull off of
the track, and Ahner’s #83 was removed from the track after not
stopping when the red flag was displayed. Following the restart,
the #2 of Tony Arcaro would pit. On lap 55, the #11 of Jeremy
Krauss made hard contact in turn 1. Arcaro would return to the
track on lap 65. The following lap, Wohlgemuth made hard contact
in turn 1 in the #168. The #28 of Myers was against the wall at
this time, and the #116 of Mark Foreman pulled off of the track.
The red flag was displayed once again on lap 68. At this time,
it was being announced that the #99 of Robin Schewire was in the
lead. The race would restart, and the #83 of Ahner would spin
between turns 1 and 2 on lap 73. Officials threw the red flag
again on lap 76 and debris was removed from the racing surface.
The #7 of Sam Ryan would pull into the pits on the restart, but
would return on lap 77. On the following lap, the #11 of Krauss
would hit the wall in turn 1, suffering a right front flat. He
would limp the car around the track and pull off on lap 80. On
lap 84, the #31P of Lou Honeywell would pit, and Bobby Coco
would return to the track in the #19c on the following lap.
Honeywell would rejoin the race on lap 90. On lap 93, he would
pit again, and Ryan would join him in the #7. The #2 of Arcaro
would head to the pits on lap 96. When the checkered flag flew,
Long Islander Robin Schewire won the race, with only the top 2
cars finishing on the lead lap.
Next up was the “Trophy” Truck race, with 6
trucks competing in the 25-lap event. The #7 of Rich Onorato
would take the lead quickly, with the #53 of Kevin Nowak moving
into 2nd on lap 1. The #61 of Harry Sager would go to
the outside to take over 2nd on lap 5. By lap 7,
Sager was on Onorato’s bumper, looking to make a move for the
lead. Sager would inch past Onorato on the outside on lap 10,
but Onorato would fight back and reclaim the spot. Coming out of
turn 4, however, the #61 would grab the lead firmly. On lap 15,
the #44 of Mike Mujsce made contact with Onorato’s left rear,
but Onorato would hold on. Mujsce would make a move to Onorato’s
outside on lap 20 and would take over the 2nd spot.
It was short-lived, though, as Mujsce would spin on the
frontstretch. The #44 would go around again on lap 24. By this
time, Sager had built up a straightaway lead, and he would be
victorious when the checkered flag flew.
The final event of the day was the 6/8
cylinder race, drawing a field of 42 cars for the 100-lap run.
On the intial start, the #57 of Tracy Berger Carmen was off the
pace. The top 3 on lap 1 were the #78 of Vinnie Green, the #41
of Joe Jentile and the #05 of Donny Oliver. The #14x of Brian
Brown and the #417 of Bob Wink would slide through the infield.
On lap 3, Oliver moved into 2nd in the #05. Oliver
would make a move for the lead and actually lead for roughly 20
feet before suffering radiator and other front end damage. The
red flag was displayed on lap 4 for the #53 of Joe Cardiello,
which was backwards in turn 4. The car was moved off of the
racing surface due to a gas leak, and Oliver’s #05 was losing
fluid as it was sitting on the backstretch. The race would
restart, and Oliver pitted the #05 on lap 5. The red flag flew
again on lap 8. The #53 of Kevin Nowak would pull into the pits
with no left rear wheel. On lap 15, Brown made hard contact in
turn 4 in the #14x, but would continue. The #34 of Angelo
Speziautti would pull into the pits on lap 16. On lap 20, the
#10K of Keith Frankenfeld and the #59 of Rich Moyer would pull
off the track. The red flag flew on lap 23 for the #14 of Frank
Reakes. The race would restart, and the #88 of David Schneider
pitted on lap 24. Two laps later, both the #51 of Brad Krause
and the #7 of Stu Paer pitted. On lap 29, the #14 of Reakes
would pull into the pits, while Paer returned to the track in
the #7. The red flag was displayed once again on lap 30.
Frankenfeld would return in the #10K on lap 35. One lap later,
both the #61 of Harry Sager and the #74 of James Presley would
head into the pits, with the #01 of Jimmy White Jr. following
them on lap 37. On lap 41, the #78 of Aaron Miller would spin,
while Frankenfield would return to the pits in the #10K. Sager
would rejoin the race in the #61 on lap 42. On lap 44, the #8 of
Vince James would pit, as would the #74 of Presley which had
returned to the race. On lap 50, the #61 of Sager and the #266
of Bob Kulik made hard contact, and Kulik would head to the
pits. Speziautti would return to the track in the #34 on lap 51.
The following lap, Tom Slee would go to the pits with a flat
tire on the #10. On lap 55, Dominic Ranieri Jr. in the #98 would
pass the #41 of Joe Jentile, and Ranieri was leading the race.
The #7 of Paer would make contact with the #57 of Tracy Berger
Carmen on lap 62. The following lap, the red flag was displayed
again. Following the restart, Brian Brown would pit in the #14x,
as would the #124 of Mark Spencer and the #57 of Berger Carmen.
The #33 of TJ Kapish pitted on lap 64, with the #302 of Joe
Helberg pitting on the following lap. On lap 67, the #124 would
return to the track, and Brown would rejoin the race in the #14x
on lap 68. Berger Carmen would return to the race on lap 72,
with Kapish returning in the #33 on lap 79. On the last lap of
the race, there was a scramble on the frontstretch after a chain
reaction following contact made with a dead 4 cylinder car which
had been placed by the start-finish line for the duration of the
race. When the smoke cleared, however, another Long Islander
claimed victory as Dominic Ranieri Jr. won the race.
News and Notes: Mother Nature was
very cooperative for those of us who made the trip to Mountain
Speedway. Temperatures were fairly mild throughout the course of
the day. Shortly after the conclusion of the 6/8 cylinder race,
hail began falling and that prompted many of the Long Islanders
to begin the ride home. This saved some from the snarl of
traffic caused by the closing of the LIE later on, but not
everyone got so lucky. Many people provided assistance in the
coverage of this event, and without their help, it wouldn’t have
been possible. They include Rob Bader, Frank and Vicki Curtis,
Matt and Mike Odwazny, Terry Stiles, Robin and Elaine
Vollmoeller and Chrissy Wanat.
Source: Tracy
Chirico/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:
January 6, 2008
