The day started with overcast skies and some rain, but Mother
Nature decided to send some sun and warm temperatures our way in
time for the day's racing at Riverhead. It provided a nice
backdrop for the return of the Legends cars to Riverhead, as
well as the track's first round of Enduro racing for the 2008
season.
There were 23 Legends cars on hand for the division's
official return to Riverhead Raceway, and they started the day's
events with two heat races. The heat race winners were Silas
Hiscock Jr. and Michael Malone.
Next to the track were the One-on-One Spectator Drag cars.
When all of the single elimination runs were complete, Pete
Sherman Jr. walked away with the trophy.
The Legends car feature took to the track next, with 22 cars
coming to the grid. The #18 of Jim Pape Jr. scratched from the
feature after experiencing mechanical problems in his heat race.
The Malone Racing #47 of Mike Malone, after starting on the
outside pole, took the lead coming into turns 1 and 2. Caution
flew on lap 1 as the Eveready Motorsports #94 of Tony Naglieri
and the Nowak Racing #53 of Kevin Nowak made contact. Nowak
pitted for repairs, and Naglieri was sent to the pits because he
had lost his rear bumper. INEX rules do not permit competitors
to run without their rear bumpers completely attached. On the
restart, Malone once again took the lead and the caution came
out again on lap 4 as the #77 of "Wild Bill" Hiscock went
around. Again Malone had the advantage on the restart,
but caution followed on lap 6 for the Bryan Johnson Motorsports
#92NY of Bryan Johnson. Malone would once again take the lead on
the restart, though he continued to be challenged by the #31 of
Michael Gervais Jr. On lap 9, caution was displayed again as the
#15NJ of Malcolm Campbell spun, and officials sent the #83 of
Gregory DiCanio to the rear for rough riding. Under green flag
conditions, there was a heated three-car battle for the lead
involving Malone, Gervais and the #37 of Silas Hiscock Jr.,
while the South Gate Corporation #55 of Paul Dodorico waited
patiently in fourth for the opportunity to challenge. Caution
came out again as the #15NY of Timmy Solomito went around. The
White House Deli & Catering #07, which was supposed to be sent
to the rear for his part in the incident, had come to a stop in
turn 4 and required a wrecker to be removed from the track.
Another caution came out on lap 11 as the #7NY of Silas Hiscock
Sr. and the Sherman Racing #27 of Tom Sherman made contact. On
lap 14, something went terribly wrong, as it seemed that Malone
either broke an oil line or lost a motor and the car made a
sharp right entering turn 1, collecting Gervais, Dodorico, and
Naglieri, among others. As a result, the lead fell to Hiscock
Jr. for the restart. Hiscock Jr. built a commanding lead over
the #53 of Nowak, who had worked his way back to the second
position, leading by nearly half a straightaway at lap 20.
Hiscock Jr. sailed to victory, followed by Nowak and the #76 of
Tom Endres.
The Grand Enduro ran next. The Peconic Sign Co. #12 of Greg
Zaleski took the lead off of the start. By lap 5, however, eyes
started to turn to the #16 of Ray Fitzgerald, which had already
moved up to fourth. By lap 14, Fitzgerald was in second, though
Zaleski had nearly half a straightaway lead built up. Fitzgerald
closed the gap quickly, and took the lead coming across the
start/finish line on lap 18. Fitzgerald would work his way
through lapped traffic, managing to stay ahead of Zaleski and
lapping nearly the entire field in the process. Fitzgerald
claimed victory in the event, followed by Zaleski and the Flanders
Automotive #56 of Robin Vollmoeller Sr.
The next event would be the 4/6 Cylinder Truck Enduro.
Polesitter Don Nelson shot right into the lead in the #38. Tommy
Walkowiak made his presence known in Jim White's Hampton Fleet
Service #9 right from the start, coming from a ninth place
starting spot to the fourth position by lap 2. The #4x of Jeff
Gregor wrestled the race lead away from Nelson on lap 5, but
Walkowiak took the position away from Gregor on lap 7. Walkowiak
spun on lap 14, passing the lead back to Nelson, who was soon
overtaken by the Peconic Auto Repair #34 of Woot Lawrence. By
lap 20, however, Walkowiak had worked his way back to third.
Lawrence managed to stay ahead of Walkowiak until lap 34, when
he was black flagged for a flat tire on the #34, giving the lead
back to Walkowiak. Walkowiak went on to win the event, ahead of
the #7 of Rich Onorato and the #02 of Shawn Wanat.
The first stock 8 Cylinder Enduro was next to the track, with
32 cars lining up to race 75 laps. The #1 of Anthony Pizzo went
to the lead from his pole starting position. The red flag was
thrown when the #29 of Stanley Roberts ended up on its side up
against the wall after making contact with the #31 of Tom Slee
Jr. Both drivers were okay. Pizzo held his lead when the race
restarted. Meanwhile, on lap 13, the #16 of Ed Brown Jr. moved
into second. Pizzo and Brown would weave in and out of lapped
traffic, with Brown trying unsuccessfully to catch Pizzo. Pizzo
won the event, followed by Brown Jr. and the #37 of "DownTown"
Brian Brown.
The Car Rollover contest followed, with "Taz" Nick Herzberg
taking to the ramp first and setting the bar high. In each of
his first two attempts, Herzberg would score one complete roll
and land on the roof, earning him 14 points. He earned an
additional 2 points on his last roll. The four competitors who
followed were unable to best his total, and Herzberg won.
It was then time for the 6 Cylinder Enduro, with 13 cars
taking to the track for a 50-lap race. The #2 of Jason Boeklen
took the early lead, followed by the #3 of Mike Mujsce Jr. By
lap 8, however, defending division champion Shawn Wanat took the
lead in the #7. Wanat and Mujsce ran the remainder of the
race in first and second. At the conclusion of the race, there
were four cars on the lead lap and only two cars out of the
event. Wanat won, with Mujsce finishing second, and Jimmy White
third in the #17.
The next race for the afternoon was the 4 Cylinder Enduro,
starting 30 cars for 60 laps. On the start, the #3 of Matt Brown
came across the line in first. On lap 9, however, the #5 of Pete
Verwys Jr. moved into the lead. The #12 of Anthony Pizzo took
the lead on lap 17, but by lap 32 he was being hunted by the #17
of Pat Verwys, who would take the lead on lap 33. On lap 42, the
#17 would pull into the infield with what appeared to be an
overheating problem, with the lead going back to the #5. Verwys
went on to win the race, followed by Pizzo and the #15 of Bryan
Gregor.
The final event of a long day of racing was the 2nd stock 8
Cylinder Enduro, which took to the track shortly after 6 p.m.
There were 17 cars lined up to race for 50 laps. The #2 of Dege
Russell took the early lead, but the #5 of Anthony Pizzo would
grab the lead before the race had reached the 5-lap mark. The #3
of Dominic Ranieri Jr. moved into second. The cars were strung
out around the track, and the leaders used lapped cars as picks
to keep their distance from one another. When the checkered flag
flew, Pizzo collected his second trophy for the day, with
Ranieri in second, and the #16 of Ed Brown Jr. in third.
And the Word Around the Pits...
The Legends cars were very happy to be back at Riverhead, a
sentiment that was expressed by the drivers who were interviewed
in Victory Lane. The division had trophies for the top three
finishers, courtesy of Peter Clarke. This coming Saturday, May
11, the class will present the first Saturday night race of its
return, and the drivers are excited about the opportunity.
While there were quite a few Spectator Drag cars on hand, one
topic of conversation was the car that was not there. Missing in
action was Don Carasiti, who had a dominant season in 2007.
Jamie Meyer turned in an impressive finish in her first race
in a Grand Enduro car, coming across the line in the top ten.
This came on the heels of husband Wayne's second place finish in
the Super Pro Truck race Saturday night. It certainly was a busy
weekend for the Meyer and Curtis families, who are all a part of
OC Racing. OC Racing also fielded the #56 Grand Enduro car
of Robin Vollmoeller, the #58 Grand Enduro car of Donny "Boom
Boom" Oliver, the #0 Grand Enduro car of Kyle Curtis, and the
#21 4 Cylinder Enduro car of Eric "The Norb" Harper.
Richard Petey made the trip through the toll curtain to race
in the Grand Enduro. He and his crew (which consisted of fellow
NEETS competitor Howie Bott and his wife, Miss NEETS, Cindy Bott)
all had "DQ" shirts embroidered with their names.
The single red flag of the day came out in the 1st stock 8
Cylinder Enduro. The car that was on its side was that of
Stanley Roberts, who serves as the official "team cook" for Doug
Watson's #3 Blunderbust. The other car involved was Tom Slee
Jr., son of former Blunderbust competitor Tom "Slippery" Slee.
Thankfully, both were okay.
During the Rollover Contest, it was announced that Brian
Savoy had driven his Deathwish Racing #1 entry to the track. The
car hit the rollover ramp complete with headlights and even a
license plate!
At the conclusion of the Rollver Contest, competitor "Crispy"
Kimmlinger got down on one knee on the track and proposed to his
girlfriend Michelle, who accepted. Kimmlinger didn't win the
competition, but - in the words of Bob Finan - "He got the
trophy, but you got the girl."
Source:
Tracy Chirico/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:
May 4, 2008
