Mother Nature certainly provided a wildly
different day for this week's racing events at Riverhead
compared to the cool temperatures and rain of the previous week.
Unseasonably hot temperatures greeted racers and fans alike
through the majority of the day before a cool breeze finally
brought some relief as the day wore on. With more than 130 cars
signed into the pits and seven feature races on the card, there
was plenty of racing action to keep everyone busy.
The day's events started with time trials
for the Chargers and the Modifieds, whose extra distance double
point races that had been rained out last week were moved to
today's schedule. A total of 17 Chargers took time, with Steve
Ratti setting fast time with a lap of 13.449. Next, 18 Modifieds
took to the track for their time trials. Defending division
champ Bill Park, the last car to take time, recorded a lap of
11.765, which was the fastest time of the day. No other heats or
consolation races were needed.
The Super Pro Truck division kicked off the
day's feature events, with the #17 of Anthony Vecchio on the
pole and the Raceway Auto Sales #19 of P.J. Vecchio on the
outside. On the start, Anthony Vecchio took the lead, and the
Berjen Metal Industries #6 of Gil Smith quickly moved into the
second spot. The first caution of the race came out for the
Rheem #88 of Roger Turbush and P.J. Vecchio, who were both
turned around in turn 4. On the restart, Smith came across the
line ahead of Vecchio, but the two would wage a side-by-side
battle for the position, swapping the spot several times. On lap
4, the #4 of Bryan Quilliam joined the #42 of Frank Dumicich
Sr., who had already pulled to the infield. At this point, the
trucks were running two and three wide almost through the entire
field. Caution flew again on lap 4 for the AAA Firewood & Mulch
#41 of Wayne Meyer, which had come to a rest against the wall on
the backstretch. Smith would grab the lead once again on the
restart, and the Nelson's Auto Salvage #97 of Dave Koenig
grabbed second. Frank Dumicich Jr., driving his father's
Wesemann's Sand & Gravel #5 truck moved into third, and the JYD
Enterprises #2x of John Denniston came to fourth on lap 7. On
lap 9, there was a three-wide battle for the lead, with Koenig
on the outside, Smith in the middle, and Dumicich Jr. on the
inside. Koenig would ultimately end up with the driver's side of
his truck against the wall underneath the flag stand, Smith spun
in turn 2, and Dumicich Jr. appeared to be the leader. Officials
determined that Dumicich Jr. was rough riding, as his truck had
been below the white line and it was felt that this was a factor
in the caution that followed. Dumicich Jr. was sent to the rear
of the field for his role in the incident. This handed the lead
to Denniston, and it was decided that all subsequent restarts
would be single file. Under the caution, the Edible Arrangements
#95 of Erin Dumicich was pushed to the infield after several
issues trying to keep the truck running while the yellow flag
was out. Denniston had a good jump on the restart, while the
Gershow Recycling #1 of Lou Maestri moved to the outside of
Vecchio for second, and the Hollis Court Collision #66 of Mike
Albasini followed to take third. On lap 10, the Joseph Daleo
Contracting #28 of Anthony Daleo lost a motor, drawing another
caution. Denniston retained his lead on the restart, but on lap
14, P.J. Vecchio went around between turns 1 and 2, and the
caution was displayed again. Denniston stayed out front on the
restart, with Maestri close behind. The SKP Racing #3 of Peter
Rotzi spun in turn 4, and the yellow-checkered combination was
thrown for leader Denniston. Maestri finished second, followed
by Albasini.
Next to the track was the 20-car
Blunderbust field for their 20-lap feature. The front row
consisted of of the #6 of Scott Sepe on the inside and the J & C
Auto Salvage #76 of Joe Pingitore on the outside. Pingitore
quickly shot out to the lead, and Tom Pickerell came to second
in the Pickerell Clam #4 while the Unique Golf Shop #00 of Tommy
Walkowiak moved into third. By lap 2, the top three cars already
broke away from the rest of the field. On that lap, Walkowiak
moved to the inside of Pickerell and took over the second spot.
Just prior to the halfway point of the race, Walkowiak planted
himself firmly to the bumper of Pingitore, looking for the
opportunity to grab the lead. Walkowiak made his move on lap 11,
nosing to the inside of Pingitore. Pingitore used lapped traffic
to keep his position, but Walkowiak took the position on lap 13.
On lap 19, the #22 of Scott Maliszewski got turned around in
turn 2 and several other cars were collected, including the
Constant Performance #29 of Jessica Larsen and Pickerell.
Pickerell was able to continue, and ended up losing only one
position. A yellow-checkered combination was thrown for the
Blunderbust division also, with Walkowiak collecting his third
victory of the season. Pingitore finished second, with Pickerell
third.
The 30-lap double point Charger race was up
next, with the James Becht Builders #37 of Steve Ratti on the
pole and the Gershow Recycling #89x of Chris McGuire on the
outside. Ratti took the early lead. On lap 1, the Spano Floors
#81 of Chris Turbush moved to the inside of McGuire to challenge
for second, and Turbush took the position on lap 2. With an
extended green flag run, the leaders began to encounter
scattered lapped traffic by lap 13. On lap 16, the SGM Racing
#13 of Garret Frabizio went around and was tagged by the
Riverhead Building Supply #66 of Timmy Solomito, who suffered a
flat as a result. Ratti continued to hold the lead on the
restart. On lap 24, the leaders were running in heavy lapped
traffic. On that lap, the #42 of Frank Dumicich Jr. and the
Biltor Welding & Erection #57 of Thore Foss both went around in
turn 4, bringing out the caution. On lap 27, Turbush moved to
the inside of Ratti and overtook him for the lead. The Riverhead
Building Supply #10 of Brad VanHouten followed Turbush
underneath Ratti, taking the second spot. Turbush crossed the
finish line first, with VanHouten and Ratti rounding out the top
three.
Next was the Late Model feature, with 16
cars taking the green. The P.C.H.S. Racing Engines #00 of
veteran Mike Bologna sat on the pole, with the Complete
Landscaping #80 of rookie John Gloor IV on the outside pole.
Bologna grabbed the early lead, but officials were not happy
with the start, so a second attempt was made. On that attempt,
it appeared the Gloor may have missed a shift, and Bologna shot
out front, while the #75 of Sean Case grabbed second. In the
opening laps, both the #98 of Doug Wholey and the #88 of Shawn
Patrick spun in separate incidents, but neither required a
caution. The Ranco Sand & Stone #10 of Scott Kulesa moved into
second. Kulesa began to challenge Bologna for the lead, and
Kulesa grabbed the top spot on lap 8. Farther back in the field,
a three-wide battle for third took place between Case, the
Helman Group #39 of Roger Oxee, and the Harley-Davidson of
Nassau County #68 of Buzzy Eriksen. On lap 19, Oxee passed
Eriksen for third and the Unique Golf Shop #4 of Tom Rogers Jr.
followed to take fourth. When the checkered flag flew, Kulesa
was the winner, with Bologna second and Oxee third.
There was a short intermission, and then
the Modifieds took to the track for their 50-lap double point
event. The Smithtown Nissan #20 of Bill Park captured the pole
position with his fast time, and the SGS Stoneworks #84 of John
Fortin was on the outside. Park and Fortin ran side-by-side,
with Park eventually taking the spot and Fortin settling into
second. Dave Brigati was third in the WPW Growers #98x. Caution
came out on lap 7 for the #3 of Mike Andrews Jr. Park and Fortin
again ran side-by-side on the restart with Park taking the
eventual lead, and the Freightliner Trucks #96 of Howie Brode
came to third. Brode tested the inside of Fortin on lap 9 but
could not make the pass. With a long green flag run, the cars
were strung out single-file around virtually the entire track by
the halfway point of the race. The race continued under green
until the checkered flag flew, with Park capturing the win.
Fortin was second, followed by Brode.
Twelve Figure 8 cars pulled on to the track
next for their 20-lap feature event. The #27 of Scott Pedersen
was on the pole, with the #3 of Ralph Tasso on the outside.
Pedersen and Tasso battled side-by-side around the track and
through the "X". On lap 1, the Long Island DEUTZ #58 of Kenny
Hyde spun, drawing the first caution of the event. Pedersen and
Tasso once again battled on the restart, with Tasso crossing the
line first on lap 2. The two continued to swap the lead, with
the DeMartino Enterprises #00 of Tom Graff sitting in third. On
lap 5, Graff would take the second spot, and Mike Mujsce moved
into third in the Mike's Auto Service #13. Caution came out on
lap 6, as there was a small fire under the hood of Pedersen's
car. Graff got he lead on the restart, but he spun on lap 6 in
an incident that ultimately involved several cars, including
Mujsce and the #8 of Tom Kraft. When the caution was thrown,
Roger Maynor emerged as the leader in the Barrasso & Sons Mason
Supply #28. Tasso was in second, with the Blast-It Sandblasting
#74 of Carl Baxter in third. Baxter took the second position on
lap 14. On lap 18, Baxter spun and some contact was made by the
Anthony's Custom Carpets #16 of Will Farrell, but no caution was
displayed as the cars righted themselves. On lap 19, both Baxter
and the #34 of Arne Pedersen spun in separate incidents, and the
caution was displayed. This set the stage for a
green-white-checker finish, with 8 cars remaining on the track.
Maynor emerged victorious once again, with Tasso second and the
#0x of Tom Ferrara third.
The final event of the evening was the 4/6
cylinder truck Enduro, with 25 trucks competing in the 60-lap
race. The #17x of Rob McCormick was on the pole, with the #51 of
"Downtown" Brian Brown on the outside pole. McCormick took the
early lead. On lap 1, the Hampton Fleet Service #9 of Tommy
Walkowiak moved into second, and the #83 of Greg DiCanio took
third. On lap 2, Walkowiak grabbed the lead. Brown had moved
back into second, and DiCanio was sitting in third. On lap 4,
Woot Lawrence took third in the Peconic Auto Repair #34, and he
moved into second on lap 6. On lap 7, however, the #5 of John
Cozza moved into third. Cozza took second on lap 12. By lap 18,
there was heavy lapped traffic for the leaders to contend with.
Cozza pulled next to Walkowiak on lap 24 to challenge for the
lead. Cozza grabbed the lead, but Walkowiak took it back on lap
26. At this point, the top three were running nose-to-tail. By
the halfway point, there were only four trucks out of the event,
including the #20 of Grand Enduro driver Bobby Pease and the
Phoenix Used Auto Parts #53 of Legends driver Kevin Nowak. On
lap 37, Walkowiak spun after some contact with a lapped truck,
giving the lead to Cozza. With 10 laps to go, two lapped trucks
separated Cozza and Lawrence. Lawrence caught up to Cozza and
took the lead on lap 54. Lawrence went on to win the event,
followed by Cozza and Walkowiak.
And the Word Around the Pits...
Kevin Bacik of Long Island Need for
Speed sends word that he and his brother are looking for
some set-up books for Troyer Pintos from the Evergreen Speedway
era. Anyone who has anything that might be of help for them
should email Kevin at
KvBac1@aol.com.
People wishing to sign into the pit area
are reminded that officials are enforcing the rules stating that
shorts and open-toed shoes are not allowed. People wearing
either of these items will be asked to change before they are
admitted into the pit area.
Super Pro Truck driver Anthony Daleo
doesn't seem to be able to shake the monkey that is on his back
so far in 2008. In four races, the driver has blown three
motors. Another Super Pro Truck driver suffering from a string
of bad luck is Dave Koenig. Koenig's bad luck, however, usually
involves contact with the wall
There was a family "ride swap" in the
Dumicich family thins week. Frank Jr. was reportedly having oil
pressure problems in his own #42, so his father let him drive
his #5. Frank Jr. is fortunate, since the #42 was off of the
track pretty quickly.
Late Model rookie Artie Pedersen Jr. looked
like he may have been having some issues in hot laps prior to
the division's feature. Pedersen wisely elected to start in the
rear after the completion of hot laps. He reported later on that
he had mechanical failure on the clutch.
Congratulations go out to
LongIslandJam.com's junior reporter Danielle McCormack. Danielle
recently interviewed Modified driver Wayne Anderson and wrote an
article on Anderson that was published on page 5 of the June
issue of Full Throttle Hot Rod Magazine.
An abbreviated version of the Legends PR
that was originally featured on LongIslandJam.com back in May (http://www.longislandjam.com/news/2008/newsmain/news051408a.htm)
is scheduled to be run in the track program next weekend. After
a few weeks off, the Legends will return to action next Sunday
for the fifth of their eight scheduled races. Three Legends cars
were on hand to turn a few practice laps today - the #53 of
Kevin Nowak, the #83 of Greg DiCanio, and the #18 of James Pape
Jr.
LongIslandJam.com is still seeking help in
the way of reporters, photographers, and an ad salesperson. It
is a great opportunity to be involved in racing, and to help
promote racing on Long Island. For more details on any of these
positions, contact JA Ackley at
jackley@longislandjam.com.
Apologies are due to Chris Turbush, driver
of the #81 Charger car. In recording Victory Lane interviews
this week for quotes to be included below, Chris' interview did
not come through clearly on my tape, and I was unable to credit
the winner with any quotes from his on-track interview.
Things They Say in Victory Lane...
"I felt like Old Man Baldwin on the
outside." - John Denniston
"There's a special pair of underwear that I wear every Saturday
night for like the last seven years. They're doing good." -
Tommy Walkowiak
"So far this year, it hasn't been too hard to make myself come
down here." - Scott Kulesa
"It's not me, it's the car. This car, you just can't slow it
down." - Bill Park
"I don't want it given to me. I've got to work for it." -
Roger Maynor
Source: Tracy
Chirico/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:
June 7, 2008
