While much of the island was plagued with thunderstorms
throughout the course of the late afternoon and evening, Mother
Nature held out long enough for Riverhead to see the completion
of four out of five scheduled feature races on the schedule
tonight, as well as an EEKR go-kart exhibition. The only
scheduled feature that was not run was the 25-lap double point
Figure 8 race, as heavy rain hit the track shortly after the
completion of the Modified main. Once details are available
regarding the rescheduling of the double point race, they will
be posted on LongIslandJam.com.
Under overcast skies with hot temperatures, a total of 15
Late Models hit the track for time trials. Scott Kulesa set the
fastest time of the day, turning a lap of 12.566. Time trials
were followed by two Blunderbust heat races, and three Modified
heats. Chris Busick and Ray Shannon won the Blunderbust heats,
while Modified heat race wins were recorded by Mike Andrews Jr.,
Rusty Turbush and Chris Young.
A total of 19 Blunderbust cars took to the track for the
first feature of the day. Tom Sullivan started on the pole in
the Lakewood Used Auto Parts #7, with the Centereach
Transmissions #64 of Ray Shannon on the outside. Sullivan got
out front at the drop of the green flag, with Shannon falling
into the second spot. Shannon suffered contact from behind
on the initial lap, however, and ended up hitting the wall
between turns 1 and 2, bringing out the caution. The restart saw
Sullivan again on the inside, with the Gibson's Auto Center #69x
of Paul Parisi on the outside. Sullivan again grabbed the lead,
and the J&C Auto Salvage #76 of Joe Pingitore took over second.
On lap 1, Pingitore moved to the inside of Sullivan and took the
lead. The caution flew again only one lap later, for the
Robert's Express Fuel Oil #19 of Rob Bader, which had come to a
rest against the wall between turns 1 and 2. When Bader pulled
away before a tow truck could come to his aid, officials deemed
that he had intentionally drawn the caution, and Bader was
penalized one lap. Pingitore had the inside position for the
restart, with Sullivan to his outside. Pingitore took the lead
on the restart, and Parisi overtook Sullivan for second on lap
3. On lap 9, the #43 of Bill Portney Sr. went around with a
right rear flat, but was able to get into the infield and did
not necessitate a caution. The leaders began to encounter lapped
traffic on lap 11. On lap 12, Pingitore suffered contact from a
lapped car, enabling Parisi to get past for the lead. On lap 15,
the Pickerell Clam #4 of Tom Pickerell was able to get past
Pingitore for second. Two laps later, however, the second
position was claimed by Chris Busick in the Service Master Clean
#61. Busick moved to the inside of Parisi, looking to take the
lead. The two then came up to a lapped car, which Busick forced
high in front of Parisi, enabling Busick to move into the lead
on lap 17. On lap 18, the #22 of Scott Maliszewski came to
second. Busick held on to win the race, followed by Maliszewski
and Pickerell.
Next up was the Super Pro Truck feature, with 18 trucks
taking the green. The #17 of Anthony Vecchio sat on the pole,
with P.J. Vecchio on the outside pole in the Raceway Auto Sales
#19. The #19 took the lead on the start, but officials were not
happy with the initial start, so the yellow was thrown for a
second attempt at the start. On the second attempt, the #19
again had the better start, and P.J. Vecchio took the lead. On
lap 4, the Wesemann's Sand & Mason Supply #5 of Frank Dumicich
Sr. went to the inside of the #17 and took over the second spot
and Dave Koenig came to third in the Nelson's Auto Salvage #97.
On lap 9, Dumicich Sr. passed Vecchio for the lead. By lap 12,
trucks were running two and three wide for position in the
middle of the pack while Dumicich Sr. continued to lead the
field. Koenig went to the outside of Vecchio on lap 15, grabbing
the second spot. On lap 17, the Stephanie McCormick Fund #42 of
Frank Dumicich Jr. went around at the entrance to turn 3,
bringing out the caution. Dumicich Jr. was sent off of the track
as a result of his actions under caution. On the restart,
Dumicich Sr. was out front. He held the position for the final
three laps of the race, collecting his first win of the season.
Koenig and P.J. Vecchio followed him across the line.
Following the Super Pro Truck race, fans were treated to an
exhibition by some members of the EEKR club. The go-karters gave
a small demonstration for the fans, showing off what they do at
Riverhead Raceway during their scheduled events.
The Late Models were up next, with a field of 16 cars for
their 50-lap double point race. By virtue of setting fast time,
the Ranco Sand & Stone #10 of Scott Kulesa started on the pole,
with the Denelex #35 of Ken Alfano to the outside. Kulesa took
the lead on the start, and Roger Oxee challenged for second in
the Helman Group #39 on the initial lap. Oxee crossed the line
for lap 1 in the second spot. Alfano went around between turns 1
and 2, but corrected himself and no caution was thrown. By lap
7, the leaders were already coming up on lapped traffic. The #16
of Kyle Harvell got sideways between turns 1 and 2 on lap 7,
drawing the caution. On the double-file restart, Kulesa was on
the inside with Oxee on the outside. On lap 22, Alfano spun
between turns 1 and 2, bringing out another caution. This set
the stage for another double-file restart with Kulesa on the
inside of Oxee. Kulesa jumped out front again, but entering turn
1 the #88 of Shawn Patrick spun, collecting numerous other cars
in the process. The Complete Landscaping #08 of Jarrod Hayes
needed to be towed off of the track, while several other cars
pitted for repairs. Kulesa and Oxee duked it out on yet another
restart, with Kulesa holding the lead. On lap 22, the Unique
Golf Shop #4 of Tom Rogers Jr. looked to the inside of Oxee and
made a pass for second. By lap 35, the top three cars of Kulesa,
Rogers and Oxee broke away from the remainder of the field. On
lap 37, Oxee took second from Kulesa, who had already
surrendered the lead to Rogers. Rogers went on to cleect the
checkers, followed by Oxee and Kulesa.
As the Modifieds were lining up for their feature, rain began
to fall and racing was delayed. The rain was brief and the track
drying process went quickly, enabling the Modifieds to take to
the track for their feature. There were a total of 19 Modifieds
on hand, with the #3 of Mike Andrews Jr. on the pole and the
#17x S.N.
Blydenburgh Custom Interiors of Rusty Turbush on the outside.
Andrews was out front at the start, and the Riverhead Building
Supply #49 of Chris Young came to second on lap 1. Caution came
out on lap 3, as several cars were involved in a tangle between
turns 1 and 2. The heaviest damage was suffered by the WPW
Growers #98x of Dave Brigati, which had to be towed off of the
track. On the lap 3 restart, Andrews held the lead over Young,
who had started on the outside of Andrews. On lap 3, the
Freightliner Trucks #96 of Howie Brode moved into second. At lap
25, the cars were strung out single file virtually all the way
around the track, with the top seven cars running nose-to-tail.
Caution came out on lap 28, as the #6 of Tom Rogers Jr. was
against the wall coming out of turn 2. On the single-file
restart, Andrews had the benefit and continued to lead the
field. Coming into turn 1, however, Young spun and ended up
against the wall, bringing the caution back out. Andrews
continued to lead on the restart. Shortly after, the Double
Diamond Realty #23 of Justin Bonsignore spun, ending up between
turns 1 and 2, and bringing the caution out again. The remainder
of the race would go green, with Andrews winning. Brode was
second and Turbush finished third.
No sooner did Andrews finish his interview and photos in
Victory Lane than the rain began to fell very heavily. Based on
radar pictures and the severity of the downpour, it was obvious
that the Figure 8's would be unable to run.
And the Word Around the Pits...
With the Charger division off this week, several drivers took
advantage of the opportunity to come run some practice laps.
Among them were the #88 of Frank Scimeca Sr. and the #6 of Wes
Zaleski. Grand Enduro drivers Brian Obiedzenski and John Cozza
brought their cars in preparation for Sunday's Enduros, as did
4/6 cylinder Truck Enduro drivers Kevin Nowak, "DownTown" Brian
Brown, and Rob Bader. Fans were treated to some practice laps
turned in Peter Pernesiglio's NEMA Midget as well.
Several Legends cars took to the track in a last attempt to
"shake down" the machines for tomorrow's race. They included the
#12 of Glenn Maningo, the #92NY of Bryan Johnson and the #88 of
John Beatty. The division returns as part of the Enduro program
after being off since Memorial Day weekend.
Legends driver Kevin Nowak, who brought his Legends car for
practice last week but only his Enduro truck for practice this
week, made the trip to Waterford again this past Wednesday. He
finished 13th in the final rundown there.
Competitors were served with a reminder that conduct issues
will be treated very seriously by the officials in 2008. This
afternoon on the whiteboard in the pits listed next to the
schedule of the day's events was a listing of penalties handed
down last week. It was disclosed that there were 2
fines/probations issued in the Super Pro Truck division, 2
suspensions in the Blunderbust division, and 1 fine/probation in
the Modified division.
Several Super Pro Truck drivers were on hand today, minus
their trucks. Both Matt Odwanzy and Anthony Daleo were signed
into the pits, but both disclosed that their trucks were not
race-ready. Both drivers are hoping to compete in the division's
next race, which is not until June 28th.
Blunderbust driver Jessica Larsen was back in action tonight
with her own car, after it suffered some heavy damage last week.
It had been announced earlier in the week that Jessica had
secured another car to use for this week since hers had been
damaged so badly. However, with help from Constant Performance
and others, the car was able to be repaired. Jessica was not
planning to do double duty this weekend, as it was announced
that Joe Larsen was in the lineup for the double point Figure 8
race that ended up being postponed due to the weather.
Things They Say in Victory Lane...
"Really, I just turn the wheel." - Chris Busick
"Four is a lot of work." - Frank Dumicich Sr.
"To come out here and win in the Late Model is awesome. It's fun
to win in different divisions." - Tom Rogers Jr.
"I was rideless and they decided to give me a shot." - Mike
Andrews Jr.
Source: Tracy
Chirico/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:
June 14, 2008
