Hot Temperatures and Racing at Riverhead
by Tracy Chirico
Mother Nature had some very hot and humid conditions in store
for today, but even a late evening rain shower didn't stop the
action at Riverhead Raceway this Saturday. Firefighters were
granted free admission by promoters Barbara and Jim Cromarty as
a way of saying thank you for their service, and there were
quite a few uniforms visible around the raceway.
Qualifying for the evening's events consisted of two heats
for the Legends, two for the Super Pro Trucks, and three for the
Modifieds. All cars were qualified for their respective events,
and heats were used to determine starting order. For the
Legends, that meant starting the feature in the order that they
qualified with exceptions for feature winners. For the Super Pro
Trucks and Modifieds, the heats determined which cars were
handicapped for the feature and which cars were not.
The feature events for the day began with the Legends cars,
with 18 cars taking the green. There were 21 cars signed into
the pits, but both the #44 of Anthony Cacioppo and the Bridal
Suite of Centereach #55 of Paul Dodorico had mechanical problems
in practice and scratched from their respective heat races,
while the #44 of "Wild Bill" Hiscock suffered irreparable damage
during his heat race that caused him to scratch from the
feature.
The Legends feature began with the #7 of Silas Hiscock Sr. on
the pole and the First Class Video Productions #39 of Jim Byrne
on the outside pole. The Malone Racing #47 of Mike Malone
engaged in a three-wide battle with the duo at the drop of the
green, but Hiscock Sr. came out on top. By the completion of the
initial lap, Hiscock Sr. held the lead, but the #37 of Silas
Hiscock Jr. had rocketed into second. On lap 2, Hiscock Jr. went
to the outside of the #7 driven by his father for the lead. The
two came across the line side-by-side, but Hiscock Jr. took the
lead coming into turns 1 and 2. At that time, the Nowak Racing
#53 of rookie Kevin Nowak was sitting in third. On lap 3, the
#15NJ of Malcolm Campbell and the #17 driven by former Figure 8
competitor John Rigney both went around in turns 3 and 4,
drawing the caution. For the restart, Hiscock Jr. was on the
pole, with Hiscock Sr. to the outside. Hiscock Jr. held the lead
on the restart, while Nowak moved to the inside of Hiscock Sr.
to challenge for the second spot. Nowak took the second spot on
lap 4, but fellow rookie Timmy Solomito was in his mirror, as he
had gotten the Snap-On #15NY up to third. Solomito went around
Nowak on the outside to grab the second spot. On lap 6, Hiscock
Sr. went around further back in the field, and it appeared that
Tom Sherman "checked up" in the Sherman Racing #27 to avoid
making contact, spinning his own car as a result. Both cars
continued, and no caution was thrown. On lap 15, the Col
Security and Management #43 of Joe Sedotto spun between turns 3
and 4, drawing a caution. Hiscock Jr. had the lead for the
restart, with Solomito and Nowak behind him. Solomito attempted
to challenge for the lead on the inside, but was unsuccessful.
Solomito made the attempt again, and Solomito and Hiscock Jr.
took the white flag side-by-side. Solomito, however, powered
past Hiscock Jr. for the lead coming out of turn 2 on the final
lap. Nowak made a last-minute attempt to try to overtake Hiscock
Jr. for second, but ran out of time as Solomito collected his
second win of the season, with Hiscock Jr. second and Nowak
third.
Next up was the Super Pro Truck feature, with 18 trucks
taking to the track. The Edible Arrangements #95 of Erin
Dumicich sat on the pole, with the Raceway Auto Sales #19 of
P.J. Vecchio on the outside. Erin Dumicich got the lead on the
start, and the Eddy's Long Island RV Center #30 of Shaun
Gouldsbury moved quickly into second while the #42 of Frank
Dumicich Jr. shot into third. On lap 1, there was contact
between the SKP Racing #22 of Keith Rotzi and the Jones Racing
#43 of Bobby Jones, drawing the caution. For the restart,
Dumicich was on the pole, while Gouldsbury had the outside pole.
The two ran side-by-side, with Dumicich coming out on top,
giving Dumicich Jr. the opportunity to go to the inside of
Gouldsbury for second. Dumicich Jr. took second on lap 3, while
Gouldsbury got out of shape and trucks scattered. On lap 4, the
Long Island Fiber Exchange #65 of Michael Power spun in turn 4,
and the Berjen Metal Industries #6 of Gil Smith came to a rest
against the wall in turn 1, bringing out another caution. Jones
headed to the pits with a right front flat, as did the AAA
Firewood & Mulch #41 of Wayne Meter. Erin Dumicich and
Gouldsbury again occupied the front row for the restart.
Dumicich again took the lead, with brother Frank Jr. again
moving to the inside of Gouldsbury for second. Gouldsbury and
the Nelson's Auto Salvage #97 of Dave Koenig made contact, with
Koenig ending up in the infield with a right front flat and
caution was out again on lap 5. This time, Erin Dumicich had the
pole for the restart, with Dumicich Jr. on the outside. Dumicich
Jr. grabbed the lead as the two staged a fierce side-by-side
battle, but Keith Rotzi hit the wall along the frontstretch and
the caution flag had to be displayed again as he limped it to
the infield but didn't have any power to get the truck a safe
distance from the racing surface. This time, the front row was
reversed for the restart, with Dumicich Jr. on the inside and
Erin Dumicich on the outside. Dumicich Jr. grabbed the lead
again, but Power had a hard hit into the wall coming off of turn
2, requiring a lengthy caution as his truck needed a double hook
to be removed from the track. It was decided by the officials at
the lap 7 restart that all subsequent restarts would be single
file even thought the race had not yet hit the halfway point due
to the number of early cautions in the event. Caution came out
again as Koenig spun between turns 1 and 2. Dumicich Jr.
continued to lead the field on the restart. Caution waved again
on lap 9, after the Hallock Racing #9 of Kathleen Hallock
got out of shape in turns 3 and 4, and the SKP Racing #3 of
Peter Rotzi ended up making contact with Hallock and hit the
wall. Dumicich Jr. got a good restart, leading the 12 trucks
remaining in the event. On lap 12, the #17 of Anthony Vecchio
spun, but was able to get the truck tot he infield and there was
no caution. On lap 14, Gouldsbury took the second spot from Erin
Dumicich, and the Rheem #88 of Roger Turbush looked to take
second. Dumicich began to slide backwards through the field, and
retired the truck to the infield on lap 16. With two laps to go,
Dumicich Jr. had built up a half-straightaway lead over
Gouldsbury. Dumicich Jr. went on to win his second feature of
the season, with Gouldsbury and Turbush following.
A total of 13 Charger cars took to the track next for their
feature. The Mike's Place #23 of Tom Anderson was on the pole,
with the P&M Door #88 driven by Frank Scimeca Jr. on the outside
pole. The officials threw a "lazy green" on the start, as they
felt Anderson got an unfair jump, and a second attempt at the
start was made. On the second attempt, the leaders waged a
side-by-side battle that went on until Anderson was able to
finally muscle into the lead on lap 2. The LMR #56 of Jay
Henschel spun and there was contact between the Uncle Guiseppe
#30 of Daryn Miller and Scimeca, but no caution was thrown and
Miller moved into second on lap 3. On lap 7, Miller worked his
way past Anderson for the lead. However, multi-time feature
winner Chris Turbush moved the Chris Mohr Landscaping #81 into
third on lap 8, charging forward from his tenth place starting
spot. On lap 12, Turbush went to the inside of Anderson and
grabbed the second spot. With five laps to go, Turbush was up to
Miller's back bumper, and Turbush took the lead on lap 16. One
lap later, Chris McGuire pulled the Gershow Recycling #89x to
the infield, with flames underneath the car. Turbush went on to
collect his fourth feature win of the 2008 season, while Miller
finished second and Scimeca Jr. was third.
The Late Models were out next with a 13-car field. The
LaSpisa Racing #7 of Chris LaSpisa sat on the pole, with the
Sherwin-Williams Paint #51 of rookie Artie Pedersen Jr. on the
outside. LaSpisa grabbed the lead at the drop of the green, and
the Denelex #35 of Kenny Alfano took second on the initial lap.
The Metzger Racing #23 of Kevin Metzger came to third. On lap 5,
the Complete Landscaping #80 of John Gloor IV retired to the
infield. On lap 7, there was contact between Pedersen Jr. and
the #98 of Doug Wholey. Pedersen was able to continue, but the
caution was thrown for Wholey. LaSpisa restarted on the inside,
with Alfano to the outside. Alfano took the lead on the restart,
but LaSpisa went around coming out of turn 2. This moved Metzger
to second and the Helman Group #39 of Roger Oxee to third. Oxee
got sideways on lap 9, and both Wholey and the #88 of Shawn
Patrick got involved, with the caution being thrown. Metzger was
put to the rear by the officials. For the restart, Alfano was on
the inside, with the Unique Golf #4 of Tom Rogers Jr. on the
outside. The two ran side-by-side, but Alfano held the lead as
they came across the line for lap 10. Scott Kulesa charged
forward in the Ranco Sand & Stone #10, and made a move to the
inside of Alfano on lap 12. Kulesa spun on lap 13 and got into
Alfano, and caution was out again. This moved Rogers into the
lead, followed by the P.C.H.S. Racing Engines #00 of Mike
Bologna and Pedersen. Rogers got a good restart. Wholey grabbed
the third spot on lap 15, and Oxee came to fourth. The caution
flag waved again for debris from Pedersen's car between turns 3
and 4. Rogers again had a good restart, but Wholey made contact
with Pedersen on lap 17, with Pedersen spinning and the caution
flag being displayed again. Oxee, leaking fluid, brought his car
to the pits during the caution. The officials then determined
that the race was complete, as it had exceeded its time limit.
Rogers was declared the winner, followed by Bologna and Wholey.
As the Modifieds were preparing to hit the raceway, rain
started to fall, causing a delay. Tow trucks were kept on the
track during the shower, dragging tires and turning laps to keep
the racing surface as dry as possible. Once the rain stopped and
the track was predominantly dry, the Car Rollover Contest was
brought on to the track. There were a total of six competitors.
The event ended in a tie between Joe Marko and "Slim" Jim
Donaldson, who each accumulated 12 points for their efforts.
The Modifieds then took to the track. All of the cars were
lined up on the track, and the field received a ceremonious
"Gentlemen, start your engines." The #26 of Dave Roys sat on the
pole, with the S.N. Blydenbugh Custom Interiors #17x of Rusty
Turbush to his outside. For the second time during the night's
races, officials waved a "lazy green" at the start of the
Modified feature, opting to make a second attempt. Outside pole
sitter Turbush brought the car to the pits prior to the second
attempt at the start, leaving Roys on the pole and moving the
Russell H. Nill Inc. Roofing & Copper #44 of Dan Jivanelli to
the outside pole. Roys got a good start, but an incident behind
him involving the #6 of Tom Rogers Jr., the SGS Stoneworks #84
of John Fortin, the Double Diamond Realty #23 of Justin
Bonsignore, and others along the frontstretch resulted in a
caution, as Bonsignore's car was towed off of the track with
heavy front suspension damage. Roys got another good start, with
Jivanelli settling into second and the Flemington Fur Company
#36 of Dave Sapienza third. Behind the first four cars,
side-by-side battles were taking place for the fifth through
tenth spots. On lap 3, both the #04 of Shawn Solomito and the #8
of Kevin Orlando pulled to the infield. The Shoreline Beverage
#25 of Frank Saladino joined them in the infield on lap 10, and
the #01 of Rob McCormick also pulled in the following lap. By
lap 25, the top three cars had distanced themselves from the
field behind them. On lap 31, the Eastport Feeds #15 of Wayne
Anderson spun into the infield, but no caution was thrown as
Anderson rejoined the field with the leaders. For the remaining
laps of the race, the top three cars ran together, with the
lapped car of Anderson sitting between them and the rest of the
field. Roys went on to collect his first career Modified
victory, with Jivanelli second and Sapienza third.
A Full-Size School Bus Figure 8 race was the final event of
the night. The "Cheesebox" of Mike Rommeney started on the
inside pole, with "Slim" Jim Donaldson on the outside pole. The
two swapped the lead several times over the first few laps, but
Donaldson got sideways on lap 4, and Rommeney grabbed the lead.
There were plenty of close calls at the "X", involving
Donaldson, Rommeney, Tim Farrell, and others. On lap 7, Rommeney
and Donadson went three wide with a bus driven by Rusty Turbush
and a loud popping noise was heard, which seemed to be a tire on
Donaldson's bus. For the remaining three laps, Donaldson
struggled to keep his bus going in the right direction, while
Rommeney cruised to victoy.
And the Word Around the Pits...
It was a very busy graduation weekend for many of the racing
families at Riverhead. Among those graduating this weekend were
Michael Johnson, brother of Legends driver Bryan Johnson; and
Modified driver John Fortin's daughter Alyssa. Blunderbust
driver Jessica Larsen graduated this weekend, as did Super Pro
Truck driver Kathleen Hallock. Congratulations go out to these
and all 2008 graduates from all of us here at LongIslandJam.com,
as well as best wishes for future success.
Congratulations are also in order in the Late Model ranks,
but for a different reason. It was announced during the Late
Model feature that driver Scott Kulesa will be getting married
during the month of July. Best wishes go out to the happy
couple.
The Legends drivers decided to take an idea from the Summer
Shootout down in North Carolina, using flags to make things more
interesting for the fans. This week and for the remainder of
their races this season, there will be two flags used to signify
different things. The previous race winner will have a checkered
flag flying from their car, while the current points leader will
have an orange one. This week, the checkered flag was flying
from Silas Hiscock Jr.'s car, while Tom Sherman had the orange
flag. When the Legends run their next feature - scheduled to be
August 10th - both of those flags will be flying off of the back
of rookie Timmy Solomito's car.
Great work by the crew of Tony Naglieri's Legends car to get
the car back together in time for the feature. Naglieri took a
hard hit into the wall during his heat race. While many thought
he would simply bring the second car that he has out for the
feature, Naglieri had only brought one to the track this week.
His car was literally fixed just in time for the feature, as
Naglieri went directly from the welding truck on to the track.
He started last in the main, but finished 11th.
Many comments were heard around the pits this week in
reference to the video piece posted on
www.newsday.com. Many were
impressed with the good feel of the video, and the positive
exposure for the raceway. If you haven't yet seen it, it can be
viewed by following the link above, scrolling down the page to
the videos, and clicking forward until the caption is shown for
"ExploreTV: Riverhead Raceway".
Dan Turbush was reportedly behind the wheel of a car today.
Rumor had it that he took the #98 of Doug Wholey out on the
track for a few laps.
Next week's schedule will feature a 50-lap double point
Modified race, and will include races for the Figure 8's,
Chargers, and Blunderbusts. Also on the card for the night are
One-on-One Spectator Drags and a police car demolition derby, as
well as the annual 4th of July Fireworks show. For those who
don't have plans on Friday afternoon, Groundswell - the band
that "Mortgage Guy" Tim Halpin is in - will be playing outside
at JC's in Manorville, beginning at 3 p.m.
Things They Say in Victory Lane...
"You've got to have respect to get respect...This class has
definitely been improving week after week" - Timmy Solomito
"I had my radio man telling me what to do because I couldn't get
it off the corner." - Frank Dumicich Jr.
"I got big steam under here too. This thing's got some power." -
Chris Turbush
"It got a little crazy up front...But I'm still trying to figure
out where the nose is on this car." - Tom Rogers Jr.
"I really wanted to come back here and run at home. I've got a
couple of fans here, I think." - Dave Roys
Source: Tracy
Chirico/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:
June 28, 2008
