Riverhead Raceway Beats Out Mother Nature With Fireworks and
Racing
by Tracy Chirico
In spite of weather forecasts showing a high potential for
rain, Riverhead Raceway promoters Barbara and Jim Cromarty
decided to take their chances this Saturday, and it paid off, as
only a few sprinkles dotted the raceway in a night otherwise
filled with exciting racing and a fireworks show by Bay
Fireworks. Many fans were on hand to take in all of the
evening's events.
Qualifying for the day started with Modified time trials. All
21 cars on hand started the show, with the feature lineup based
on straight-up time. The fastest qualifier of the day was Dave
Brigati, who turned a lap of 11.694 to earn the pole. Brigati
inched out Howie Brode, who posted a lap of 11.696. Following
time trials, two heat races each were held for the Blunderbusts
and the Chargers. All cars were qualified for their respective
features, with heat races determining which cars would be
handicapped.
The Blunderbusts were first to take to the track for their
20-lap feature event. Terry Stiles started on the pole in the TS
Motorsports #41, with the #11x of Kevin Rommeney on the outside
pole. Stiles took the early lead, with Rommeney falling into the
second spot and the Constant Performance #29 of Jessica Larsen
in third. On the initial lap, the Centereach Transmissions #64
of Ray Shannon shot underneath Larsen and into the third
position. Shannon continued the charge forward, going underneath
Rommeney to take second on lap 2. The BAM's Auto Body #32 of
Eddie Mistretta took third from Rommeney on lap 3. On lap 5,
while three-wide battles for position were taking place further
back in the field, the Over the Hill Racing #3 of Doug Watson
challenged Mistretta for third, but was unable to wrestle the
spot away. On lap 8, both the Robert's Express Fuel Oil #19 of
Rob Bader Jr. and the Gibson's Auto Center #69x of Paul Parisi
pulled into the infield with flat tires. Shannon moved to the
inside of Stiles on lap 9, and Shannon was able to take the
lead. By lap 12, Shannon had broken away from Stiles and held
roughly a 6-car length advantage. Mistretta looked to the inside
of Stiles for second on lap 16, and the two ran side-by-side
until Mistretta was able to capture the spot. The J&C Auto
Salvage #76 of Joe Pingitore followed Mistretta underneath
Stiles, and grabbed third on the same lap. Pingitore looked to
the inside of Mistretta for second, and it turned into a
three-wide battle for the spot as the Unique Golf #00 of Tommy
Walkowiak joined in the fray. Walkowiak grabbed the second spot,
with Pingitore holding third until the Service Master Clean #61
of Chris Busick took the spot away on the white-flag lap.
Shannon went on to collect his first career Blunderbust win in
the caution-free event, while Walkowiak finished second and
Busick finished third.
The Charger feature was next to hit the track, with 14 cars
taking the green flag for the 20-lap event. On the pole was the
Mike's Place #23 of Tom Anderson, with the P&M Door #88 driven
by Frank Scimeca Jr. on the outside. Anderson grabbed the lead
on the start, with Scimeca second and the #42 of Frank Dumicich
Jr. third. On lap 1, the James Becht Builders #37 of Steve Ratti
challenged Dumicich for third, but was unable to take the
position away. On lap 3, the Uncle Guiseppe #30 of Daryn Miller
spun into the infield, but Miller corrected the car and no
caution was thrown. The first caution of the race was thrown on
lap 5, as the Riverhead Building Supply #10 of Mike VanHouten
had come to a rest against the wall between turns 1 and 2.
VanHouten pulled off the track with a right front flat and
apparent suspension damage. Ratti was forced to pit in order to
repair sheet metal damage he had gotten while fighting for
position with Miller and the LMR #56 of Jay Henschel. The
restart was a replay of the initial start, with Anderson on the
inside and Scimeca on the outside. Anderson again got a good
start, and moved into the lead. As the field entered turns 1 and
2, the Chris Mohr Landscaping #81 of Chris Turbush spun, and
several other cars were collected as a result, including the
Gershow Recycling #89x of Chris McGuire, the #15 of Dennis
Sheehan, the #28 of Peter Cataldo, and the Frabizio Racing #4 of
Chris Fabrizio. McGuire and Fabrizio both headed to the pits, as
did the third place car of Dumicich. This moved Henschel into
the third spot, with Anderson and Scimeca on the front row for
the restart once again. Anderson quickly moved out front, with
Scimeca second, while the Biltor Welding & Erection #57 of Thore
Foss moved into third. Henschel regained the spot, however,
before the completion of the lap. On lap 7, Scimeca looked to
the inside of Anderson for the lead, but to no avail. Rookie
Timmy Solomito in the Riverhead Building Supply #66 moved to the
inside of Henschel and took away third on lap 13. By lap 16, the
leaders began to encounter lapped traffic. Turbush, who had spun
on lap 5, worked his way back through the field and passed
Solomito to take third on lap 16. When the checkered flag flew,
Anderson got his first win of 2008. Scimeca crossed the line
second, with Turbush third.
Next out were the One-on-One Spectator Drags. A total of nine
cars took part in the single-elimination event. The final round
saw John Cozza pitted against Don Carasiti. Cozza had the inside
lane, with Carasiti in the outside lane. The two ran two reverse
laps to determine the winner, and Carasiti came out on top.
The Modifieds then took to the track for the Cromarty Cup 50,
a 50-lap double point event. By virtue of their time trial laps,
Dave Brigati started on the pole in the WPW Growers #98x, with
Howie Brode in the Freightliner Trucks #96 on the outside. The
two crossed the start/finish line side-by-side, but Brigati came
out of turn 2 in the lead. On lap 3, the Smithtown Nissan #20 of
Bill Park passed Brode for second. On lap 4, caution was thrown
for the S.N. Blydenburgh Custom Interiors #17x of Rusty Turbush,
which was in the wall in turn 2. The restart pitted Brigati on
the inside against Park on the outside. The two entered turn 1
side-by-side, but Brigati exited turn 2 with the advantage. The
SGS Stoneworks #84 of John Fortin challenged Brode for third,
but Brode held on to the position. By lap 10, Brigati and Park
had begun to distance themselves from the rest of the field. On
lap 11, Park moved to the inside of Brigati, but was unable to
wrestle the lead away. The leaders approached lapped traffic on
lap 18. At the halfway point of the event, Brigati had a slight
lead over Park, with the two pulling away from third place Brode,
who had Fortin glued to his rear bumper. By lap 27, the leaders
had to contend with heavier lapped traffic. Dave Roys spun off
of turn two in the Clear Image Glass #26 on lap 32, but he was
able to get the car righted and no caution was thrown. On lap
35, however, the #8x of Eddie Brunnhoelzl III spun coming off of
turn 4, and the caution flag waved. The next restart was
single-file, with Brigati leading Park, Brode, Fortin, and the
Eastport Feeds #15 of Wayne Anderson. Brigati got a good
restart, but had Park on his rear bumper for the final 15 laps
of the event. Brigati went on to collect his second victory of
the season. Park was second, while Brode finished third and
Fortin finished fourth. Anderson rounded out the top five.
For the Figure 8 feature, Scott Pedersen sat on the pole in
the #27, with the Mike's Auto Service #13 of Mike Mujsce Sr. on
the outside. On the start, Pedersen jumped out front, while the
#8 of Tom Kraft took over the second spot. On lap 5, Pedersen
and Kraft ran side-by-side, and Kraft grabbed the lead on lap 6.
Mujsce took advantage of the opportunity to come to second.
However, Pedersen was able to wrestle the position back. On lap
7, Mujsce made contact with the left front of Pedersen's car,
and the caution came out. For the restart, Kraft had the pole,
while Roger Maynor was on the outside in the Barrasso & Sons
Mason Supply #28. Kraft got a good restart, but Maynor looked to
the inside and passed Kraft for the lead on lap 8. Later that
lap, Ralph Tasso pulled off of the track in the #3, moving the
Long Island DEUTZ #58 of Kenny Hyde Sr. to third. On lap 9,
however, Hyde spun, but no caution was thrown as Hyde corrected
the car. By lap 15, Maynor led Kraft by more than half of a
straightaway. Maynor crossed the line first, notching his third
win of the 2008 season. Kraft finished second, while the
DeMartino Enterprises #0x of Tom Ferrara was credited with
third.
Fans were then treated to a fireworks exhibition put on by
Bay Fireworks before the Police Car Demo took to the track. A
total of ten cars took part in the event, which was halted by
red flag conditions after an accident involving several
competitors. It was determined that the event would not be
resumed, and no winner was declared.
And the Word Around the Pits...
Several cars were on hand turning practice laps today, as were
some trucks. Both the #95 and #88 Super Pro Trucks were on hand.
Also, Legends driver Tony Naglieri took advantage of the
opportunity to shake down his All Star truck, which he plans to
run at Waterford on July 19th. Among the differences between
Naglieri's truck and a Super Pro Truck include an all-fiberglass
body on the All Star truck.
Also running practice were two SK Modifieds, one Legends car,
one Late Model, and two Grand Enduro cars. The Grand Enduro
drivers were undoubtedly prepping for next weekend's Saturday
night race for the division, which some have dubbed the
division's "Daytona 500" race.
Recent high school graduate Jessica Larsen scored her first
career heat race win in the Blunderbust division, holding off
challenges from Eddie Mistretta. I have recently been informed
that car is for sale. Jessica did not perform "double duty"
tonight, as her Figure 8 car was not present.
After the Figure 8 feature and Roger Maynor's interview, Paul
Specht was given the opportunity to celebrate the win that he
scored as the result of another competitor's disqualification at
their last event. It was a nice gesture to allow the soft-spoken
driver and his family the opportunity to actually celebrate the
win in Victory Lane.
On hand to watch the races tonight was Long Island native
Donny Lia, who was still being heaped with praise for his recent
victory in the Craftsman Truck Series. Bob Finan announced that,
schedule permitting, Donny plans to race in the August 2nd
Modified Tour race at Riverhead.
Also on hand was Speed 51's own Matt Dillner. Many may
remember Matt from his days working with brother Bob Dillner on
"Long Island Trackside." Dillner informed me that it has been
roughly six years since he has made it to Riverhead.
At the conclusion of the Modified feature, promoters Barbara
and Jim Cromarty were present in Victory Lane to present Dave
Brigati with the Cromarty Cup trophy. The race is so named in
honor of Jim Cromarty's birthday, which we at LongIslandJam.com
understand was last week. While in Victory Lane, they took
advantage of the opportunity to thank the fans, with special
mention of their appreciation for the turnout, in spite of the
weather forecasts. In conclusion, Jim Cromarty said, "We want to
just tell you how much we love and adore you and how much all of
our drivers love and adore you. Thank you so much for
everything."
Things They Say in Victory Lane...
"A lot of fast guys in this class...very competitive class. I
just needed to be out front and no cautions." -Ray Shannon
"To say that I'm by myself is absolutely wrong. There's a lot of
people that help me." -Tom Anderson
"I don't go anywhere else on a Saturday night but this place." -Dave
Brigati
"I pointed to him (Kraft) like 'he starts the race'. After that,
then all bets are off." -Roger Maynor
Source: Tracy
Chirico/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:
July 5, 2008
