Several Veterans and a Rookie Visit Riverhead Victory Lane
by Tracy Chirico
On a day that was perfectly suited for racing, many came out
to enjoy the events at Riverhead. A decent crowd was on hand to
take in the five divisions of racing action on a night that also
included One-on-One Spectator Drags and a Sprint Cup-themed
Demolition Derby.
The day's qualifying consisted of two Blunderbust heats and
three Modified heats. With all cars in both divisions slated to
start their feature events, the heats served to determine which
drivers were handicapped for their respective races.
Prior to the start of the features, the National Anthem and
pace car parade took place, and then track management took time
out to commend the track and ambulance crews for their work last
week, when Demo driver Jimmy "The Kid" White Jr. was involved in a
serious accident that required a quick response. The actions of
the personnel on hand were worthy of praise, and proof of the
competent help present at Riverhead in case of an emergency.
The first event to take to the raceway was the Blunderbust
feature. The Robert's Express Fuel Oil #19 of Rob Bader Jr. sat
on the pole, with the Lakewood Used Auto Parts #7 of Tom
Sullivan on the outside pole. Bader shot out to the early lead,
while Sullivan settled into second. The Over the Hill Racing #3
of Doug Watson came to third on the initial lap. Caution came
out on lap 2 for the Constant Performance #29 of Jessica Larsen,
which had gotten spun and was sitting backwards in turn 2. The
restart again saw Bader on the inside with Sullivan on the
outside. On the restart, Sullivan came across the line first,
but Bader fought back, and the two put on a side-by-side battle
for the lead until Bader recaptured the top spot on lap 4.
Behind Bader and Sullivan, Watson and the BAM's Auto Body #32 of
"Krazy" Eddie Mistretta battled fiercely for the third spot
until Watson secured the position on lap 9. The J&C Auto Salvage
#76 of Joe Pingitore, however, would wrestle the third spot from
Watson on lap 11. In the same lap, Tommy Walkowiak came to the
inside of Pingitore in the Unique Golf Shop #00, and the two
came across the line side-by-side. Walkowiak moved securely into
third on lap 13. On lap 14, caution flew once again as Pingitore
got spun in turn 4. The single-file restart saw Bader out front,
followed by Sullivan and Walkowiak. Walkowiak wasted no time, as
he looked to the inside of Sullivan and took over second on lap
14. On lap 15, Sullivan relinquished third to Tom Pickerell in
the Pickerell Clam #4. With two laps to go in the 20-lap event,
Walkowiak went to the outside of Bader for the lead. Bader was
forced to check up for a lapped car, putting Walkowiak out
front. Bader fought back on the inside in an exciting battle,
but Bader spun coming off of turn 2 on the final lap. Walkowiak
went on to claim the victory, with Pickerell second and
Mistretta third.
Next out was the 25-lap Late Model feature. Rookie John Gloor
IV was on the pole in the Complete Landscaping #80, with the
Denelex #35 of Ken Alfano on the outside pole. Gloor got out
front on the start, and Alfano fought back on the outside but
was forced to settle into second, while the Patrick Racing #88
of Shawn Patrick came to third. Patrick set his sights on Alfano
and used an inside pass to take over the second spot on lap 4.
At lap 10, Gloor continued to lead, followed by Patrick and
Alfano. The #98 of Doug Wholey sat in fourth, and the Helman
Group #39 of Roger Oxee rounded out the top five. At lap 17,
Gloor and Patrick were running nose to tail, with nearly a full
straightaway lead over Alfano, who was being challenged for
third by Wholey. On that lap, the Harley-Davidson of Nassau
County #68 of Peter "Buzzy" Eriksen spun in turns 1 and 2, but
corrected the car and no caution was thrown. On lap 18, the
Ranco Sand & Stone #10 of Scott Kulesa pulled to the infield
with a flat tire. Over the final five laps of the event, Patrick
looked to both the inside and the outside of Gloor in an attempt
to make a run for the lead, but the rookie held on to the spot.
Gloor was the winner of the caution-free event, followed by
Patrick and Wholey.
A total of 25 cars took to the track for the 50-lap Grand
Enduro, dubbed by many as the "Daytona 500" of the division's
schedule. The #24 of Kevin McCarthy was on the pole, with the
Mi-Ro Printwear #51 of Mike Retus on the outside. Retus grabbed
the early lead, with McCarthy second and the Flanders Automotive
#56 of Robin Vollmoeller Sr. third. On lap 1, Vollmoeller moved
to the inside of McCarthy to grab the second spot, and the Blue
Point Auto Body #59 of John Cozza followed to take third. The
leaders had already begun to encounter heavy lapped traffic on
lap 8. On lap 10, Vollmoeller went to the inside of Retus for
the lead, but Retus was able to regain the spot quickly, using
lapped traffic to his advantage. Meanwhile, Cozza and the BV
Sprinklers #20 of Bob Pease were waging a side-by-side battle
for the third spot. With lapped traffic coming into play, Retus
managed to maintain the lead, but Pease grabbed second and Cozza
settled into third as Vollmoeller got caught behind a lapped
car. On lap 17, Retus fell victim to a lapped car, and Pease
grabbed the lead. The #16 of Ray Fitzgerald moved into the third
spot on lap 18, coming from a 19-place starting spot. On lap 21,
in heavy lapped traffic, Fitzgerald squeezed past Retus to take
second. Pease, meanwhile, had built up roughly a
half-straightaway lead, with Fitzgerald in second and Cozza now
in third. Fitzgerald quickly closed the gap, and moved to the
inside of Pease, grabbing the lead as the two crossed the
start-finish line on lap 25. On lap 29, the Blue Point Auto Body
#17 of Joe Parceluzzi, the Main Street Motors #43 of Richard
Petey, and the Constant Performance #2 of Bob Baker all got
together in turn 4. All three pulled away, but Baker had to
retire to the infield with a flat tire. With ten laps to go in
the race, there were a total of five cars out of the event. On
lap 41, the lapped Flanders Automotive #0 of Kyle Curtis and
Carasiti Magic #39 of Don Carasiti made contact on the
backstretch, with Carasiti in turn making contact with race
leader Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald continued on, having built up
enough of a lead that he did not surrender any positions as a
result. Fitzgerald went on to collect his third victory of the
season, with Pease second and Cozza third.
Next out were the One-on-One Spectator Drags. A total of 11
cars were entered into the single-elimination event. The final
round saw Donny "Boom Boom" Oliver in the inside lane, with Don
Carasiti on the outside for a two-lap reverse shootout. Carasiti
got the advantage coming off of the second turn on the first
lap, and went on to grab another trophy.
The Modifieds then took to the track for their 35-lap
feature, with the S.N. Blydenburgh Custom Interiors #17x of
Rusty Turbush on the pole and the Double Diamond Realty #23 of
Justin Bonsignore on the outside pole. Bonsignore took the early
lead; however, the Huntington Honda #18 of Donny Lia spun into
the infield and the caution came out. Turbush and Bonsignore
restarted on the front row, coming across the line side-by-side.
Turbush held the inside line, and Bonsignore put up a battle in
the outside lane. Turbush, however, spun into the infield.
Further back in the field, cars were racing three-wide for
position, which resulted in a lap 1 caution after several cars
were involved in an incident on the backstretch. A number of
cars suffered minor damage and pitted, but both the Eastport
Feeds #75 driven by Ed Brunnhoelzl Jr. and the Flemington Fur
Company #36 of Dave Sapienza had to be towed to the pits.
Sapienza returned, but Brunnhoelzl retired from the event.
Bonsignore was on the inside for the restart, with the SGS
Stoneworks #84 of John Fortin on the outside. Bonsignore nosed
out front, but Fortin battled back on the outside and was first
across the line for lap 2. The Rooms Unlimited #6 of Tom Rogers
Jr. came to third. Rogers and Bonsignore battled side-by-side
for second, but Bonsignore held on to the position. A four-car
breakaway developed, which included Fortin, Bonsignore, Rogers,
and the Savin #11x of Chuck Steuer. By lap 19, the leaders began
to encounter lapped traffic. On lap 20, the Riverhead Building
Supply #49 of Chris Young spun between turns 3 and 4, drawing
the caution. The single-file restart saw Fortin out front,
followed by Bonsignore and Rogers. On lap 27, the House of Cool
#74 of Marisa Niederauer made contact with the #03 of Ken Darch,
but no caution was necessary. With two laps to go, Fortin had a
ten-car length lead over Bonsignore, who had Rogers right on his
back bumper. The trio went on to finish in that order, as Fortin
collected his 17th career Modified victory at Riverhead.
Next up was the Figure 8 race. The #27 of Scott Pedersen was
on the pole, with the Mike's Auto Service #13 of Mike Mujsce Sr.
on the outside pole. Mujsce took the early lead, but Tom Kraft
in the #8 was a man on a mission, as he took over the second
spot and shot out into the lead on lap 1. Mujsce and Pedersen
made contact that resulted in a flat tire for Pedersen, and the
caution came out. For the lap 2 restart, Kraft was on the pole,
with the PS Racing #63 of Paul Specht on the outside.
Kraft moved back out to the lead, with Specht second and Mujsce
third. The Long Island DEUTZ #58 of Kenny Hyde wrestled third
from Mujsce on lap 3. On lap 5, the Anthony's Custom Carpets #16
of Will Farrell pulled off of the racing surface with mechanical
problems, and the JTL Motorsports Enterprises #37 of Jessica
Larsen retired from the event on the same lap. After the race
reached the halfway point, there were some close calls at the
"X" as cars further back in the field dodged in between the
fourth and fifth place cars. On lap 16, the DeMartino
Enterprises #00 driven by Dave Sapienza began to smoke off of
the left rear tire. On lap 17, the Blast-It Sandblasting #74 of
Carl Baxter took over the third spot. Kraft went on to capture
his first victory of the 2008 season, followed by Specht and
Baxter.
The final event of the evening was a Sprint Cup-themed
Demolition Derby. A total of six cars were entered into the
event, which came down to a battle between Scott Maliszewski and
Tim Mulqueen, who also competed against each other earlier in
the day in the Blunderbust division. Maliszewski delivered the
final hit and was declared the winner, while Mulqueen was
awarded the Judges' Choice award. The Fans' Choice award went to
"The Maniac" Art Morin.
And the Word Around the Pits...
Perhaps the biggest talk around the pits today was a new
procedure being utilized to ensure that all Modified competitors
are running legal tires. Drivers were given a printed handout
upon their arrival at the track, which laid out the specifics of
the procedure. In short, the top 15 drivers in the point
standings are now required to run sticker tires for the feature
event. Tires can no longer be picked up during the week, but
must be purchased at the track on race day and are kept in an
impound until they are ready to be used. Prior to the day's
events, I had the opportunity to speak with several drivers
about their feelings on the new procedure, and the response was
overwhelmingly positive. The general consensus was that it would
guarantee a level playing field, and ultimately result in more
exciting racing. In Victory Lane, Modified race winner John
Fortin commented, "We're impounding the tires, and you're going
to see better racing." This sentiment was echoed by numerous
other drivers in the division at the conclusion of the event.
One driver said, "It's going to take a few weeks, but you could
already see a difference." In the words of another driver, "You
need to have fast cars and slow cars. What was happening was
that even the slow cars were fast." Overall, the drivers were
very appreciative of the change in procedure, with quite a few
expressing thanks to the officials for putting the procedure in
place. Next week, the division runs the 77-lap Baldwin/Evans/Jarzombek
Memorial, which is a time trial race, so normal time trial
procedures will be in place.
John Fortin's Modified win was the 17th of his career. This
ties him on the all-time win list with Axel Anderson, Bob Park,
and Tom "The Racer" McCann.
Current Craftsman Truck Series competitor Donny Lia was on
hand for tonight's event. He took a few minutes out of his day
to discuss the new tire procedure, which he thought was a good
move on the part of track officials. Lia suffered some problems
throughout the course of the day, but managed to grab a sixth
place finish. Lia intends to run the August 2nd NASCAR Whelen
Modified Tour race at Riverhead if his schedule permits.
In a rare occurrence, the Blunderbust competitors went into
tonight's race with a three-way tie for the points lead between
Tommy Walkowiak, Chris Busick, and Scott Maliszewski. In
collecting his fifth victory in 2008, Walkowiak gained sole
possession of the top spot. He now leads Maliszewski by 8
points, and has a 14 point lead over Busick.
Grand Enduro driver Brian Obiedzenski informed everyone at
Riverhead that this would be his final race at the facility.
Obiedzenski is moving to Cary, North Carolina, where he has
accepted a job with Hendrick Motorsports.
As Jimmy "The Kid" White recovers at Stony Brook from the
injuries suffered in last week's Demolition Derby, the
outpouring of support for the 19-year-old just continues to
grow. At Jimmy's request, shirts were printed that said "Jimmy
The Kid is Hot, Hot, Hot", and there were several people in the
pits wearing the shirts. Blunderbust competitor "Krazy" Eddie
Mistretta substituted for White in his Busy Bee Pest Control #17
Grand Enduro car. Mistretta started the event 15th, and went on
to collect a ninth place finish.
Grand Enduro competitor John Cozza had a busy day. Since the
division has not raced in several weeks, Cozza decided to take
advantage of a few laps of practice early in the day. However,
his rear end broke during the practice session. Cozza and fellow
competitor Bobby Pease sent
Al "Pit Bot" to get parts that Pease happened to have at his house, and Cozza went to work fixing it. It paid off
with a third place finish. Cozza is currently the division's
point leader, with only a five point margin over Robin
Vollmoeller Sr.
Things They Say in Victory Lane...
"One double-pointer and this whole game can change...it's
really exciting." -Tommy Walkowiak
"I held on to the end. I did what I had to do." -John
Gloor IV
"Everybody in this class helps everybody out...one hand
washes the other back there and we're all here just to have a
lot of fun ." -Ray Fitzgerald
"That wall hurts sometimes, so I try not to hit it." -Don
Carasiti
"It was tough. He (Bonsignore) ran me clean, though. We
rubbed a little, but that's racing here." -John Fortin
"You always break a sweat in this division. There's always
somebody there." -Tom Kraft
Source: Tracy
Chirico/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:
July 12, 2008
