MyRaceLife.com NELMA
Late Model Challenge
Draws Many to Mountain
by Ryan McGrellis
A beautiful Sunday afternoon at Mountain Speedway in St. Johns,
Pennsylvania saw many regular competitors and fans from RR join
the ‘locals’ to see an action packed afternoon of racing. On the
schedule for the afternoon was a Democrat vs. Republican Roller
Derby, a 35 lap Legend race, a 30 lap Super Pro Truck race,
Strictly Stocks, and the 100 lap NELMA Late Model Challenge.
The action would start with 3 heat races for the Legends with
wins by the Alcaro Motorsports #8 of Mike Alcaro, the T/S
Motorsports #88 of John Beatty, and the Roxbury Auto Wreckers
#17 of Roger Coss. The Super Pro Trucks also ran heats with the
AAA Firewood and Mulch #41 of Chris Turbush and the Teddy Bear
Racing #5 of Frank Dumicich Sr. taking the wins.
The Legends and Late Models followed for their B-Main races.
The Legends were first up with eighteen cars going twelve laps
and the first five cars qualifying for the feature. The race
would start with the #78 on the pole and the Nowak Motorsports
#53 of Kevin Nowak on the outside. The #78 would take the early
lead until lap 3 when Nowak made his move to the inside and took
the lead coming off turn two. The caution would come out on lap
7 as the #60 spun in turn four. On the restart, Nowak would pull
away from the field with tight racing going on for the second
and third positions. The caution would come out again on lap 9,
as the #11 spun alone on the backstretch. The green flag would
wave for the restart but it would not last long. The yellow flag
was for the #33 of JD Abrahams, who spun and collected the #X of
Wendell Mapper and the Dynamic Engineering #01 of AJ Wright.
Mapper and Abrahams would pit, and Wright would continue as his
car suffered minimal damage. The final restart would have Nowak
leading, with tight racing going on for second between the #78
and Mike Alcaro in the Alcaro Motorsports #8. Alcaro would make
the pass for second on lap 12 going to the inside off turn four.
Nowak would take the B-Main win, followed by Alcaro, #78, and
the Jack Anthony Swimming Pools #12 of Glenn Maningo.
The B-Main for the Late Models was up next to determine the
15th through 20th starting spots for the 100 lap NELMA Late
Model feature. The race would have 15 cars, going 15 laps with
six cars making the feature. The #37 of Jim Lamoreaux would
start the race on the pole with the Unique Golf Shop/Village
Sunoco #4 of Tom Rogers Jr. on the outside. The green flag would
wave for a moment but a quick yellow flag would follow the start
with a multi-car accident on the front stretch bringing out the
caution. After the accident was cleaned the race would restart
with no laps completed. The first lap would see Lamoreaux take
the lead and the #53 of Brian Defebo move into second getting
around Rogers Jr. for the position. The caution would come out
again on lap 2 for the Patrick Racing #88 of Shawn Patrick who
spun in turn two. The restart would see Lamoreaux lead and
Rogers Jr. getting the 2nd spot back from Defebo on lap 6 off
turn four. The yellow would come out for the #31 of Justin
Onderko as he went spinning in turn three on lap 8. The restart
would last for two laps until the WPW Growers #3 of Doug Renalds
got a flat after contact with the Nick’s Enterprises #00 of
David Imler in turn one. The ensuing restart would also be
brief, as the yellow flag would wave as Patrick got together
with the Jersey Shore Mustang #14 of Elliot Wohl in turn three
on lap 13. Soon after the restart another yellow flag would wave
again as Imler and Wohl spun in turn two. The final restart on
lap 13 saw Lamoreaux take the final two laps to take the win.
Second place went to Tom Rogers Jr., Defebo would take third,
followed by the #28 of Roger Maynor, the Diamond Graphics #16 of
Kyle Harvell, and the final qualifying spot going to Onderko.
With the all the qualifying events complete, the features
would begin, the first being the WPW Equipment Supply Legends
Fall Classic. The race had 24 cars going for 35 laps with the
Foxwoods Resort Casino #20 of Max Zachem on the pole and the
Little Race Cars #20x of Cameron Patrick on the outside. With
the sun just starting to go down, the race began with Zachem
pulling out to the early lead. The 2nd position would change on
the second lap as the Roxbury Auto Wreckers #17 of Roger Coss
would get by Patrick on the inside off turn four. The next lap
would see the Manafort Bros. #17x of Jason Palmer using the
inside to pass Patrick as well. Palmer would then take second
position from Coss, as the first of many cautions would come out
shortly after the Palmer pass. The caution was for the #08 of
Joey Mattis as he hit the wall in turn three and needed to be
towed into the pits. The race would restart with Zachem leading
and Palmer all over his bumper. Palmer would get a run on the
outside off turn four on lap 10, but a caution would make Zachem
remain the leader. The caution was for the #90 of Karl Heisler
and the #86 of Robby Walton as they spun in turn three. The
restart would last for one lap and on that lap Coss would take
to the inside of Palmer for second. A multi-car collision on the
backstretch was the reason for the caution. The accident
involved The Coil Men #611 of Justin Grimm, the Dynamic
Engineering #01 of A.J. Wright, and the #40 of Luke Marzano on
lap 12 and after a lengthy caution racing resumed. The caution
would come out a lap later for Coss who spun in turn four. The
single file restart from lap 13 would see Zachem shoot out to
the lead with Palmer in second and the T/S Motorsports #88 of
John Beatty following in third. On lap 18, the Newton Exxon #31
of Michael Gervais Jr. got by Beatty on the inside for third
after two laps of side by side racing. Beatty lost the fourth
spot on the next lap to Mike Alcaro in the Alcaro Motorsports
#8. The top four were all bumper to bumper, no one giving an
inch to anyone else. The yellow would come out on lap 24 for a
spin by Walton in turn four. The restart would last for a lap as
Marzano climbed up the left rear of Grimm at the end of the
frontstretch with Marzano spinning but recovering to continue as
did Grimm, without the rear fender. The race restarted and was
yellow flagged for the seventh time on lap 27 for the Crossfire
Telecom #74 of John Visconti and Heisler as they spun in turn
four. Another caution came out on lap 28 for Heisler who spun,
this time in turn one. On the restart with seven laps to go
Zachem shot out to the lead with Palmer, Gervais Jr., and Alcaro
following in second, third, and fourth, respectively. Back in
the fifth position there was a good battle between Beatty and
the Buckeye Legends #30 of Jason Knox. The race for second and
third was heating up and after a few laps of being on Palmer’s
bumper, Gervais Jr. made his move. Gervais could not find a way
around Palmer and slid up the track after contact with Palmer
which allowed Alcaro to get around and take over the third spot.
The race would be cautioned once again on lap 34. Zachem, who
had built a decent lead over the rest of the field, had to hang
on just one more lap to win. The caution was for the Jack
Anthony Swimming Pools #12 of Glenn Maningo as he spun in turn
four. The green-checkered restart would see Zachem holding off
Palmer and getting the well deserved win. Zachem started from
the pole and never gave up the lead of the 35 lap event. Second
place would go to Jason Palmer, third to Alcaro, and fourth to
Michael Gervais Jr.
With the sky dark and the weather cold the Late Models took
to the track for the NELMA 100 lap Late Model Challenge. 25 cars
were ready to take the green with the fourth fastest qualifier
in the SLK Construction #07 of Tommy Spencer Jr. on the pole and
the Leading Edge Fabrication #42 of Dave Macomber on the
outside. At the drop of the green Spencer jumped out into the
early lead with the Metzger Racing #23 of Riverhead Raceway’s
own Kevin Metzger coming to second. Another RR regular, Jarrod
Hayes in the #08 would follow Metzger on the inside line to take
over third. Hayes would not be able to hold the position after
getting loose off turn two allowing Macomber to gain the spot
back. The first of many cautions was on lap 8 for debris with
Spencer leading, Metzger in second, Macomber in third, Hayes in
fourth, and the Harley Davidson of Nassau Co. #68 of Buzzy
Eriksen rounding out the top five. The restart would see Metzger
just edging out Spencer for first, then the race would be halted
by a red flag for a two-car wreck in turn one. The TTS Concrete
#7A of Jimmy Wismer hit the front stretch wall hard, bounced off
and took a hard hit from Hayes. Many cars went spinning to avoid
the carnage; the #53 of Brian Defebo spun into turn one and made
contact with the rear end of Hayes and required a tow into the
pits. The Radocha Excavating #40 of Todd Geist and the J&R’s
Steakhouse #72 of Greg Kleila also spun in turn one. The
Racequest.com #18 of Bill Catania and the #31 of Justin Onderko
both sustained heavy front end damage but stayed on the track.
Wismer had his night end along with Defebo as both needed to be
towed into the pits. Hayes had minimal damage to his car as he
drove off into the pits along with Geist and Tom Rogers Jr. who
had a flat tire. Hayes and Geist came back onto the track before
the restart. The green flag would quickly be followed by a
yellow flag. This accident was much like the previous, involving
numerous cars. The Vortex Fuel Saver #27 of Keith Rotzi got
sideways in turn one and made contact with the SWC/AMC #39 of RJ
Oxee sending him airborne. The Diamond Graphics #16 of Kyle
Harvell spun avoiding the accident as did Kleila. The #28 of
Roger Maynor went into the pits with damage, but he and Rogers
Jr. came back out before the restart. The single file restart
would have Metzger leading the pack with Spencer on his bumper.
Spencer looked to the outside but couldn’t get a good run on
Metzger and opened the door for Macomber and Eriksen who used
the inside line to take second and third, respectively. The
yellow would come out on lap 11 for a spins by the #16 of Kyle
Harvell . On the restart Metzger grabbed the lead and created
some distance from the field, while Spencer brought his #07 to
the outside groove and off of turn four got around Eriksen and
Macomber to gain second. Spencer reeled Metzger in and once
again used the outside showing his driving ability by getting
around him for first. The Precision Construction #76 Zane Zeiner
followed Spencer on the outside and got around Macomber for
second. Spencer lost the lead as soon as he gained it as Metzger
used the inside and took it back. Macomber grabbed second back
following Metzger on the inside. On lap 17, Macomber dove to the
inside going into turn one and took the lead coming out off turn
two. The yellow would come out again on lap19 as Francis Gross
III would spin in turn four. Macomber brought the field off turn
four for the lap 19 restart. Once again Spencer rose to the
outside and passed both Eriksen and Metzger off turn four. The
caution would come out again for Harvell as he went spinning in
turn two. The restart would last three laps as the caution would
come out for a spin in turn one by the #40 of Geist after he
blew his motor. After the yellow Eriksen and Zeiner would go
spinning and Eriksen would sustain some damage and pit, but he
would come back out before the restart. The restart would see
Macomber shoot out into the lead followed by Spencer. The
Hoffman Concrete & Construction #20x of Joe Hoffman would come
to third getting by Metzger and would gain second as Spencer got
loose off turn two on lap 26 and lost many spots. Zeiner
followed Hoffman by passing Metzger for third. Macomber had a
few car length lead over Hoffman until another caution would
come out. Gross III spun in turn four resulting in Metzger and
Zeiner colliding trying to avoid him; Zeiner had heavy damage to
the rear quarter panel. The restart would see Hoffman all over
Macomber but soon Macomber would pull away and create another
large lead over the field. The caution would come out for the
#37 of Jim Lamoreaux as he spun in turn four and Cantania spun
avoiding him. The restart was for two laps due to the
“competition caution” at lap 50 which allowed adjustments and
fuel. The top five at lap 50 were: Macomber, Hoffman, Zeiner,
Metzger, and the Plum-Air, Inc. #8 of Travis Fisher who set fast
time with a 14.525 in time trials. Macomber led the field on the
restart and the action would be for second with Zeiner all over
Hoffman for the spot. The yellow flag would come out on lap 52
for a spin by Patrick in the #88. On the restart the close
racing would continue for second between Zeiner and Hoffman.
Zeiner got Hoffman sideways coming off turn four and got himself
loose making contact with Metzger as Hoffman went spinning on
the frontstretch. The caution would come out and Zeiner would
get sent to the back of pack for rough riding. With the second
and third place cars being put in the rear of the field that
bumped Metzger up to second, Fisher up to third, and the Royal
Rooter #8 of Larry Fisher up to fourth. The restart would only
last for three laps until another yellow came out for Maynor
spinning in turn two. The restart would see Metzger going to the
inside of Macomber for the lead. Macomber held him off allowing
Fisher in the #8 to try a pass on the inside, Metzger held him
off to remain in second. Lamoreaux and Hayes would get together
in turn four bringing another caution flag on lap 59. The
restart would have Macomber still leading the race with Metzger
following close behind. Spencer made his way back up through the
field as he passed the Stewart’s Sanitation #11 of Mike Sweeney
for fifth. Macomber and Metzger distanced themselves from Fisher
and the rest of the field until lap 78 when another caution flag
was thrown. The caution was thrown for Hoffman as he went
spinning after three wide racing with Zeiner and Rogers Jr. So
the field was tightened once again and the restart had all of
the top five bumper to bumper. Spencer once again went to the
outside to grab the fifth position from Larry Fisher on lap 81.
Fisher fell off pace allowing Sweeney to bring the #11 to fifth.
Once again Macomber and Metzger created distance from the field.
Metzger was all over the rear bumper of Macomber and looking to
make a move but a caution would make him hold off. The caution
on lap 93 was for Lamoreaux who spun in turn 4. The race would
restart and Spencer would jump to the outside on the backstretch
and take third position away Fisher on lap 94. The final caution
would come out on lap 95 after Fisher spun and made contact with
Zeiner then bounced off him and hit the wall. Fisher would pit
with five laps to go. The race would restart with the field
remaining single file for a lap, then on lap 97 Spencer made his
move. Spencer jumped again to the outside going into turn three
and got by Metzger, but wasn’t done as he got a great run on
leader Macomber. Running to the outside of Macomber with Metzger
coming to the inside of the leader, Spencer would take the lead
going into turn one and Metzger would follow for second dropping
Macomber to third. Spencer went on to take the win, followed by
Metzger and Macomber. Great moves by Spencer really showed what
racing is about as he was out of the top ten mid-race and made
his way back using the outside making an impressive three wide
pass to earn the win. Congrats to Kevin Metzger for representing
Riverhead Raceway with a strong second place finish.
The Super Pro Trucks were next out onto the track for their
30 lap race. Seventeen trucks were on hand and ready to take the
green flag with the Teddy Bear Racing #5 of Frank Dumicich Sr.
on the pole and the AAA Firewood & Mulch #41 of Chris Turbush on
the outside. The race would start and like the previous two be
stopped by a yellow flag. The caution would come out for the
Rheem #88 of Roger Turbush as he got a flat right rear tire and
had to pit. Turbush would come back out and the race would
restart with Chris Turbush leading. On lap 3, Dumicich Sr. would
be passed by his son Frank Dumicich Jr. in the Teddy Bear Racing
#42. The caution would come out on lap 4 as the #2x of Mike
Bologna would make contact with Dumicich Sr. sending the #5
spinning and Bologna joining him at the rear of the field. The
restart would see Turbush, Dumicich Jr., and Brian McElearney
distance themselves from the rest of the field. The caution
would come out on lap 13 for the G Force Collision #7 of Rich
Giordano as he went spinning to the infield. The race resumed
with Chris Turbush still leading the way and on lap 15,
McElearney brought the #99 truck to the inside of Dumicich Jr.
on the backstretch and gained second. On lap 19, Bologna would
spin coming off of turn two and continue with no yellow flag
thrown. The following lap he would spin again coming down the
backstretch and this time the yellow was thrown. The race would
restart with Turbush in the lead, McElearney in second, Erin
Dumicich in third, Dumicich Jr. fourth, and “Dangerous” Dave
Koenig in the Nelson’s Auto Salvage #97 fifth. “Dangerous” Dave
would get an inside run on Dumicich Jr. but would suffer a flat
tire causing him to spin the #42 in turn four and the caution to
come out. The race would restart and have two quick cautions
with spins by Bologna and the #66 of Mike Albasini. Bologna
would be black flagged and done for the night after three spins.
The last restart would be the way they finished with Chris
Turbush taking the win leading every lap, Brian McElearney
having a strong run in finishing in second, Erin Dumicich also
having a strong showing coming in third.
The Street Stocks were next up with 10 cars ready to go
racing with the #8 of Paul Morgan Jr. on the pole and the #19 of
Doug Knauss on the outside. At the drop of the green Morgan Jr.
would take the lead but the caution would come out for the #32
of Brian Brown as he spun and made contact with the wall and had
his left rear tire come off in turn 3. The #99JR of Ricky Ross
would go into the pits with a flat and go back out before the
green dropped. The restart would see some three wide racing for
the lead between Morgan, the #66 of Nick Shaw and the #99 of
Nick Ross. Nick Ross would take the lead. Ricky Ross would come
to second on lap 7 coming off of turn four. After a yellow flag
was thrown for a spin by the #17 of Jimmy White Jr. in turn
four, the restart would have Ricky Ross taking the lead off turn
four on lap 9. Ricky Ross and Nick Ross lapped nearly the entire
field and took down first and second, respectively, with Shaw
taking home third.
The Republican vs. Democrat Roller Derby was up next, with
three cars going five laps. Pete Verwys, the Democrat, took down
the win.
Source: Ryan
McGrellis/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:
October 26, 2008
