A pleasant Sunday afternoon greeted competitors and fans
alike at Riverhead Raceway Memorial Day weekend and among the
big winners were Tom Pickerell of Huntington in the 20-lap
Blunderbust feature, while Ray Fitzgerald of Manorville was tops
in the 50-lap Grand Enduro.
After a rough first lap restart that saw several cars get
together in turn one things quickly settled down with Tom
Pickerell and Joe Pingitore racing for the top spot early on.
From the second through seventh lap the tandem swapped the lead
back and forth while racing side by side before Pickerell took
control on lap 8. "Pistol" Paul Parisi snuck around Pingitore
for second and he then set his sights on the race leader.
Meanwhile Tommy Walkowiak who was among those in the first lap
restart melee was on the march from the tail end of the field
quickly closing in on the top two.
In the final few laps of the race with Parisi having to contend
with Walkowiak, Tom Pickerell in the Pickerell Clam Buick was
able to open a slight advantage, one he'd keep until the
conclusion of the event. Tommy Walkowiak of Ridge would make a
last lap pass for second in his Unique Golf Chevy, while Paul
Parisi of Riverhead crossed the line third in the Signature
Bagels entry.
Despite an unlucky 13th starting position Ray Fitzgerald would
score his second Grand Enduro win in just as many races in 2009.
Donny "Boom Boom" Oliver snatched the race lead at the drop of
the green, with Jimmy "The Kid" White in tow. Don Carasiti moved
around White on lap 7 but Joe Parcelluzzi in turn quickly passed
him on lap 10. With all that transpiring Fitzgerald was slicing
his way towards the front of the field moving by Parcelluzzi for
second on lap 13.
Once Ray got to second he'd have to get his fishing rod out and
reel in Oliver, who had built himself quite the comfortable
lead. On lap 32 Ray Fitzgerald in the Oakfield Leasing Chevy
made the winning move passing Donny Oliver of Flanders in his
Flanders Automotive Camaro for the lead and eventual win. Oliver
was runner-up with Greg Zaleski of Jamesport making a late race
charge for second in his J Zee's Plumbing & Heating Chevy, but
he would settle for third.
The most intense Enduro of the afternoon belonged to the
4/6-Cylinder Trucks who waged a torrid three-truck fight for the
lead and race victory. For the first 11 circuits Andy Owen,
Kevin Nowak and Woot Lawrence battles for the lead before John
Cozza came along on lap 12 dropping Owen from the top three.
Over the following 29-laps numerous position changes would take
place among the trio with John Cozza of Medford taking the race
lead for good on lap 33 in his Blue Point Auto Body Chevy. With
Nowak now running second and Lawrence third they entered a hard
fought fight for position which allowed Cozza to pull away for
the win. Donald "Woot" Lawrence of Hampton Bays passed Kevin
Nowak of Medford for second on lap 41 and drove his Westhampton
Auto Salvage truck to runner-up money, with Nowak third in his
NAPA Auto Parts Chevy.
What an afternoon for Dominic Ranieri of E. Northport as he
scored a clean sweep of the 8-Cylinder Enduro feature events.
Ranieri, piloting the Local Cesspools Chevy won the 75-lap
opener as well the 50-lap nightcap.
Bob Haeger of Hampton Bays won the 50-lap 6-Cylinder Enduro
wheeling the Haeger Home Improvements machine, while Matt Brown
of Ronkonkoma topped the 75-lap 4-Cylinder Enduro in his Stan's
Towing racer just hours after a victory in the Blindfolded Taxi
Cab Race.
In that 10-lap Blindfolded Taxi Cab Race Matt Brown served as
the navigator for veteran driver Bill Smilowska who was
blindfolded for this unique race. Once the green waved it was
every team for themselves with cars covering every inch of the
racetrack, but in the end the Stan's Towing team prevailed.
Defending Car Rollover champion Joe Marko of Lindenhurst got his
title defense off on the right foot winning the event in his
Augie's Car Care compact.
Richie Grey of Copiague notched his first career One On One
Spectator Drag victory in a battle of Ford Mustangs as he edged
out veteran Pete Sherman Jr. of Port Jefferson Station.
Blunderbusts 20-laps: 1. Tom Pickerell 2. Tommy Walkowiak 3.
Paul Parisi 4. Tom Sullivan 5. Kevin Rommeney 6. Bill Wegmann 7.
Ed Mistretta 8. Ray Shannon 9. Bill Wegmann Jr. 10. Caesar
Cunaccia 11. Bill Portney Sr. 12. Scott Maliszewski 13. Rob
Bader 14. Scott Sepe 15. Joe Pingitore 16. Terry Stiles 17.
Randy Johnson 18. Tim Mulqueen 19. Matt Pepitone 20. Jarrod
Hayes
Grand Enduro 50-laps (top five) 1. Ray Fitzgerald 2. Donny
Oliver 3. Greg Zaleski 4. James Charrier 5. Jimmy Denis
4/6-Cylinder Truck Enduro 50-laps (top five) 1. John Cozza 2.
Donald Lawrence 3. Kevin Nowak 4. Don Nelson Jr. 5. Ben Gregor
1st 8-Cylinder Enduro 75-laps: Winner Dominic Ranieri Jr.
2nd 8-Cylinder Enduro 50-laps: Winner Dominic Ranieri Jr.
6-Cylinder Enduro 50-laps: Winner- Bob Haeger
4-Cylinder Enduro 75-laps: Winner- Matt Brown
Blindfolded Taxi Cab Race Winners Bill Smilowska & Matt Brown
Car Rollover Contest: Winner- Joe Marko
Spectator Drags: Winner- Richie Grey
Source: Bob Finan /
Riverhead Raceway
Posted: May
24, 2009
