06/28/2009
It’s More Than Just a
Racetrack
by Michael T. Masciale
I’m honored to be able to give my perspective of Riverhead
Raceway’s Saturday night events to LongIslandJam.com’s readers.
As a kid my dad took me to Islip Speedway every Saturday night.
We sat in the exact same place each time and we were always
accompanied by a bucket of Chicken Delight, a thermos full of
Ovaltine, peanuts, popcorn, and, of course, the occasional
blanket for when it got cold. I will never forget the sounds and
smells of that track. Now I continue the tradition by taking my
son to Riverhead and we sit in a similar spot to the one that my
dad and I sat in so long ago at Islip. When I enter the track I
immediately feel at home – the engine’s roar and the smell
burning rubber and high-octane exhaust brings me back to days
long ago when things were simpler, easier, and worry free. Many
times I was lucky to see the world’s largest demolition derby,
which was televised by ABC’s The Wide World of Sports, or the
high-flying Chitwood Brothers. I was privileged to see drivers
like “Gentleman” Jim Hendrickson in the No. x3; “Luigi”
Terripiccio, with his Italian flag waving from the back of his
car; and, of course, Charlie Jarzombek’s No. 1. Everyone should
have such meaningful and soothing memories as these.
After this past month of continuous rain, race fans were granted
a break, greeted with a gorgeous day of racing. My son Steven,
his friend Patrick, and I were hunkered down with a big bag of
goodies and drinks for a long and enjoyable night of racing.
Super Pro Trucks
The No. 97 of “Dangerous” Dave Koenig and No. 72 of Greg
Podlaski would lead the field of 17 trucks to the green. Upon
the start, Koenig jumped quickly out front. On lap 5, Podlaski
dropped out of second with a flat tire, which moved No. 30 Shaun
Gouldsbury into second place. On lap 11, Koenig begins the lap
the field, starting with Bobby Jones’ No. 43. However, by the
last lap No. 88 Roger Turbush was all over Koenig, but Koenig
held off his advances for his sixth career win.
Blunderbusts – Double Point, 30 laps
While No. 00 Tommy Walkowiak would time trial fastest, the
redraw placed No. 90 Ron Langdon on the pole. In his first race
of the year, Langdon didn’t appear rusty, taking a commanding
five-car lead by lap three. Meanwhile, Walkowiak and No. 69x
Paul Parisi would duke it out neck and neck for second.
Langdon’s strong performance would run until the end, for his
first win since 2002. And, as luck would have it, Langdon’s
transmission blew while doing his burnout celebration, but
nevertheless, Langdon enjoyed the spoils in victory lane.
Drifting
What’s the big fuss about drifting? I’ll tell you what the big
fuss is, drifting is freaking awesome! The demonstration
consisted of four Nissan 240X cars driving in controlled slides
around the track. The Island Slide Drifting Company brought all
the racing fans to the edge of their seats. I was lucky enough
to find myself sitting behind one of the drifter’s moms, (Mom
Mastromonico) who was more then happy to give me the skinny on
the team. The team currently consists of four 20-something
drivers: Billy Quinn, Michael Mastromonico, Michael Biddlecomb,
and Ritchie Celantano. This was their third appearance at
Riverhead and they have been asked to return for another
demonstration and a full day of drifting. After the race night
was over I got to hang with them in the pits. They were very
down-to-earth and equally committed to their sport. All four
expressed how much fun they have drifting and how they are
determined to make drifting a mainstream sport in America. They
noted that they go through three to four sets of tires per car
during a full-day event and go through lots of clutches,
transmissions, suspensions, and exhaust systems. If you want to
learn more about them, visit
www.islandslide.com.
Chargers
Can you say “three-wide at Riverhead?” That’s what we were
treated to during this race. It was one of the most entertaining
races I remember seeing in a long, long time. At the tight,
quarter-mile Riverhead, it’s not often you see someone come from
the back to contend for the lead. However, No. 81 Chris Turbush
isn’t your typical driver. He not only moved to the front of the
pack from a ninth-place starting position, he made his mad dash
to the front on the outside, going three-wide at one point.
However, he passed No. 56 Jay Henschel for the win by not going
high, but ducking low, the final touch to arguably one of the
most memorable Charger races in recent history.
Modifieds
There’s something really cool about the modifieds racing at
night, with the track’s lights gleaming off their exotic bodies,
their thunderous roar, and their aromatic smell of burning
rubber with high-octane fumes. Modified rookie, Timmy Solomito,
made it look easy this night. Solomito, a recent EEKR go-kart
and Charger graduate, started on the pole and held off
competitors who were more twice to three times his age for his
first career Modified win.
School Bus Figure 8
Figure 8 races are great. Throw in some school buses, and you
got an instant favorite among the kids in the stands. While
everyone made it through the “X” all right, there was plenty of
rubbing and hard racing. Veteran racer and regular Figure 8
competitor, Mike “Cheesebox” Rommeney, would take the checkers
in this thrilling event.
Four-cylinder Enduros
The 4-cylinder Enduro presented typical crazy, chaotic,
four-wide, yellow-free racing that we know and love. Only in
Enduros will you find a mannequin head affixed to the roof of a
race car. Additionally, only in Enduros will you see a spun car
salvage his position by driving backwards for a few hundred feet
and do a power slide to right himself and continue racing. It
was just too cool. It’s racing at its purest and simplest. While
the ardent racing fan may first say “this is wrong,” by the end
of the race many will say, “This is cool, I gotta get me a car
and get in this race ASAP.” Winning the event would be
4-cylinder veteran, Matt Brown.
All in all the boys and I had another fantastic night at
Riverhead Raceway and look forward to attending many more
Saturday nights in the same seat each time as I pass on the
torch of Long Island racing to my son.
Source: Michael T. Masciale /
LongIslandJam.com
Posted: June 28, 2009
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