Bill Park
Survives Late Race Restarts to Top Modified Field
Former four time Riverhead
Raceway NASCAR Modified champion Bill Park of
Manorville didn't let two late race double file restarts stand
in his way
Saturday night in the 35-lap NASCAR Modified feature event. Park
took home
his 31st career victory landing him in a five way tie for third
on the
track's all-time win list. Park is now tied with Wayne Anderson,
Chris
Young, Jack Reinhard and Tommy Washburn in career wins.
Rebounding from a heavy crash the
week before Bill Park took advantage of a
rare outside pole starting spot to race out front with rookie
driver John
Beatty in tow for the first two laps. On the third circuit Mike
Andrews Jr.
ducked under Beatty going into the first corner to take over
second. Over
the first half of the race Park led Andrews with a couple of
double file
restarts thrown in along the way but it would be later in the
race when
things would heat-up between the top two cars and those behind
them, John
Fortin, Tom Rogers Jr. and Timmy Solomito.
The first of two late race
yellows put Andrews to the outside of Park on lap
28 and when the green flag waved Bill was able to hold Mike off
after the
challenger tried to make a run on the outside. The race only
went two green
flag laps before the final caution of the race would wave on lap
30 and
would prove to be the game changer. Realizing he might not get
another
double file restart, Andrews tried to get the jump on Park off
turn four
which he did, but Bill roared back on the inside and the duo was
even going
into the first corner. Park then rode Andrews up just a touch
off turn two
and that allowed both John Fortin and Tom Rogers Jr. to slip
under for
second and third.
Over the final five laps of the
race Fortin, the defending NASCAR Modified
champion, stayed glued to Park but with the laps slipping away
was never
able to mount a challenge on the eventual winner. At the finish
it was Bill
Park in the JAD Carpet Showcase Chevy posting a well deserved
victory after
a week of hard work by his team. "I have to thank my crew and
family" Bill
reflected in victory lane, after last week we worked Sunday and
every night
of the week to get this car back out and it paid off." As for
the 30th lap
restart Park recalled, "Mike did jump me a bit and that is why I
rode him up
a little in one, I don't like to race that way but I don't like
being jumped
on a restart either".
Roger Oxee of Peconic, the
all-time leading winner in Late Model racing at
Riverhead, added to that total Saturday when he led wire to wire
in their
25-lap main event to earn his 58th career win. Like Park in the
Modified
race, Roger Oxee also had to survive several double file
restarts to claim
his first win since August of 2008. After Ralph Stanzione and
Mike Mortimer
ran one-two for the first lap, Oxee moved to second on lap two
and just one
lap later took the lead on lap 3 with Shawn Patrick racing his
way to second
following Oxee's lead. A 10th lap restart would turn out to be
intense as
Patrick was able to stay alongside Oxee for nearly an entire lap
before
tucking back into second before others behind him slipped
underneath. That
very same scene played out again on another double file restart
later in the
race and once again Roger Oxee in the North Fork Sanitation
Pontiac was able
to withstand the challenge and drive to victory lane. Shawn
Patrick of
Brightwaters crossed the line second in his Matlach Fabricating
Chevy, while
Kevin Metzger of Massapequa recovered from an early race flat to
claim third
place in the County Tire Chevy.
Perhaps the most motivated driver
in the pit area Saturday was Roger Turbush
of Riverhead who was called upon to drive his brother Chris's
potent Charger
car as Chris served a one race suspension. After a great late
race battle
with Frank Dumicich Jr. Roger Turbush, who started scratch on
the field
collected a very popular first career Charger victory. Frank
Dumicich Jr.
broke to the early race lead, chased for the first 8 laps by
Daryn Miller,
before Miller was passed for second by Jay Henschel on the 9th
cycle.
Henschel chased Dumicich for two laps before Roger Turbush, a
man on a
mission, worked his way by for the position. After spending a
couple of laps
tracking down the race leader Turbush caught up to Dumicich
setting up a
very exciting final three laps. Roger in the United Panel
Pontiac looked
under Frank for a lap before he switched his strategy and moved
up high on
the track. On lap 18 as the duo got the two to go signal Roger
Turbush was
able to power his way around Dumicich to take the lead and the
emotional
race win. Frank Dumicich Jr. of East Quogue was runner-up in the
JP Hunter
Roofing Toyota, with Jay Henschel of Levittown collecting third
place money
in the Tri-State Paving Chevy.
It has been 10 and a half years
since Bill Portney Sr. won a 20-lap
Blunderbusts main event at Riverhead Raceway, it has also been
10 and a half
years since Bill nearly died of a heart attack at the track
later that year.
Well, Bill Portney Sr. of Ronkonkoma completed his comeback
Saturday when he
topped the Blunderbust field for his first win since July 24th,
1999. After
some early race contact on the first attempt to start the race,
Bill Portney
lost a hood pin on the first exchange but was able to take the
lead with
the throw of the green, even with his hood on the right front of
the car
waving in the breeze. Tim "Lightening" Mulqueen, looking for his
second
straight win chased Portney for the first half of the race
before Tom
Pickerell passed him on lap 10. Pickerell, along with Mulqueen
and Tommy
Walkowiak all hounded Bill over the final 10 laps of the contest
but Portney
stayed out front despite the heavy pressure from behind. At the
finish it
was Bill Portney Sr in the JR Fuel Oil entry taking the popular
win. Tom
Pickerell, who aids Bill in his car set-up, crossed the line
second in the
G-Force Collision Buick, while Tim Mulqueen of Levittown placed
third in the
Saybrook Hay Farms racer.
When the 20-lap Super Pro Truck
feature event was checkered it appeared that
Frank Scimeca Jr. of Bay Shore had won his first career main
event while
subbing for truck owner Bobby Jones, who had some health
concerns over the
winter. Frank in the Blue Point Auto Body Chevy led wire to wire
holding off
former champion Frank Dumicich Sr. over the final 17-laps of the
race.
However in post race technical inspection Frank Scimeca and the
Jones team
were informed that the distributor had an unapproved
modification and they
were disqualified from the win. Afterwards the team disclosed
they had no
knowledge of the modification and had they known would not have
run that
distributor. However it moved Frank Dumicich Sr. of East Quogue
into victory
lane for the 16th time in his SPT career in the Wesemann's Sand
& Mason
Supplies Ford and right behind him would be runner-up and
daughter Erin
Dumicich in her sponsor wanted machine. "Dangerous" Dave Koenig
of Freeport
was third in the Truck & Auto Works Chevy.
Source: Bob Finan/Riverhead
Raceway PR
Posted: June
14, 2010
