Dave Brigati
Turns 2010 Fortunes Around With Riverhead Victory
Dave Brigati of Calverton may
have finally rid himself and his race team of
an early season dark cloud as Dave led wire to wire in the
35-lap Safelite
Auto Glass Night NASCAR Modified feature at Riverhead Raceway
this Saturday. Brigati utilized his NASCAR Southern Modified
Tour car en route to the
$1,525 payday in a race sponsored by local used car dealer, Repo
Joe.
As the NASCAR Modifieds hit the
track some rain drops scattered around the
track but shortly after the hot laps prior to the race the
moisture subsided
and it was time to go racing. Dave Brigati enjoyed a rare pole
starting
position and was quick to take full advantage of it as he drove
straight to
the lead alongwith outside pole sitter and rookie driver, John
Beatty,
dropping into second. The freshman driver held down second for
the first 11
circuits before veteran driver Chris Young zipped by for the
position. This
allowed Eddie Brunnhoelzl III to get by for third as well.
As the race hit its halfway mark
it took on the look of a caution free event
and indeed that is exactly what transpired, much to the delight
of race
leader Brigati who had pulled away to almost a half lap cushion
over Young
and Brunnhoelzl. Meanwhile a bit further back a great four car
fight for
fourth was on with John Fortin, Timmy Solomito, Tom Rogers Jr.
and Chuck
Steuer all dicing with each other at one time or another. Back
up front Dave
Brigati was, as they say in racing terms, walking the dog adding
to his lead
and praying that no yellow flags would wave late in the race to
bunch up the
field.
No yellow flags did wave and
indeed Dave Brigati had his wishes answered as
he took home his first win of 2010 in the JDL Environmental
Services Chevy,
his 6th career triumph overall. Looking back on the roller
coaster start to
2010 Dave reflected, "we got off to a great start with a 4th
place finish at
Atlanta on the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, but once we
got back
here to our home track Riverhead our fortunes turned sour for
myself and
Timmy Solomito." Dave was quick to praise his loyal and hard
working crew,
"my hats off to my family and my crew, despite how rough things
got nobody
hung their head they just worked harder and harder".
Another driver needing a good
finish was the eventual runner-up Chris Young
of Calverton in the Riverhead Building Supply Corvette, who
unlike Brigati
was hoping a yellow flag would wave as was third place finisher
Eddie
Brunnhoelzl III of Levittown in the Senix Creek Inn Chevy.
Completing the
top five were current point leader John Fortin of Holtsville and
his nearest
rival in the title chase Tom Rogers Jr. of Patchogue. Fortin
leads Rogers by
18-point going into this Saturday's Cromarty Cup 50, the third
and final
double points race of 2010.
After going winless in 2009,
Roger Oxee of Peconic now boasts two Late Model
wins in a row as he won the Repo Joe 25 for his 59th career trip
to the
winners circle. Popular "Mighty" Mike Mortimer broke out to the
early race
lead at the throw of the green with Daryn Miller giving chase
for the first
lap before Ken Alfano slipped by him for second on the second
lap. Oxee, who
started 8th on the grid slipped under Alfano for second on lap
10, with
Chris LaSpisa also using the inside line to get by for third.
Right from the
moment he got to second Oxee went to work on Mortimer for the
lead, with
Oxee having an advantage in the tire department with Mortimer
being on older
tires than the challenger. The turning point of the race came on
lap 17
when Mike got a touch loose and Roger made slight contact
forcing the leader
to bobble for a moment, allowing both Oxee and LaSpisa to pass
for the top
two positions. Like Oxee earlier, LaSpisa glued himself to the
new leader's
bumper, but the tested tough Roger Oxee in the AMC Technologies
Pontiac was
able to drive to another victory, just hours after attending his
son's
graduation in upstate Pelham, N.Y. Chris LaSpisa of Shirley
drove his
sponsored wanted Chevy across the line for runner-up money,
while Ken Alfano
of Southold placed third in the Bayport Auto Body entry. Early
leader Mike
Mortimer held on for fourth place.
The annual Ernie Maynor Memorial
by Barrasso & Sons Mason Supplies for the
Figure Eight race saw Mike Mujsce of Westhampton Beach lead all
15-laps, but
in order to score his first win of 2010 he had to withstand a
last lap
challenge by Roger Maynor. At the outset of the race Mujsce
quickly asserted
himself as the car to beat, with rookie driver Dennis Scott
giving chase for
the first 8-laps, which went caution free until that 8th lap. On
the ensuing
restart Mujsce remained the race leader, but had a new
challenger in Kenny
Hyde Sr., while the likes of Scott, Arne and Scott Pedersen,
Ralph Tasso
and Roger Maynor all raced for position. A series of caution
flags late in
the race that fell after one green flag lap was completed would
juggle the
running order, as would a late race tangle involving several of
the
challengers. On lap 18 during a restart Roger Maynor, who
started 10th on
the field, passed Kenny Hyde Sr. for second and after a lap was
run another
yellow flew setting-up a green, checker flag finish. When the
one lap
shootout was run Maynor made a big run on Mujsce exiting the
fourth turn,
but Mike was having none of it and crossed the line first in his
Bill Beener
Tree Service machine. It was the second Ernie Maynor Memorial
win for Mike
Mujsce and his 11th overall. Roger Maynor of Bay Shore was a
very close
second in the Barrasso & Sons Mason Supplies Chevy, while Ken
Hyde Sr. of
Medford finished third in the Maples Bar & Grill Chevy.
Frank Dumicich Jr. of East Quogue
notched his second career Charger win when
he went wire-to-wire in the Repo Joe 20. Dumicich jumped to the
race lead
when the Whelen Engineering light went green, with Brian Doyle
applying the
pressure for the first four laps of the contest. Chris McGuire
slid under
Doyle for second on lap 5 to take over second just one week
after hand
grenading an engine in his machine. The ironic part is that
Chris was using
a borrowed motor from the Dumicich family for the race and he
now found
himself in a very unique position. However McGuire gave all he
could to race
leader Frank Dumicich lap after lap, while right behind Chris
were Daryn
Miller, Chris Turbush and Jeremy McDermott as the lead group ran
nose to
tail. The race would wind up going green to checker without any
interruptions and that was indeed good news for Frank Dumicich
Jr. who led
all the way to score the victory in his JP Hunter Roofing
Toyota. Chris
McGuire of Shirley brought the Gershow Recycling Ford home for
runner-up
money, while Daryn Miller of Franklin Square posted a fine
finish of third
in the Business Brokers Chevy
Roger Turbush of Riverhead,
fighting off the flu, solidered on in the Repo
Joe 20 for the Super Pro Trucks long enough to collect his third
win of
2010. The race was an ultra competitive affair with no less than
8 changes
for position among the top two and many more behind. After Shaun
Gouldsbury,
Anthony Vecchio and Erin Dumicich all took turns leading for a
lap over the
first three circuits, Gouldsbury reclaimed the spot on a fourth
lap double
file restart with an outside pass of Erin Dumicich. Erin's
brother Frank
would wheel past her for second on lap 8 and it was now his turn
to try his
hand at Gouldsbury, but after four laps of running in second
Frank was
overtaken by Roger Turbush on lap 13. Roger wasted little time
in turning up
the heat on leader Gouldsbury and with just three laps to go he
made an
inside pass for the lead, bringing Frank Dumicich Jr. along for
second. Over
the final two laps Roger Turbush in the Allied Air Conditioning
GMC held on
for his third win of 2010, 4th of his career. Frank Dumicich Jr.
of East
Quogue was runner-up in the Gregg's Landscaping Chevy, while
Chris Turbush
of Riverhead was third in the Bill Lyons Equipment Sales Chevy.
Just a month after scoring his
first career 4-Cylinder Enduro win, Steve
"The Pitbull" Trimboli of Freeport won his second race of 2010
in a 60-lap
contest. After Robert Endlekofer led the first lap, Anthony
Pizzo shot by
for the lead to the outside on lap 2, with Pizzo seeking his
second win in
just six days after his Father's day triumph. Trimboli however
had other
plans as he drove at a torrid pace after an early race tangle to
pass Pizzo
with less than ten laps remaining and then proceeded to drive
the Pitbull
Motors Mercedes to victory. Anthony Pizzo of Lake Ronkonkoma was
runner-up
in the STS Tire Works mount, while Don Nelson Jr. of Rocky Point
placed
third in the Nelson Brothers Racing entry.
For the second time in two weeks
Michael "Cheesebox" Rommeney of Maspeth won the 12-lap Full Size
School Bus Figure Eight race. Once again Rommeney broke to the
lead and never looked back over the entire distance, but he did
have to look forward at the buses crossing in front of him at
the "X". A great battle for second between Brandon "Hubcap"
Hubbard and Tommy "The Wild Child" Walkowiak saw the duo race
side by side lap after lap for position in their
13-ton machines.
Source: Bob Finan/Riverhead
Raceway PR
Posted: June
28, 2010
