Ryan Preece
Looks to Defend Riverhead 200 WMT Victory on July 31
Ryan Preece of Berlin, Ct., one of the
rising young drivers of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, will
look to back-up his 2009 Riverhead 200 victory when the tour
visits Barbara & Jim Cromarty's historic quarter mile oval
Saturday July 31st. The 2010 edition of the Riverhead 200 will
be the first in a broadcast package for the Versus Network with
the race being taped for broadcast later in the week.
Preece steering the famed Boehler family
#3 did a masterful job in earning the Riverhead 200 victory last
year and in 2010 finds himself solidly in the top five in the
standings as the WMT starts its busy season in July and August.
Bobby Santos III of Franklin, Ma currently leads the WMT
rankings in another historic ride on the circuit, the Garbarino
family owned #4 that Long Islander Donny Lia of Jericho drove to
the 2009 title. Three former champions are sitting in the top
five with Santos and Preece, Todd Szegedy of Ridgefield, Ct.,
Ted Christopher of Plainville, Ct. and Mike Stefanik of
Coventry, RI, all a threat for the Riverhead 200 victory.
Leading the Long Island charge into the
race will be the highest ranking Rookie on the WMT, Justin
Bonsignore of Holtsville who is locked in a battle for the 2010
Rookie of the Year with Richie Pallai Jr. of Yorktown Heights,
NY. Bonsignore had logged many laps at Riverhead in his NASCAR
Modified before branching out onto the WMT for 2010 and
currently sits in the top ten in points. Glenn Tyler of Hampton
Bays, Kevin & Eric Goodale of Riverhead, Ken Heagy of Calverton,
Johnny Bush of Huntington Station, Gary McDonald of Ronkonkoma
and Joe Hartmann of Calverton all reside on Long Island and run
with the Whelen Modified Tour regularly and will be right at
home July 31st.
Awaiting all the regulars of the NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour are the tested tough competitors of the
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series at Riverhead Raceway with
local drivers Chuck Steuer of Bohemia, John Fortin of
Holtsville, Tom Rogers Jr. of Patchogue, Bill Park of Manorville
and Howie Brode of East Islip among those expected to attempt
qualifying for the race.
1994 NASCAR WMT champion Wayne Anderson announced recently that
his car would be driven by Jimmy Blewett of Howell, NJ and
re-numbered #14 for owner points purposes.
Qualifying for the first 23 positions
will find positions 1 thru 16 filled from time trials, while
17th thru 23rd will come from a 25-lap qualifying race. If for
any unforeseen circumstance a qualifying race is not needed then
positions 17 thru 23 would revert back to time trials. Positions
24 thru 28 are reserved for provisional starting positions as
per the NASCAR entry blank for the Riverhead 200.
The time trial portion of qualifying
will start at 4:30 pm, while the 25-lap qualifying race is set
for 6:00 pm. The 175-lap feature portion of the Riverhead 200
will start at 8:30 pm as per the NASCAR entry blank. Joining the
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour are the Charger and Blunderbust
divisions of Riverhead Raceway. Both will run a 30-lap, double
point feature with time trial qualifying.
For further information please visit
www.riverheadraceway.com or phone 631-842-RACE.
Source: Bob Finan/Riverhead
Raceway PR
Posted: July
20, 2010
