Island Insight
by
Greg Berkowitz
Saturday was the Night of Adventure at Riverhead Raceway. In
addition to a jet-fuel-powered, car-eating dinosaur, Riverhead
hosted a full card of racing and family events. The night got
off to a great start when the first two events went caution
free. The first event, a 20-lap Blunderbust feature, was won by
Scott Maliszewski. Maliszewski has two wins this season in two
different cars. Maliszewski won earlier in the season in a car
borrowed from Ron Langdon while his own car was under repair
(the same car that Langdon set a new track record and won with
last Saturday). Last night, Maliszewski won with his familiar
green No. 22 Chevy that is adorned with Looney Toons characters.
The win is a bright spot in in what has otherwise been a tough
luck season for the likeable driver. Maliszewski was especially
glad to finally have a win in his own ride.
While the first two events went caution-free, tempers still
ran hot as we enter the final stretch of the 2010 season. Two
drivers in two separate divisions were disqualified after
retaliating against other drivers after the checkered flag had
waved. The first incident occurred after the the Blunderbust
race concluded. Michael Rommeney rammed his No. 11 Blunderbust
into the side of the No. 77 of Tim Mulqueen on the cool-down lap
in turn two. Rommeny exited his car and approached Mulqueen
before being held back by his teammate and brother Kevin
Rommeney. The retaliation was the result of frustration over
numerous on-track run-ins involving Mulqueen and Rommeney that
have occurred throughout the season, including Saturday night.
The No. 14 of Kevin Rommeney even carries a decal on showing a
smashed No. 77 car being on the hook of a tow truck. Rommeney
was immediately disqualified from the race for his actions.
However, Rommeney said after he’d do it again, if necessary. Tim
Mulqueen declined to comment.
The second driver to be disqualified came from the ranks of
the Figure 8s. Roger Maynor was disqualified after spinning out
Mike Mujsce after the conclusion of the event. The penalty put a
large dent in Maynor’s championship hopes, who, like Maliszewski,
has had his fair share of bad luck in 2010.
The 4-cylinder Enduros returned for its second and final
regular Saturday night race of the season. Like every division
at Riverhead, the Enduros have been hit hard by the poor
economy. It is not just the cost of racing that is having an
effect on the number of entries, but the growing difficulty of
actually finding a car. As families across the country are
tightening their budgets, they are holding on to their cars
longer. Many potential enduro cars have also fallen victim to
the Cash for Clunkers program, making it difficult and expensive
to find a decent car for Enduro racing. However, over the course
of the season, car counts have steadily shown improvement.
Saturday night’s 4-cylinder race saw a healthy 32 cars. While
this may be a far cry from the legendary 100-plus car counts of
Riverhead’s golden years, there are some added benefits to lower
car counts. Smaller fields have allowed for more room on the
track and thus better racing. In fact, Saturday’s Enduro may
have be the most exciting race of the night. Steve Trimboli
started third and dominated the 60-lap event until the final
laps, when seasoned Enduro veteran Anthony Pizzo passed Trimboli
just prior to the white flag. Pizzo started 19th and at times
was behind the leader by over half a lap. By skillfully working
around lap traffic, Pizzo was able to catch and pass Trimboli
for the win, all while dodging numerous wrecks and incidents.
Source: Greg Berkowitz/LongIslandJam.com
Posted: August
8, 2010
