John Beatty Jr. Holds
Off Wayne Anderson to Score First Career Riverhead Modified
Victory
The first career victory in NASCAR Modified racing is
memorable for any
driver and for John Beatty Jr. of Valley Stream his will be
indeed very
memorable. Beatty held off a hard pressing Wayne Anderson, a
former five
time Riverhead Raceway champion, to post his first ever victory
in a 35-lap
Whelen All American Series feature. Beatty, a Rookie driver
earned $1,425
for his efforts and he was just one of three drivers on the
night that
visited victory lane for the first time.
Early in the contest Beatty jousted with Al Ermmarino, the
pole sitter for
the race lead, a battle that lasted the first four laps of the
tilt before
Timmy Solomito moved to second on the fifth lap. Solomito,
looking for his
second straight win in his family owned racer, pressed Beatty
for the lead
until Chris Young came along and tested the sophomore driver for
second,
thus allowing Beatty to pull away some. Young was able to work
his way past
Solomito for second on lap 16, with Wayne Anderson entering the
fray as well
as he moved to third and quickly tested Young for second. Racing
into the
first corner in tight quarters Anderson made slight contact with
Young on
lap 21 with the latter spinning and drawing what would be one of
several
yellow flags in this contest, many of which involved
championship contenders
Tom Rogers Jr., Chuck Steuer and John Fortin along the way.
Once to second Anderson, who boasts 31-career wins at
Riverhead in addition
to his five track titles, went right to work on leader Beatty.
Wayne sent
his car into the corner toward the high side of the track trying
to set
Beatty up for an inside pass exiting the corners, a move that he
made very
popular over the years. Looking every part a tested tough NASCAR
Modified
veteran John Beatty Jr. was up to the challenge each and every
lap over the
final 13-laps of the race protecting his inside line and in turn
driving the
Freeport Collision across the line for a very popular first
career win in
just his 16th start in a NASCAR Modified.
"I can't thank my guys enough for this, especially my dad who
gives us all
we need to go racing" Beatty proclaimed after exiting his
winning mount.
"What makes this even more special is to be able to hold off a
driving
legend like Wayne Anderson, for that I have to give credit to my
spotter
Jarrod Hayes; he might get a bonus tonight," quipped Beatty.
Try as he might for his 32nd career win Wayne Anderson of
Yaphank drove the
Eastport Feeds Chevy home for runner-up money, while John Fortin
of
Holtsville fought through a tough night to place third after an
early race
tangle in his Triangle Pub Chevy. Timmy Solomito of Islip and
Eddie
Brunnhoelzl III completed the top five.
Chris LaSpisa of Shirley rebounded in fine fashion after some
recent engine
issues with his second Late Model win of 2010 in a 25-lap
affair. LaSpisa,
who lost an engine in July, quickly moved his racer out front at
the throw
of the green from his pole position and in fact would lead wire
to wire. At
the outset Ken Alfano gave chase to LaSpisa over the first 7
circuits before
Mike Bologna made an inside pass entering the third turn to take
over the
position. Bologna, who has authored three wins this season was
looking to
continue his hot 2010 campaign, but close, would be as good as
it got for
Mike. Chris LaSpisa, steering the McBetts Racing Engines entry
was equal to
the task and would drive to his 3rd career Late Model victory.
Afterwards
Chris noted, "Richie from McBetts, I can't thank him enough,
when we first
repaired the motor we discovered another issue and he just kept
working away
and here we are". Mike Bologna of Huntington was second in the
Schlaugies
Fuel Oil Chevy, while Roger Oxee of Peconic overcame engine
issues during
practice to score a third place finish in the North Fork
Sanitation Pontiac.
Second generation driver Bill Wegmann Jr. of Patchogue was
another first
time winner as he topped the 20-lap Blunderbust feature event.
Wegmann
jumped right out front from the pole and over the first 14 laps
of the
contest was pursued by Scott Sepe who ran second, with Bill
Portney Sr. All
three drivers are basically independent drivers and as the trio
made up the
first three spots early in the race all the heavy hitters were
stuck trying
to make their way through the pack. On lap 15 Portney, seeking
his second
triumph of the year worked his way by Sepe for second and set
his sights on
Bill Wegmann Jr., but there would be no stopping the Crackerjack
Auto Supply
driver as he drove to victory lane for the very first time. Bill
Portney of
Lake Ronkonkoma would drive the J&R Fuel Oil Chevy across the
line for
second place money, while Scott Sepe of Ozone Park enjoyed his
best finish
of 2010 with third place money in his self financed Buick.
Indeed it was a
night for the underdog in the Blunderbust main event.
There is no better way for a points leader to assure his
competition can't
get closer to him in the championship chase but by going out and
winning the
feature event and that is exactly what Super Pro Truck point
leader Roger
Turbush of Riverhead did in their 20-lap feature. Former SPT
champion Frank
Dumicich Sr. broke out front early with son Frank Jr. giving
chase over the
first six laps before he was sent to the pits during a yellow
flag for
leaking fluid. When the green waved again on the 7th lap it was
Lou Maestri
running second for a lap before Roger Turbush snuck by on lap 8
and the
chase was on. After spending 7 laps behind Dumicich, Turbush in
the Rheem
Air Conditioning Chevy made his bid for the lead on lap 15 and
by the time
they began the 16th lap Roger was the new race leader. Over the
final four
laps Turbush would show the way and drive to his division
leading fourth
Super Pro Truck win of the season. Frank Dumicich Sr. of East
Quogue was
runner-up in the Wesemann's Sand & Mason Supplies Ford, while
Chris Turbush
of Riverhead was third in the Bill Lyons Equipment Sales Chevy.
The third first time winner actually was the first driver to
turn the trick
on the evening, as Anthony Cacioppo of Medford won the Legend
Race Car
feature event in a race that was set to go 20-laps, but was cut
short to
12-laps by the time limit. For Cacioppo the victory was a very
sweet one as
it completed his comeback from a horrific crash into the third
turn exit
gate that cut his 2009 season short in one of the hardest hits
ever at the
61-year old facility. Jim Byrne set the pace of the race for the
first four
laps before his car faltered in the ignition area starting the
5th lap.
Byrne was able to escape to the infield moving Anthony Cacioppo
to the race
lead with Mike Malone second. Malone tested Cacioppo for the
lead and at one
point passed Anthony, but that lap was never recorded due to one
of many
caution flags. That moved Anthony Cacioppo back into the lead
and after a
single file restart a third turn incident involving Tom Rogers
Jr and Bryan
Johnson ended the race some 12-laps and 35 minutes later. For
Anthony
Cacioppo and the Cacioppo Racing Team that meant a trip to
victory lane,
while Mike Malone of Shirley in the PDR Engines entry was second
and "Wild"
Bill Hiscock of Bridgehampton was third in the Bridgehampton
Tank Cleaning
racer.
Michael Wahl of East Islip notched his first win of 2010 when
he bested the
10-lap Skid Plate Race in his Krazy Kars entry.
Source: Bob Finan/Riverhead
Raceway PR
Posted: August
16, 2010
