Wayne Anderson Completes Comeback with 32nd Career Riverhead
Raceway Victory
Former five-time Riverhead Raceway
NASCAR Modified champion Wayne Anderson of Yaphank completed his
comeback from a medical episode after the May 2010 NASCAR Hall
of Fame 100 at Riverhead Raceway with a victory in the 35-lap
NASCAR Modified feature Saturday night. The win was Wayne's 32nd
career triumph at the historic quarter mile oval which ties his
record with Bill
Park for 4th on the all-time win list.
The first few laps of the race belonged
to the youthful drivers with rookie
Jason Augugliaro leading the first three laps and third
generation driver
Eddie Brunnhoelzl Jr. and Jerry Solomito all running right
behind the race
leader. The third and fourth laps of the race would actually
determine the
outcome as Jerry Solomito Jr. was able in one clean sweep to get
his way by
Augugliaro and Brunnhoelzl after they got out of shape bringing
Wayne
Anderson to second. On the very next lap Solomito spun around in
turn two
after he and Anderson raced into the first turn hard. After
those two wild
laps the race then settled in with Wayne Anderson the new race
leader with
Brunnhoelzl sitting second. For a half dozen laps Brunnhoelzl
looked for a
way by Anderson, but he was soon under attack from third place
Shawn
Solomito.
Lap 13 found Solomito working his way by
Brunnhoelzl for second and it was
now his turn to try and wrestle the lead away from Anderson.
From laps 13 to
26 Shawn, seeking his first career Riverhead Raceway NASCAR
Modified win,
was all over Anderson who was controlling the pace of the race.
With ten
laps remaining in the race Justin Bonsignore entered the mix as
he worked
his way by Solomito on a 26th lap single file restart and it was
Justin's
turn to see if he had anything for Wayne, the 1994 NASCAR Whelen
Modified
Tour champion. Over the closing laps, like Solomito before him,
Bonsignore
would try and sneak the nose of his car under Anderson exiting
the corners,
but the crafty veteran was equal to all challenges from all
challengers on
this night.
At the finish it was the Eastport Feeds
Chevy of Wayne Anderson scoring the
win to complete his comeback from the heart problem he had last
year, the
win was his first since May 10th of 2008. "My hats off to my
crew lead by
Kenny Lechner "Wayne boasted afterwards, "they just kept working
at this car
and tonight we had a good piece". When asked about this
completing his
comeback from last year Wayne changed the subject and instead
praised his
sponsors, "I really want to thank my sponsors for sticking with
us over the
least year".
Justin Bonsignore of Holtsville, who
wasn't scheduled to be at Riverhead but
was able to race when Monadnock Speedway pushed their WMT race
to Sunday, made it a worthwhile trip with a runner-up finish in
the M3 Technology Chevy that also moves him into the point lead.
Shawn Solomito of Islip had another solid outing with a third in
the Acme Sanitary Service Chevy, while Eddie
Brunnhoelzl III of Levittown and John Fortin of Holtsville
rounded out the
top five.
Jarrod Hayes of Calverton more than
likely didn't bring a broom to the J&R
Steak House night 50 for the Late Models, but he could have as
he scored a
clean sweep in the event. First Hayes set fast time with a lap
of 112.571
earning the Brigandi Brothers Automotive $50 fast time award,
and in the
redraw, among the top six, drew 5th. That would be the only
blemish on the
evening. Scott Kulesa broke out front at the drop of the green
with Mike
Bologna giving chase for the first two laps before he was over
taken by
two-time and defending LM champion Kevin Metzger on lap 3.
Metzger chased
Kulesa for three laps before Jarrod Hayes entered the picture
slipping by
Metzger on lap 6. With Hayes having to race with Metzger for
second over a
handful of laps Scott Kulesa was allowed to get away from the
pack and once
to second Hayes had some work to do. From laps 7 to 21 Hayes ran
second to
Kulesa for the lead and on lap 22 with an inside move entering
turn three
Hayes was able to drive under Kulesa for the lead. Once out
front "J-Rod"
Jarrod Hayes drove to his 8th career Late Model win, his first
since May of
2007. Scott Kulesa of Georgetown, Ma was runner-up in the Ranco
Sand & Stone Pontiac and it would be Roger Oxee of Peconic
turning in the performance of the night as he placed third in
his Southold IGA Pontiac. Oxee elected to
start in the rear after timing second quickest and later had to
recover from
a turn four spin to earn his finish.
The 20-lap Blunderbust feature event
appeared to have a feel good first
career win story to it for Gary Caldwell of Miller Place but in
the end it
didn't turn out that way. Gary and his 17-year old daughter come
to the
track together every Saturday and are a two member team,
unloading and
working on their machine week in and week out. After taking the
lead from
Scott Sepe on lap 4 of the race it looked like Gary Caldwell
scored his
first career win after 10-years of trying to hold off "Krazy" Ed
Mistretta
in the process. However in post race tech Gary was found with
un-approved
suspension parts in his front end and was disqualified. When
explained to
Gary what the issue was, as one would expect from the soft
spoken driver he
nodded his head in agreement and calmly walked away, giving back
the trophy
he thought he had won. That turn of events made Ed Mistretta of
New Hyde
Park the race winner in the Busy Bee Pest Control entry, his
first since
August of 2007 and 4th overall in his career. Newcomer Jack
Handley Jr. of
Medford turned plenty of heads during the race and was second in
his Mignone
& Sons Construction machine, while Tommy "The Wildchild"
Walkowiak of Ridge
was third in his Blaze Fuel Oil Chevy.
Brian McElearney of N. Babylon indeed
did get to enjoy the thrill of a first
career win when he topped the 20-lap Super Pro Truck feature
event. Brian,
the son of Late Model legend Paul McElearney, a 45-time winner
at Riverhead
Raceway made a nice move to pass both Kathleen Hallock and Kevin
Scharfenberg for first and second and was joined one lap later
at the front
of the field by Frank Dumicich Jr. who moved to second on the
third circuit.
For the remaining laps of the race it was Dumicich pestering
McElearney
every turn of the way as Frank glued himself to Brian's rear
bumper. All
those years being around his father and his ultra successful
race team would
indeed pay dividends for Brian McElearney as he was able to
protect his line
and keep Frank Dumicich Jr, at bay for the rest of the contest.
At the
finish it was the Finishline Carting Chevy of Brian McElearney
posting a
popular win with Frank Dumicich Jr. of E. Quogue runner-up in
his Teddy Bear
Graphics Chevy. Lou Maestri of Deer Park, whose team has aided
McElearney
and his effort along the way, was a proud third in the 5-Star
Kennels racer.
The Legend Race Cars turned in a much
needed non-stop 20-lap feature event
and when the race was over it would be Chris Young of Calverton
collecting
his second victory of 2011. Vinny Delaney broke to the early
race lead when
the green light winked on and over the first half a dozen laps
was pursued
by Tom Marsh, Jason Sendlewski and defending champion Kevin
Nowak. While all that was taking place Chris Young, who started
8th in the 24-car field was
making his move towards the front and on lap 7 was able to slip
by Nowak for
second. With all the jockeying that took place for second
Delaney was able
to open up a very comfortable lead and if Young was going to
catch Vinny
he'd have plenty of work to do. Mission accomplished as Chris
got his
fishing reel out and lap after lap reeled in Delaney and the
fruits of his
labor were rewarded on lap 16 when he took the lead and eventual
win in his
Ray The Plumber backed racer. Vinny Delaney of Holtsville was
runner-up in
his sponsor wanted machine while Kyle Soper of Manorville had
another solid
run with a third place finish in the News 12 Long Island mount.
Robin Vollmoeller Sr. of Riverhead
collected the win in the 4/6-Cylinder
Truck Enduro after taking the lead late in the 50-lap tilt. Ben
Gregor
gunning for two in a row broke out to an early and commanding
lead and
seemed to be on cruise control when suddenly on lap 18 he veered
into the
infield with mechanical woes. That moved second place "Jumbo"
Jimmy Denis
out front in Kevin Nowak's "Grocery Getter" and he looked like
he was headed
to victory lane. However Robin Vollmoeller had other ideas and
he caught and
passed Denis for the race lead on lap 37 and then drove off to
victory in
the SAP Enterprises Chevy. Jimmy Denis of Middle Island was
runner-up and
third went to Don Nelson Jr. of Rocky Point in his Repo Joe
Chevy.
Gene Burbol of Brookhaven made it two
for two in the 6-Cylinder Enduro ranks
as he won their 50-lap race after a torrid, see-saw battle with
Mitchell
Pattern. Pattern led from the outset of the race and was chased
for the
first 7 laps by Shawn Wanat. Gene Burbol moved to second on lap
8 and after
chasing Pattern for seven laps passed Mitchell for the lead on
lap 16.
However Pattern repaid the favor just three laps later
re-passing Burbol for
the lead on the 19th lap. The duo then settled in for a run that
saw Pattern
pull away for awhile as Burbol had fits with lapped cars, but
the never say
quit Burbol resurfaced on lap 45 taking the lead back from
Pattern, a lead
he'd keep to the finish in his Gene's 112 Service Center racer.
Mitchell
Pattern of Southold was runner-up in the MOJO entry, while
"Pirate" Peter
Rabaglia of Bohemia was third.
NASCAR Modifieds 35-laps: 1. Wayne
Anderson 2. Justin Bonsignore 3. Shawn
Solomito 4. Eddie Brunnhoelzl III 5. John Fortin 6. John Beatty
Jr. 7. Don
Howe 8. Kyle Ellwood 9. Jerry Solomito Jr. 10. Chris Young 11.
Tom Rogers
Jr. 12. Jason Agugliaro 13. Glenn Logan 14. Howie Brode 15.
Amber Fortin 16.
Timmy Solomito 17. Gregory Harris 18. Kevin Orlando 19. Robin
Vollmoeller
Sr. 20. Mike Watson DNS-Dave Brigati
J&R Steak House Late Models 50-laps: 1.
Jarrod Hayes 2. Scott Kulesa 3.
Roger Oxee 4. Kevin Metzger 5. Peter Eriksen 6. Rob McCormick 7.
Chris
LaSpisa 8. Mike Bologna 9. Tony Anello 10. Artie Pedersen Jr.
11. Ken Alfano
12. Shawn Patrick 13. Rob Tribuzio 14. Dennis Krupski
Blunderbusts 20-laps: 1. Ed Mistretta 2.
Jack Handley Jr. 3. Tommy Walkowiak
4. Tom Pickerell 5. Thomas Puccia 7. Tom Sullivan 8. Bill
Wegmann Sr. 9.
Fred Nolan 10. Scott Maliszewski 11. Brandon Hubbard 12. Bill
Wegmann Jr.
13. Bill Portney Sr. 14. Rob Bader 15. Bryan Quilliam 16. Ralph
Corsini 17.
Jessica Cohan 18. Paul Parisi 19. Tim Mulqueen DQ- Gary Caldwell
Super Pro Trucks 20-laps: 1. Brian
McElearney 2. Frank Dumicich Jr. 3. Lou
Maestri 4. Mike Albasini 5. Erin Dumicich 6. Dave Koenig 7.
Chris Turbush 8.
Roger Turbush 9. Frank Dumicich Sr. 10. Kevin Scharfenberg 11.
Peter Rotzi
12. Matt Odwazny 13. Kathleen Hallock 14. Keith Rotzi
Legend Race Cars 20-laps: 1. Chris Young
2. Vinny Delaney 3. Kyle Soper 4.
Kevin Nowak 5. Tom Marsh 6. Kyle Ellwood 7. Justin Strumpf 8.
Mike Malone 9.
Tony Naglieri 10. Chris Rogers 11. Dylan Slepian 12. Jason
Sendlewski 13.
Jim Byrne 14. Cody Triola 15. George Baker Jr. 16. Paul Dodorico
17. Jim
Sylvester 18. Alex Urbina 19. Vincent Biondolillo 20. Bryan
Kelly 21. Artie
Pedersen III 22. Greg DiCanio 23. Jim Pape Jr. DNS-Kory Migett
4/6-Cylinder Truck Enduro 50-laps (top
five) 1. Robin Vollmoeller Sr. 2.
Jimmy Denis 3. Don Nelson Jr. 4. Hank Hallock 5. Greg Harris
6-Cylinder Enduro 50-laps (top five) 1.
Gene Burbol 2. Mitchell Pattern 3.
Peter Rabaglia 4. Bob Haeger 5. Jeffrey Gregor
Source:
Bob Finan/Riverhead Raceway PR
Posted: June 27, 2011
