Island Insight
by
Greg
Berkowitz
As the summer rolls on, the points
battles begin to take shape, with favorites for the 2011 crowns
emerging with only about two and half months of racing left in
the deason. Saturday night saw some division's point leads swap
while other had their leaders pull away, including a surprising
outcome in the Blunderbust feature and a surprise winner in the
Modifieds.
Many drivers say that they don’t points
race - at least not until the final few races of the season -
instead they race for the win. This has been a strategy proven
season after season, with those who contend for wins on a weekly
basis usually ending up contending for the title.
In Super Pro Trucks, points leader Dave
Koenig spent most of the race running hard to earn a fifth-place
finish. Koenig spared no effort, at times rubbing fenders with
Frank Dumicich Jr. Erin Dumicich, who spent most of the season
second in points, dropped to fourth in points despite finishing
only two spots behind Koenig. Defending champion Roger Turbush
continues to be struck by misfortune after dominating the 2010
season, falling out early with a mechanical malady.
Roger’s brother Chris is also facing an
uphill battle in his quest for his fourth consecutive Charger
championship. Turbush has won twice this season yet trails
points leader Chris McGuire and second-place Jeremy McDermott in
the standings in part due to bad luck and attrition throughout
the season. McGuire extended his lead by winning Saturday
night’s feature, but only slightly, with McDermott and Turbush
finishing second and third, respectively.
Late Model veteran Buzzy Eriksen leads
the points but is trailed closely by Scott Kulesa, Jarrod Hayes,
and last night’s winner Mike Bologna.
Justin Bonsignore has a solid lead over
John Fortin in the Modified points standings, a feat made even
more spectacular considering Bonsignore splits his time between
running Riverhead and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, where he
is 19th in points.
The 20-lap Blunderbust feature provided
not only a great race but had significant implications for the
points race. Coming in to the night, defending champ Tommy
Walkowiak and Tom Pickerell were tied for the points lead.
Thanks to the handicap system used to set the field, Walkowiak
and Pickerell were slated to start last and second-to-last,
respectively. In a 19-car field, this meant the two drivers
would have pass nearly one car every lap to make it to the
front. The only way they could do that would be with the help of
the caution flag. Luckily for the two championship contenders
cautions were plentiful Saturday night. After a five-car wreck
brought out the second caution at lap 4, Walkowiak and Pickerell
had moved up to 11th and 12th respectively. Walkowiak used this
track position to his advantage and following the restart worked
his way to second place. However the biggest surprise came when
Pickerell pulled off track just following the halfway point.
Pickerell would lose even more points to Walkowiak when the
driver of the No. 00 eventually worked his way to the lead and
held on to win his 46th career win. By going from last to first,
and with Pickerell’s unexpected issue, Walkowiak cemented
himself as the favorite to the 2011 Blunderbust title, despite
the fact that he’s one of those drivers that says he doesn’t
like to points race.
During the early weeks of the season,
youth showed that they had something for the wealth of
experience in Riverhead's pits. Young drivers like Timmy
Solomito and Chris A. Young were positioning themselves as the
dominate drivers in their respective divisions while other
drivers like Jack Handley Jr., Kyle Ellwood, and Justin
Bonsignore were posting strong runs week after week. However
that trend has shifted as of late as some of Riverheads most
established veterans are putting up a strong fight. Earlier this
season it was Wayne Anderson who held off Justin Bonsignore to
win his first race since being sidelined by a medical issue in
2010. Last weekend Late Model veteran Roger Oxee earned his
impressive 60th win. But perhaps the most surprising example of
a veteran upstaging the young stars came this Saturday night in
the 35-lap Modified feature. Former five-time Riverhead Champion
and 1 time Whelen Modified Tour Champion Don Howe returned to
victory lane 15 years after his last win (although he hadn’t
been racing for many of those years). In 1996, the year Howe’s
last win, many of Riverhead’s up-and-coming stars were still in
elementary school or even younger, and most weren't even born
when Howe won his first championship in 1973. Fittingly, it was
the 2010 Modified Rookie of the Year John Beatty Jr. whom Howe
had to hold off on his way to earning the win.
Source: Greg Berkowitz/LongIslandJam.com
Posted: July 17, 2011
