Island Insight
by
Greg
Berkowitz
On a day that extreme heat closed
several tracks in the Northeast, Riverhead Raceway stayed opened
and paid tribute to three of Modified racing's fallen legends -
"Tiger" Tom Baldwin, unofficial leader of the NASCAR Whelen
Modified Tour's Long Island Mod Squad for many years; NASCAR
Hall of Fame inductee and nine-time Tour champion, "The Rapid
Roman" Richie Evans; and "Chargin'" Charlie Jarzombek, who won
63 Riverhead Modified features, five Riverhead championships,
and the hearts of many Long Island racing fans.
The night kicked off with a 20-lap Super
Pro Truck feature. Roger Turbush suffered yet another heartbreak
while leading the race. Last weekend, Turbush was dominating the
event when mechanical issues forced him to pull off the track
while in first. This week, Turbush once again fell out to
mechanical malady while in the lead. Coming out of turn two on
the final lap, Turbush’s truck slowed unexpectedly and was hit
by the truck of his brother Chris, who had nowhere to go. Chris
went on to win, which puts him only 10 points out of the lead
for the Super Pro Truck title.
The Blunderbust division saw a reversal
of the fortunes from last weekend. After making a stunning run
from last to first in last week’s race, Tommy Walkowiak took a
28-point lead over second-place Tom Pickerell, who retired early
from the race due to a mechanical issue. This Saturday night,
Walkowiak once again started deep in the field, however, this
time he was unable to move up to the front. This was due in part
to an early incident, when the Scott Maliszewski's No. 22 cut
down a tire, forcing several cars to slow to avoid his disabled
car, including Walkowiak, which allowed the leaders to pull
away. Without the help of a caution, Walkowiak was unable to
make up the insurmountable distance and finished eighth.
Pickerell meanwhile finished a strong third and was able to
slice 10 points off Walkowiak’s point lead, which keeps him in
the hunt heading into next week's double-point event. Rob Bader
won the event, followed by rookie second-generation Blunderbust
driver Brandon Hubbard in second.
The highlight of the night was the
77-lap modified race. It attracted 30 cars vying for 28 spots.
Many non-regulars paid a visit as well as NASCAR Whelen Modified
Tour competitors, who used the event as a warm for next week's
Tour event. Among the Tour regulars was the most recent Tour
winner Todd Szegedy, who by all accounts is not the biggest fan
of Riverhead’s tight confines despite having won at another
quarter-mile track (Monadnock Speedway in N.H.) earlier this
year. Szegedy managed to turn in a strong performance finishing
second behind another Tour driver, Ronnie Silk. Silk, winner of
the May 27th Tour race at Stafford, put on a dominating
performance after starting from the front row. Szegedy made a
late run on Silk but was unable to complete the pass. Silk held
on to win. Riverhead regular Dave Brigati had won the pole but
started 6th after the redraw. Interestingly, Brigati was not
planning to be at Riverhead Saturday night as he was slated to
defend his Sport Modified points lead at Mountain Speedway.
Mountain however cancelled their event due to the excessive
heat, allowing Brigati to runt the 77. Silk’s win will make him
the man to beat come next weekend, although the Riverhead
regulars will not give up their track without a fight. After
strong runs by Dave Brigati, John Fortin, and Bill Park, the
Riverhead regulars stand on good ground to win the annual tour
event for the first time in several years. Either way, whether
your rooting for a Tour driver or a local, the Tour race is
likely to be one no racing fan wants to miss.
Lastly, the Figure 8's closed off the
night with a strong showing of 13 cars. The division has
experienced, at times, the lower car count of any division at
Riverhead. However with last night's car count, and relatively
clean racing, the Figure 8 drivers showed they deserve to remain
a part of Riverhead racing's scene. Arne Pedersen won the race
over a hard-charging Roger Maynor.
Source: Greg Berkowitz/LongIslandJam.com
Posted: July 24, 2011
