Greg Zaleski & Greg Harris Share Enduro Spotlight
The 28th consecutive season of Enduro racing debuted this past Sunday afternoon at Riverhead Raceway and when all was set and done Greg Zaleski of Jamesport had topped the 50-lap Grand Enduro while Greg Harris of Riverhead scored the victory in the 50-lap 4/6-Cylinder Truck Enduro. One, Greg had a convincing win, while the other had to work right up until the last turn to claim his win.
The Grand Enduro was a hotly contested race right from the drop of the green with seven position changes taking place for first and second over the first 27-laps of the contest. Glenn Simonin raced out front at the throw of the green with Erick Zegel in tow over the first four laps before Greg Zaleski passed Erick for second on lap 5. Using the inside lane exiting turn four on lap 8 Zaleski zipped under Simonin for the race lead and just one lap later Phil LaManna moved by Simonin for second. A red flag flew on lap 13 for Steve Mastro who spun after mechanical failure on the apron of the track in turns three and four.
The ensuing restart saw LaManna get the measure of Zaleski to take the race lead on lap 14 but Zaleski wasn’t going to stand for any of that as he made another inside pass off turn four on lap 21 to reclaim the lead from LaManna. Erick Zegel re-entered the duel on lap 22 when he too got by LaManna for second but his stay in second lasted just 4 laps as James Charrier moved by Erick on lap 27. The final half of the race calmed down as far as position changes were concerned with Charrier now devising a plan on how to pass leader Zaleski.
The final 10-laps of the race found the intensity heat up once again as Charrier was all over Zaleski as the laps wore down but in the end it was Greg Zaleski in his Blue Point Auto Body Chevy scoring the win. James Charrier of Shirley was runner-up in the Clear Beer Draft Chevy, while Erick Zegel of Medford placed third in his Autosport Deign racer.
Greg Harris didn’t allow anyone near him in his quest for the 4/6-Cylinder Truck victory as he quickly moved from his 3rd place starting berth to take the lead as the green flag waved. Greg DeCanio chased Harris early on but the leader was already on his way to building a handsome lead. Don Nelson passed DeCanio on lap 15 of the 50-lap contest but by the time he got there Harris’s lead was now growing to nearly a half lap. Nelson started to chip away at the lead Harris had built but a battle among two lapped trucks cost Nelson some valuable track position.
Over the closing laps Greg Harris dominated the event as he drove off to victory in the SGS Stone Works Chevy S-10. Don Nelson of Rocky Point was second in the Nelson Brothers racing machine with Robin Vollmoeller of Riverhead coming from deep in the field to claim third place money.
Two 8-Cylinder Enduros were run with Ed Brown Jr. of Mastic Beach making a triumphant return to racing with a victory in the first 75-lap race after taking the 2012 season off. Brown led the race early before Dominic Ranieri worked his way by for the lead on lap 17. Ranieri, one of the all-time leading winners in the 8-Cylinder class seemed to be on his way to another win but suddenly on lap 39 he looped his car handing the lead back to Ed Brown Jr.
Once he got the lead back Brown was not going to surrender it again as he drove his A. Voight Towing Caprice to victory. Kris “Crunchy” Dane of Hicksville was runner-up with veteran Spiro Germanakos of Elmont having one of his best finishes in recent memory with a third place showing.
Anthony Pizzo of Ronkonkoma drove to victory in the 40-lap nightcap for the 8-Cylinder class in his United Exhaust Shops Caprice and was followed by Dominic Ranieri of E. Northport and Bob Baker of Shirley.
Teenage driver Joe Warren realized the dream of a lifetime when he scored his first career win in the 50-lap 4/6-Cylinder Car Enduro. Warren broke out front early and never looked back in what was a convincing performance. Joe races in memory of young Jason Trinca and dedicated the win in his memory. Jeff Dotzel of Kingwood, West Virginia was second while Peter Rabaglia of Bohemia was third.
Grand Enduro (top five): 1. Greg Zaleski 2. James Charrier 3. Erick Zegel 4. Brian McCormack 5. Bob Engelfried
4/6-Cylinder Trucks (top five): 1. Greg Harris 2. Don Nelson Jr. 3. Robin Vollmoeller 4. Greg DeCanio 5. Russ Jansen
1st 8-Cylinder Enduro (top five): 1. Ed Brown Jr. 2. Kris Dane 3. Spiro Germanakos 4. Bob Baker 5. Eric Germuth
2nd 8-Cylinder Enduro (top three): 1. Anthony Pizzo 2. Dominic Ranieri 3. Bob Baker
4/6-Cylinder Car Enduro (top five): 1. Joe Warren Jr. 2. Jeff Dotzel 3. Peter Rabaglia 4. George Davis 5. Steve Trimboli
Source: Bob Finan/Riverhead Raceway PR