Second Trip to Riverhead in 2013 for the NWMT

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver Eric Goodale has been knocking on the door of Victory Lane the last couple of seasons. As the tour returns to his back yard on Saturday, Sept. 14 for the Green Earth Technologies 200 at Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway, Goodale hopes that door finally opens.

Goodale, originally from Riverhead, got his start in auto racing at the venerable Long Island quarter mile. The education he got from the rough-and-tumble nature of the competition there has served him well on the Whelen Modified Tour, and the bullring races have produced his best results.

“I think it just suits my driving style a little bit better,” Goodale said. “It doesn’t require so much finesse, although having some finesse definitely helps. It’s a bit more beating and banging, which is a little bit more my style.”

The last two seasons Goodale and the No. 58 Riverhead Building Supply Chevrolet team have become increasingly more of a contender, especially on the bullrings.

In last year’s Riverhead tour race Goodale led a career-high 35 laps and finished seventh. He then began the 2013 racing season by finishing second on the temporary short track at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February’s non-points UNOH Battle At The Beach.

In the Whelen Modified Tour’s first trip to Riverhead this season on June 27, Goodale turned in perhaps his best performance to date. Running up front early on, Goodale was dropped back in the running order after being deemed involved in bringing out a caution, but he rallied to cross the line second behind Ryan Preece for his best career finish.

“That really made me come from the back and really earn that second place spot,” Goodale said. “I used up a lot of my car, which I shouldn’t have, and I really didn’t have anything left for Ryan there in that first race.”

Goodale later followed that performance with a strong run at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, N.H. – the other quarter-mile track the Whelen Modified Tour runs at. Goodale nabbed his first career Coors Light Pole Award, led 16 laps and was running in the top three before an ignition problem with 25 laps to go ruined his shot at the checkered flag.

“We’ve definitely been in contention to win a lot of these races, the pieces just haven’t fallen into place,” Goodale said. “I definitely feel like we’ve got the setup, the car and the mindset to get the win there this week.

“Hopefully we won’t have to depend on any luck to fall our way because it certainly hasn’t these last two years now.”

With the momentum of top-10 finishes in his last three outings this season, combined with the return to his home track, Goodale may just take luck out of the equation in Saturday’s Green Earth Technologies 200.

RACE:  Green Earth Technologies 200

PLACE:  Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway

DATE:  Saturday, Sept. 14

TIME:  8 p.m. ET

TRACK LAYOUT:  .25-mile, banked asphalt oval

2012 POLESITTER/WINNER:  New Event

EVENT SCHEDULE:  Practice 2:30-3:45 p.m., Qualifying 5:15 p.m., Driver Autograph Session 7 p.m.

TRACK CONTACT:  Bob Finan, 631-842-7223, info@riverheadraceway.com

TRACK TWITTER:  @RiverheadRacewa

EVENT HASHTAG:  #GET200

NASCAR CONTACT:  Jason Christley, 386-547-2469, jchristley@nascar.com, Twitter: @jay_christley

FAST FACTS:

The Race:  The Green Earth Technologies 200 will be the 11th of 14 races on the 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule and the second of two trips to Riverhead Raceway on New York’s Long Island.

The Procedure:  The starting field is 28 cars, including provisionals. The first 23 cars will have secured starting positions based on two-lap qualifying and the remaining five spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race is scheduled for 200 laps (50 miles).

The Track:  A quarter-mile banked asphalt oval, Riverhead Raceway opened in 1949. The track has held a total of 52 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races since the tour began in 1985, and is one of only two venues to play host to the tour in each of its 29 seasons.

Race Winners:  There have been 23 different drivers to reach Victory Lane at Riverhead, led by Mike Ewanitsko’s 11. Ryan Preece has won the last two races there while Mike Stefanik has the most Riverhead wins among active drivers with six.

Pole Winners:  Twenty-nine different drivers have captured a pole at Riverhead, led by Ewanitsko’s eight. Ed Flemke Jr. leads active drivers in the category with four. Chuck Steuer set the qualifying record at 11.546 seconds (77.949 mph) in 2000.

RIVERHEAD RACE NOTES:

Beatty, Riverhead Regulars Hope to End Drought: After surprising everyone by leading 42 laps and finishing on the podium in his NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour debut in June at Riverhead Raceway, John Beatty Jr. hopes to once again lead a contingent of the track’s weekly competitors against the tour competitors this time around. The Green Earth Technologies 200 figures to have around seven Riverhead regulars on the entry list and each will look to become the first to top the tour drivers and earn a trip to Victory Lane since Ed Brunnhoelzl Jr. pulled it off in 1995.

Track Champ Brode to Enter: Newly-crowned Riverhead NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track champion Howie Brode is expected to be among the bullring’s weekly competitors to that will go against the tour regulars in the Green Earth Technologies 200. Brode has 18 career Whelen Modified Tour starts at his home track with a best finish of second in 1998 and the 2011 pole.

Preece Looks to Maintain Bullring Dominance: Winner of the last two Whelen Modified Tour races at Riverhead, Ryan Preece enters this week’s Green Earth Technologies 200 as the undisputed favorite. Four of Preece’s eight career tour victories have been earned at quarter-mile tracks, including three at the Long Island bullring. In 10 total starts between Riverhead and Monadnock Speedway Preece has eight top-five finishes.

Riverhead – Coby’s Nemesis: Defending tour champion Doug Coby has made no bones about it – Riverhead is his nemesis. In seven career starts at the venerable quarter mile Coby has registered just two top 10s, and his last two trips there have been disastrous. Coby was able to survive a blown engine last year at Riverhead, which dropped his once sizeable points lead to just nine, and recovered to capture the Whelen Modified Tour crown a year ago. Then things at Riverhead went from bad to worse for Coby in the first race there this season when his throttle stuck in qualifying and he went head-on into the Turn 1 wall, which destroyed the car and prevented him from taking the green flag. Despite the recent run of bad luck, Coby’s No. 52 has been fast at the bullring, so he figures to be a contender this time around if he can avoid the bad luck.

HOME TRACKS: Brode Captures Riverhead Title

Riverhead Raceway’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series points season concluded on Sept. 7 with twin 30-lap features in the headlining Modified division. With a third place finish in the first feature, Howie Brode clinched the 2013 track title at the Long Island bullring. It is the second Riverhead championship for Brode, who’s first came in 1998. By sweeping the twinbill, Timmy Solomito moved up to second in the Riverhead standings with one race to go for track points. NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season points leader Ryan Preece ranks third in Riverhead points, but will not be able to participate in the track’s season finale on Sept. 21 due to the tour’s race that same day at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

LAST TIME OUT: Bristol

The 10th race of the 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season was contested at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in combination with the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour on Aug. 21. Here are some highlights of the TitanRoof 150:

• Mike Stefanik drove to his 74th career Whelen Modified Tour victory. Bristol marked the 16th different track he’s earned a win at during his distinguished career.
• Todd Szegedy recorded a season-best finish of second while Ron Yuhas Jr. tied his career-best result of third.
• Donny Lia captured his 17th career Coors Light Pole Award prior to the event to move into sole possession of 10th on the tour’s all-time poles list.
• As the highest-finishing Whelen Southern Modified Tour entry in the combination race, Burt Myers was credited with a victory for that tour. He finished ninth overall.

 

NEXT TIME OUT: Loudon

For the second time this year the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will follow a race at its smallest track – Riverhead Raceway – with a trip to its largest facility – New Hampshire Motor Speedway – for the F.W. Webb 100 on Saturday, Sept. 21. Doug Coby is the defending winner of this race, and he was victorious in the tour’s first trip to the “Magic Mile” this season. The F.W. Webb 100 will air live on Fox Sports 2.