Ryan Preece Captures Third Win of the Year
Preece drew the pole for the event, and took off as soon as the green flag waved. Leading every lap, he captured his third win of the year. Although he has missed multiple races this year, he still sits third in points behind Rogers and championship leader Howie Brode.
“We’ve been working on the car and making it better,” Preece said following his win. “It just came down to the guys in the shop. They made some adjustments this week and tried something new. It just happened to work. These guys gave me a great car and did a great job. I couldn’t be more proud.”
Throughout the race, Brode and Rogers were having an intense battle for the second position. However, as Rogers, who has won seven races this year at Riverhead, tried to get around the No. 96 car, Brode continued to block him. This enabled Preece to drive away with more than a straightaway gap at the .25-mile track during the caution free race.
Entering the weekend, Brode had a 17-point advantage over the driver of the No. 9 machine. With a runner-up finish, he extended the gap to 19 markers. With just three races left to decide the track championship, all eyes are on these two drivers. Brode is going for his second straight championship, but Rogers is still searching for the coveted title.
Richard Davidowitz Wins Fifth Race of 2014 in a Blow Out
After the Legends race started out with three cars spinning in the first five laps, things began to settle down. Richard Davidowitz took advantage of the chaos erupting behind him as he took off with momentum from winning the first heat race prior to the main event.
Davidowitz captured his fifth win of the year as he drove away from Kevin Nowak and Kyle Soper. As Nowak began to reel in the No. 25 car, Soper began to battle him for the runner-up position – putting an end to his effort to capture the victory.
“It has been a tough couple of weeks, so it feels good to get win number five on the season,” Davidowitz said. “We’re still a little bit of a ways out of the point lead. Even with the win, I’m still a long shot at this point. We just have to keep coming back and try to win the next three races.”
Soper continues to hold an 18-point lead over Brad Van Houten for the championship lead. Davidowitz is hanging on in the third position, yet he is 60 points behind Soper, who has two victories this year.
Tom Rogers Scores Figure Eight Win
Although he came short in the Modified race, Tom Rogers Jr. went to Victory Lane in the Figure Eight event. Rogers barely held off a hard-charging Kenny Hyde Jr. for the win; taking home his third triumph of the year.
In a caution-filled event, the No. 43 car was able to take advantage of starting on the second row. Gary Fritz Jr. held the early lead, but a three-car pile-up between Mike Mujsce Sr., Dan Lynch and Bryan Quilliam forced the caution on the second lap of the race. When the green flag waved on the restart, Rogers shot out of a cannon and didn’t look back. Hyde and he made contact several times during the race, yet that wasn’t enough to stop him from taking the checkered flag.
Coming into the race, Roger Maynor held the lead in the championship standings. However, he spun out at one point, and was simultaneously lapped. Maynor finished ninth in the 11-car field. Rogers now takes over the lead by a mere two points – a 16 point turnaround.
Eric Zeh Wins Controversial Race in Chargers Division
Eric Zeh had a little bit of luck on his side on Saturday evening. Well, it was more of bad luck for one of his competitors.
David Roys led every lap in the race, with the exception of the final one. That’s at least what it seemed like. However, after being passed by the No. 34 car under the yellow line in Turn 3, track officials made Zeh the winner.
The victory marks the fourth in 2014 for Zeh, who now holds a six-point lead in the championship over Chris Turbush.
Steve Mastro Takes Home Grand Enduro Victory
In a rather calm Grand Enduro race, Steve Mastro was able to dominate the race to take the victory. Dave Antos and Rob Bader fought for the second position throughout the race, yet neither of them were able to catch the No. 17x car.
When the No. 25 car had a right-front tire issue, he incidentally blocked the No. 54, who was second at the time. He ended up finishing fourth, but passed James Charrier for the position as the laps were coming to a close.
The win for Mastro didn’t come easy, however, as he caught lap traffic with 10 laps to go in the spectacle. During the caution-free event, he stretched out his lead to a straightaway at one point, but Antos closed the gap within a few car lengths once they crossed the finish line for the final time on Saturday night.
Photos available at: http://www.racerhub.com/photos/index.php?cat=2312
Legend Results:
- Richie Davidowitz (1)
- Kevin Nowak (2)
- Kyle Soper (4)
- Brad Van Houten (5)
- Artie Pedersen III (7)
- Brendon Bock (8)
- Gregory Harris (3)
- Eric Hersey (25)
- Dylan Slepian (6)
- Ray Fitzgerald (12)
- Christian Conklin (24)
- Vinny Delaney (26)
- Anthony Marsh (14)
- Shawn Wanat (19)
- Vincent Colletti (18)
- Mike Van Houten (11)
- Ed Cheslak (20)
- Michael Rutkoski (17)
- Bryan Kelly (9)
- George Tomko Jr. (21)
- Jim Sylvester (27)
- Kevin Chew (15)
- Chris Rogers (16)
- Allan Pedersen (28)
- Steve Hersey (10)
- Kurt Krieger (22)
- Joe Oliver (13)
- Keith Goodale (23)
Chargers:
- Eric Zeh (9)
- David Roys (1)
- John Baker (4)
- Chris Turbush (8)
- Greg Immerman (3)
- CJ Lehmann (6)
- Ray Minieri (10)
- Cory Midgett (2)
- Owen Grennan (11)
- Scott Pedersen (5)
- Brandon Turbush (12)
- Dan Lynch (7)
Modifieds:
- Ryan Preece (1)
- Howie Brode (2)
- Tom Rogers Jr. (4)
- David Sapienza (3)
- John Fortin (6)
- Jason Agugliaro (11)
- Kyle Ellwood (8)
- Vinny Biondolillo (5)
- Jeff Goodale (9)
- Amber Fortin (10)
- Ken Darch (7)
- CJ Lehmann (12)
Figure Eights:
- Tom Rogers Jr. (3)
- Kenny Hyde Jr. (6)
- Mike Mujsce Sr. (5)
- Scott Pedersen (7)
- Vinny Biondolillo (9)
- CJ Lehmann (4)
- Gary Fritz Jr. (2)
- Chris Turbush (10)
- Roger Maynor (8)
- Dan Lynch (11)
- Bryan Quilliam (1)
Source: Joseph Wolkin/LongIslandJam.com