Riverhead Miller Lite Night Modified Gold to Jason Agugliaro

Once again Riverhead Raceway NASCAR Whelen All- American Series officials were able to outsmart mother nature Saturday thanks in part to some adjustments in the schedule, starting a half hour earlier and cutting the Twin 30 NASCAR Modified features to a single 40-lap main event. In that 40-lap Miller Lite night feature event Jason Agugliaro of Islip notched his second win of the 2014 season after a spirited early race duel with Ryan Preece of Berlin, Ct.

Kyle Ellwood of Riverhead set fast time in qualifying with a lap of 11.982 but could only muster a 4th on the starting grid in the redraw. The front row of the 21-car field would find Jason Agugliaro and Vinny Biondolillo leading the way to the green flag with Agugliaro jumping out front when the green flag waved. John Beatty Jr. quickly raced his way to second at the start of the race and would run second to Agugliaro over the first 2 laps of the contest. On a double file restart Ryan Preece would work his way under Beatty for second on lap 3 and the defending NASCAR WMT champion quickly went to work on Agugliaro for the race lead. After spending five laps searching high and low for a groove by the race leader Preece made a inside pass in turns three and four to seemingly take the lead away from Agugliaro on lap 9. However when a caution flag waved on lap 10 for a minor incident NASCAR Officials set Preece back to second feeling as though Ryan was over aggressive with his inside pass of Agugliaro.

Undaunted by being moved back to second Preece went right back to work trying to regain the race lead when the race resumed as he once again went on the attack. Ryan nearly executed a perfect crossover move exiting turn four as he had a wheel under Jason heading into turn one but the race leader was able to power off turn two to keep the lead. Once the race moved towards the halfway point Preece was unable to make another run at Agugliaro as the challengers car seemed to lose some of its handle as the race wore on which was just fine with the race leader.

At the finish it was Jason Agugliaro steering the Tom O’Keefe & Sons Inc Chevy to his third career win with Ryan Preece of Berlin, Ct. collecting runner-up money in the East West Marine Chevy. After starting 9th Tom Rogers Jr. of Riverhead raced his way to a third place payday and in the process trimmed Howie Brode’s championship lead to 15 meaning Rogers would have to be 8 spots better in the points finale September 20th. Kyle Ellwood of Riverhead and Ron Silk of Norwalk, Ct. completed the top five in the 40-lap feature.

For the fourth time this year Mike Bologna of Melville won the 25-lap Late Model feature and in the process all but wrapped up his third career championship. Kevin Metzger one week after his wild ride that nearly saw him leave the ballpark returned in his back-up car to take the early race lead from the pole with Chris LaSpisa second. A quick yellow as the field started the second lap found a double file restart in order with Metzger remaining out front while Mike Bologna slipped under LaSpisa for second. Bologna wasted little time in making his bid for the race lead as he darted under Metzger racing into the third turn on lap 3. Lap 5 found Scott Kulesa working his way by Metzger for second as he appeared to have the best car in the race, however Scott’s left front tire would go down forcing him to slow and eventually stop on the track on lap 5. When the race resumed it was Jeremy McDermott now running second to Bologna and while he stayed glued to Mike’s rear spoiler the defending champion was never able to make a serious bid for the race lead as Mike Bologna drove his Gershow Recycling Chevy to his 13th career victory. Jeremy McDermott of Riverhead was runner-up in the SDS Telecommunications entry while Chris LaSpisa of Shirley was third in his McBetts Racing Engines Chevy. With one race left Bologna has a hefty 34-point lead on McDermott who would need a field of no less 18 cars to show up for the September 20th 50-lapper to have any hope which is not likely.

One race after losing a comfortable point lead due to a broken axle Roger Maynor of Bay Shore rebounded in grand fashion Saturday as he won the 20-lap Figure Eight feature for career win number 113 and more importantly regained the point lead in the process. Early on it was Gary Fritz Jr. and Mike Mujsce Sr. going head to head for the race lead with Fritz leading lap 1. A quick yellow waved setting up a double file restart where Mujsce seemed to get the jump on Fritz for the lead as the duo raced to the first turn. Contact was made with end result finding Fritz’s car sitting on the hood of Mujsce’s machine. During the caution for that tangle both the third and fourth place cars of Ken Hyde Jr. and CJ Lehmann were also forced to pit meaning Roger Maynor would leap from 5th to the race lead for the restart with Vinny Biondolillo now sitting second. When the race went back to green with rain drops in the air Maynor moved out front while Biondolillo stayed in step hoping for his first career win. However a driver who has won 112 times prior to this race would prove awfully tough to overtake and indeed Roger Maynor would drive to victory in his Barrasso & Sons Mason Supplies Ford. Vinny Biondolillo of Farmingville after starting the race in 8th would finish second in his WRS Environmental racer with Scott Pedersen of Shirley recovering from a trip to the rear of the filed for third place money in the Reliable Motors Chevy. With one race to go Maynor leads Tom Rogers Jr. by four, 504 to 500 meaning Rogers has to be three spot better in the September 20th final.

Among the schedule changes made was moving the Miller Lite 30-lap Charger feature to first on the running order with John Baker of Brookhaven collecting his second career win. Chris Turbush was quickest in qualifying but in the redraw would pick 6th while Ray Minieri and John Baker drew the front row. When the green light came on it was Minieri bolting the race lead with Baker in tow. After spending some 7 laps on Minieri’s rear bumper Baker made a successful bid for the lead on lap 8 ducking under the race leader off turn four with Eric Zeh quickly coming to second in the same motion. Once out front Baker in the Sunrise Medical Labs Camaro was not going to surrender the race lead as he was seeking his first win since opening night of 2012. Indeed John Baker would drive a flawless race to nail down a popular victory over defending Charger champion Eric Zeh of Selden who was runner-up in his DC Customs Chevy. Ray Minieri of Bay Shore roared back from a tangle with Chris Turbush to claim third in the L.I. Performance Chevy. With two races remaining Zeh has a slim 8-point margin on Turbush, 612 to 594.

In route to his second career 20-lap Blunderbust win Brian Brown of baiting Hollow made some bold and daring moves along the way to secure the victory. Starting 10th in the field Brown rapidly made his way towards the front in a race that was paced by Tim Mulqueen from the throw of the green. Tom Puccia and Bill Wegmann Jr. chased Mulqueen early on before Brian Brown raced his way to second on lap 5 and in that process Brown was on the outside three wide. Lap 7 would be the circuit when Brian Brown would duck under Tim Mulqueen for the race lead in his Chet Mitrani Plastering racer. Bill Wegmann Jr, was able to come to second with Brown but with just two laps to go he’d be passed by a high flying Jimmy “The KId” White Jr. to the inside up the back stretch. For White coming to second that late in the race was too little too late as Brian Brown would cross the stripe first. Jimmy White of Southampton was second in the Busy Bee Pest Control Cadillac while Bill Wegmann Jr. of Patchogue was third in the Crackerjack Auto Stores entry. With two races to go Jack Handley Jr. enjoys a 26 point bulge over Tom Pickerell, 574 to 548.

It would prove to be a milestone win for Roger Turbush of Riverhead as he won his 20th Super Pro Truck feature in a 20-lap affair. Jimmy Rennick Jr. paced the race for the first lap before Roger Turbush roared by on the outside off turn 4 for the race lead with Rennick now sitting second. A double file restart on lap 5 would find Lou Maestri sneaking under Rennick for second behind race leader Turbush. As seasoned a veteran as Maestri is not even he could reel in the high flying Roger Turbush and his Rheem Air Conditioning Chevy as the former two time Super Pro Truck champion drove off to victory for the 20th time in his illustrious career. Lou Maestri of Deer Park was runner-up in the Gershow Recycling Chevy while Brian McElearney of North Babylon placed third in the Randy’s Performance Chevy. With one race to go Erin Solomito has just a two point lead over Maestri, 576 to 574 with the title going down to the final race September 20th.

In the Miller Lite National Demolition Derby Championship for the second year in a row Brian Savoy of Lake Panamoka outlasted a solid field to claim the $1,500 win. Brian for most of 2014 has been on the sidelines with a kidney illness but that did not slow down the heavy hitting put forth by the driver of the Monster’s Recycling entry. “Jumping” Joey Palmeri of Lindenhurst was Judge’s Choice with Preston S. Prydatko of Holbrook voted fan’s Choice. Jimmy “The Kid” White Jr. took the season long track title over George Astacio of Shirley with both drivers eliminated early in the contest.

NASCAR Modifieds: 1. Jason Agugliaro 2. Ryan Preece 3. Tom Rogers Jr. 4. Kyle Ellwood 5. Ron Silk 6. Howie Brode 7. Dave Sapienza 8. John Fortin Sr. 9. Vinny Biondolillo 10. David Schneider 11. Amber Fortin 12. Jeffrey Goodale 13. Brad Van Houten 14. Ken Darch 15. John Beatty Jr. 16. Russell Savoy 17. Jeff Andrade 18. Dave Brigati 19. Ken Heagy 20. Danny Watts 21. John Fortin Jr.

Late Models: 1. Mike Bologna 2. Jeremy McDermott 3. Chris LaSpisa 4. Kevin Metzger 5. Scott Kulesa 6. Peter Eriksen Jr. 7. Artie Pedersen III 8. Shawn Patrick 9. Kyle Harvell 10. Kaitlyn Schober 11. Dennis Freese 12. Chris Lescenski

Figure Eights: 1. Roger Maynor 2. Vinny Biondolillo 3. Scott Pedersen 4. Tom Rogers Jr. 5. Ken Hyde Jr. 6. Bryan Quilliam 7. CJ Lehmann 8. Ed Mistretta 9. Mike Mujsce Sr. 10. Gary Fritz Jr. 11. Mike Mujsce Jr.

Chargers: 1. John Baker 2. Eric Zeh 3. Ray Minieri 4. David Roys 5. Scott Pedersen 6. Brandon Turbush 7. CJ Lehmann 8. Chris Turbush 9. Cory Midgett 10. Dennis Cunningham DNS- Greg Immerman

Blunderbusts: 1. Brian Brown 2. Jimmy White Jr. 3. Bill Wegmann Jr. 4. Jack Handley Jr. 5. Tom Pickerell 6. Terry Stiles 7. Bill Wegmann Sr. 8. Tom Puccia 9. Ed Mistretta 10. Joe Warren Jr. 11. Ray Shannon 12. Bryan Quilliam 13. Richie Hubbard 14. Dennis Scott 15. Johnny Cricchio 16. Devin Maliszewski 17. Tom Sullivan 18. Ryan Zukowski 19. Tim Mulqueen 20. Jessica Cohan

Super Pro Trucks: 1. Roger Turbush 2. Lou Maestri 3. Brian McElearney 4. Jimmy Rennick Jr. 5. Mike Albasini 6. Erin Solomito 7. Amanda Anderson 8. Mark Stewart 9. Frank Dumicich Jr. 10. Frank Dumicich Sr. 11. Dave Koenig

National Demolition Derby Championship: Winner- Brian Savoy Judge’s Choice- Joey Palmeri Fan’s Choice- Preston Prydatko

Source: Bob Finan/Riverhead Raceway PR