Howie Brode Sews Up Second Straight Riverhead Raceway Title

Howie Brode of East Islip came into Saturday’s 50-lap NASCAR Modified finale with a 25 point lead in the championship standings and everyone figured Howie would take a conservative approach to the race, everyone that is but Brode. When the checker flag waved Howie posted his 3rd win of 2014 and the 19th of his career to score his second straight NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championship in style.

Tom Rogers Jr. was again quickest in qualifying with a lap of 11.972 and would redraw 5th while Dave Brigati of Calverton and Howie Brode drew the front row. Before the start of the race NASCAR scoring and timing noticed no transponder reading for Rogers and he was forced to start at the rear of the field after correcting the issue making his task of trying to finish 13 spots better than Brode even tougher. When the race got underway Brigati and Brode who came through the Charger and Late Model ranks together at Riverhead went at it side by side for the race lead, shocking many who thought with the title in his hands Howie would just tuck into second. The veteran duo raced that way for the first 12 laps before Kyle Ellwood burst on the scene seeking his third win of the year. Lap 13 found Ellwood passing Brode to the inside for second. Just 4 circuits later Ellwood would then pass Brigati for the lead on lap 17. While all the dicing for positions went on up front Tom Rogers Jr. was tearing through the field from 16th and by lap 22 made his way to second behind Ellwood.

The fight for the lead would intensify on a double file restart on lap 23 with Tom Rogers launching his car into the race lead beating Ellwood into the first turn on the outside. Ellwood undaunted by Rogers’ pass stayed in step with the leader and on the 33rd lap made a bold move entering turn three to the inside which resulted with Rogers spinning from the contact and his car breaking an axle as well ending his race. Ellwood was placed at the rear of the field moving Howie Brode into the race lead, a lead he’d never relinquish for the remainder of the race despite a late race charge by John Fortin Sr. who raced his way from 11th to second.

At the finish it was the Peter Clark Motorsports Chevy of Howie Brode flashing across the line first with the NASCAR Modified championship in his lap. Afterwards on overjoyed Brode noted, “This is just so great and unbelievable” offered Howie, “Peter Clark, what can I say and my guys Danny & Marty they work day and night on this thing and I’m so happy for them and my family” As to his aggressive approach to the race Brode stated “I came in here with a game plan I wanted to win the race and the title all in one. Hey Dave is a great guy to race with and if could do it with anyone here it’s him”.

John Fortin Sr. of Holtsville was runner-up in the Triangle Pub Chevy with Vinny Biondolillo of Farmingville coming home a solid third after running in the top five all race long in his Premier Utility Chevy. Kyle Ellwood of Riverhead raced his way back to fourth while John Fortin Jr. of Holtsville had a solid race for fifth.

It had been some 8 years since “Jumping” Jack Orlando of Calverton raced competitively in a stock car but when the 50-lap Late Model feature was completed one never would have been able to tell as Jack won his first Late Model race since August 26th, 2006, the last season he raced. Scott Kulesa set fast time in qualifying with a lap of 12,577 but could only muster a 6th place starting spot in the redraw while Chris McGuire and Mike Bologna drew the front row. Bologna came to the race with the 2014 Late Model title in hand, his third in the past four years and he quickly asserted himself as the car to beat. McGuire, Jeremy McDermott and Kulesa all took turns running second to Bologna but it would be Jack Orlando who raced his way to second after starting 7th who was able to get to the race leader. With just five laps to go the leaders were mired in heavy lapped traffic and the cagey veteran Orlando  took full advantage as he passed Bologna for the lead with two laps to go in the race. Over the final two laps Jack in the Staria Automotive Chevy stayed out front to score both an unlikely and popular victory. Mike Bologna of Melville had to be content with runner-up money in the Schlaugies Fuel Oil Chevy but admitted afterwards, “that was some fun, if I was going to lose the race like that I’m glad it was to Jack”. Of course Mike was consoled by that third career LM title. Scott Kulesa of Georgetown, Ma. placed third in the Eastport Feeds Pontiac.

Mike Mujsce of Quogue notched his third Figure Eight win of 2014 when he topped the 15-lap main event while the 2014 championship went down to a tie breaker which saw Roger Maynor of Bay Shore taking his 9th track title over Tom Rogers Jr. of Riverhead with Roger having more runner-up finishes than Tom. The front row cars of Gary Fritz Jr. and CJ Lehmann got together in turn three racing for the lead on the first lap drawing a quick yellow. The second attempt at getting the race underway found Mujsce powering his way out front with Tom Rogers Jr. quickly coming to second. Try as he might to make a successful bid for the race lead in his PCFI Plymouth Coupe Rogers was unable to find a way by the race leader for the one more spot he needed for the crown. Maynor was running fourth and in a heated battle for third spot himself with Ken Hyde Jr. but Roger a 113 time winner in the class knew the possible tie breakers and knew 4th would be good enough as long as Rogers didn’t take the lead. When the race concluded it was Mike Mujsce in the Bill Beener Tree Service racer taking the win with Tom Rogers Jr. runner-up. Ken Hyde Jr. would place third in the Northeastern Office Equipment Chevy. Roger Maynor’s 4th place tally in the Barrasso & Sons Mason Supplies Ford was good enough for the championship.

In entertainment everyone loves an encore and that is exactly what defending Charger champion Eric Zeh of Selden provided for the race fans. In 2013 Eric won the last race of the season to take the championship. This year Eric would make a bold move when CJ Lehmann and David Roys racing for the lead got into each other for a split second opening the inside lane. Zeh who raced his way from 11th to 4th saw the seas parting and he boldly filled the opening to race his way from 4th to the race lead. Once out front there was no stopping the S&P Carting Chevy from performing a repeat performance in 2014 winning his 5th race of the season and the track championship. Eric made an emotional dedication afterwards, “this is for my Grandpa Car Zeh, he was my best friend and I miss him” Carl was a multi time NASCAR Modified championship car owner with Don Howe who was on hand for this special night. John Baker of Brookhaven was second in the Sunrise Medical Labs Camaro while CJ Lehmann of Mastic Beach raced his way back to third in the Uneedapart.com Monte Carlo.

The 20-lap Blunderbust feature event provided plenty of drama, perhaps not for the race win but surely for the 2014 championship. “Lightening” Tim Mulqueen took the early race lead and would lead all 20-laps of the non-stop race for his second win of 2014 in the Hy-Grade Auto Body entry. Jessica Cohan, Tom Sullivan and Bill Wegmann Sr. all took turns running second to Mulqueen before championship leader Jack Handley Jr came to second on lap 8. At this point of the race things were going according to plan for Handley who came to the race with a 26 point lead over nearest rival Tom Pickerell. Jack was hoping to win the race along with his first career title at 18-years old when suddenly things went real bad in a hurry. Just past the halfway mark Jack’s car slowed dramatically off turn four and moments later he rolled to a slow stop with his championship hopes stopping with the car as well. “Slick PIck” Tom Pickerell of Huntington would race his way to second where he would finish in the Premier Utility Chevy and in the process turned a 26 point disadvantage into his third career Blunderbust championship. Jimmy “The Kid” White Jr. of Southampton was third in the Busy Bee Pest Control Cadillac.

The closest championship battle coming into Track Champions night belonged to the Super Pro Trucks with Erin Solomito of Hampton Bays carrying a mere two point lead over Lou Maestri of Deer Park. Even with all the championship implications the Golden Auto Body night 20-lapper would run green to checker with Brian McElearney of North Babylon taking the lead at the start. Frank Dumicich Sr. ran second for the first lap before newcomer Jimmy Rennick Jr. got by and settled into second. Rennick was able to stay glued to the rear spoiler of McElearney but it would be Brian in the Bridge Capital Financing Chevy scoring his second win of 2014. Rennick of Howard Beach was runner-up in the Sonny’s Collision Center Chevy with Mike Albasini of Flushing third in the Hollis Court Collision entry. As for the 2014 SPT championship Erin Solomito had things in hand early on running one spot ahead of Lou Maestri. Knowing he needed to pass Erin to at least get to a tie breaker Lou would muscle his way under her to gain the position (7th) midway through the race. The tie breaker like the Figure Eights came down to runner-up finishes with Lou having three to Erin’s two giving the driver of the John Kirk Chevy his fourth career championship.

Ever since his opening night win back in early May Legend Race Car veteran Kevin Nowak of Medford has ridden a roller coaster of a long race season but this past Saturday he topped the 20-lap main event for his second win of 2014. Chris Rogers led the first 8 laps of the race with George Tomko Jr. running second over the first five laps before he was over taken by Kevin Nowak on lap 6. Once to second Nowak in the Meadowbrook Collision machine wasted no time making a successful bid for the race lead which he completed on lap 9. Once out front Nowak never looked back with Chris Rogers of Patchogue scoring a solid runner-up finish in the Maggio’s Sanitation racer. Kyle Soper of Manorville at 18-years old clinched the 2014 Legend Race Car Championship with his third place finish in the Tom O’Keefe & Sons Inc entry. Brad Van Houten of Wading River was the only driver to have a shot at the title besides Soper but his night got off to a rough start with a heat race tangle. Starting 22nd in the 28 car field Van Houten sliced and diced his way to a fine 4th place finish but in order to become champion he needed to be 14 spots better than Soper.

NASCAR Modifieds: 1. Howie Brode 2. John Fortin Sr. 3. Vinny Biondolillo 4. Kyle Ellwood 5. John Fortin Jr. 6. Jason Agugliaro 7. Ken Darch 8. Amber Fortin 9. Jeffrey Goodale 10. Jeff Andrade 11. Russell Savoy 12. Dave Sapienza 13. David Schneider 14. Dave Brigati 15. Tom Rogers Jr. 16. Dennis Freese

Late Models: 1. Jack Orlando 2. Mike Bologna 3. Scott Kulesa 4. Roger Oxee 5. Chris LaSpisa 6. Ken Alfano 7. Jarrod Hayes 8. Shawn Patrick 9. Kevin Metzger 10. Kyle Harvell 11. Artie Pedersen III 12. Sean Patterson 13. Chris Lescenski 14. Peter Eriksen Jr. 15. Jeremy McDermott 16. Chris McGuire

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

Chargers: 1. Eric Zeh 2. John Baker 3. CJ Lehmann 4. Ray Minieri 5. Cory Midgett 6. Chris Turbush
7. Jimmy White Jr. 8. David Roys 9. Scott Pedersen 10. Brandon Turbush 11. Greg Immerman 12. Spencer Seibel 13. Owen Grennan 14. Dan Lynch

Blunderbusts: 1. Tim Mulqueen 2. Tom Pickerell 3. Jimmy White Jr. 4. Ed Mistretta 5. Bill Wegmann Sr. 6. Terry Stiles 7. Bill Wegmann Jr. 8. Joe Warren Jr. 9. Tom Sullivan 10. Richie Hubbard 11. Dennis Scott 12. Johnny Cricchio 13. Brian Brown 14. Tommy Walkowiak 15. Bob Muller 16. Jessica Cohan 17. Andrew Fowler 18. CJ Zukowski 19. Derek Wegmann 20. Ian Maliszewski 21. Jack Handley Jr. 22. Tom Puccia

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

Legend Race Cars: 1. Kevin Nowak 2. Chris Rogers 3. Kyle Soper 4. Brad Van Houten 5. George Tomko Jr. 6. Artie Pedersen III 7. Vinny Delaney 8. Dylan Slepian 9. Ray Fitzgerald 10. Allan Pedersen 11. John Beatty Jr. 12. Joe Oliver 13. Anthony Marsh 14. Christian Conklin 15. Vinny Colletti 16. Eric Hersey 17. Shawn Wanat 18. Bobby Jones 19. Steve Smith 20. Kury Krieger 21. Jim Sylvester 22. Wally Davidowitz 23. Ed Cheslak 24. Mike Van Houten Jr. 25. Eric Henschel 26. Steve Hersey 27. Richie Davidowitz 28. Kevin Chew