East West Marine Returns to Sponsor $1,500 ‘Lil Jay Trinca Memorial Sr. Champ Kart Race Oct. 25

He might have only been on this earth for only seven years but the impact that ‘Lil Jay Trinca left on the Long Island racing community will be long lasting and on Saturday October 25th the Eastern Long Island Racing go kart organization will honor his memory will the 4th annual running of a 48-lap Senior Champ Kart race. The race will pay a handsome $1,500 to win and ELIR officials announced today that Brian Slaga and his East West Marine firm will again serve as the title sponsor for the event.

“We can’t thank Brian of East West Marine enough for his support of this very special race for a very special young man” Linda Solomito of the ELIR said. “Jay and his mother Keri were very near and dear to the karting and racing community on Long Island” Sadly in October of 2011 Keri Trinca was on her way to Riverhead Raceway when tragedy struck as she was involved in a motor vehicle accident that took her and her son’s life. Luckily her daughter known as Freshie to family and friends and son Christopher would survive the crash with Freshie spending several months in the hospital. It was later that fall that the 1st Annual ‘Lil Jay Trinca Memorial took place.

Aside from the $1,500 to win in the East West Marine ‘Lil Jay Trinca Memorial the runner-up will pocket $500, $300 for third, $200 for fourth and $150 will be paid to the fifth place kart. Sixth through tenth will be worth $100, while 11th through 20th pays $50 per spot. A fast time award for qualifying has also been established and is worth $100. The race will be run in two 15-lap segments with the final segment going 18-laps. The 48 lap distance is run in honor of ‘Lil Jay’s kart number as well his favorite race car driver Jimmie Johnson of the Sprint Cup Series.

The ‘Lil Jay Trinca Memorial is for Senior Champ Karts with WKA rules in effect. Karts must weight a minimum of 425 lbs and be of the flathead variety. For the 48-lapper only 15 year olds will be permitted to enter, they must however present a birth certificate and have a parent or guardian present. There will be a $100 entry fee for kart and driver for the Trinca race.

Some key race procedures to note are transponders will be used for time trials and you must run the race on the tires you qualify on. After qualifying the top 20 karts will be impounded, no tire warmers will be allowed. One person per kart can go into impound to add fuel, clean the tires, change the oil and change gears. A B-Main would take place only if there are 30 karts or more.

During the break between segments only on track fueling and tire pressure adjustments will be permitted. If a driver goes a lap down in a segment they will not be permitted to start the next segment, there are NO lucky dogs. Restarts will be double file until halfway. All karts must go through and pass safety tech before hitting the track for practice.

The East West Marine ‘Lil Jay Trinca Memorial 48 is part of the ELIR Octoberfest 3-day weekend at Riverhead Raceway. On Friday October 24th the track will be open for practice until dusk. On Saturday October 25th the pit gates will open at 7:00 am with a driver’s meeting set for 8:00 am. Practice will start at approx. 9:30 am with the Senior Champ karts receiving two rounds of warm-ups, one early and  one after the ELIR classes have completed their practice. Time trials for the Senior Champ class will then take place and be followed by ELIR heat races. Feature event racing will follow. Then on Sunday October 26th the ELIR will present a regular card of racing on Halloween Madness with all kids urged to wear costumes and all race teams to bring candy for the annual Trick or Treating.

Brian Sullivan towed all the way down from Connecticut to score the win in the 2013 East West Marine ‘Lil Jay Trinca Memorial 48. Many ELIR alumni are expected to compete in this years race and among those who have done so in the past include Justin Bonsignore, Shawn Solomito, Richie Davidowitz and Vinny Delaney just to mention a few.

For further information on this very special race at Riverhead Raceway you can go to the ELIR facebook page or contact Linda Solomito on her FB page.