Rogers Sweeps Cromarty Cup Figure 8’s and Modified Feature Saturday Night
It was a dark and cloudy day at Riverhead Raceway on Saturday, May 16, 2015 as drivers not only had to race each other but, the weather as well. But the threat of rain did not have any effect on Tom Rogers Jr. as he took down both the Figure 8 and Modified feature wins.
Time trials for the famous Figure 8’s saw Mike Mujsce set fast time with a new track record timing in with a 13.876but, on the re-draw he drew 3rd, Tom Rogers Jr. timed in with the 4th quickest time and re-drew the 4th position in the draw.
Bryan Quilliam drew the pole and led the field to the green for the 20-lap event and right off the bat second place starter Scott Pedersen took the lead from Quilliam with Tom Rogers right behind him. The first caution came out on lap 2 as Brian Hansen in the No. 88 hit a cone in the middle of the track, which knocked off his exhaust pipe. On the restart Rogers wasted no time in his No. 43 to grab the lead from Pedersen, giving him a little nudge out of the way to get passed the former Figure 8 champ.
The yellow flag would come out again on the next lap as Hansen looped his car around; this would bunch the field back up again. Roger Maynor was charging up through the field after starting sixth, moving up to fourth on the restart. When the green flag waved Rogers was able to hold off Tom Ferrara, Mike Mujsce and Maynor. The next caution flag fell when the No. 11 Northeastern Office Equipment suffered a flat left rear tire and spun. Mujsce and Kenny Hyde made contact under caution, which resulted in Mujsce’s No. 13 to be kicked off the track for the rest of the race. The race went green the rest of the way as Rogers and Maynor went head-to-head for the Cromarty Cup.
With 2 to go Maynor had caught the No. 43 but, could not find a way by and for the second year in a row Tom Rogers held off Roger Maynor for the Cromarty Cup. “I thought I would have done a lot better” Rogers said, “We’ve been working hard on this car all week…just to get here in victory lane.”
Rogers Continues Winning Streak With Modified Victory
Rogers continued his dominance in the Modifieds setting fast time in time trials with a time of 11.902, then picked out the pole position in the re-draw. Starting on his outside was “Preece Lighting” Ryan Preece followed by Kyle Soper and Howie Brode.
When the green flag waved to start the 35-lap event Rogers showed no mercy grabbing the lead and holding off Ryan Preece who was charging on his outside. Things were calm when the field started to spread out and run single file until lap 10 when Vincent Biondolillo and Jason Agugliaro got together entering turn 3 causing the one and only caution to come out. Rogers in his Jessup Landscaping, Stakey’s Farm Modified pulled away from the field and was able to take down his third victory of the season.
Roger Turbush Captures SPT Win After a Side-By-Side Finish
Roger Turbush was able to prevent Lou Maestri from making it three in a row. The race didn’t get off to a great start as Mark Stewart in the 97 made a move on Amanda Andersen entering turn 1.
Stewart only made it to lap 3 before pulling off into the infield with mechanical issues on his 97 truck. Meanwhile, Turbush was able to work his way to the front from his sixth starting spot as he and Brian McElearney battled it out for the lead. With two to go, Turbush made a move to the outside as the two drivers went side-by-side at the white flag. When the checkers came out it was Turbush who edged out McElearny to take down his first win of 2015.
“Brian was holding it, he looked like he was loose.” Turbush said, “So I saw the door open coming out and he came right down so I backed out and I tried the outside. He [McElearny] is a gentleman, he races clean and it’s great racing with him.”
Richie Davidowitz Takes Home Win in Legends Feature
Richie Davidowitz made his way back to victory lane coming off a 5th place finish last week.
Dylan Slepian led the field to the green flag with George Tomko Jr. to his outside. Slepian held the lead until lap 12 when a lap car slowed on the inside. This allowed Davidowitz to use him as a pick to get around Slepian and take the lead.
The first of two cautions came out when Bill Fitzgerald spun in turn 1 on lap 16. The second caution came out on the restart as Kyle Ellwood driving the NO. 0 car this week, spun in turn 4. The 27 of Eric Hersey went into the turn four wall in a separate incident ending his night. The race went green the rest of the way with Davidowitz holding off Tomko Jr. for the win.
Last week’s Legend winner Artie Pedersen III had a scary crash during his heat race when the throttle stuck entering turn 3. Pedersen was able to walk away from the crash but, the car was damaged and he was unable to race in the feature.
Third Consecutive Win in 2015 for Jack Handley Jr.
Jack Handley Jr. took down his third consecutive win in 2015. However, Handley had to hold off a fast Tom Pickerell in order to get it.
Ed Mistretta took the early lead but, by lap 4 Handley was around him and in front. The first caution came out on lap 8 as Tom Puccia spun on the back stretch with help from Jim Laird Jr. in the #10. Puccia had a flat left rear but, did rejoin the race. By lap 12 Pickerell moved up into second after starting 7th. Jim Laird brought out the second caution on lap 14 when he spun on the front stretch.
The final caution flag waved on the ensuing restart when Terry Stiles and Tim Mulqueen crashed going into turn one. Stiles’ car was towed to the pits but, he would come back, Mulqueen was able to drive away from the crash. Handley crossed the line first followed by Pickerell, Joseph Warren, Ed Mistretta, and Scott Maliszewski.
Chris Turbush Scores his Second Consecutive Win and his 41st Charger Victory
After scoring his 40th Charger victory last week, Chris Turbush was able to get his 41st this weekend winning his second consecutive race.
Greg Immerman started on the pole with Owen Grennan on his outside. The first caution came out on lap 5 as Ray Minieri spun in turn 3 and was hit by points leader CJ Lehmann. Lehman and John Baker are tied in the points and both received damage from the crash, Lehmann would return to the track later however, Baker and Minieri did not finish.
The second yellow flag waved the following lap as Jason Hansen spun the No. 51 in turn 2. The field was able to complete another lap until the third caution waved when Hansen got into the back of the 54 of Steve Mastro entering turn one, Hansen then slid up into David Roys putting him into the wall and ending Roys’ night. The final caution waved when Immerman and Grennan got together entering turn three. Immerman was sent to the rear for his actions, Grennan was able to come back and finish third. Chris Turbush held off a hard charging Eric Zeh to take down the win.
Photos available at: http://www.racerhub.com/photos/index.php?cat=2367
Super Pro Truck Results:
1. Roger Turbush (6)
2. Brian McElearney (2)
3. Lou Maestri (5)
4. Dave Brigati (10)
5. Michael Albasini (4)
6. Dan Turbush (11)
7. Gerard Giordano (8)
8. Kevin Scharfenberg (9)
9. Jimmy Rennick Jr. (7)
10. Anthony Vecchio (12)
11. Amanda Andersen (1)
12. Mark Stewart (3)
Legends:
1. Richie Davidowitz (4)
2. George Tomko Jr. (2)
3. Dylan Slepian (1)
4. Michael Rutkowski (10)
5. Jim Sylvester (7)
6. Ray Fitzgerald (12)
7. Bryan Kelly (3)
8. Allan Pedersen (13)
9. Mike Van Houten Jr. (14)
10. Chris Rogers (15)
11. Kevin Nowak (16)
12. Ed Cheslak (18)
13. Kurt Kreiger (17)
14. Saun Wanat (6)
15. Kyle Ellwood (11)
16. Vinny Delaney (5)
17. John Beatty Jr. (8)
18. Michael Rommeney (25)
19. Jerry Curran (22)
20. Steve Hersey (19)
21. Bill Fitzgerald (24)
22. Wally Davidowitz (20)
23. Eric Hersey (9)
24. Bobby Jones (21)
25. Gary Molnar (23)
Cromarty Cup Figure 8’s:
1. Tom Rogers Jr. (4)
2. Roger Maynor (6)
3. Tom Ferrara (5)
4. Scott Pedersen (2)
5. Gary Fritz Jr. (7)
6. Ken Hyde Jr. (8)
7. Bryan Quilliam (1)
8. Tom Kraft Jr. (9)
9. Brian Hansen (10)
10. Mike Mujsce (3)
Blunderbust:
1. Jack Handley Jr. (4)
2. Tom Pickerell (7)
3. Joseph Warren Jr. (6)
4. Edward Mistretta (2)
5. Scott Maliszewski (11)
6. Tom Sullivan (3)
7. Bill Wegmann (9)
8. Terry Stiles (5)
9. Tim Mulqueen (8)
10. Derek Wegmann (13)
11. Dennis Scott (10)
12. Tom Puccia (1)
13. Jim Laird Jr. (12)
Chargers:
1. Chris Turbush (4)
2. Eric Zeh (5)
3. Owen Grennan (2)
4. Steve Mastro (11)
5. Cory Midgett (12)
6. Jason Hansen (9)
7. Greg Immerman (1)
8. CJ Lehmann (7)
9. David Roys (3)
10. John Baker (8)
11. Richard Wilson (10)
12. Ray Minieri (6)
Modifieds:
1. Tom Rogers Jr. (1)
2. Ryan Preece (2)
3. Howie Brode (4)
4. Shawn Solomito (5)
5. John Fortin (9)
6. John Beatty Jr. (8)
7. Kyle Soper (3)
8. Vinny Biondolillo (6)
9. Jason Agugliaro (7)
10. Jerry Solomito Jr. (10)
11. Dave Brigati (11)
12. Ken Darch (12)
Source: Brenden Madonia/LongIslandJam.com