Preece Cruises to Cromarty Cup 65 Lap Modified Win
It was a special day on July 4th at Riverhead Raceway, a 65 lap Modified feature was scheduled to celebrate the 65th year of the track and track owner Jim Cromarty’s 83rd birthday and as always a fireworks display to celebrate America’s 239th birthday. But, the display wasn’t all the fireworks the fans got to see, as the action on the track proved to bring out some fireworks between drivers.
For the first time since May 30th someone who is not Tom Rogers Jr. set fast time for the Modifieds at Riverhead. That person happened to be Ron Silk, the track record holder, who timed this week with an 11.921. Ryan Preece who won the last weekly Modified race was in a car owned by his family this week, he timed 3rd quickest with an 11.965. Rogers would be 5th fastest with a 12.013. On the re-draw Shawn Solomito in the Wayne Anderson owned No.75, the car he normally runs on the Whelen Modified Tour, picked the pole. Preece would pick 3rd with Silk right behind him in 5th and Rogers picking 7th.
When the green flag flew Shawn Solomito and Preece got a good jump with Ron Silk right behind them battling for third with Howie Brode. However, action slowed down real quick when Ken Matlach spun in Turn 1 on Lap 1 to bring out the first caution. On the restart Solomito and Preece went at it for the lead trading some paint but, Solomito was able to hold on when the second caution came out on Lap 5. Shawn’s brother Jerry Solomito and Dave Brigati got hooked together coming off turn 4, the two then spun on the front stretch trying to free themselves from one another, both drivers would continue.
On the restart Solomito and Preece continued where they left off going side by side for the lead. On lap 21 Preece was all over the back bumper of the Eastport Feeds No.75 and on the next lap Preece was able to slip under Solomito and take the lead. Timmy Solomito was back in the No.99, he took second after Preece took the lead. Caution number three came out on Lap 27 when Dave Sapienza and John Fortin Jr. got together on the front stretch, Fortin ended up spinning while Sapienza continued however; both drivers were put to the rear of the field for bringing out the caution.
On the restart Preece in the TS Haulers No.6 pulled away as they went side by side behind him. The caution would soon come out on Lap 31 when Vinny Biondolillo spun off of Turn 2. The caution would come out as soon as the race restarted again when a big wreck happened in Turn’s 1 and 2. Entering Turn 1 Howie Brode got into the back of Shawn Solomito spinning the No. 75. The field stacked up behind them and Ron Silk with help from behind got into Solomito and climbed the side of his car. The red flag was displayed, both drivers were ok, Silk would drive away but, Solomito and Ken Darch’s nights were done. After getting out of his car Solomito went over to Brode’s car and exchanged some words with him before walking back into the pit area. Silk’s team was able to fix his car and get him back into the action before the restart.
When the green came back out Tom Rogers Jr. was charging; looking under Timmy Solomito for second but, Solomito was able to hold him off. On Lap 38 the caution came back out when John Fortin Jr. and David Schneider got together in Turn 2, Fortin’s car was stopped, causing the caution. From there it was smooth sailing for Preece as he was able to hold off Timmy Solomito and take the checkered flag.
“This car is awesome my father put a lot of time and effort into our racecars,” Preece said about driving his own car at Riverhead, “I’m real happy I was driving this thing because it was phenomenal to drive. Timmy seemed like he was real strong on the restarts, I don’t know if his car would get loose or tight but, my car would be tight for a few laps and then it would start rolling in the center.”
Wegmann Scored First Win of the Season in Blunderbusts
The Blunderbusts were back in action for a 20 Lap feature event. Bill Wegmann Jr. started on the pole with Tom Puccia on his outside. On lap 1 Derek Wegmann and Puccia got together entering Turn 3 bringing out the first caution, Wegmann was put to the back for rough riding. On the restart Wegmann pulled away but, soon the caution would be back out when Joe Warren Jr. spun in Turn 2, Warren’s night was over due to a suspension failure. The caution would come back out immediately after the restart when Jack Handley Jr., back in his red No. 49 blew his motor in a big smoke show down the front straightaway. After a long clean up Wegmann continued to lead on the restart and pulled away from the field again.
The yellow flag came back out on lap 7 when Terry Stiles and Tim Mulqueen got together in Turn 2 sending Stiles’ car around. Under the caution Stiles pulled up to Mulqueens car and the two exchanged words until Stiles pulled away. Mulqueen then came back to Stiles’ car and the two continued to talk out on the track before rejoining the field shortly after. Wegmann had to hold off Tom Sullivan on the restart, the two went side by side for a few laps but, Wegmann had the upper hand and continued to lead. Last week’s winner Jimmy White Jr. was on the move after starting 18th, he was up to 2nd on Lap 12. Point leader Tom Pickerell was up to 3rd by Lap 15 however, White and Wegmann were in a league of their own. With White all over his rear bumper Bill Wegmann Jr. held on and lead every lap to grab his 3rd career win.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Wegmann said, “We’ve been trying real hard. I’ve been giving this car to my son a lot. I just have to thank Cracker Jack Auto Stores; they help my father which helps us.”
Kyle Ellwood Takes Home Win for the Legends
The Legends cars also had a bit of fireworks. In heat number three Michael Rutkoski and Steve Hersey got together on the final lap sending Hersey around. After the race Hersey got into the back of Rutkoski breaking the right front suspension. Because of Hersey’s retaliation he was disqualified and parked for the rest of the night. The feature event saw Shawn Wanat on the pole with Artie Pedersen III to his outside. Wanat and fourth place starter Vinny Delaney got off to good start as they moved into first and second respectively. On lap 3 however, both drivers got sideways off of Turn 2 which allowed Kyle Ellwood to take the lead on the outside, Artie Pedersen III followed Ellwood and moved into 2nd.
Pedersen was all over the back of the SGS Stoneworks No. 0 until the first and only caution flag came out on Lap 13 when Mike Van Houten and Ray Fitzgerald crashed coming off Turn 4, Van Houten would continue while Fitzgerald’s night was over. From there Ellwood had to hold off Pedersen and last week’s winner Dylan Slepian. But, neither could catch the No.0 and for the first time since 2013 Kyle Ellwood won a Legend car feature event at Riverhead Raceway.
“[The] car was definitely not where I wanted it to be but, we had enough to get it done,” Ellwood said, “we did a lot of work to both cars all week, we took some swings at it in practice and went the wrong way so we went back to what we had last week and we’re in victory lane.”
Cory Midgett Takes the Checkered for First Win of the Season in the Chargers
After weeks of bad luck Cory Midgett took down his first Charger feature win. Action started before the green even waved when Chris Turbush suffered issues during hot laps, his car was pushed into the pits and he would miss the start of the race. Midgett started on the pole with Greg Immerman to his outside.
When the green flag flew the drivers continued where they left off last week; beating and bumping all over the 1/5-mile track. Owen Grennan made his return to the track this week but, his night got off to a bad start when the No.38 was damaged on Lap 1, Grennan was forced to pull his car into the middle of the track. On the next lap Jason Hansen in the No.51 was out of control on the backstretch after some contact, Hanson regained control after making contact with CJ Lehmann in the No.1.
The first caution came out on lap 5 when Cory Midgett ran into the back of Daniel Lynch Jr. on the front stretch while leading the race. Midgett continued while Lynch spun and brought out the caution, Midgett would stay in the lead since the field did not complete the lap. On the restart the action continued when Dennis Cunningham and Jason Hansen got hooked together, they would continue. The caution came out when Ray Minieri spun. David Roys, Brian Midgett, and Dennis Cunningham all pitted for flat tires under caution. John Baker also had to pit for a loose left front fender, all four drivers would return. Midgett continued to lead but with 10 to go point leader Eric Zeh was on the charge moving into 2nd place after starting 10th. However, Zeh could not get by the No.14 and Cory Midgett took down the win.
Tom Ferrara Wins Figure 8 Feature Event After Weeks Off
The Figure 8’s were back in action after a few weeks off. Hot laps saw some action when Gary Fritz Jr. got loose and ran into the left rear of Ken Hyde Jr.’s car. Hyde was already having a rough day after suffering issues during practice earlier. Hyde was able to fix the left rear of his car and be out and ready for the race.
On the start Bryan Quilliam lead the way however, in Turn 3 he spun after contact with Scott Pedersen bringing out the caution. This gave the lead to Tom Ferrara who won last time the division was out on the track. But, Roger Maynor was hot on his bumper as the field came for the restart. The caution flew a lap later for a cone in the middle of the track. The next caution flew for debris when the left front fender came off of Artie Pedersen III car. The next restart was waved off when officials moved Roger Maynor to the back for jumping the restart. When the green did fly again Ferrara had to hold off former car owner Mike Mujsce. The fourth caution came out on lap 7 for debris which bunched up the field again. On the restart Gary Fritz Jr. and CJ Lehmann got together. Lehmann’s front bumper was lodged into the back of Fritz’s No.9, both drivers continued. After two more cautions for quick spins Ferrara was facing a green white checkered finish with Mike Mujsce and Tom Rogers Jr. behind him. Ferrara was able to hold on and win his second race in a row in the No.11.
“Mad” Mike Smith was able to take down his third Demolition Derby win this season beating out nine other competitors.
Photos available at: http://www.racerhub.com/photos/index.php?cat=2396
Blunderbusts:
1 William J. Wegmann (1)
2 Jimmy White Jr. (18)
3 Tom Pickerell (12)
4 Scott Maliszewski (7)
5 Tom Sullivan (9)
6 Tim Mulqueen (4)
7 Thomas Puccia (2)
8 Jim Laird (8)
9 Derek Wegmann (3)
10 Eric Zeh (19)
11 Terry Stiles (5)
12 Johnny Cricchio (17)
13 Jessica Cohen (16)
14 Robert Ehrle (13)
15 Tommy Walkowiak (15)
16 Edward Mistretta (6)
17 Ryan Zukowski (14)
18 Jack Handley Jr. (11)
19 Joe Warren (10)
Legends:
1 Kyle Ellwood (3)
2 Artie Pedersen III (2)
3 Dylan Slepian (5)
4 Shawn Wanat (1)
5 Vinny Delaney (4)
6 Richard Davidowitz (9)
7 Eric Hersey (6)
8 Kevin Nowak (7)
9 Allan Pedersen (14)
10 Greg Harris (8)
11 George Tomko Jr (18)
12 Jim Sylvester (13)
13 Bryan Kelly (17)
14 Vincent Colletti (16)
15 Chris Rogers (11)
16 Michael Rutkoski (15)
17 Ed Cheslak (12)
18 Kurt Krieger (19)
19 Mike Van Houten Jr. (10)
20 Jerry Curran (23)
21 Bill Fitzgerald (20)
22 Jeff Otto Jr. (22)
23 Ray Fitzgerald (21)
24 Gary Molner (24)
Charger:
1 Cory Midgett (1)
2 Eric Zeh (10)
3 Steve Mastro (6)
4 CJ Lehmann (9)
5 Ray Minieri (8)
6 John Baker (11)
7 Greg Immerman (2)
8 Jason Hansen (3)
9 David Roys (7)
10 Brandon Turbush (14)
11 Richard Wilson (5)
12 Brian Midgett (12)
13 Dennis Cunningham (15)
14 Daniel Lynch Jr (16)
15 Owen Grennan (13)
16 Chris Turbush (4)
Modifieds:
1 Ryan Preece (2)
2 Timmy Solomito (4)
3 Tom Rogers Jr. (7)
4 Howie Brode (2)
5 Kyle Soper (10)
6 Vinny Biondolillo (6)
7 Ron Silk (5)
8 Jerry Solomito Jr. (11)
9 Jason Agugliaro (9)
10 David Sapienza(17)
11 John Fortin (8)
12 David Schneider (18)
13 Rob McCormick (16)
14 John Fortin Jr. (13)
15 Shawn Solomito (1)
16 Ken Darch (14)
17 David H. Brigati (12)
18 Ken Matlach (15)
19 Artie Pedersen III (20)
20 Amber Fortin (19)
Figure 8:
1 Tom Ferrara (7)
2 Mike Mujsce Sr.(2)
3 Tom Rogers Jr. (9)
4 Kenneth Hyde Jr.(3)
5 Roger Maynor (7)
6 Scott Pedersen (5)
7 Artie Pendersen III (12)
8 Gary Fritz Jr. (4)
9 Bryan Quilliam (1)
10 Brian Hansen (6)
11 CJ Lehmann (13)
12 Mike Herbst (11)
13 Tom Kraft Jr (10)
Source: Brenden Madonia/LongIslandJam.com