Brad Van Houten Takes Fall Frenzy Victory

It was a typical overcast fall day on November 1, 2014 as drivers and fans gathered for the 1st annual Fall Frenzy at Riverhead Raceway under the new ownership of Eddie & Connie Partridge and Tom Gatz. Twenty-two Legend cars were in attendance along with over one hundred Enduro cars filled the pits.

The Legend cars were scheduled to go 40 laps in a cone race with the winner receiving $1,000. Under caution drivers chose their restart position based on going to the outside or inside of a cone that is put out in the center of the racetrack.

The field was set by 8 lap heat races. Brad Van Houten took down the win in heat number one. Van Houten had an engine malfunction at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl during the Battle of the Sound. Heat two was won by Paul Dodorico and heat three was won by Ray Fitzgerald.

When the green waved for the feature event, Van Houten pulled away quickly. John Fortin Jr. in the No.77 spun in turn 4 but, no caution was called. The first yellow came out on lap 6 when Dennis Kuros in the No.9 and Bill Fitzgerald in the No.20 got together entering turn 3. Both cars were able to drive away but, Fitzgerald would have to take his car into the pits because the front end was towed out.

When the cone came out Van Houten and Dodorico would chose the inside while Kevin Nowak who started fourth chose the outside lane and moved up into second. At the restart both Van Houten and Nowak pulled away from the field until lap 8 when the second caution came out for Kyle Kwasna’s spin in turn 2.

Again Van Houten and Nowak chose the inside and outside lines respectively and again on the restart pulled away from the field. On lap 9 Nowak in the No.53 had a scare on the backstretch when he lost control of his car. Nowak would save it on the apron of the track and continue to chase down Van Houten. Later that lap the third caution came out when Kyle Ellwood got into the back of Paul Dodorico in turn 2. Both Ellwood and Dodorico spun and stacked up the field. Michael Romneny ran into the back of another car and went into the air. John Fortin Jr. and Bryan Kelly also got a piece of the incident but, would continue.

Van Houten and Nowak still had the front row locked up with Ray Fitzgerald and Kyle Ellwood behind them. When the race restarted Van Houten, Nowak, and Ellwood were nose to tail. Paul Dodorico who restarted at the tail end of the field was going at a slow pace. On lap 13 the No.55 slipped up and pushed Kyle Ellwood wide in turn 4. This brought Ellwood back to sixth.

With 10 to go the leaders hit lap traffic which allowed Van Houten to pull away from Nowak. John Fortin Jr. was in front of Nowak on lap 32, when entering turn 1 Nowak hit the back of the No.77 and spun out in turn 2 bringing out the caution. Nowak would pull into the pits and then shortly rejoin the field. He would restart 10th.

With eight laps to go, Van Houten stuck to the inside when the cone came out; Bryan Kelly chose the outside and moved into second. There was a quick caution for debris in turn 1 which bunched the field up again. With two laps to go the last caution came out when Kyle Kwasna and Steve DeFriest spun in turn 2.

Brad Van Houten was able to hang on for the next two laps and win the Fall Frenzy.

“What a week for us. 600 [racing] builds all my cars, the guys at the shop were professional, they paid for [the engine] to be built on Tuesday and be here on Thursday” a speechless Van Houten said.

Petricek Captures Gut ‘N Go Enduro Win

The very popular Gut ‘N Go Enduro did not disappoint when it came to the action out on the track. More than 50 cars were lined up for the 100 lap event. The cars started out in the traditional three wide formation and when the green flag flew it was no hold barred. On Lap 5 there was a big pile up on the backstretch that saw seven cars pile into each other.

On lap 13 another car spun and caused another pile up on the backstretch. On lap 18 the No.49 was turned into the turn 3 wall ending his day. The car was backed up against the turn 3 gate and was spilling coolant onto the track but the race stayed green. Two cars would hit the stopped car before the race was red flagged to get him off the track. There were more hard hits as the No.7 hit the turn 4 wall and was out of the race. After 100 laps it was Brandon Petricek who took down the win.

Zaleski Takes Home Grand Enduro Win

The Grand Enduros were in action going 50 laps. Cody Triola started on the pole in the No.4. Triola would lead the first five laps until Greg Zaleski in the No.18 took over the top spot. Zaleski would pull away and extend his lead over Triola to a straightaway. Brian McCormick was looking to move into second. He and Triola would battle for many laps trading the position every lap.

Jimmy White Jr. was the hard charger as by halfway he went from mid-pack and slipped by the No.4 and No.54 to move into second. Zaleski still had a straightway lead as he hit lap traffic. But, soon that lead was cut down to just a couple car lengths. Ed Brown’s car started to smoke right in front of the leaders but, everyone continued. With 4 to go White was on the back bumper of Zaleski. With two to go White was finally making his move looking high and low trying to get passed the No.18. On the final lap the two went side by side down the back stretch but, it was Zaleski who held on for the win.

“[White] is a tough competitor he was on my bumper at the end but, I kept it low and slow and held on.” Zaleski said.

McCormick Cruises Across The Checkered

Also on the schedule was the Truck Enduro. Rob McCormick started up front for the 50 lap event. When the field took the green there was a major bunch up at the front. Hank Hallock’s No.08 was done before the first lap was completed. McCormick continued to stretch out his lead over the rest of the field passing trucks left and right. Tracy Chirico suffered an issue and pulled her truck off the raceway. An interesting moment happened when Donald Lawrence who was also already out of the race, hopped into Chirico’s truck and continued to drive the remaining laps. Rob McCormick was able to cruise easily to the win.

D’Orta and Hasely Seize 8 Cylinder Enduro Victories

Also on the schedule were two 8 Cylinder Enduros. The first race had 51 cars starting going around for 100 laps. There were a lot of spins in this one as the No.32 spun in turn 1 on the first lap. The No.48 led most of the way moving through traffic quickly. An altercation took place during the race that needed to be broken up by track officials, the race stayed green while this went on. On lap 67 the lead car No.48 got into a lap car No.42. Both drivers spun into the outside wall, and then the No.48 was hit in the right rear by No.45 which brought out a red flag. An ambulance was called out onto the race track while the race was red flagged. One of the drivers involved in the altercation that took place earlier needed medical attention. Soon the drivers were back to racing with a new race leader, Mike D’Orta in the No.77. D’Orta would hang on for the remaing laps and take down the win.

The second 8 Cylinder Enduro was won by Jared Hasely.
Fall Frenzy Results:

4/6 Cylinder Truck Enduro:
1 Rob McCormick
2 Ben Gregor
3 Don Nelson
4 RJ Gage
5 Rich Galante
6 Gary Voight
7 Jim Wichert
8 Pete Rabaglia
9 Kenny King
10 Christian Kalbfleisch
11 Jarrett Campbell
12 Gene Burbol
13 Madison Burbol
14 Donald Lawrence
15 Greg DiCarlo
16 Tracy Chirico
17 Hank Hallock

Grand Enduro:
1 Greg Zaleski
2 James White Jr.
3 David Antos
4 Brian McCormick
5 Jeff Otto Jr.
6 Cody Triola
7 James Charrier
8 Erick Zegel
9 Brandon Hubbard
10 Phil LaManna
11 Kevin McCarthy
12 Ed Brown Jr.
13 Anthony Pizzo
14 Tom Talbot
15 Steve Trimboli
16 Jamie Meyer

Legends:
1 Brad Van Houten (1)
2 Bryan Kelly (7)
3 Artie Pedersen III (11)
4 Ray Fitzgerald (3)
5 Kyle Ellwood (5)
6 Allan Pedersen (13)
7 Kevin Nowak (4)
8 Vinny Delaney (6)
9 Jerry Curran ( 14)
10 John Fortin Jr. (8)
11 Ed Cheslak (9)
12 Brandon Remson (20)
13 Jeff Otto Jr. (12)
14 Dennis Kurros (17)
15 Steve DeFriest (18)
16 Bill Fitzgerald (19)
17 Kenny Southard (21)
18 Kyle Kwasna (15)
19 Paul Dodorico (2)
20 Mike Romneny (16)
21 Johnnie Gloor (10)
22 Mike Van Houten Jr. (22)

1st 8 Cylinder Enduro:
1 Mike D’Orta
2 Sean Fitzpatrick
3 Mark A. Wolf
4 Brian Halsey
5 Kevin Coyle
6 Mike Sorrentino
7 Gary Hubbard
8 Logan Fogg
9 Michael Asdahl
10 Justin Ferreri
11 Tom Sullivan
12 Jim Laird Jr.
13 James Muench
14 Adam Niedzwiecki
15 Dave Kollen
16 Vinny Diprima
17 Patrick McGay
18 Rich Hubbard
19 Rhett Fogg
20 Chris Mayer

Gut n Go Enduro:
1 Brandon Petricek
2 Mike Biddlecomb
3 Tommy Walkowiak
4 Bill Quinn
5 Richard Gray
6 Gary Voight
7 Kenny Hyde Jr.
8 Rob Astacio
9 Dave Walters
10 Jason Savoy
11 Brandon Hubbard
12 Drew Kolb
13 John A. Messing Jr.
14 Steve Schuchman
15 Dan Augustine
16 George Astacio
17 Salvatore Nicosia
18 John Palmeri
19 Brian Savoy

4/6 Cylinder Enduro:
1 Paul Wojcik
2 Steve Fuller
3 Paul Pimpinella
4 Robert Strobel
5 George Davis
6 AJ DeSantis
7 Paul Salvatore
8 Kevin Augustine
10 Mike Farrell
11 Preston S. Prydatko
12 Steven Brooks
13 Heather Dugre
14 Tony Rispin
15 Jeremy Sullivan
16 Joseph Warren Jr.
17 Ryan Warren
18 Ed Fontana
19 Ryan Warren
20 Steve Trimboli

2nd 8 Cylinder Enduro:
1 Jarred Halsey
2 Brian Halsey
3 Rhett Fogg
4 James White Jr.
5 Bob Baker

Source: Brenden Madonia/LongIslandJam.com