Kyle Ellwood Scores First Modified Career Win
It might have taken a while, but Kyle Ellwood has finally entered victory lane in a modified car. Ellwood originally qualified in the fourth position, but drew the pole in the six-car redraw.
However, Ellwood had an intense battle with Jason Agugliaro throughout the 35-lap modified feature. After Howie Brode challenged Ellwood during the first five laps, Agugliaro shot by him on the low line for the second position. Agugliaro in the No. 3 car charged hard for the lead, but after having a strong shot to pass Ellwood on Lap 10, he settled behind the leader to finish second.
During the caution-free event, Todd Szegedy finished in the fourth position while driving the No. 20 car. Entering Saturday’s event, Ryan Preece, the usual driver of Bill and Barbara Park’s car, was second in the modified point standings, but he had to miss the race due to being at the Waterford Speedbowl for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race.
Brode has now extended his points lead by 27 markers over Tom Rogers Jr. Even with the win, Ellwood currently sits ninth in the standings.
“It’s pretty crazy. I thought I’d be here, but not this early. We’re a new team, and we’re still learning. It’s crazy to be here by week six,” Ellwood said on his win. “My spotter, Eric (Zeh), kept me cool on the radio and he just kept telling me to run my line and don’t worry about anyone around you. That’s exactly what I did and it worked in our favor. At the beginning of the year, we struggled a little bit with a lot of technical problems and figuring the car out. But now that we figured the car out, it keeps the team going and we’re really looking forward to going to the Tour race next week and see if we can qualify for that.”
Hayes Dominates in Emotional Victory
After an emotional start to the season when his father passed away, Jarrod Hayes found his way back to the winner’s circle on Saturday evening. During a caution filled event, Hayes led each of the 30 laps in the late model feature to score his first victory of the season.
In a race, which had five cautions within the first 12 laps, Hayes used his track position to stay out of trouble. Kevin Metzger was charging hard late in the race – passing Jeremy McDermott for the second position, but Hayes took the checkered flag by approximately a straightaway over Metzger.
Before the halfway mark, while racing three-wide, Buzzy Eriksen and Scott Kulesa tangled entering the front stretch. Kulesa’s No. 10 car went into the air – putting an abrupt end to his evening. On Lap 12, Shawn Patrick and points leader, Mike Bologna, tangled in turn one, but they sailed through the grass to prevent the caution from coming out.
Bologna now leads Shawn Patrick by three markers in the standings. McDermott trails by six points with Chris La Spisa 15 markers behind Bologna.
“I was out front and (it took) a lot of hard work over the years to get the car as good as it is. Now, we just have to go out there and let the car do the work,” Hayes said. “As rough as that race was, it’s going to make me not want to race anymore because you’ll be lucky to get through the race in one piece.”
Bock Holds Off Soper for First Win of the Year
Kyle Soper put on a tough fight for Brendon Bock, but Bock was able to hold him off for his victory of the season. In the 27-car field, chaos erupted as Bock was battling Richard Davidowitz for the race lead.
On Lap 5, Davidowitz passed Bock for the lead. But Bock charged hard and ended up getting into the No. 25 car in turn one on Lap 13. Davidowitz’s car received no damage, but due to the wreck – Soper has taken control of the standings.
The win was special for Bock. Not only was it his first win of the season, but his father was present to see his son’s victory. His father, George Bock, usually works overseas for multiple months at a time.
Soper now holds a 12-point lead over Davidowitz in the standings. Brad Van Houten sits a distant third as he is 22 markers behind Soper.
McElearney Captures First SPT Victory of 2014
Brian McElearney held off a hard-charging Mark Stewart late in Saturday’s Super Pro Truck 20-lap feature. McElearney started out front and led the majority of the race as he was truly determined to capture the victory.
After the No. 88 truck of Roger Turbush started to lose track position on the outside line, Stewart came through the field from the 10th position to finish second. When Stewart passed Lou Maestri for the runner-up spot on Lap 17, he attempted to make a late-race pass on McElearney, but he came up short.
The win marks McElearney’s first victory of the season in the SPT division. Erin Solomito and Stewart are tied for the lead in the SPT standings with 314 points each. Maestri trails them by just six markers as he has an eight point gap on David Koenig for the third position.
“It was tough to hold them off. The No. 8 was our toughest competition, but we got it done,” McElearney said.
Go-Kart Racers Show off Their Skills in Exhibition
In preparation of their usual Sunday events, the Eastern Long Island Racing go-kart racers performed an exhibition event. With two seven-year-old drivers starting off the night for the go-karts, they showed what those tiny cars can do on the 1/4 of a mile speedway.
Matthew Brode, the son of Modified champion, Howie Brode, was one of the multiple drivers to take part in the event. Riely O’Keefe also ran a few practice laps in his No. 39 Bandolero. Each driver was able to show off their talent as each ran a handful of circuits on the track.
Photos available at: http://www.racerhub.com/photos/index.php?cat=2278
Modified Results:
1. Kyle Ellwood
2. Jason Agugliaro
3. Howie Brode
4. Todd Szegedy
5. David Sapienza
6. Tom Rogers Jr.
7. Frank Vigliarolo
8. Ed Brunnhoelzl III
9. Ken Darch
10. Jeffrey Goodale
11. Dennis Krupski
12. David Brigati
Late Model Results:
1. Jarrod Hayes
2. Kevin Metzger
3. Jeremy McDermott
4. Mike Bologna
5. Roger Oxee
6. Chris Lescenski
7. Shawn Patrick
8. Chris La Spisa
9. Scott Kulesa
10. Buzzy Eriksen
Legends Results:
1. Brendon Bock
2. Kyle Soper
3. John Beatty Jr.
4. Vinny Delaney
5. Artie Pedersen III
6 Anthony Marsh
7. Dylan Slepian
8. Chris Rogers
9. Eric Hersey
10. Richard Davidowitz
11. Allan Pedersen
12. Vincent Colletti
13. Bryan Kelly
14. Brad Van Houten
15. Ed Cheslak
16. Shawn Wanat
17. Ray Fitzgerald
18. Kevin Chew
19. Steve Hersey
20. Mike Van Houten
21. George Tomko Jr
22. Kurt Krieger
23. Eric Henschel
24. Gary Molner
25. Justin Strumpf
26. Kevin Nowak
27. Bobby Jones
Super Pro Trucks Results:
1. Brian McElearney
2. Mark Stewart
3. Lou Maestri
4. Frank Dumicich Jr.
5. Jimmy Rennick Jr.
6. Erin Solomito
7. Roger Turbush
8. Michael Albasini
9. David Koenig
10. Frank Dumicich
11. Amanda Andersen
Source: Joseph Wolkin/LongIslandJam.com