Final Night For Late Models, Chargers, BlunderBusts and Figure 8's at Riverhead Raceway Run In Front of A Large crowd.
On the final night of the season for 4 divisions at Riverhead Raceway, 2 new winners found their way to victory lane, and 4 Champions were crowned. Next week, the Super Pro Trucks will finish out the season, along with all Enduro divisions, bringing a close to the racing season on Long Island for yet another year. The 5 regular divisions on this night saw Chris Turbush win in the Super Pro Trucks, Kevin Orlando take the victory in the 30 lap Charger feature, and Mike Mujsce win the time shortened Figure-8 Feature. In the Blunderbusts, Terry Stiles won his first ever feature, taking the 30 lap affair by leading all the way, and Artie Pedersen, Jr. won his first ever Late Model feature in their 25 lapper.
Chris Turbush wrapped up the Charger points race, while Kevin Metzger won his first ever Late Model crown, and Tommy Walkowiak and Roger Maynor won the Blunderbust and Figure-8 championships in their respective divisions. We send our Congratulations to all this season's Champions, they all earned the respect that comes with such an accomplishment.
Time trials were held in both the Blunderbusts and Chargers. Jarrod Hayes turned a lap of 15.015 to clinch the Blunderbust pole, besting Scott Maliszewski’s lap of 15.025 by just one one-hundredth of a second. In the Chargers, Rusty Turbush set fast time with a lap of 13.464, also beating his closest competition, Kevin Orlando, who put up a lap of 13. 474 in his attempt. Each of the winners were given a $50 bonus for setting fast time from Brigandi Bros. Towing for their efforts. The top six time trailer’s from both divisions then redrew for their starting positions.
The Super Pro Trucks had their own special season ending event, a race honoring Carl Rackoff and Joe DiGigandi, where lap sponsorships sold for $10 per lap, and the popularity netted $2400, as the laps sold 8 times over. The money was broken down to add other awards, with 2 sets added to the overall purse for the top ten finishers. Also added were bonuses for halfway leader, hard charger, and a hard luck award. The rest of the monies went to the top 3 crew chiefs. This added money almost all the way through the field, and all who bought laps are to be commended for this great show of support. Now on to the race itself.
With Kathleen Hallock on the pole, and Anthony Vecchio to her outside, the green waved and Vecchio pulled out front immediately, with Frank Dumicich, Jr. coming into 2nd as Hallock dropped back, with Rob McCormick coming quickly to 3rd. Frank D. Jr. quickly made the pass on Vecchio coming off turn 4 to try to take the lead away as McCormick watched from 3rd when disaster struck as Frank D. and Vecchio collided, with Frank D. hitting the wall right at the start/finish line as Vecchio suffered a blown tire, spinning to a stop in turn 1, and the first caution of the race waved. McCormick, in the right place at the right time, was the new leader on the restart, with Hallock now 2nd, and Erin Dumicich in 3rd, while Chris Turbush ran 4th, and Dave Koenig 5th. McCormick quickly pulled out front by 3 truck lengths, while Chris T. challenged Hallock for 2nd, while Koenig and Erin D. battled side by side for 4th. Suddenly, John Denniston went high and stopped in turn 4 on lap 5, bringing out another caution with what was reported later on as a broken ball joint. On the restart, McCormick held his lead, as Chris T. got by Hallock for 2nd, and Koenig also passed Hallock to take 3rd, dropping Hallock to 4th spot. McCormick stayed right in front of Chris T. as Koenig watched from 3rd, as all 3 pulled away from the rest of the field by lap 9. Unable to pass McCormick on the high side, Chris T. made a bid for the lead going low off turn 4, even going below the white line in turn 1, but McCormick held him off. On the next lap, Chris T. looked to the outside once more, nosing ahead of McCormick just as they crossed the line to complete lap 11, but McCormick battled back as they ran side by side for 8 laps until Chris T. finally made the complete pass. During their side by side battle, they encountered about 4 trucks that were lapped, but each moved out of the way to allow them to race cleanly and competitively for the lead, a credit to all involved.
With Chris T. now firmly in the lead, McCormick followed right on his bumper, as Koenig did the same to McCormick. By lap 21, Danny Grennan had come to 4th, and was looking to challenge to break into the top 3 as he rode Koenig’s bumper, but up front, Chris T. now had a 3 truck length lead over McCormick and was stretching it out more each lap. Grennan, meanwhile, had gotten by Koenig for 3rd on lap 23, and was hounding McCormick for 2nd, but lapped traffic once more made passing difficult. On lap 25, Grennan saw an opening, getting by McCormick to take 2nd away, but now he had only 5 laps left to close a 6 truck length lead that Chris T. had built up front. Grennan closed a little lap by lap, but in the end, ran out of time as Chris T. took his 3rd win of the season in the Bill Lyons Equipment #81, with Dan Grennan, Rob McCormick, Dave Koenig and Lou Maestri rounding out the top 5.
The next feature of the evening were the Blunderbusts, as 24 of them took to the 1/4 mile to run their 30 lap special feature. With Terry Stiles on the pole, and Tommy Walkowiak to his outside, the fans looked forward to a great start. It didn’t happen, as Stiles took off at the wave of the green flag, but Walkowiak hesitated momentarily, and Stiles was out front quickly in a start the fans all thought would be called back for a do-over. But the officials let it go, an Stiles tore away, with Jarrod Hayes right on his tail, as Walkowiak recovered and ran 3rd, while Ron Langdon ran 4th. Stiles gave everything he had to hold the lead, and it was working, as Hayes could only look for an opening, but not find one, as he had to make sure he wouldn’t get passed by Walkowiak. By lap 7, the leaders were starting to close on the slower cars, when yellow flew for a car stalled in turn 4, setting up a side by side restart. On the restart, Stiles edged out front, with Walkowiak on his rear and Hayes right along side, but Stiles was up to the challenge, maintaining his lead as the battle continued with Hayes for the lead. Hayes tried Stiles a few times, edging up to put his nose out front a little, but Stiles battled back each time, as Walkowiak followed, with Langdon and Maliszewski battling for 4th spot behind all this, and the fans were loving it. Stiles would pull out to get away from Hayes, but Hayes would come right back as they ran cleanly side by side though lap 10. On lap 11, Stiles got out front alone, leaving Hayes and Walkowiak to battle for 2nd, with Walkowiak taking the spot, as Hayes and Maliszewski were left to battle for 3rd.
Stiles continued to hold the lead as Walkowiak looked for a place to pass, while Maliszewski won the battle for 3rd, just as lapped traffic became a factor once more. Stiles fixed that by going low to get past them, and the rest of the top 5 followed on through, until a lap later, when Walkowiak tried to get by Stiles on the low side, but Stiles fought him off, maintaining his lead even as they had to deal with more lapped cars. Stiles took the low groove once more to get by the lapped cars, as Walkowiak, Maliszewski, Hayes and Langdon followed through with him. Stiles finally managed to pull away form Walkowiak and build a 3 car length lead, narrowly avoiding a yellow as Jessica Cohan spun in the back stretch, but she corrected and got off the track before a caution was necessary, and the race stayed green. Stiles continued to hold a 3 car margin over Walkowiak, who had the rest of the top 5 bumper to bumper behind him, as Tom Pickerell ran a distant 6th. On lap 20, Cohan spun again in the back stretch, but this time because she had gotten in the middle of the battle for 3rd between Hayes and Maliszewski, but still no caution as she was cleanly off the track. Lapped traffic was still an issue, as some of them were racing each other for a position side by side, and the leaders were coming again. This caused Stiles to become blocked in momentarily, allowing Walkowiak to close to his bumper before they got clear of the lapped cars, but Hayes and Maliszewski bumped as they were going by, with Maliszewski spinning but recovering quickly to recover to 8th spot, and Hayes losing a few spots as he recovered,. The leaders once again encountered lapped cars, with Stiles blocked in as Walkowiak moved along side to challenge for the top spot, but Walkowiak found himself blocked as Stiles shot out front once more, but Walkowiak got clear and pulled along side once more with 4 laps to go. They ran side by side, looking at lapped cars in front of them, and they made slight contact, with Walkowiak getting a little loose, but he recovered quickly to stay with Stiles, as they hit the line side by side when the ‘one to go’ white flag waved, with Stiles holding the low line, as Walkowiak went a little high out of turn 2, and Langdon moved in to take 2nd from him, as Stiles went on to take the victory, his first ever in Blunderbust competition in the T.S. Motorsports #41. Finishing behind Stiles was Ron Langdon, Tommy Walkowiak, Tom Pickerell and Rob Bader to round out the top five in what was a very exciting race to end the Blunderbust’s season.
You've got to see the video to appreciate this race. Give it a minute to download and start.
www.seancase.com/Videos/terrybbwin.wmv
You should have seen the SPLIT Terry did exiting the car. All the way down. Carl Edwards and the back flip have nothing on you, Terry.
The Chargers, with 18 cars entered, rolled out next for their 30 lap feature event, with Kevin Orlando and Dan Turbush on the front row. At the drop of the green, Orlando and Dan T. ran side by side, with Chris Turbush getting under Orlando as they entered turn 3 going 3 wide, with Chris T. taking the lead as Orlando and Dan T. backed off slightly. Orlando held onto 2nd, but Dan T. dropped to 4th in the skirmish, with Jeremy McDermott moving to 3rd, as Frank Dumicich, Jr. was 5th. Chris T. held the lead as Orlando and McDermott ran side by side for 2nd, with Orlando holding the edge for the spot. But McDermott fought back, passing Orlando and making a challenge on Chris T. for the lead. They came across the line in a virtual tie on lap 6, with McDermott then pulling away as Chris T. faded back, even after having a slight collision with Jack Orlando as he spun in turn 4. The reason for Chris T. fading back then became apparent, as his right front tire was going down, which caused him to spin in turn 2, bringing out the first caution of the race.
On the restart, McDermott and Orlando took off together, with Dan T. riding McDermott‘s bumper through the turns, and the NASCAR officials radioing for him to ‘back off hitting with the bumper’, which gave McDermott some breathing room as he continued the battle with Kevin O. for the lead. Kevin O. finally edged ahead of McDermott to be scored as the leader, and went on to make the pass one lap later, as McDermott, Dan T., Frank Dumicich, Jr. and Rusty Turbush followed. By lap 13, the field was strung out single file, but Allan Reeves and Frank Scimeca, Jr. came together hard on lap 17, with Reeves stopped, and Scimeca, Jr. suffering a flat, which brought out the caution once more. When the green waved once more, Kevin O. took off with McDermott close behind, as a battle for 6th saw Chris McGuire take the position for Daryn Miller. But up front, it was all Kevin O., as McDermott and Dan T. continued their battle for 2nd, but McDermott pulled away form any chance of Dan T. making a pass, as 4th place Frank D. ran a few car lengths in back of them as they continued to run single file. But Kevin Orlando was never challenged again, taking the win in his sponsor wanted #00, as Jeremy McDermott, Dan Turbush, Frank Dumicich, Jr, and Rusty Turbush rounded out the top 5.
Next up was the 7th 2009 appearance of the Late Models, 16 cars strong, though only 15 appeared for the race, due to Shawn Patrick suffering rear end problems and being unable to start. With Artie Pedersen, Jr. on the pole, and Chris LaSpisa, they came to the green, with Pedersen taking the point, but Ralph Stanzione hit the wall in turn 1, and the caution was out early. On the next attempt at a start, Pedersen jumped out front again, with LaSpisa following, as Jarrod Hayes and Buzzy Eriksen followed. Hayes quickly got by LaSpisa to takeover 2nd, and he set his sights on Pedersen. On lap 4, RJ Oxee spun in turn 2 after contact with Mike Bologna, but recovered and rejoined the field right in front of the leaders. Pedersen continued to hold the lead over Hayes, but had adjusted his line as he followed Oxee around the track, and was pulling away from Hayes a little each lap. Pedersen was being closely followed by a pack of cars in single file led by Hayes over Eriksen, Kevin Metzger, Bologna, and Scott Kulesa. Suddenly the caution was out once more after LaSpisa crashed in turn 3 on lap 17, allowing Oxee to rejoin the rear of the field, as LaSpisa was done for the night. On the next restart, Pedersen took off once more with Hayes in 2nd, but a lap later, Hayes went around in turn 2, possibly after some contact, losing 2nd , and Hayes, unable to restart the stalled car, caused the third caution of the event. On the next restart, Pedersen now had Eriksen right on his tail, but he was up to the task, holding enough of a margin over Eriksen that Eriksen could only follow, as Metzger, Bologna and Kenny Alfano rounded out the top 5. Pedersen continued to run strongly, building a 2 car length margin as the laps wore on, as the four cars behind him ran bumper to bumper. Bologna tried to make a move on Metzger for 3rd, but instead bumped with Alfano, dropping him back to 6th as Alfano and Kulesa moved up, but Artie Pedersen Jr. hung on to take his first ever Late Model victory in the TJ’s Hero Delicatessen #51, as Buzzy Eriksen, Kevin Metzger, Ken Alfano, and Scott Kulesa rounded out the top 5.
The last regular event of the night were the Figure-8s, with Will Farrell on the pole, and Mike Mujsce on the outside to lead the 15 car field. At the start, Farrell took off like a rocket, grabbing the lead immediately, with Mike Rommeney up to 2nd, Mujsce back to 3rd, but a collision between a few cars resulted in Johnny Vullo Jr. and Ken Hyde, Sr. spinning separately, and caution was out. On the restart, Farrell and Mujsce raced side by side, but Rommeney and Farrell made contact, with Farrell spinning, and Mujsce and TK Tommy Kraft were running 1-2 as Farrell rejoined the race. Mujsce definitely had the stronger car, as he pulled away from Kraft, while Farrell, running way behind, was threading the needle at the X each lap, thrilling the crowd each time. But suddenly, Bob Dalke lost a right rear wheel entering turn 2, which continued on without him as he spun to a stop, and caution was out again. When racing resumed, Mujsce and Kraft took off, with Kraft taking the lead by a nose, but Mujsce quickly passed Kraft again, and despite some contact that between the two that got Mujsce loose, he held the lead. As all this was happening, Roger Maynor was not so quietly working his way from his 10th starting position to 3rd spot, and he set his sights on Kraft to take 2nd away on lap 5. 2 laps later, Maynor saw an opening as they came off turn 2, and shot past Kraft to take 2nd away and set his sights on leader Mujsce, who had about a 10 car length lead. Maynor was closing by about a car length or more each lap, closing it to 5 car lengths by lap 9, when on lap 10, Kraft, Hyde, Jr. , Hyde, Sr. and Arne Pedersen got together in turn 4, bringing out another caution. During the caution, Kraft and Hyde, Sr. got into some sort of altercation, with Kraft being asked to leave, and Hyde limping off with damage to his car, and Kraft would not return. When the green came back out, Mujsce and Maynor were side by side, battling for the lead, but Hyde, Sr. had a tire explode after some contact in turn 1, resulting in him spinning, and the caution flying once more. One more restart, and Mujsce took off, with Maynor right on his bumper. Maynor gave him a shot in the rear through turns 1 & 2, but Mujsce held on, keeping the lead, when Scott Pedersen stopped and another caution came out on lap 11. On the last restart, single file as ordered by the officials, Mujsce took off once more, with Maynor right on his tail, but Mujsce was doing what he had to do to stay in the lead, and yellow flew for a car that had stopped in turn 3, and the race was called on time, with Mike Mujsce getting the win in the Mike’s Auto Service #13, while Roger Maynor, John Vullo, Jr. , George Brown, and Mike Rommeney rounded out the top 5.
The World Championship Demolition Derby was run as the last event of the night, and it was a classic, with Tom “Madhatter” Kilkenny taking the win over Gravel Buksa in a slam bang demo not seen in quite some time. Jimmy ‘the kid’ White was the overall season champ, having run up more points than anyone else by virtue of entering all the demo’s all season long.
News and Notes: You couldn’t find two happier people in the pits afterwards than Artie Pedersen, Jr. and Terry Stiles, as both reveled in winning their first ever events in their respective divisions. I’ll bet neither slept until the sun came up on Sunday morning…. Artie even predicted he’d win in a conversation with me before the races, based strictly on how well his car had done in practice. No better time to be right, hey Artie? Always great to see nice guys win, and Artie is one of the nicest. I have to add, those heroes from TJ's Heroes are great, thanks Artie.… Nice to see a quiet and friendly pit area on the last night, not what is usually seen, but very good, nonetheless. The most noise was around the haulers of the drivers who’d wrapped up their championships and were celebrating with all their friends and family… I’m gonna wrap up here myself, lots of work to do now with two websites to ‘feed’. Don’t forget to visit www.myracenews.com for the latest news, plus comments made by your friends in racing added at the end of each story.
I’ll be in Martinsville next weekend covering the combined WMT/SWMT tour race, the All American 300, so join us next week for the full story. In up coming weeks, we will be traveling to Bethel, Sundance Vacations Speedway, Thompson International Speedway, and the N/ S Shootout at Concord, NC to bring you all the stories of those important year end specials, so stay with us for those reports.
Until then, live well and be safe, we need you to visit when you can. WJ
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Chris Turbush wrapped up the Charger points race, while Kevin Metzger won his first ever Late Model crown, and Tommy Walkowiak and Roger Maynor won the Blunderbust and Figure-8 championships in their respective divisions. We send our Congratulations to all this season's Champions, they all earned the respect that comes with such an accomplishment.
Time trials were held in both the Blunderbusts and Chargers. Jarrod Hayes turned a lap of 15.015 to clinch the Blunderbust pole, besting Scott Maliszewski’s lap of 15.025 by just one one-hundredth of a second. In the Chargers, Rusty Turbush set fast time with a lap of 13.464, also beating his closest competition, Kevin Orlando, who put up a lap of 13. 474 in his attempt. Each of the winners were given a $50 bonus for setting fast time from Brigandi Bros. Towing for their efforts. The top six time trailer’s from both divisions then redrew for their starting positions.
The Super Pro Trucks had their own special season ending event, a race honoring Carl Rackoff and Joe DiGigandi, where lap sponsorships sold for $10 per lap, and the popularity netted $2400, as the laps sold 8 times over. The money was broken down to add other awards, with 2 sets added to the overall purse for the top ten finishers. Also added were bonuses for halfway leader, hard charger, and a hard luck award. The rest of the monies went to the top 3 crew chiefs. This added money almost all the way through the field, and all who bought laps are to be commended for this great show of support. Now on to the race itself.
With Kathleen Hallock on the pole, and Anthony Vecchio to her outside, the green waved and Vecchio pulled out front immediately, with Frank Dumicich, Jr. coming into 2nd as Hallock dropped back, with Rob McCormick coming quickly to 3rd. Frank D. Jr. quickly made the pass on Vecchio coming off turn 4 to try to take the lead away as McCormick watched from 3rd when disaster struck as Frank D. and Vecchio collided, with Frank D. hitting the wall right at the start/finish line as Vecchio suffered a blown tire, spinning to a stop in turn 1, and the first caution of the race waved. McCormick, in the right place at the right time, was the new leader on the restart, with Hallock now 2nd, and Erin Dumicich in 3rd, while Chris Turbush ran 4th, and Dave Koenig 5th. McCormick quickly pulled out front by 3 truck lengths, while Chris T. challenged Hallock for 2nd, while Koenig and Erin D. battled side by side for 4th. Suddenly, John Denniston went high and stopped in turn 4 on lap 5, bringing out another caution with what was reported later on as a broken ball joint. On the restart, McCormick held his lead, as Chris T. got by Hallock for 2nd, and Koenig also passed Hallock to take 3rd, dropping Hallock to 4th spot. McCormick stayed right in front of Chris T. as Koenig watched from 3rd, as all 3 pulled away from the rest of the field by lap 9. Unable to pass McCormick on the high side, Chris T. made a bid for the lead going low off turn 4, even going below the white line in turn 1, but McCormick held him off. On the next lap, Chris T. looked to the outside once more, nosing ahead of McCormick just as they crossed the line to complete lap 11, but McCormick battled back as they ran side by side for 8 laps until Chris T. finally made the complete pass. During their side by side battle, they encountered about 4 trucks that were lapped, but each moved out of the way to allow them to race cleanly and competitively for the lead, a credit to all involved.
With Chris T. now firmly in the lead, McCormick followed right on his bumper, as Koenig did the same to McCormick. By lap 21, Danny Grennan had come to 4th, and was looking to challenge to break into the top 3 as he rode Koenig’s bumper, but up front, Chris T. now had a 3 truck length lead over McCormick and was stretching it out more each lap. Grennan, meanwhile, had gotten by Koenig for 3rd on lap 23, and was hounding McCormick for 2nd, but lapped traffic once more made passing difficult. On lap 25, Grennan saw an opening, getting by McCormick to take 2nd away, but now he had only 5 laps left to close a 6 truck length lead that Chris T. had built up front. Grennan closed a little lap by lap, but in the end, ran out of time as Chris T. took his 3rd win of the season in the Bill Lyons Equipment #81, with Dan Grennan, Rob McCormick, Dave Koenig and Lou Maestri rounding out the top 5.
The next feature of the evening were the Blunderbusts, as 24 of them took to the 1/4 mile to run their 30 lap special feature. With Terry Stiles on the pole, and Tommy Walkowiak to his outside, the fans looked forward to a great start. It didn’t happen, as Stiles took off at the wave of the green flag, but Walkowiak hesitated momentarily, and Stiles was out front quickly in a start the fans all thought would be called back for a do-over. But the officials let it go, an Stiles tore away, with Jarrod Hayes right on his tail, as Walkowiak recovered and ran 3rd, while Ron Langdon ran 4th. Stiles gave everything he had to hold the lead, and it was working, as Hayes could only look for an opening, but not find one, as he had to make sure he wouldn’t get passed by Walkowiak. By lap 7, the leaders were starting to close on the slower cars, when yellow flew for a car stalled in turn 4, setting up a side by side restart. On the restart, Stiles edged out front, with Walkowiak on his rear and Hayes right along side, but Stiles was up to the challenge, maintaining his lead as the battle continued with Hayes for the lead. Hayes tried Stiles a few times, edging up to put his nose out front a little, but Stiles battled back each time, as Walkowiak followed, with Langdon and Maliszewski battling for 4th spot behind all this, and the fans were loving it. Stiles would pull out to get away from Hayes, but Hayes would come right back as they ran cleanly side by side though lap 10. On lap 11, Stiles got out front alone, leaving Hayes and Walkowiak to battle for 2nd, with Walkowiak taking the spot, as Hayes and Maliszewski were left to battle for 3rd.
Stiles continued to hold the lead as Walkowiak looked for a place to pass, while Maliszewski won the battle for 3rd, just as lapped traffic became a factor once more. Stiles fixed that by going low to get past them, and the rest of the top 5 followed on through, until a lap later, when Walkowiak tried to get by Stiles on the low side, but Stiles fought him off, maintaining his lead even as they had to deal with more lapped cars. Stiles took the low groove once more to get by the lapped cars, as Walkowiak, Maliszewski, Hayes and Langdon followed through with him. Stiles finally managed to pull away form Walkowiak and build a 3 car length lead, narrowly avoiding a yellow as Jessica Cohan spun in the back stretch, but she corrected and got off the track before a caution was necessary, and the race stayed green. Stiles continued to hold a 3 car margin over Walkowiak, who had the rest of the top 5 bumper to bumper behind him, as Tom Pickerell ran a distant 6th. On lap 20, Cohan spun again in the back stretch, but this time because she had gotten in the middle of the battle for 3rd between Hayes and Maliszewski, but still no caution as she was cleanly off the track. Lapped traffic was still an issue, as some of them were racing each other for a position side by side, and the leaders were coming again. This caused Stiles to become blocked in momentarily, allowing Walkowiak to close to his bumper before they got clear of the lapped cars, but Hayes and Maliszewski bumped as they were going by, with Maliszewski spinning but recovering quickly to recover to 8th spot, and Hayes losing a few spots as he recovered,. The leaders once again encountered lapped cars, with Stiles blocked in as Walkowiak moved along side to challenge for the top spot, but Walkowiak found himself blocked as Stiles shot out front once more, but Walkowiak got clear and pulled along side once more with 4 laps to go. They ran side by side, looking at lapped cars in front of them, and they made slight contact, with Walkowiak getting a little loose, but he recovered quickly to stay with Stiles, as they hit the line side by side when the ‘one to go’ white flag waved, with Stiles holding the low line, as Walkowiak went a little high out of turn 2, and Langdon moved in to take 2nd from him, as Stiles went on to take the victory, his first ever in Blunderbust competition in the T.S. Motorsports #41. Finishing behind Stiles was Ron Langdon, Tommy Walkowiak, Tom Pickerell and Rob Bader to round out the top five in what was a very exciting race to end the Blunderbust’s season.
You've got to see the video to appreciate this race. Give it a minute to download and start.
www.seancase.com/Videos/terrybbwin.wmv
You should have seen the SPLIT Terry did exiting the car. All the way down. Carl Edwards and the back flip have nothing on you, Terry.
The Chargers, with 18 cars entered, rolled out next for their 30 lap feature event, with Kevin Orlando and Dan Turbush on the front row. At the drop of the green, Orlando and Dan T. ran side by side, with Chris Turbush getting under Orlando as they entered turn 3 going 3 wide, with Chris T. taking the lead as Orlando and Dan T. backed off slightly. Orlando held onto 2nd, but Dan T. dropped to 4th in the skirmish, with Jeremy McDermott moving to 3rd, as Frank Dumicich, Jr. was 5th. Chris T. held the lead as Orlando and McDermott ran side by side for 2nd, with Orlando holding the edge for the spot. But McDermott fought back, passing Orlando and making a challenge on Chris T. for the lead. They came across the line in a virtual tie on lap 6, with McDermott then pulling away as Chris T. faded back, even after having a slight collision with Jack Orlando as he spun in turn 4. The reason for Chris T. fading back then became apparent, as his right front tire was going down, which caused him to spin in turn 2, bringing out the first caution of the race.
On the restart, McDermott and Orlando took off together, with Dan T. riding McDermott‘s bumper through the turns, and the NASCAR officials radioing for him to ‘back off hitting with the bumper’, which gave McDermott some breathing room as he continued the battle with Kevin O. for the lead. Kevin O. finally edged ahead of McDermott to be scored as the leader, and went on to make the pass one lap later, as McDermott, Dan T., Frank Dumicich, Jr. and Rusty Turbush followed. By lap 13, the field was strung out single file, but Allan Reeves and Frank Scimeca, Jr. came together hard on lap 17, with Reeves stopped, and Scimeca, Jr. suffering a flat, which brought out the caution once more. When the green waved once more, Kevin O. took off with McDermott close behind, as a battle for 6th saw Chris McGuire take the position for Daryn Miller. But up front, it was all Kevin O., as McDermott and Dan T. continued their battle for 2nd, but McDermott pulled away form any chance of Dan T. making a pass, as 4th place Frank D. ran a few car lengths in back of them as they continued to run single file. But Kevin Orlando was never challenged again, taking the win in his sponsor wanted #00, as Jeremy McDermott, Dan Turbush, Frank Dumicich, Jr, and Rusty Turbush rounded out the top 5.
Next up was the 7th 2009 appearance of the Late Models, 16 cars strong, though only 15 appeared for the race, due to Shawn Patrick suffering rear end problems and being unable to start. With Artie Pedersen, Jr. on the pole, and Chris LaSpisa, they came to the green, with Pedersen taking the point, but Ralph Stanzione hit the wall in turn 1, and the caution was out early. On the next attempt at a start, Pedersen jumped out front again, with LaSpisa following, as Jarrod Hayes and Buzzy Eriksen followed. Hayes quickly got by LaSpisa to takeover 2nd, and he set his sights on Pedersen. On lap 4, RJ Oxee spun in turn 2 after contact with Mike Bologna, but recovered and rejoined the field right in front of the leaders. Pedersen continued to hold the lead over Hayes, but had adjusted his line as he followed Oxee around the track, and was pulling away from Hayes a little each lap. Pedersen was being closely followed by a pack of cars in single file led by Hayes over Eriksen, Kevin Metzger, Bologna, and Scott Kulesa. Suddenly the caution was out once more after LaSpisa crashed in turn 3 on lap 17, allowing Oxee to rejoin the rear of the field, as LaSpisa was done for the night. On the next restart, Pedersen took off once more with Hayes in 2nd, but a lap later, Hayes went around in turn 2, possibly after some contact, losing 2nd , and Hayes, unable to restart the stalled car, caused the third caution of the event. On the next restart, Pedersen now had Eriksen right on his tail, but he was up to the task, holding enough of a margin over Eriksen that Eriksen could only follow, as Metzger, Bologna and Kenny Alfano rounded out the top 5. Pedersen continued to run strongly, building a 2 car length margin as the laps wore on, as the four cars behind him ran bumper to bumper. Bologna tried to make a move on Metzger for 3rd, but instead bumped with Alfano, dropping him back to 6th as Alfano and Kulesa moved up, but Artie Pedersen Jr. hung on to take his first ever Late Model victory in the TJ’s Hero Delicatessen #51, as Buzzy Eriksen, Kevin Metzger, Ken Alfano, and Scott Kulesa rounded out the top 5.
The last regular event of the night were the Figure-8s, with Will Farrell on the pole, and Mike Mujsce on the outside to lead the 15 car field. At the start, Farrell took off like a rocket, grabbing the lead immediately, with Mike Rommeney up to 2nd, Mujsce back to 3rd, but a collision between a few cars resulted in Johnny Vullo Jr. and Ken Hyde, Sr. spinning separately, and caution was out. On the restart, Farrell and Mujsce raced side by side, but Rommeney and Farrell made contact, with Farrell spinning, and Mujsce and TK Tommy Kraft were running 1-2 as Farrell rejoined the race. Mujsce definitely had the stronger car, as he pulled away from Kraft, while Farrell, running way behind, was threading the needle at the X each lap, thrilling the crowd each time. But suddenly, Bob Dalke lost a right rear wheel entering turn 2, which continued on without him as he spun to a stop, and caution was out again. When racing resumed, Mujsce and Kraft took off, with Kraft taking the lead by a nose, but Mujsce quickly passed Kraft again, and despite some contact that between the two that got Mujsce loose, he held the lead. As all this was happening, Roger Maynor was not so quietly working his way from his 10th starting position to 3rd spot, and he set his sights on Kraft to take 2nd away on lap 5. 2 laps later, Maynor saw an opening as they came off turn 2, and shot past Kraft to take 2nd away and set his sights on leader Mujsce, who had about a 10 car length lead. Maynor was closing by about a car length or more each lap, closing it to 5 car lengths by lap 9, when on lap 10, Kraft, Hyde, Jr. , Hyde, Sr. and Arne Pedersen got together in turn 4, bringing out another caution. During the caution, Kraft and Hyde, Sr. got into some sort of altercation, with Kraft being asked to leave, and Hyde limping off with damage to his car, and Kraft would not return. When the green came back out, Mujsce and Maynor were side by side, battling for the lead, but Hyde, Sr. had a tire explode after some contact in turn 1, resulting in him spinning, and the caution flying once more. One more restart, and Mujsce took off, with Maynor right on his bumper. Maynor gave him a shot in the rear through turns 1 & 2, but Mujsce held on, keeping the lead, when Scott Pedersen stopped and another caution came out on lap 11. On the last restart, single file as ordered by the officials, Mujsce took off once more, with Maynor right on his tail, but Mujsce was doing what he had to do to stay in the lead, and yellow flew for a car that had stopped in turn 3, and the race was called on time, with Mike Mujsce getting the win in the Mike’s Auto Service #13, while Roger Maynor, John Vullo, Jr. , George Brown, and Mike Rommeney rounded out the top 5.
The World Championship Demolition Derby was run as the last event of the night, and it was a classic, with Tom “Madhatter” Kilkenny taking the win over Gravel Buksa in a slam bang demo not seen in quite some time. Jimmy ‘the kid’ White was the overall season champ, having run up more points than anyone else by virtue of entering all the demo’s all season long.
News and Notes: You couldn’t find two happier people in the pits afterwards than Artie Pedersen, Jr. and Terry Stiles, as both reveled in winning their first ever events in their respective divisions. I’ll bet neither slept until the sun came up on Sunday morning…. Artie even predicted he’d win in a conversation with me before the races, based strictly on how well his car had done in practice. No better time to be right, hey Artie? Always great to see nice guys win, and Artie is one of the nicest. I have to add, those heroes from TJ's Heroes are great, thanks Artie.… Nice to see a quiet and friendly pit area on the last night, not what is usually seen, but very good, nonetheless. The most noise was around the haulers of the drivers who’d wrapped up their championships and were celebrating with all their friends and family… I’m gonna wrap up here myself, lots of work to do now with two websites to ‘feed’. Don’t forget to visit www.myracenews.com for the latest news, plus comments made by your friends in racing added at the end of each story.
I’ll be in Martinsville next weekend covering the combined WMT/SWMT tour race, the All American 300, so join us next week for the full story. In up coming weeks, we will be traveling to Bethel, Sundance Vacations Speedway, Thompson International Speedway, and the N/ S Shootout at Concord, NC to bring you all the stories of those important year end specials, so stay with us for those reports.
Until then, live well and be safe, we need you to visit when you can. WJ
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Great night of racing!! My only problem was the time limit on fig-8s. Last night of racing, they should have relaxed the time limit, but all in all good night!
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