Riverhead Beats Fog to Complete Show- Solomito Injured
From a Sunny day to fog rolling in after Sundown, the weather changed quickly as Riverhead Raceway completed a 6 event program as the fog thickened after darkness set in. Modified driver Timmy Solomito, the current points leader, suffered a broken wrist just 5 laps from the end of the feature in a multicar melee, and was taken by ambulance to the hospital to have it treated. No word as of press time on the actual severity of the injury or how it will affect his being able to continue to drive, but we will keep that story updated on our Facebook page.
The first feature of the night was for the Super Pro Trucks, with Kathleen Hallock and ‘Dangerous’ Dave Koenig leading the 14 truck field to the green. With the first attempt at a start waved off after Kevin Sharfenburg spun in turn 4, Koenig took the lead on the next attempt, with Chris Turbush moving quickly into 2nd , with Lou Maestri hanging onto 3rd as Hallock slipped back, with Erin Dumicich moving into 5th. Coming off of turn 2 on lap 2, Hallock’s truck got loose, fishtailing into the infield, only to come back out and clip the left front of Mike Albasini’s truck, bringing out the first official caution of the race. With his left front mangled, Albasini was done for the evening, and so was Hallock. On the restart, Koenig took off, but C. Turbush battled back on the outside, as Maestri, Frank Dumicich, Jr. and E. Dumicich followed. C. Turbush nosed ahead of Koenig, but Koenig battled back as they ran side by side battling for the lead. As they continued their battle, F. Dumicich, Jr. challenged Maestri for 3rd, but Maestri held on, as Roger Turbush got by E. Dumicich to take 5th spot away on lap 5. R. Turbush then worked his way under F. Dumicich, Jr. to take away 4th spot after roughing up F. Dumicich, Jr. to complete the pass, as the battle for the lead had been settled as C. Turbush was finally able to pull ahead of Koenig. With the field running single file back through 8th spot for the moment, C. Turbush built about a 2 truck length lead over Koenig, as Maestri followed right on his bumper, with R. Turbush closing lap after lap to tighten up the top 4. In back of all this, a mini battle between Keith Rotzi and Bobby Gardner, driving Matt Odwazny’s truck for this event, resulted in Gardner spinning, bringing out another caution on lap 10. On the restart, C. Turbush had Koenig and Maestri nose to tail behind him, as R. Turbush worked to fend off a challenge for 4th from F. Dumicich, Jr., but a piece of sheet metal in turn 4 brought out another caution on lap 10 once more. On the restart, C. Turbush lead Koenig, Maestri, R. Turbush, and F. Dumicich, Jr. in a tight single file formation. On lap 12, R. Turbush got under Maestri to try to take 3rd spot away, but Maestri battled back on the outside, with R. Turbush finally taking 3rd on lap 16, allowing F. Dumicich, Jr. to try and challenge Maestri for 4th, taking it on lap 16 also, but Maestri battled back, getting into it with not only F. Dumicich, but E. Dumicich joined in as well, with Maestri getting 4th back on lap 18. On lap 19, F. Dumicich, Jr. slowed a bit, with Gardner getting by to take 5th, but coming off turn 4 on the final lap, F. Dumicich, Jr. gave Gardner a hard shot coming off turn 4, with Gardner spinning into the infield and backing across the line in 9th spot. Nascar officials, ever observant, announced at the finish that F. Dumicich, Jr. would be placed one spot behind Gardner in the finishing order as a penalty for rough riding. Chris Turbush went on to take the win in his Bill Lyons Equipment Chevy, with Dave Koenig, Roger Turbush, Lou Maestri, and Erin Dumicich, by virtue of her brothers penalty, rounding out the top 5.
There is now a complete video of the SPT race on our Facebook page. SPT Video
The Legends cars rolled out next, with Kevin Nowak and Timmy Solomito, the winners of the 2 qualifying heats, on the front row. Solomito edged out in front of Nowak at the start, but Nowak held on through the first lap as they ran side by side. On lap 2, Solomito took the lead, as Chris A. Young came up along Justin Strumpf’s outside to battle him for 3rd, taking 3rd on lap 4 as Vinnie Delaney held 5th. Young challenged Nowak for 2nd as they exited turn 4 on lap 6, running side by side down the back stretch, as the battle continued for one more lap until Young got the spot, setting up Nowak, who was in the high groove, to be challenged by Strumpf for 3rd. Strumpf got 3rd a lap after that as Nowak fell in behind him in 4th. On lap 8, Jason Sendlewski, Tom Marsh and Tommy Andrews came together in turn 4, bringing out the caution. On the restart, Solomito and Young took off side by side, with Nowak in 3rd. Solomito nosed ahead of Young to take the lead, but Artie Pedersen III and Cory Midgett came together in turn 3, and the caution flew once more. With no lap complete before the caution, the green flew again, with Solomito getting out front once more, as Young, Nowak, Strumpf and Delaney followed. Young made a move to get under Solomito coming off turn 4, but Solomito hit the gas and pulled away from the challenge. On lap 12, 2 cars got together in turn 2, bringing out the caution once again. The restart was now a single file affair, with Solomito leading the way, with Young right on his bumper, and Nowak a foot off of Young’s bumper. Young pushed Solomito high coming off turn 2, getting alongside in the low groove in turn 3, and Young inched ahead coming off turn 4, but Solomito fought back, leading by inches at the line, when suddenly, Delaney spun in turn 1, hitting the wall, and caution was out again. On the next restart, same scenario, with Young glued to Solomito’s bumper, and Young was able to duck under Solomito yet again, taking the lead, as Solomito and Nowak stuck right with him. Solomito tried to pass on the outside, but Young took him high through turn 4, as they raced side by side, but Solomito fell in behind Young, and got him loose going into turn 1, retaking the lead as Young recovered slowly after Nowak and Strumpf also got by, leaving Young now in 4th spot. Nowak was now challenging Solomito, who seemed to be having trouble running in the low groove, but Nowak wasn’t able to close the deal and get by. On lap 15, Bryan Kelly spun, bringing out what would be the final caution of the race, as track officials invoked the time limit on the race, resulting in Timmy Solomito taking his first Legends win of the season in the Riverhead Building Supply #99, as Kevin Nowak, Justin Strumpf, Chris A. Young and Kyle Soper rounded out the top 5 in the time shortened, but very exciting race.
The Late Models were next, with Shawn Patrick and Artie Pedersen, Jr. leading the field to the green. Patrick moved out into the lead at the green, with Roger Oxee quickly getting by Pedersen for 2nd, as Pedersen and Chris LaSpisa ran side by side for 3rd. LaSpisa took the spot, with Peter ‘Buzzy’ Eriksen getting by to drop Pedersen to 5th, when a multi-car spin in turn 4 brought out the race’s first caution. The only 2 cars needing repairs were Scott Kulesa and Kevin Metzger, as both pitted briefly and then returned as the field lined up for a restart. On the restart, Patrick took off with LaSpisa right on his bumper as Oxee ran to his outside, but LaSpisa slowed in the back stretch as Patrick and Oxee pulled away and Eriksen and Mike Bologna got by easily. Bologna and Eriksen battled side by side for 3rd, as Oxee searched for an opening to get by Patrick and possibly get his 60th career win. But Patrick’s car was strong, and all Oxee could do was follow, as Bologna pulled past Eriksen into 3rd and they quickly caught up to Patrick and Oxee. On lap 6, the caution flew once more for Daryn Miller, who‘d come to a stop in turn 3 in the infield. During the caution, some cars pitted for further repairs from the previous incident. On the restart, Patrick and Oxee ran side by side, as Bologna rode Patrick’s bumper, and with Patrick pulling ahead of Oxee by half a car length, that put Bologna along side Oxee in a battle for 2nd. Eriksen also followed through into 3rd, with LaSpisa following into 4th as Oxee slowed with a left front flat, pulling off the track into the infield, done for the night. After a tangle with Pedersen in turns 1 & 2, Rob McCormick spun in turn 2, but was able to continue as Patrick continued to hold the lead up front. Right on his bumper was Bologna, who also had Eriksen right there, along with Kulesa and Jarrod Hayes, as they all rode bumper to bumper. By lap 12, Patrick, Bologna and Eriksen pulled away from Kulesa into a 3 car battle, but Kulesa caught up once more a few laps later to make it a 4 car battle. Bologna was getting a little loose trying to find a way around Patrick, giving Eriksen the opening he needed to take 2nd from Bologna, but the pass was so close it tore Eriksen’s right front fender from it’s mounting, and he was now dragging it as he circled the track behind Patrick. Bologna, hung on the outside, was also passed by Kulesa for 3rd. Eriksen then set his sights on getting by Patrick, as Eriksen’s fender held on lap after lap as track officials discussed on the radio whether to black flag him or not. On lap 22, Eriksen got under Patrick going through turns 3 & 4, knocking the loose fender from Eriksen’s car as he got by Patrick, but that brought out the caution once again, and Eriksen’s pass was for naught. With just 3 laps left, the race restarted, and Patrick took off, defending his lead over Eriksen as he looked once more to find a way by, but Patrick held on to take the win in his unsponsored #88, as Peter ‘Buzzy’ Eriksen, Scott Kulesa, Mike Bologna and Jarrod Hayes rounded out the top 5.
The last regular event of the night, the 35 lap Modified feature rolled out next as a light fog started to roll in from the South. Ken Darch, scheduled to start on the pole, couldn’t get his car to fire, and pitted before the green, but was able to rejoin the end of the field. That moved Jason Agugliero up to start along side of Jerry Solomito, Jr. When the green flew, J. Solomito edged out front, but Agugliero fought back, taking the lead off turn 2, but Chris Young, who’d started 4th, pushed his way past both Agugliero and J. Solomito to take the lead on lap 2 as he entered turn 1. J. Solomito hung onto 2nd, as Dave Brigati took over 3rd, with Agugliero holding onto 4th,while Wayne Anderson moved into 5th. On lap 2, due to getting into a 3 wide situation, Eddie Brunnhoelzl III ended up hitting the 1st turn wall hard, ending his night and bringing out the first caution of the event. On the restart, Young and J. Solomito took off side by side, with Brigati riding in 3rd, but quickly getting by J. Solomito to take 2nd away, as Timmy Solomito had quickly worked up to 7th from his 13th starting spot. Young continued to lead, as Brigati, J. Solomito, Anderson and John Beatty, Jr. ran 5th, with Agugliero and T. Solomito rounding out the top 7 at that point. Young and Brigati began to pull away from the rest of the field as the race continued, while Justin Bonsignore had moved past T. Solomito to take 7th away on lap 9. Bonsignore was the only one making headway at this point, passing Beatty for 5th, but next up was Wayne Anderson, and he wasn’t giving any ground easily. Young and Brigati continued to run a bit ahead of the rest of the field, with Brigati less than a car length from Young as the laps added up towards the finish, running about 4-5 car lengths in front of J. Solomito. Bonsignore did make it around Anderson to take over 4th by lap 21, but now the front runners started to encounter lapped cars. On lap 24, Darch spun in turn 4, bringing out the caution. With green out once more, Young took off with Brigati, J. Solomito, Bonsignore, and Anderson right behind. Bonsignore’s car let out a big puff of smoke one lap later, but didn’t seem to lose power as he continued on. Young maintained a one car length lead over Brigati, but with 5 laps left, a multi car wreck in turn 1, involving T. Solomito, Bill Park, Beatty, Glenn Logan, Jr., and many others, brought out another caution. Everybody pulled away under their own power, but the field was bunched up once more for a 5 lap shootout to the finish. Track officials pulled Bonsignore into the white box to check for an oil leak because of that ‘puff’ on the last restart, and found him to have a leak from the power steering, sending him to the pits for quick repairs before returning to the rear of the field. (I've been told since writing this that the leak was water from the overflow tank. Either way, it didn't help Justin much.) On the last restart, Young held command once more, leading Brigati around once more by a car length. Little changed through the end of the race, as Chris Young took the victory, while Dave Brigati, Jerry Solomito, Wayne Anderson, and Timmy Solomito rounded out the top five.
The next two events, the 4 ½ bus school bus figure-8 race, and the 6 minivan demo derby, were won by Michael Rommeney and Danny Mulqueen, respectively.
News and Notes: A reminder to all that 3 months from today is the Old Timer’s Reunion at the Himes Museum in Bay Shore, NY. Mark your calendars for August 28th, with 10 AM being the opening time. Marty’s friends and family are currently painting and fixing the place up, and if you’d like to volunteer to help, call Marty at 631-666-4912 and let him know. He can be reached any day, and further info can be found at www.thehimesmuseum.vze.com …. As we reported earlier, Timmy Solomito suffered a fractured radius near his wrist and he was transported to the hospital after the race. How this will affect the rest of his season remains to be seen… Speeding in the pits is not only against the rules, but dangerous. One Modified driver was seen ‘testing’ the brakes on one of his cars, speeding up to about 30-35 MPH and hitting the brakes, all the way around the pits at around 4:15 yesterday. While no officials apparently saw him, I and others did, and were surprised this ‘veteran’ ( & former Champion) didn’t exercise greater caution and do his test on the track instead…. Great victory lane speech by Chris Turbush last night, you’ve got to admire his candor and honesty…. That will do it for this week. Comments always welcome, and news updates during the week can be found on our Facebook page at Myracenews.
Until next time, live well and be safe. WJ (Walter Johnston)
Posted by W. J at 5/30/2011 9:03 AM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Modifieds Late Models Super Pro Truck Legends demo derbys Figure 8
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Modifieds Late Models Super Pro Truck Legends demo derbys Figure 8
I believe Bonsignore lost the water out of the overflow tank, in the back of the car. It was hot water hitting the track, not smoke. It happened when he got back on the throttle,between 3 & 4, twice, till it was empty, and all over the track surface.That's when the race pace slowed, and things started happening.
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Okay, I've added a comment to reflect this. Thanks for the info.
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Actually, he said it was a power steering hose.
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