MYRACENEWS.COM: Chilly Night At Riverhead Raceway 5 Division Show

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Chilly Night At Riverhead Raceway 5 Division Show

A mild afternoon turned into a very chilly and uncomfortable night around sundown as a steady wind swept across the stands. With a 30 lap, double point race on the schedule for the Chargers, time trials were held, with Chris McGuire setting fast time, turning a lap of 13.563 to win the $50 pole award from Brigandi Bros. Towing. The action on the track was heated though, as one race was decided by a last lap, turn 4 pass that had the crowd on it’s feet, and some really thrilling racing in the Modifieds brought it’s own surprises before it was over.

But before we get to the racing, there is something I need to address. On a night when we were supposed to be honoring our various police agencies, they instead dishonored us, as a few seconds after the start of the National Anthem, over 30 police vehicles drove out onto the racetrack behind the 2 pace cars, blaring their sirens so loud as to drown out the National Anthem. Never has this Veteran witnessed such a disrespectful and selfish display during the playing of the National Anthem, a shocking event perpetrated by people who should definitely have known better. They could have waited until it was done, but like the disrespectful people they showed themselves to be, they didn’t wait at all. Shame on every one of them!

The first event of the evening was the 20 lap Legends race, with Jim Byrne and Mike Malone leading the field to the green. Byrne jumped out into the lead at the start, with Malone, Mike Rommeney and Chris Young all running in a tight pack. Malone battled his way into the lead off turn 4 on the 1st lap, with Malone tucking in behind while Rommeney and Young ran side by side in the battle for 3rd, while Kevin Nowak followed in 5th. By lap 3, Malone was out in front by 4 car lengths over Byrne, as Young and Nowak followed, while on lap 4, Justin Strumpf moved by Rommeney to take 5th. On lap 7, Young moved into 2nd, as Nowak moved to 3rd, with Byrne dropping to 4th, just as Cody Triola and Artie Pedersen III came together, bringing out the first caution of the race. On the attempted restart, race officials ruled that Young jumped the start, and placed him to the rear of the field under the caution. On the restart, Malone took off with Strumpf to his outside, and Nowak right on his bumper. With no laps completed, Kelly spun in turn 4, with other cars spinning to avoid him, and the caution flew again. Malone took of on the next restart to jump out front, as Strumpf and Nowak battled for 2nd, but Bryan Kelly spun in turn 4, with caution coming out yet again on lap 7. On the next restart, Malone again had Strumpf and Nowak right behind him, but Nowak quickly took over 2nd, with Strumpf hanging onto 3rd as lap 8 finally went into the books. The leaders fell into a single line, as Nowak worked on sizing up Malone to try and pass for the lead. On lap 11, Nowak worked his way under Malone, but Malone hit the gas and pulled back out front, as Nowak seemed to only be able to get along side in the turns. On lap 13, Nowak got even with Malone going through turns 1 & 2, running side by side down the back stretch, with Nowak finally getting by Malone to take the lead as lap 14 began. Malone hung onto 2nd, as Strumpf, Paul Dodorico and Byrne rounded out the top 5 at that point. On lap 16, Tony Naglieri spun in turn 2, along with Jason Sendlewski, and caution flew once more. Track officials let the field know the next restart would be their last, and Nowak took off with Malone in pursuit, as Kyle Soper got by Byrne to take 5th away, with Chris Young moving past Byrne a moment later to take 6th. Nowak continued to lead the way, even as Malone made 2 more tries to regain the lead, and Kevin Nowak went on to collect his 2nd victory of the season, as Mike Malone, Justin Strumpf, Paul Dodorico and Chris A. Young rounded out the top 5.

The Chargers rolled out next to run their 30 lap, double point feature, with Frank Dumicich, Jr. and Chris McGuire on the front row after the top 6 in time trials re-drew for starting positions. When green appeared, F. Dumicich edged out into the lead, as McGuire and Eric Lutz ran side by side for the moment, but Lutz easily moved into 2nd as McGuire held 3rd, with Daryn Miller in 4th. While F. Dumicich held the lead, Lutz was glued to his rear bumper, never allowing F. Dumicich to get more than half a car length away, as McGuire ran a car length behind Lutz with Miller and Brian Doyle following closely behind him. Not to much action in the early stages as it could be said all were saving their tires, with Frank Scimeca, Jr. getting the black flag on lap 8 for a left rear nerf bar hanging precariously from the back of his car. Up front, Lutz was still dogging F. Dumicich, riding his bumper almost like they were attached, as they pulled about 5 car lengths ahead of 3rd place McGuire. Doyle was riding Miller’s bumper, looking for a chance to pass him for 4th. On lap 16, Kory Comiskey spun, bringing out the first caution of the race. Being past half way, F. Dumicich led the field to the green, with Lutz still sticking closely to F. Dumicich’s rear bumper, while McGuire rode patiently in 3rd. Doyle was doing all he could to get by the apparently slower car of Miller, and as Miller got sideways, and Doyle slowed a bit to let him correct, Chris Turbush shot from 6th to 4th through the hole he saw open at that point, while Doyle took 5th as Miller spun, bringing out the caution. Nascar officials ruled Doyle was rough riding Miller, and placed him at the rear for the restart. F. Dumicich took off again as the green came back out, with Lutz still glued to his rear bumper. On lap 19, Miller came to a halt with a flat in turn 1, and caution flew once more. During the caution, Doyle pitted for repairs, and didn’t make it back as track officials called for one of the quickest restarts in recent memory. F. Dumicich took off once again with Lutz still on his rear bumper, but Lutz was starting to bump Dumicich a bit at this point, trying to make something happen during the closing laps of the race, but F. Dumicich held on, while Turbush was doing the same with McGuire. McGuire closed in on Lutz as the top 4 ran less than a car length from each other, with Lutz pressuring F. Dumicich so hard that a bend had developed in Lutz’s hood from the constant contact. Turbush had gotten just as aggressive with McGuire, with McGuire getting a little loose, slowing all behind him, as F. Dumicich and Lutz pulled a few car lengths away once more. Lutz got F. Dumicich loose in the back stretch right after that, with both of them slowing, allowing McGuire and Turbush to move right in on them again. Now with only 3 laps left, Lutz continued to bump F. Dumicich in an attempt to get by, but F. Dumicich held on each lap, until the very last trip through turns 3 & 4. Lutz got him loose enough that Lutz was able to get under him as F. Dumicich got loose going into turn 4, and in an attempt to correct and hold on, F. Dumicich spun wildly coming out of turn 4 as Eric Lutz shot under him, clearing him just enough that as F. Dumicich spun backwards down into the infield, Lutz went by to take the victory. Frank Dumicich, Jr. regained enough control of his car to roll across the line backwards in 2nd, as in the confusion, McGuire let off the gas, and Chris Turbush got by him to take 3rd spot at the line, as Chris McGuire finished 4th, and Jeremy McDermott finished 5th in a truly different kind of ending to the race.

Next came the Figure-8’s, sadly with only 9 cars entered for the night. With Arne Pedersen on the pole, and Mike Mujsce to his outside, the field took the green, with A. Pedersen taking the lead, as Mujsce and Tom Ferrara followed. When a caution flew on lap 7, Mujsce was placed to the rear of the field for hitting one of the cones earlier, but in such a short field, that really wasn’t much of a penalty. On the restart, A. Pedersen led Scott Pedersen, Ferrara, Roger Maynor and Justin Bonsignore to the restart, with A. Pedersen in the lead as S. Pedersen and Ferrara battled for 2nd. On the very next lap, Maynor moved up to make it 3 wide going across the X, and entering turn 1, Maynor and S. Pedersen collided, as everyone behind them spun to avoid the wreck, and caution was out once more. S. Pedersen got the worst of it, tearing up his right front and having to be towed off the track. For some strange reason I must have missed, Bonsignore was placed to the rear for rough riding as part of the incident, and the green flew once more, with A. Pedersen holding the lead over Ferrara, as Mujsce ran 3rd. Maynor and Bonsignore were able to easily work their way back into the top 5, and without much further in the way of incidents, Arne Pedersen held on to take his 2nd win of the season, while Tom Ferrara, Mike Mujsce, Roger Maynor and Justin Bonsignore rounded out the top 5.

The last regular division race of the night were the Modifieds, with just 19 cars taking the green, as Timmy Solomito will be among the missing for 8-10 weeks to recuperate from multiple fractures in his wrist suffered the previous week, and Bill Park sat out on suspension over an incident in the pit’s the week before. With Ken Darch on the pole, and Eddie Brunnhoelzl III to his outside, the green flew, Brunnhoelzl took the lead, but Justin Bonsignore got dumped in turn 2, and caution flew before a lap went into the books. On the next attempt, Brunnhoelzl took off, Darch didn’t and the outside row moved past before Darch got moving, as Brunnhoelzl led Chris Young, Shawn Solomito and Wayne Anderson, while Darch ran 5th, and Dave Brigati ran 6th. The top 4 pulled away as the rest of the field followed Darch in 5th, as Brigati patiently looked for an opening to pass Darch. Brigati soon got under Darch to make the pass, with John Fortin, Sr. and John Beatty, Jr. also getting by as Darch dropped from contention. Brunnhoelzl held a consistent one car length lead over Young as they circled the track. Brunnhoelzl built on that as the race hit lap 8, but on lap 9, Terry Stiles spun in turn 4, bringing out the first caution of the race. When the green flew once more, Brunnhoelzl and Young ran side by side, but a crash behind them in turns 1 & 2 brought the caution right back out. Tom Rogers, Jr. had to pit for a left front flat, but all the others were able to pull away and continue. With green out yet again, Brunnhoelzl and Young ran side by side for a full lap, with Young pulling out front slightly as the entered turn 1, but Brunnhoelzl battled back as they ran side by side, with S. Solomito watching from 3rd, as Anderson and Brigati battled for 4th. Brunnhoelzl was able to hold of the challenge from Young to retake sole possession of the lead, as Young and S. Solomito battled for 2nd. Back up to 8th at that point was Bonsignore, who’d gone to the rear after that opening lap spin. Beatty managed to pass Anderson for 5th, with Bonsignore and Fortin also getting by, dropping Anderson to 8th on lap 15. The entire field now ran in a single file as they chased Brunnhoelzl, who kept that safe one car margin over Young, as S. Solomito was banging on Young’s bumper to try and take 2nd away, while Brigati rode in 4th, right on S. Solomito‘s bumper. Suddenly, Young and S. Solomito’s battle got interesting, as S. Solomito got under Young, but they tangled, with both spinning in turn 4 and coming to a stop, and caution flew once more on lap 20 as both were sent to the rear for the restart. On the restart, Brunnhoelzl now had Brigati to deal with right on his bumper, with Beatty, Bonsignore and J. Fortin, Sr. right behind. On lap 24, John Fortin, Jr. spun and stopped in turn 4, and caution flew once more. On the next restart, Brunnhoelzl had Brigati right on his tail once again, with Brigati now starting to put heavy pressure on Brunnhoelzl, with Brigati getting under Brunnhoelzl going through turns 3 & 4 on lap 26, and Brunnhoelzl getting loose in turns 1 & 2, bobbling just a bit as Brigati took the lead and Brunnhoelzl dropped to 5th before recovering. Anderson spun into the infield, well off the track as the race continued, as Beatty now chased Brigati, with Bonsignore, Fortin and Brunnhoelzl in tow. That was it for significant changes as Dave Brigati held on for the win, with John Beatty, Jr., Justin Bonsignore, John Fortin, Sr. and Eddie Brunnhoelzl III rounding out the top 5. Fortin, Sr. took over the points lead by virtue of his 4th place finish.

A 24 car, 4 cylinder Enduro was run next, with Anthony Pizzo emerging with the victory at the end of 50 laps.

News and Notes: So cold by the end of things that it was a blessing the races were over when they were. Usually not this bad in June… Kyle Ellwood able to improve his starting position in the mod race by eight spots, from 16th to 8th, and in the Legends race, from 19th all the way up to 8th. Nice to see the young rookie Mod driver doing so well…. Speaking of rookies, Artie Pedersen III able to qualify for all 3 Legends races so far this season, not an easy task when 30+ cars show up for a 24 car event. This young man shows great promise…. The finish of the Charger feature was the most interesting event to watch, hope to have video of the race for our Facebook page later… With only limited number of features the last 2 weeks, seems odd for the officials to be dwelling so much on ’time limits’, especially considering the amount of time Victory Lane ceremonies have been… Brian Doyle announced that he is changing the name of his Charger race team from "Quickmc Racing" to "Dirty Doyle Racing".... Amazing how slowly some videos download from other sites. Some need to spend money and get a REAL server. And are messages boards of any type really relevant anymore? Noticing very few even bother now that Facebook is so popular..... Verizon FiOS 1 on hand to record last night’s races for broadcast this coming Wednesday night. Check your local listings, but I believe it’s on at 6 PM… Next week, Late Models, Super Pro Trucks and Blunderbusts return, along with a go-kart exhibition. (No Chargers, or Figure-8s). I will not be in attendance, as I have a wedding to attend out of state….

So that’s it for another week. Until 2 weeks from now, live well and be safe. As always comments are welcome, either by email or on our Facebook page. WJ

I promised Terry Stiles I would mention his new sponsor, pictured above. It is located on Broadway in Rocky Point, and makes a great hero, one variety of which I sampled. Good food!!

Posted by W. J at 6/8/2011 7:25 PM