Where the truth comes out

     The Enduro divisions ran their final races of the season last night, capping off the 2011 battles with some fine racing.  The premier Enduro division, The Grands, put on a great race, as did all the others, but the events were marred by 2 red flags that were needed to assist 2 injured drivers. In the 6 Cylinder race, Brian Champlin hit the turn 4 wall at full speed, coming to an abrupt stop before rolling down to the apron. A moment later, a red flag stopped the race so that Champlin could be extricated from his car after he complained of leg pain. The track crew used the "Jaws of Life" to cut the roof of his car off so that his leg would be stabilized for the trip in the ambulance. Later, in the 4 Cylinder race, Ryan McGrellis hit the back stretch wall hard, with his seatbelt apparently compressing his chest, and that event was also halted briefly by a red flag to remove him from his car to the ambulance.

     The Grands started the evening off, with 22 cars in the starting field of the 60 lap race, led to the green by Tom Murray and Brain McCormack. Murray and McCormack ran side by side, with Murray eventually pulling away into the lead on lap 3. That brought David Antos up to battle for 2nd with McCormack, while Chris Lescenski ran 4th, with Don Carasiti holding 5th. McCormack fell back to 4th as Lescenski got by, with Antos taking over the lead, and Lescenski moving into 2nd as Murray went high through turns 1 & 2, dropping him to 4th. Murray was passed a lap later by Walter Stroud as he moved into 4th, as the top 4 moved away from McCormack by 4 car lengths. McCormack lost 5th to Steve Mastro after that on lap 8. By lap 10, the field ran single file as Antos began to lap other cars, as the top 5 remained unchanged. By lap 15, the top 5 were way ahead of the rest of the field, running about 1/4 of a lap ahead of McCormack in 6th.  Antos himself was 8 car lengths ahead of Lescenski, who was passed for 2nd by Carasiti on lap 17, while Mastro worked his way into 4th, with Stroud hanging on in 5th. Mastro was the man on the move, getting by Lescenski for 3rd on lap 19. Antos gained an advantage on lap 20 as lapped cars halted the progress of Carasiti and Mastro, allowing Antos to build a 12 car length lead.  Mastro came out of that deal in 2nd, as Carasiti fell to 3rd, right on his bumper as they negotiated their way around the lapped cars.  Mastro, Carasiti, Lescenski and Stroud ran in a line by lap 22, as they began to gain as a group on Antos, closing the gap to 7 car lengths, as they ran bumper to bumper. That turned bad when Lescenski and Carasiti made contact coming off turn 4 on lap 25, spinning out of the top 5 as they crossed the start/finish line before rejoining the field. Lescenski immediately dropped out of the race off turn 2 with a flat as Carasiti continued on. Mastro closed to within 3 car lengths of Antos by lap 27 as lapped cars were a factor once again, which allowed Mastro to close right to Antos' rear bumper by lap 28. By lap 35, Antos and Mastro were in a race of their own, as Stroud ran a half lap behind them, while Mastro kept the pressure on Antos lap after lap.  Later on, lapped cars became a factor once more, allowing Mastro to catch Antos and get alongside, but Mastro had to back off as the lapped cars blocked his advance. But he kept at it, dogging Antos lap after lap, until lap 55 when Mastro got under Antos heading into turn 1, leading Antos by a nose as the exited turn 2, and taking the lead as they went through turn 3!  Mastro then gained an advantage as Antos seemed to slow with only 5 laps left, as Steve Mastro went on to victory, with David Antos settling for 2nd, and the season's Championship in the Grands, while Walter Stroud collected 3rd. 

    The 4/6 Cylinder Trucks were next, with 18 trucks on the grid for 60 laps, led by with Ben Gregor and Jim Wichert leading them to the green. Gregor took the led immediately, as Wichert didn't seem to get a good start, pulling into the infield after 1 lap, but rejoining the race briefly later on. Ben Gregor held the lead as Johnny Cricchio chased, with Jim Badalato and Andy Owen rounding out the top 4 by lap 2. Owen moved into 3rd as Ben Gregor and Cricchio pulled out into a big lead, but Cricchio got by Ben Gregor to take the lead a lap later, as Pat Gregor and Robin Vollmoeller, Sr. battled for 5th, with Vollmoeller taking the spot on lap 4. Owen was doing all he could to get by Ben Gregor, but couldn't seem to get the grip he needed to get around him on the high side. Meanwhile, Vollmoeller got past Badalato to move into 4th on lap 7. On lap 10, Pat Gregor fought his way back into he top 5 by passing Badalato for that spot, as the top 4 ran away from the rest of the field. Vollmoeller got along side of Owen in a bid for 3rd, but lapped trucks made it impossible, and Vollmoeller dropped back for the moment. On lap 12, Vollmoeller got by Owen for 3rd, and moved up to take 2nd from Ben Gregor on lap 13. Andy Owen made his move on Ben Gregor next, moving by to take 3rd spot back on lap 15. Vollmoeller then caught up to Cricchio's rear bumper, as Andy Owen ran a close 3rd, with Ben Gregor and Pat Gregor in 4th and 5th.  Greg Harris and Ryan Gregor were engaged in a side by side battle for 6th behind all of this, as up front, Cricchio was negotiating his way past lapped trucks with Vollmoeller right on his bumper, patiently looking for a shot at the lead. As Andy Owen got closer to Vollmoeller's rear bumper, Vollmoeller looked to the outside once more on Cricchio, allowing Andy Owen to get to Cricchio's rear, and setting up a really exciting race for the top 3 spots as Vollmoeller continued to ride along side of Cricchio, who managed to hang onto the lead by only the nose of his truck for the moment. Owen looked low off turn 2 at one point to take the lead, but he got loose, and after he corrected, Andy Owen and Vollmoeller found themselves side by side in 2nd chasing Cricchio once more on lap 22. Andy Owen now tried the outside on Cricchio, as Vollmoeller trailed both of them closely, as the battle for the top 3 continued to delight the fans. Greg Harris managed to work his way up to battle for 4th spot with Ryan Gregor, with Harris taking the spot. Andy Owen and Vollmoeller continued their side by side battle for 2nd, running each other cleanly as they battled for the chance to challenge Cricchio for the lead. On lap 28, Vollmoeller took 2nd from Andy Owen, and immediately set about trying to pass Cricchio once more. All the battling up front allowed Ryan Gregor and Harris to close in, setting up a possible 5 truck battle for the top spot. Vollmoeller looked to the outside once again, but couldn't make the pass, but on the next lap, Vollmoeller looked low, got along side Cricchio, while Andy Owen got to his outside, with Vollmoeller nosing into the lead as they went through turns 1 & 2, with Andy Owen trying to follow through, but Cricchio cut him off as Cricchio gave Vollmoeller a shot to the rear bumper just as Vollmoeller got clearly into the lead. Ryan Gregor then challenged Andy Owen for 3rd, but Owen held him off after a 2 lap battle for the spot.  But Vollmoeller held the lead, even as the top 5 ran bumper to bumper by lap 37. Harris and Ryan Gregor continued to battle for 4th, but ahead of them, Cricchio and Andy Owen ran in a line in 2nd and 3rd, 5 truck lengths behind Vollmoeller. With 10 laps to go, Vollmoeller had a comfortable lead, as Cricchio, Owen, Harris and Ryan Gregor followed. A distant 6th at this point was Dale Owen, about 10 truck lengths behind Ryan Gregor, but closing as the laps passed by. On lap 53, Andy Owen got by Cricchio to move into 2nd, even as Cricchio fought back, but Andy Owen made the pass stick as he pulled ahead of Cricchio on lap 55, while another side by side battle began with Ryan Gregor and Harris for 4th spot. Harris won that battle this time, dropping Ryan Gregor to 5th, as Ryan Gregor slowed noticeably, falling into the clutches of Dale Owen, who passed Ryan Gregor easily to move into 5th on lap 58. That's the way they finished, with Robin Vollmoeller winning the race and the 2011 Championship for the 4/6 Cylinder division, as Andy Owen, Johnny Cricchio, Greg Harris and Dale Owen rounded out the top 5. Due to an error by his scorer, Dale Owen lost the 5th place finish to Hank Hallock after a check of the score sheets, demonstrating once more why transponders should be used to score Enduro races to ensure fairness and accuracy.  I know he finished 5th, as I watched him progress throughout the race, but a human error denied him a top 5 finish. 

     As for the rest of the Enduro divisions, it is just about impossible to do a play by play rundown of the mayhem that occurs on the track during those events, mainly due to the fact there are so many cars out there. But, I do have the winners of each and will list them here, giving them their just due for the work they put into winning their respective races.

8 Cylinder Enduro (Race #1) Dege Russell , (Race #2) Anthony Pizzo, 2011 Champion - Dominic Ranieiri

6 Cylinder Enduro Bob Haeger, 2011 Champion Gene Burbol

4 Cylinder Enduro Anthony Pizzo, 2011 Champion Dennis Nelson

News and Notes: This column ends the racing season on Long Island, but it's not the season's end for many local racer's. Justin Bonsignore had a fine 3rd place finish at NHMS in the WMT race yesterday, and moved up to 6th in points on the Tour. Others will be participating in other Fall special events, like King of the Mountain at Mountain Speedway, Oct 8th and 9th where Long Island's Dave Brigati leads the Sport Modified point chase. In 3 weeks, Thompson Speedway holds their World Series of Auto Racing, Oct 13th, 14th, & 15th, where many of your local favorites take a shot at glory and bigger than usual purses. Always an enjoyable weekend, chock full of racing of all kinds.  November holds more racing with the North/South Shootout, moving this year to Caraway Speedway near Ashboro, NC, an event we'd like to cover for you, and finally, the Turkey Derby at Wall Stadium on Thanksgiving weekend…   That's it for this week, but check back often, as we will have all the coverage we can provide of the late season events around the area. Though we seldom if ever get a mention at the track, tell your racing friends about us as we grow a little bigger all the time, continuing our effort to get you timely racing stories with an unbiased view of what happens on the track. That has been the mission since the beginning, and will continue to be right through the end, whenever that may be. Remember, until next time, live well and be safe.  WJ (Walter Johnston)