----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tom Rogers, Jr. Aces Mods as Past Champs Dominate Features at Riverhead Raceway

    On another Saturday with beautiful weather, Riverhead Raceway ran their 4th  night of regular racing for the year, with past Champs winning the majority of the feature races, while Arne Pedersen took his first ever Figure-8 victory in the return of that division after missing a couple of nights due to water problems on the Figure-8 race course. The special event of the night was a 50 lap race for the Late Models, with time trial qualifying, which was won by Kevin Metzger with a lap of 12.793, setting fast time of the 10 cars which took time. Also on the program were the 4/6 Cylinder Enduro trucks and the first ever skid plate race. As mentioned previously, the night was marred by tragedy as Mike Cappiello suffered injuries to both legs when he was struck in the infield by a modified during hot laps before the feature race. While his injuries are not considered life threatening, Mike faces multiple surgeries to fix those injuries, and a long recuperation period. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. 

    The first feature event on the program was the Super Pro Truck 20 lapper, with 18 trucks out to take the green. On the front row were Shaun Gouldsbury and Mike Albasini on the front row, followed by Lou Maestri and Erin Dumicich. At the drop of the flag, Gouldsbury and Albasini took off together, running side by side, with Albasini taking the lead as they entered turn 3, as Gouldsbury was left to battle Maestri for 2nd spot. But Gouldsbury wasn’t giving up, staying about a half truck length back along side Albasini as the race continued. Albasini managed to finally pull ahead of Gouldsbury by lap 5, but Gouldsbury hung on closely in 2nd, as Maestri followed in 3rd, while Roger and Chris Turbush ran side by side for 4th spot, with Roger Turbush finally taking it. R. Turbush then set his sights on Maestri, as up front, Albasini held off Gouldsbury as lapped traffic came into play, forcing the leaders to run single file. On lap 19, R. Turbush managed to squeeze by Gouldsbury, but Gouldsbury fought back hard, retaking 2nd just as they came to the finish line, as Mike Albasini managed to hold off a very determined Shaun Gouldsbury to take the win, with Roger Turbush, Lou Maestri, and Chris Turbush rounding out the top 5 in the race.

   Next out were the 4C Supermods, running a 15 lap feature race that had been rained out in September of last year. With 9 cars on the grid, when the green came out, Mike Renn wasted no time shooting to the front from his 3rd starting spot, passing pole sitter Harry Weed and outside pole sitter Bob Renn on the very first lap of the race. Weed held 2nd, while Woot Lawrence challenged Bob Renn for 3rd spot, with Lawrence taking the spot, as Joe Jackson then got by Bob Renn to takeover 4th spot.  But the race was really just between Mike Renn, Bob Renn  and Lawrence, as they sped around the track lap after lap, until Bob Renn spun out of contention as John Udes passed Jackson and took 3rd spot.  Mike Renn looked very loose coming off the turns each lap, but managed to keep the car in control and ahead of 2nd place Weed, and on lap 14, Weed spun, handing 2nd to Lawrence. But Mike Renn held on to take the victory, as Woot Lawrence, John Udes, Joe Jackson and Bob Renn rounded out the top 5 in the caution free event. 

     The regular Charger feature rolled out next, with Daryn Miller on the pole, and Tom Anderson to his outside. When the green flew, Miller nosed out front, with Anderson half a car back on the outside, as Erin Dumicich hugged Miller’s bumper in 3rd, with Brian Doyle and Jay Henschel rounding out the top 5 in the beginning. E. Dumicich got by Anderson, as did Doyle, putting Anderson back to 4th by the time he got in line. E. Dumicich was putting heavy pressure on Miller up front, as Frank Dumicich, Jr. and Dan Turbush came together in turn 2 on lap 3, with both ending up in the wall, as the caution flew. Both were able to pull away and pit to change flats on their respective cars. When the green flew once more, Miller took off with Doyle now on Miller‘s bumper as E. Dumicich was now in 2nd, but on the high side, with Anderson and Henschel battling for 4th behind them. The front 4 now ran in a line, as Henschel in 5th was doing his best to fend off a challenge for 5th spot from Chris Turbush. Up front, E. Dumicich got to the inside of Doyle to challenge him for 2nd, as C. Turbush had worked his way to 4th spot after getting by Henschel and Anderson. On the next lap, E. Dumicich got loose coming off the 4th turn, dropping back to 3rd once more, as Doyle moved in on Miller once again to challenge for the lead. Suddenly, on lap 7, Anderson spun in turn 4, and Miller seemed loose coming through turns 1 & 2, with the caution coming out. Under the caution, is was discovered that Miller was leaking water, and he went to the pits, giving the lead to Doyle. Miller’s problem turned out to be a faulty water pump, dropping him from the race. 

      When the field was lined up once more for the green, Doyle and E. Dumicich sat on the front row, with C. Turbush and Chris McGuire right behind them. When the gren flew, so did Doyle, taking the lead immediately as C. Turbush got up along side E. Dumicich to battle for 2nd, with Turbush easily making the pass, just as E. Dumicich got bumped by Henschel, spinning into the infield, but she was able to recover to join the rear of the field as Henschel took over 3rd, when suddenly D. Turbush hit the wall hard in turn 1 after contact with F. Dumicich, also causing McGuire to spin as the caution flew once more. D. Turbush limped his car to the pits with 2 right side flats (and bent up rims) as the field was realigned for yet another restart. Now Doyle had C. Turbush to his outside, and when the green flew, they raced side by side for 2 laps as Doyle did all he could to hold off the 2009 Charger Champ, eventually gaining a slight advantage over him, but Doyle went high coming out of turn 2 after that, and C. Turbush got down to his inside as Doyle held the lead by half a car length, running door to door once more. Behind them, Anderson and Henschel made contact, resulting in Henschel getting a flat, but he was able to pull off in turn 3 & 4 without drawing a caution, as the battle for the lead continued up front, but now C. Turbush had the lead, as Doyle tried to come back, but C. Turbush finally got completely by Doyle as fell in behind with 4 laps left in the race. No change for position took place after that as Chris Turbush took his 21st career victory in the chargers, with Brian Doyle, Erin Dumicich, Chris McGuire and Jeremy McDermott rounding out the top 5. 

    The Late Models ran next, with Kevin Metzger drawing the pole, as Mike Mortimer held the outside, with Chris LaSpisa and Kenny Alfano right behind for the start of their 50 lap, double point race. When the green came out, Metzger and Mortimer ran almost side by side, with Metzger leading slightly as they completed the 1st lap. On the 2nd lap, Alfano spun in turn 1, bringing out the 1st caution of the race, as Buzzy Eriksen stopped to avoid him. On the restart, Metzger blasted into the lead, with LaSpisa following along, taking 2nd from Mortimer, as RJ Oxee came up along side Mortimer to battle for 3rd, with Oxee taking the spot. Up front, Metzger was stretching his lead over LaSpisa to about 2 car lengths, as Oxee ran about 4 car lengths back in 3rd with Mortimer right on his rear bumper, while Shawn Patrick held onto 5th spot. Metzger and LaSpisa were now distancing themselves from the rest of the field, leading Oxee in 3rd by an ever increasing margin by lap 10. Oxee still had Mortimer on his rear bumper, and Patrick was running just as close to Mortimer, while Eriksen had worked his way back into 6th after restarting in the rear on the previous caution. Metzger continued to hold a 1 to 2 car length lead over LaSpisa, as they stretched their margin over Oxee to better than 12 car lengths. Suddenly, on lap 20, Oxee crashed hard into the back stretch wall after getting bumped by Mortimer, and the caution flew again. Oxee’s car was severely damaged in the right front, and had to be towed to the pits as Oxee displayed his displeasure to Mortimer over the incident. Oxee was able to make quick repairs during track cleanup, and returned for the restart, Metzger took off once more, with LaSpisa to the outside, as Patrick tucked in behind Metzger, and Artie Pedersen, Jr. ran right on Patrick’s bumper, with LaSpisa quickly dropping back to 4th on the outside, when suddenly, LaSpisa spun out after a quick battle for 4th with Eriksen, with LaSpisa hitting the wall, and he was then drilled in the left rear by Mortimer, who had nowhere to go, and the caution was out quickly once more. LaSpisa limped to the pits while Mortimer’s car was towed off, and Oxee pitted once more, not to return after discovering a front steering part had broken off in the previous incident, rendering his steering useless and putting his car out of the race along with Mortimer. 

Late Model Wrecking- Courtesy LaFilms video

     When the green came back out, Metzger took off once again, as Patrick and Pedersen battled for 2nd, with Pedersen getting the spot easily leaving Patrick in 3rd as he now challenged Metzger for the lead. Pedersen looked like a man on a mission, while Patrick was then challenged by Eriksen for 3rd, losing that spot as he dropped to 4th. By lap 25, the field was in single file formation once more, with Pedersen riding a car length at most behind Metzger, as Eriksen watched 2 car lengths back in 3rd. On lap 27, Ralph Stanzione slipped up high, giving 5th to Alfano as Bologna followed through also, dropping Stanzione to 7th.  Up front, Metzger was now pulling away from Pedersen by about 5 car lengths, as it seemed no one had anything for Metzger. By lap 35, Metzger still enjoyed a comfortable lead, and there was no change behind him in the running order, though Patrick was constantly putting pressure on Eriksen to try and take over 3rd as the race wore on. Then Alfano made a move to try and get by Patrick, who’s car seemed loose in the turns, with Alfano getting along side of Patrick to battle for 4th, with Alfano taking 4th on lap 37. Alfano then challenged Eriksen for 3rd, taking the spot on lap 40, as Alfano continued to make a strong run to the front. Up front, Metzger still held a comfortable lead over Pedersen, pulling away once again to a 5 car length lead by lap 45. Alfano started to close in on Pedersen with only 2 laps left, but no changes occurred over the last 2 laps as 2009 Late Model Champion Kevin Metzger took the victory, with Artie Pedersen, Jr., who has dedicated his remaining season to his late cousin Debbie Pedersen, finished a strong 2nd, while Alfano crossed the line in 3rd, but NASCAR officials ruled he had lost a lap earlier in the race, giving 3rd to Buzzy Eriksen, while Shawn Patrick and Mike Bologna rounded out the top 5. Alfano was placed 9th in the final rundown. 

     Next On the schedule was the 35 lap modified feature, with 22 cars slated to start, including the SK-type Mod of Dennis Krupski. The field was given the go ahead for a few hot laps when suddenly, Steve Booker lost control of his car, resulting in a slide across the front stretch asphalt and into the dirt near turn 1, where Co-Chief Steward Mike Cappiello was observing. Booker’s car caught Mike unawares, knocking him down and running over his legs before it came to a stop near the edge of the asphalt at turn 2. Mike was quickly attended to by the track crew as both ambulances entered the track and rushed to the scene, along with Ann Young, Chris Young’s wife. Ann is Nursing Supervisor at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital, and very adept at dealing with trauma. She was assisted by Rob Bader, who also works at Brookhaven, and Bobby Pease, who is a qualified EMT in his county job, along with members of the ambulance crews. They got Mike stabilized, onto a backboard, with his legs splinted, and loaded him into the ambulance for the ride to Peconic Bay Medical Center. With both legs broken, and other injuries, Mike was ultimately transferred to Stony Brook University Hospital for surgery on his most severely injured left leg, along with other medical procedures needing to be performed to return him to good health. We wish Mike well in his recovery, and hope for his rapid return to Riverhead.  We also wish Steve Booker well, as we know it wasn’t his fault, and hope others also realize that.

    After a long delay to attend to Mike, the race got started, with Timmy Solomito on the pole, and John Beatty to his outside, with Ken Darch and Dave Brigati behind them. T. Solomito and Beatty ran side by side into the first turns, with T. Solomito taking the lead as the traveled down the back stretch, with Beatty 2nd, as Brigati and Eddie Brunnhoelzl III battled for 3rd spot. On the next lap, Beatty went high in turn 2, allowing Brigati to get under him and take 2nd as they came off turn 4, as Tommy Rogers, Jr. now battled with Beatty for 3rd, taking the spot from Beatty in the back stretch. Beatty then brushed the wall, allowing Brunnhoelzl to take 4th from him. Up front, Rogers got inside of Brigati looking to take 2nd away, and did so as they entered turn 1, with Brunnhoelzl following him to take 3rd as Brigati dropped back to 4th. T. Solomito continued to hold the lead, but Rogers was coming, and on lap 11, got under T. Solomito to take the lead as they crossed the line, with Brunnhoelzl still following tightly behind Rogers, as Brunnhoelzl now battled T. Solomito for 2nd while encountering the lapped car of rookie Tommy Sekulski at the end of the back stretch, running 3 wide as they entered turns 3 & 4. T. Solomito wisely backed off, giving Brunnhoelzl 2nd, but Rogers had a 4 car length advantage on Brunnhoelzl by that point. Rogers, Brunnhoelzl, T. Solomito, and Brigati continued to compose the top 4, but behind them, Howie Brode worked his way by Ken Darch, who’d been running 5th almost from the start, and with Darch forced high, he quickly dropped back out of the top 10 by the end of lap 18.  Rogers and Brunnhoelzl, meanwhile, had run away by 7 car lengths from T. Solomito in 3rd. All of them, from Rogers on back, were now encountering lapped cars, forcing them to run pretty much single file, but Rogers was not being challenged by Brunnhoelzl for the lead, as Rogers maintained a safe margin of a car length or two between them as the laps wore on. Rogers continued to set a truly fast pace, but Brunnhoelzl matched him lap after lap, as the two of them continued to build an even bigger lead over T. Solomito in 3rd. By lap 25, Rogers and Brunnhoelzl had a ¼ track lead over the rest of the field, and continued to hold that margin right through the end of the race without further incident, as Tommy Rogers showed he was the car to beat, while Eddie Brunnhoelzl III finished a very impressive 2nd, while Timmy Solomito, Dave Brigati and Howie Brode rounded out the top 5. 

 Video of Tom Rogers Victory Run

      The very first Figure-8 race of the season was up next, led on a parade lap by the LM of Artie Pedersen, Jr., along with the Figure-8 cars of Scott Pedersen, and Arne Pedersen in loving memory of their cousin Debbie  Pedersen, who succumbed after a long battle with kidney disease 2 weeks prior, as all 3 Pedersen brothers took the opportunity to dedicate this race to Debbie. The cars then lined up for the race, with 11 entries in this one, led by Kenny Hyde, Jr. on the pole, and Arne Pedersen to his outside. At the drop of the green, A. Pedersen took off like a shot, with Kenny Hyde, Sr. taking over 2nd, and Johnny Vullo running in 3rd.  The first yellow appeared on lap 2 for a minor spin, with the green coming back out quickly, and Arne Pedersen once more taking off, leaving Kenny Hyde, Sr. surprised as Vullo and Roger Maynor both got by, dropping Hyde, Sr. to 4th, with Mike Mujsce holding 5th spot. Maynor got by Vullo for 2nd and started to pressure A. Pedersen for the lead, while Ralph Tasso worked his way by Mujsce to takeover 5th.  After encountering a lapped car at the X, A. Pedersen and Maynor both had to back off to avoid a collision, allowing Vullo in 3rd to catch up once more. Maynor, meanwhile, was all over A. Pedersen’s rear bumper, hounding him for the lead, while Scott Pedersen had worked his way to 4th, right behind Vullo. On lap 8, a caution was thrown for debris, closing up the field for an exciting double file restart with A. Pedersen and Maynor side by side as they came to the green. Maynor grabbed the lead when the green reappeared, though he seemed to start earlier than A. Pedersen. When a caution appeared on lap 12, after 2 separate wrecks, track officials ruled that Maynor had indeed jumped the start, and placed him 2nd for the restart. During the caution, caused by contact between Vullo and S. Pedersen, which left S. Pedersen with a wrecked car, and another multi-car wreck at the other end of the track, bith Pedersen and Mujsce expressed their displeasure with Vullo, who they thought had caused their respective incidents. As each made that expression known to Vullo as he drove around under caution, it appeared that Vullo sped up, steering is car dangerously close to both S. Pedersen and Mujsce, and track officials decided to disqualify Vullo from the event. When the next attempt at a restart failed, a yellow came out, and Vullo was informed he had been DQ’ed and he was ordered to the pits. Vullo instead drove around to various spots on the track, refusing to leave, and eventually stopped near the officials in turn 4. He finally left after a wrecker was called to tow him off, but not until he had wasted about 10 minutes of everyone’s time. On the next restart, A. Pedersen took off and managed to hold off Roger Maynor to take his first ever win in a figure-8 main event, with Roger Maynor, Ralph Tasso, Kenny Hyde, Jr. and Kenny Hyde, Sr. rounding out the top 5 in the return of the figure 8 division. 

     After these regular events were finished, a 60 lap 4/6 cylinder Enduro race, won by Shawn Wanat, was held, followed by the first ever skid plate race. That 12 lap event saw 6 cars entered, 4 on metal (aluminum) skid plates, and 2 on WOOD! That event was also won by Shawn Wanat (running on wood). Definitely a different breed of ‘racing‘.

News and Notes: Wayne and Joette Anderson visited the track to take in the modified feature. Wayne’s #15 K-Mart Modified was driven by none other than Jimmy Blewett, who’d been asked to fill in for the night. Blewett started 20th in the race, finishing 10th on the night. No word yet on when Wayne will be back in the car….   Missing in the night’s action was Mike Andrews, and Jerry Solomito was in brother Timmy’s #89 Modified after both lost their rides mid-week in the #0 and #3 Modifieds respectively. No word on whether those 2 cars will be competing again any time soon, or if new drivers will be named….  Kevin Orlando turned a few laps in Chuck Steuer’s back-up #19 Modified, but parked it early in the race… Still awaiting the debut of Joe Larsen’s Figure-8 car. Larsen had a race to cover this weekend in his capacity as a NASCAR tour official, so was unable to attend the rescheduled Figure-8 event…  Next week is a double header weekend at Riverhead Raceway, with regular divisions running on Saturday night, and Enduros on Sunday afternoon to celebrate Memorial Day weekend….   That’s for us this week, another  better late than never effort, but you’ll always get the full story here. Until next week, live well and be safe. WJ

     

    

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Modifieds await their turn to practice, while pit activity continues in the background (W. Johnston Photo)

April 17, 2010 - Riverhead Raceway held the first of 2 open practice sessions today for all 7 of their regular divisions under skies that varied between mostly sunny to downright cloudy, but the rain that plagued the area earlier held off to allow a full afternoon of practice.