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Riverhead, NY Oct. 24th
By Bob Finan
With the 2023 regular season finally in the record books at Riverhead Raceway, the track management team has turned their full attention to the Islip 300 Tour Type Modified event Saturday November 11th. General manager John Ellwood announced the 7th annual Islip 300 would feature infield pitting for teams vying for the $7.000 victory, allowing fans to look on as talented race teams ply their craft.
The Islip 300, a vision of the late Eddie Partridge, was introduced in 2017 by Eddie, his wife Connie and Tom Gatz. Always a fan of the higher paying, larger Tour Type Modified events in the Northeast, Eddie after taking ownership of Riverhead Raceway in 2016 went to work on hosting one of his own big races. The Islip 300 was born on May 27th,2017 when 15-year-old Dillon Steuer shocked the Tour Type Modified world with his win in the inaugural 300. Since then, Ryan Preece (2018 & 2020), Kyle Soper (2019), JB Fortin (2021) and Anthony Nocella (2022) have all enjoyed the $7,000 victory.
“Now that we have successfully executed infield pitting for the Eddie Partridge 256 WMT events, we are ready to bring it to the Islip 300” John Ellwood noted, “we feel it’s the icing on the cake for a race as prestigious as this, plus when the All-Star 300 ran at Islip back in the early 70’s, they too had infield pitting”. Ellwood has been hard at work devising a plan for the 300 pitting, “I have to thank Jimmy Wilson of NASCAR. he’s helping out with the logistics and some equipment needed, we have some amazing, talented people that are going to come together to ensure it all works smoothly”.
Aside from the $7.000 winners share of the $32,650 purse, the balance of the prize money was announced. the runner-up would receive $2,500, with third through tenth paying, $2,250, $2,000, $1,750, $1,500, $1,400, $1,300, $1,200 & $1,100. The 11th & 12th place finishers will earn $1,000 each, while 13th through 17th pays, $900, $850, $750, $700 & $650. $600 will be offered for 18th through 25th.
The Islip 300 will be the final installment of the 2023 Crown Jewel Series for the Ted Christopher Cup at Riverhead Raceway. On the strength of his wins in the Baldwin, Evans & Jarzombek 77, as well sweeping the Celebrating Chris Young Twin 49’s, Kyle Ellwood holds a comfortable 36-point margin over 2023 NASCAR Modified champion John Beatty Jr entering the 300. Beatty won the 2022 Ted Christopher Cup. Chris Young, -42 sits third in Crown Jewel Series rankings.
All Tour Type Modified teams are eligible to enter the Islip 300 and must declare a series. NASCAR WMT, Race of Champions, Modified Racing Series, Tri-Track Series and SK Modified teams are welcome and must follow their declared series rule book to the letter, no mixing and matching series rules.
Early free registration for the Islip 300 is now open and available until Thursday November 9th. Please visit http://www.riverheadraceway.com, click on the Competitors link to find the entry form to the right. A $150 late fee will be charged for late entries after November 9th.
Pit gates will open at 7:30 am Saturday November 11th for the Islip 300. A mandatory drivers meeting will commence at the Handicapper Building at 9:00 am. A 45-minute Tour Type Modified practice will be in track from 10:15 am through 11:00 am. Single car Tour Type Modified qualifying will start at 12 noon, to be followed by Eagle Chevrolet Crate Modified and INEX Legend Race Car heat races and necessary B-Mains. Opening ceremonies will commence at the conclusion of qualifying.
The Crate Modifieds will go to post in the General Welding Supply Corp. 50, with the winner pocketing a cool $2,500 while the INEX Legend Race Cars compete in the HIGHMARK Building Efficiency 40, worth $2,000 to the winner. The Eddie Partridge Vintage All Stars will showcase their classic Mods in a 15-lap contest. Crate Modified and Legend Race Car early registration is also available and free prior to November 9th.
In the event of weather, the Islip 300 program would move to Saturday November 18th. Pit admission is $55, no licenses required, General admission for the Islip 300 is $40 for adults, kids 6-12, $15 with 5 & under free.
Further details can be found at http://www.riverheadraceway.com, e-mails reach the track at office@riverheadraceway.com our phone number remains 631-842-RACE.
