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Riverhead, NY Nov. 5th
By Bob Finan
It was a successful racing weekend for two veteran drivers out of Pennsylvania, “Money” Matt Hirschman scored his ninth career win in the John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout at Caraway, NC Speedway, while Lou Strohl was victorious in the Tom Wanick Jr. Memorial King of the Green event at Evergreen, Pa. Raceway. Both drivers hope to ride a wave of momentum into the 7th annual Islip 300 this Saturday November 11th at Riverhead Raceway.
For Matt Hirschmann of Northampton, Pa. the fall of 2023 has been just what the doctor ordered after missing some time due to an arm injury suffered in August. Over the past three weekends Matt has visited victory lane at least once, starting with his October 22nd triumph in the Monaco Ford Tri-Track Series event at the Waterford Speedbowl. Last weekend Hirschman followed up with a win in the NAPA Auto Parts Fall Final at Stafford Motor Speedway before his latest North-South triumph at Caraway. The soft-spoken Hirschman spiced things up Saturday when he accepted a challenge to start the John Blewett III Memorial at the tail of the 22-car field earning him an additional bonus.
For the Islip 300 Saturday Matt will once again strap into the Alan Dering owned Elite Towing Modified, a car he piloted to third place honors in the 2022 event behind race winner Anthony Nocella and runner-up John Beatty Jr. Dering, longtime sponsor of four-time track champion Bill Park became a car owner in 2022 teaming up with Matt Hirschman for select races. The car is prepared in the Baker Racing shop by Long Island racing veteran Daryl Baker of Staria Automotive.
For Lou Strohl, veteran Modified driver out of Palmerton, Pa. it had been since 2007 he had won a race at Evergreen Raceway Park. That all changed Saturday when he took down the 111-lap Tom Wanick Jr. Memorial win. Post race, Strohl told Evergreen media director Dino Oberto about a deal car owner Matt Higgins made him, “on the way up here, Matt made a deal with me, he told me if we win the King of the Green we’re going to run the Islip 300 at Riverhead.” Strohl revealed, but Lou then made a deal of his own with Higgins. “I told Matt if we win the 300, then we’re going to the Turkey Derby at Wall Stadium”. Strohl comes to the 300 enjoying recent success of his own, winning the recent Greg & Rich Long Tribute 97 at his home track, Mahoning Valley Speedway. The Strohl/Higgins team also took the 2023 Modified championship at Mahoning.
For Strohl’s owner Matt Higgins, racing the Islip 300 is a home coming of sorts. Higgins grew-up in the shadows of Islip Speedway, and eventually started racing Mini Modified against fellow Islip area residents Jerry Solomito Sr. and Butch Capauno, remaining friends with both to this day. After relocating to Brodheadsville, Pa., Higgins started and continues to operate Matt’s Garage & Matt’s Towing. On Friday Higgins disclosed he is hoping to bring a second car to the Islip 300 for Zane Zeiner of Bath, Pa.
Registration for the Islip 300 remains open at http://www.riverheadraceway.com and is free up until Thursday November 9th. A late fee of $150 will be added after the deadline.
Pits for the Islip 300 open at 7:30 am with Tour Type Modified tire draw starting also. A 9:00 am drivers meeting will be followed by a 45-minute Tour Type Modified practice from 10:15 am through 11:00 am. Qualifying starts at 12:00 noon, opening ceremonies to follow. Joining the Islip 300 is the General Welding Supply Corp. 50, a $2,500 to win 602 Crate Modified event, the HIGHMARK Building Efficiency 40, $2,000 to win INEX Legend Race Car feature and the Eddie Partridge Vintage All Stars. In the event of rain, the Islip 300 program would shift to Saturday November 18th.
7th Annual Islip 300 registration as of Friday November 3rd:
0- Tom Rogers Jr.
02-Allan Pedersen
2- JR Bertuccio
4-Kyle Ellwood
5-John Beatty Jr.
10-Dylan Slepian
24-Justin Brown
24-Andrew Krause
34-JB Fortin
36-Dave Sapienza
45-Jack Handley Jr.
46-Craig Lutz
49-Chris Young
51-Justin Bonsignore
55-Chase Grennan
59-Andy Jankowiak
60-Matt Hirschman
66-Timmy Solomito
70-Owen Grennan
78-Walter Sutcliffe
81-Mark Stewart
85-Zane Zeiner
88-Roger Turbush
88-Lou Strohl
96-Matt Brode
