0
0
Riverhead, NY May 7th
By Bob Finan
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour car owner Steve Mendoza, and five-time Riverhead Raceway NASCAR Tour Type Modified champion Tom Rogers Jr. of Riverhead announced Tuesday morning they are joining forces for the Miller Lite Salutes Wayne Anderson 200 WMT event Saturday May 18th. The event celebrates the 30th anniversary of Wayne Anderson’s 1994 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship.
While not revealing details as to how the pairing came about, Rogers is very much looking forward to the opportunity, “I’m excited to get behind the wheel of the Mendoza entry and see what we can do” Rogers proclaimed. “I went up to the race shop recently to get fitted in the seat, Steve has some good equipment under him” Tommy added. As to future endeavors with the Dartmouth, Mass. based car owner Rogers wanted to take things one step at a time, “right now this is a one-off deal, but if all goes well, maybe we’ll do more together in the future”.
For his part Steve Mendoza added, “Tommy’s hall of fame career at Riverhead speaks for itself, five Modified championships, 63 wins & counting, plus all his other success there too”. Indeed, Rogers’s stats at the Route 58 bullring are impressive. Six Figure Eight championships on the strength of 53 wins (T-2nd with Joe Biondolillo Jr.), a Late Model championship with 3 wins in that class, plus one Crate Modified and Legend Race Car victory. Tallied up, Tommy has won 121 features and 12 track championships along the way.
The Miller Lite Salutes Wayne Anderson 200 will serve as the second WMT start for the Steve Mendoza owned, BNP Machine/SSR Suspension entry in 2024. Brett Meservey drove the car at the season opening event at New Smyrna Speedway placing 23rd. For Rogers the race will mark his 34th career start with the WMT, he has two top five finishes along the way. Both Mendoza and Rogers noted the team is seeking additional marketing partners for the 200, with those interested to please contact either one of them.
The Miller Lite Salutes Wayne Anderson 200 will be celebrating Wayne’s 1994 WMT championship driving for famed car owner Lenny Boehler. Ironically coming into the May 18th tilt, Ole Blue with driver Jake Johnson of Rehoboth, Mass. and owner Michael Boehler are the most recent WMT winners at the Granite State Derby 150 at Monadnock Speedway. Johnson heads to Riverhead ranked third in the 2024 WMT championship chase behind defending champion Ron Silk of Norwalk, Ct. and Justin Bonsignore of Holtsville.
Final NASCAR WMT practice for the Miller Lite Salutes Wayne Anderson 200 runs from 3:30 pm-4:15 pm, WMT qualifying at 6:00 pm. Autograph session is slated for 7:00 pm in the third turn midway, the 200 is set for an 8:00 pm start. For those unable to attend Riverhead Raceway the event will be streamed live on Flo Racing.
Complimenting the evening of racing are four divisions from the tracks Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series including the Blunderbuists, INEX Legend Race Cars, Street Stocks and the 2024 debut of the Eddie Partridge Vintage All-Stars.
Camping is available free of charge at Riverhead with no hook-ups. Camping is confined to the area directly behind the pit area in the back parking lot of the raceway.
To view the complete schedule of 2024 events visit http://www.riverheadraceway.com, emails reach us at office@riverheadraceway.com, our phone number is 631-842-RACE.
