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Riverhead, NY Sept. 23rd
By Bob Finan
The 2024 Riverhead Raceway regular season concludes this weekend when Connie Partridge and Tom Gatz present the traditional Championship Weekend doubleheader. Seven 2024 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series champions will be crowned Saturday evening September 28th, with an additional eight track champions to earn their titles Sunday afternoon September 29th. All that will remain in 2024 after this weekend is in the books will be the 8th annual Islip 300, a $10,000 to win Tour Type Modified event Saturday November 16th.
When the NASCAR Tour Type Modifieds hit the track Saturday for the 50-lap season finale, John Beatty Jr. or Merrick will clinch his second consecutive championship. Beatty in the Mark S. Mina owned, MSM Elite Motorsports Chevy holds a 40-point advantage over Jack Handley Jr. of Medford. With weekly field below 20-cars, the math will not work for Handley and his Hydro Action team. Chris Young of Calverton comes to the finale third in points, the Earth’s Splendor driver is 18-markers back of Handley for second. Beatty has won three times in 2024, unlike the 2023 title run where John won the crown without scoring a victory.
For an astounding 8th time in his Late Model career, Jeremy McDermott of Riverhead has clinched the 2024 crown prior to Saturday’s 25-lapper. For McDermott’s car owner Rob Pelis, the title is his 7th over the past 8 years, the Eastport Feeds team visited victory lane three times to date this season. Keith Rotzi of Islip has impressed in 2024, and will battle former two-time champion Kevin Metzger for second in the championship standings, Rotzi is 8 better than Metzger.
Heading into Saturday’s Eagle Chevrolet Crate Modified event Chase Grennan of Glen Cove and his Eastport Feeds team hold a 20-point advantage over AJ DeSantis of Yaphank. For DeSantis to wrestle the championship away from Chase, he’d have to finish 11 spots better, issue for DeSantis becomes the late season Crate car counts have hovered at around 11. Max Handley of Medford can make a run at DeSantis for second Saturday as he is just 8-points back of AJ.
Another driver hoping to make a charge for a 2024 championship will be Figure Eight veteran Gary Fritz Jr. of Mastic who comes to the 15-lap finale 12 points back of championship leader Scott Pedersen of Shirley. Pedersen, in his Land, Air & Water Environmental Camaro can clinch his fourth career title by finishing five spots or less better than Fritz. Bryan Quilliam of Shirley is third just six points back of Fritz for second, 18 back of Pedersen.
After a few seasons away from the game, Tom Pickerell of Huntington came back with a vengeance in 2024 and can clinch his 8th Blunderbust title Saturday with his Encore Rentals team. “Slick Pick” leads Joe Densieski of Riverhead by 22 markers heading to the 20-lap final, Densieski would have to be 12 spots better than Pickerell, a tall task with recent car counts. Cody Triola of Bay Shore can loop around Densieski for second Saturday, the former champion is 8-points back of second.
The tightest championship battle entering the final race of 2024 is found in the Super Pro Trucks, where defending champion Jack Handley Jr of Medford takes a slim 8-point margin over Frank Dumicich Jr. into the 20-lap feature. Handley in the East Side Building Toyota is seeking his fourth title in the past five years while rival Dumicich and his Okpetroluemmarketplace.com team are hopeful of his second career championship, eleven years after his 2013 title. Multi-time champion Lou Maestri of Deer Park is third, 26-back of Handley, 18 in the rears to Dumicich.
Two drivers racing for a first career championship go toe-to-toe in the INEX Legend Race Cars with Riely O’Keefe and Joey Braun, both of Manorville entering the 20-lap final with O’Keefe 26 point the better of Braun. However, with a 26-car starting field Braun and his HighMark Building Efficiency team are still mathematically in the hunt but have to finish 14-spots better than O’Keefe and his Crystal-Clear Window Cleaning entry. 13-year-old talent Rodney Dowless Jr. of Dix Hills is third in the rankings but despite a breakout season is too far back to climb any higher.
Sunday championship implications are plentiful with the closest battle in the Mini Stocks. Two close friends and teammates Joe Warren Jr of Ridge in his Schmidt’s Country Market Cavalier takes the slimmest of leads over CJ Zukowski of Riverhead in the final 30-lapper, two points. Zukowski can steal the title in his Walls of Fame Chevy by placing two spots better than Warren, with Joe holding the first tiebreaker advantage winning four times to CJ’s two wins. Oh, and don’t count out Chris Olivari of Coram who sits third 10 points back of Warren, Chris would need some magic to unfold but has a chance.
Over in the Street Stocks Max Handley of Medford has a comfortable cushion entering the 30-lapper in his Rosenberg & Gluck Injury Attorneys Chevy leading Gerard Lawrence of Miller Place by 30. Lawrence would have to be 16 positions better than Handley at the conclusion of the race, with field of near 20 recently Gerard still has hope. Veteran Jarrod Hayes of Calverton sits third, 46 out of the lead, 30 back of Lawrence for second.
Also to be decided Sunday for the Street Stocks and Mini Stocks are the 2024 Miller Lite Triple Crown Series championships. Handley leads Hayes by a mere two points for the MLTCS Street Stock crown, Lawrence is third in those rankings 10 back of Handley, while veterans Brian Brown of Calverton and Tom Sullivan are tied for fourth, 16-ppints back of Handley. Over in the Mini Stocks the fight for the MLTCS championship finds Zukowski up by 4 over both Warren and Olivari tied for second, Paul Wojcik of Patchogue and Ryan Warren of Ridge are fourth and fifth.
Three 2024 Bock Auto INEX Bandolero champions will earn championships Sunday. In the more seasoned Bandolero Outlaws, Will Sipala of Manorville seems destined to win his first career championship with his Riteway Automotive Center team, Will has a 20-point bulge over newcomer Thomas Grattan of Southold, for Grattan to erase that advantage he’d have to be 11 spots better, but there has not been that many Outlaws in one race this year.
Same hold true in the Bandits where Reid Halpin of Wading River will repeat as track champion with his Baldwin Automotive team. Halpin made a late season charge with four wins since July 31st to hold a 26-point lead over Emmett Grattan of Southold entering Sunday, a near impossible hill to climb for Emmett who won the first two races of 2024. Antonio D’Alonzo of Carle Place is currently third heading into Sunday but cannot catch either of the top two drivers.
The inaugural campaign of the Bock Auto INEX Bandolero Beginners has been fun to watch with Daxx Halpin of Wading River the leading driver with his Steve Park Properties machine. Daxx has an insurmountable lead over Mackenzie Ulmet of Riverhead in second and Wyatt Goodale of Riverhead.
Sunday’s best bet is the fight for the 2024 Truck Enduro championship that finds Mariah Lawrence in the Total Dental Care entry and Bobby Pease of Medford in the Fit Spot Gym racer tied at the top with 654. Mariah holds the first tiebreaker with two wins over Pease who has yet to visit victory lane this year.
Another tight battle can be found in the 8-Cylinder Enduro ranks where Kevin Feeney of Quogue is trying to fend off both Pat Collins Sr. and Pat Collins Jr. of Southampton. Feeney, who races without sponsorship leads the senior Collins by 10, with the younger Collins third, 26 out of the lead. Both Collins team cars are funded by the family business, PC Truck & Equipment.
Chris Olivari of Ciram finds himself in a similar position as Feeney, trying to in the 4/6-Cylinder Guy & Go championship over the Palmeri brothers. Olivari and his Middle Country Automotive team are 8 points better than John and lead Joey Jr by 12 heading into Sunday. The Palmeri’s call Lindenhurst home and their family business, J&J Towing back their racing.
As they have annually, Jimmy & Angela Rennick of JCR Motorsports will present trophies to the top five drivers in the Bock Auto INEX Bandolero divisions, as well the Truck, 8-Cylinder and 4/6-Cylinder Gut & Go Enduro divisions. The tradition was started by the Rennicks who hand out the handsome hardware in the pit area Sunday at the conclusion of racing after all finishes of the six classes are deemed official.
For race day itinerary for both Saturday and Sunday please visit http://www.rivetheadraceway.com, emails reach us at office@riverehadraceway.com and our phone number is 631-842-RACE.
