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Riverhead, NY Nov. 11th
By Bob Finan
When the late Eddie Partridge came up with the concept for the Islip 300 Modified event at his recently purchased Riverhead Raceway, he envisioned an event that would pay homage to the All Star 300 races held at the end of the season at the fabled Islip Speedway. A long distance race boasting a large purse, similar to others in the Northeast. Fast forward to Saturday’s 10th annual Islip 300 and Partridge’s vision has come full circle with an all-star caliber entry list of drivers vying for the $12,000 to win spectacular led by 2025 winner Joey Braun of Manorville
Back in the day Eddie Partridge, then a member of the Charlie Jarzombek race team looked on as drivers such as Jim Landry of Epping, NH and Lou Lazzaro of Vernon, NY scored upset wins during the All-Star 300 at Islip in the mid 70’s. After his freshman season in 2016 with his wife Connie and nephew Tom Gatz as owners of Riverhead Raceway, Eddie with the help of then race director Scott Tapley and GM John Ellwood the Islip 300 concept was born. The first 300 unfolded on the final Saturday in May of 2017 with then 15-year old Dillon Steuer of Bohemia shocking the tour type Modified world with his $7,000 victory, a win nobody probably had on their bingo card. Steuer, who has since embarked for a very successful career on dirt including championships at the Bridgeport, NJ Speedway is among the 29 entrants for Saturday, dusting off the family asphalt car.
2026 Buzz Chew Chevrolet NASCAR Modified champion Owen Grennan of Glen Cove will lead the list of local racers who have entered the $43,000 Islip 300. Joining Owen from the weekly ranks will be younger brother Chase, the 2024 Islip 300 win along with Mark Stewart of Riverhead, Chris Young of Calverton, Dylan Slepian of Dix Hills, Roger Turbush of Riverhead, Chris Rogers of Patchogue, Kyle Ellwood of Riverhead, Matt Brode of East Islip, Justin Brown of Manorville Cory Midgett of East Hampton, Tom Rogers Jr. of Riverhead, JR Bertuccio of Centereach, Eric Hersey of Commack and Riely O’Keefe of Manorville. Third generation racer Eddie Brunnhoelzl III of Levittown, who has stepped away from weekly racing to coach is young sons in youth sports will make his first start of 2026 in the famed 8x family machine.
The 2026 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Patrick Emerling of Orchard Park will make the long trek south to Riverhead Raceway for the Islip 300 and be joined by fellow WMT regulars Matt Hirschman of Northampton, Pa., winner of the 2023 Islip 300, Paulie Hartwig of Galloway, NJ who’ll debut with his 2027 WMT team Elite Racing and John-Michael Shenette of Concord, NC.
The SMART Modified Tour will be represented by Ryan Flores of Manasquan, NJ and Carson Loftin of Lexington, NC who will fly the SMART banner at Riverhead. Keystone state talent Jayden Harman of Sugarloaf, Pa. will also be on hand for the Islip 300 Saturday, Harman races with the Race of Champions Tour as well local tracks to his Keystone state home, Evergreen Raceway Park and Mahoning Valley Speedway.
Among the drivers and teams that ran a pick & choose schedule in 2026 including popular Timmy Solomito of Islip who won the Riverhead opener in May before making spot starts in both his Modified and INEX Legend Race Car racing alongside his nephews Landon and Brody. Michael Rutkoski of Mattiuck who raced some Tri-Track events before some late season starts at Riverhead will be in the mix as will Rodney Dowless of Dix Hills. Dowless began his career in the INEX ranks at Riverhead before heading south to race Late Models. Walter Sutcliffe of East Haven, Ct. has been a loyal supporter of the Islip 300 and is among the pre-race entries hoping for a good showing.
The previous nine Islip 300 events have proven that picking out a pre-race favorite is not an easy task with upset and surprise winners dotting the landscape the history of the race. Only Ryan Preece of Berlin, Ct. has won more than one 300 over the years taking victories in 2018 & 2020. Other previous winners are, Dillon Steuer 2017, Kyle Soper, 2019 JB Fortin 2021, Anthony Nocella 2022, Matt Hirschman 2023, Chase Grennan 2024 and Joey Braun 2025.
Complementing the Islip 300 Saturday are the Eagle Chevrolet Crate Modifieds, INEX Legend Race Cars, Street Stock and Eddie Partridge Vintage All Stars.
General admission gates open at 10:00 AM, Islip 300 qualifying goes green at 12:30 PM while opening ceremonies are set for 2:00 PM. Adults are $40, kids 6-12 $20, 5 & under fee. To purchase advance tickets or view the complete race day itinerary visit www.riverheadraceway.com, emails each us at office@riverheadraceway.com, the phone number is 631-842-RACE.
