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July 1, Long Beach, NY--- One thing we haven’t mentioned in all the years that we’ve been doing this column is the great job done by Riverhead Raceway’s Bob Finan. Sure, we’ve noted over the years the fine job he’s done behind the mic, doing the most difficult part of his job; that of course, being trying to make the most meaningless heat race sound exciting.
No, we’re thinking more along the lines of the more unpleasant aspects that his job entails. We’re quite certain that we can’t do the part when he has to do an unexpected announcement about when he finds out at the last second that the racing community has lost someone well known in local circles, or the type of eulogy he manages to be able to do at the drop of the hat, that just always feels like he’s said the right thing.
How about when there is a serious wreck down below him on the track? His first comment is always along the lines of, “Well, we’re not going to speculate until we have some more information.” That of course, gives him a chance to listen in on the radio and find out the condition of the driver, as well as give him a chance to assure the fans that it could very well mean that the driver was only ‘shaken up’, and getting into the ambulance as a precaution.
And then there is the job Finan did this past Saturday night, slipping from his persona of Race Announcer to that of Ring Master for the Fireworks and then the Demo Derby. Sure, there are always the key things that every announcer is doing when trying to eat up time while the fireworks are set up. We just admire the seeming ease with which he does it.
Still, if Bob pulls out that old joke book again, half of us in the grandstands may just resort to hanging ourselves from the nearest flagpoles. Oh, baby!
Seriously, one thing that was great to see was how early the stands started to fill up. One hour after the front gate opened, it was obvious that the facility would be stuffed to the gills that night, and it was. It was even noted by one race winner in Victory Lane how all the drivers want to compete before a full house.
By the way, we have to thank George Maccarone for answering a question posed in last week’s effort. We couldn’t for the life of us remember the name of the company that did the fireworks at Riverhead before Bay Fireworks--- and for obvious good reasons. The name of the group was Zambelli Fireworks out of Pennsylvania. We certainly hope that they stay in Pennsylvania.
Again, Bay Fireworks did what they’ve shown to be their normal spectacular job entertaining what was the first packed house of the season at Riverhead. Even though we mentioned it last week, we’ll must reiterate again our thanks to Promoters Barbara & Jim Cromarty for making the change to Bay Fireworks.
We don’t normally advertise in our column for non-racing related things. However, if you come to Long Beach on Friday, July 6th at 8:00pm (and you’ll have to get there very early), Bay Fireworks will have an even larger show. Scheduled for a free concert at the beach at Long Beach Road at 8:00pm is the group T’Bazco Road, which will be followed by the free Fireworks show, which is always huge. If it’s a nice day, families should make a day of it at the beach, hit a local restaurant, setup their beach chairs or pull up a blanket for the concert, then enjoy the fireworks finale at the end. Gee, should we bill the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce for this paragraph?
*****
When we got to Riverhead this week, the first thing we did was limp over to Tommy Walkowiak’s replacement car. During the week, the Wild Child stripped the tin off his regular car after the wreck he had last week, and used it to skin the #90 car of Ron Langdon. For Tommy, there is no difference for him changing out of one Langdon-built car and getting into another.
“No change,” Tommy commented. “It’s the exact same car. There’s no difference at all.”
As we were sitting in the back of his trailer for at least half an hour, many drivers and crew members from other teams walked over to the car, staring at it. Most didn’t realize that it wasn’t the same car, and walked away looking very puzzled about how it got fixed so quickly. Some, of course, realized immediately that it was a different car.
After Walkowiak was stuff hard into the fence by Wayne Okula the previous Saturday night, Tommy found that although the car needs a new front clip, the motor, transmission, and radiator were fine. After doing the re-skin, the car looked the same as Tommy’s regular car. Well, except for one little detail.
(photo courtesy of
Eno Lirpasti Images)
(click thumb-nailed photo above to enlarge)
Those that looked at the drivers’ side of the car would notice a small graphic on the side underneath the window. It was, shall we say, an expression of opinion about Wayne Okula that had everyone in the pits roaring with laughter. Fortunately, it was one that was rated ‘G’, and allowed to be seen by kids.
(photo courtesy of
Eno Lirpasti Images)
(click thumb-nailed photo above to enlarge)
Word has it last week that after the incident, Wayne was going to be back out after his one-week suspension in a new car he was buying. The word is that Okula will be stepping up into another division. Still very happy about ending up in Victory Lane the week before was Artie Pedersen Jr. Pedersen still has his opinion of past incidents.
Still, the #67 car was back out this week, now renumbered to #5x, and driven by Bob Bader of Farmingdale, who bought the car. Bob showed that the new car will take a little getting used to as he lost it and skidded into the turn four fence during practice. Bob needed to be checked out in the ambulance as he was ‘shaken up’, while Sonny Densieski had to spend about 45 minutes fixing the gate.
THE BLUNDERBUST FEATURE wasn’t the most exciting race we’ve seen, except to watch and see if, and how, Tommy Walkowiak would be able to move up from his starting spot.
At the green, it was Scott Sepe, Ray Shannon, Gary Caldwell, Bill Wegmann, and Tommy Walkowiak. Wegmann and Walkowiak got under Caldwell for 3rd and 4th on lap four. In the process, Tommy also managed to get around Bill for third. A caution came out as Tom Stock spun and got tagged by Doug Watson.
On the restart, it was Shannon, Wegmann, Walkowiak, and Sepe, who was now starting to fall back. Walkowiak got under Wegmann on lap 13, and then under Shannon on lap 14 for the lead. On lap 15, it was Tommy, Ray, Bill, and Ed Mistretta, who made it into the top four from his 12th starting spot. Krazy Eddie got around Bill on a lap 16 restart for 3rd.
A late race caution flew on lap 18 as Dennis Cunningham slapped the turn 1 wall. During that caution, Wegmann coasted to the infield, and was pushed to the pits, ending another good run for him.
At the checker, it was Tommy Walkowiak, Ray Shannon, Scott Maliszewski, ‘Krazy’ Ed Mistretta, and Gary Caldwell. It’s been an amazing first half of the season for Ray Shannon, who has been looking better and better his sophomore season. It wouldn’t surprise us to see him take his first-ever checker this season. In fact, it would surprise us if he didn’t have a win before the 2007 season is over.
“I don’t know how I made it until the end of the race,” Tommy Walkowiak stated in Victory Lane. “I think I broke the rear end.
“On behalf of myself, I couldn’t have done this with you,” he said to car-owner Ron Langdon. “This is for you.” Tommy then handed the winner’s trophy to Langdon.
Although the Wild Child is not 6’ 8” tall, he could still make the NY Knicks. After all, who do the Knicks have that can rebound, like he did from the week before?
Scott Sepe, Bill Wegmann, and Ray Shannon won the heat races. There was no consi.
*****
We saw early last week a post on the LI Jam message board from Russ Kohler and Rich Aquino regarding acquiring sponsors for their #99 Blunderbust. At the time, we had two thoughts about the way they want to do it; 1, they were both nuts, and 2, what a marvelous marketing tool they had thought up!
Both were sitting around, kicking about ideas to bring a few bucks to their race team to offset expenses. The idea they came up with is that they would put the names of any interested sponsors on the side of the race car for free--- no hidden costs, no catches, and no ‘gimmicks’. They felt that with all the bologna going on in the division during the past few weeks, they wanted to make an impact for their division by doing something positive.
These are two guys not looking to make the top ten, and not looking to pound their way to the front to take a win. If that happens, great. If it doesn’t, great! The idea is to bring their families out to the track for a fun day and evening at the races, relax and partake of the after-race parties and atmosphere.
“We’re there to have fun only,” insists co-car owner Russ Kohler. “There’s no obligation on anyone’s part. If someone wants to buy a set of tires or gas--- great!”
In the past, we’ve done successful sponsor searches for teams and drivers from Connecticut to Long Island to Pennsylvania. This is one tool that we haven’t thought of. But if the duo doesn’t come up with a long-term sponsor or two lasting through at least next season, we would be shocked. We believe that this is a fabulous idea that they’ve come up with that other under funded teams need to look at.
Because the car took some damage this past Saturday night, they may not be able to race this Saturday night. However, in talking to Kohler on the phone, he may bring the car out anyway for the sole purpose of being available to talk to potential sponsors, even if the car is not yet race-ready.
For anyone considering sponsoring a car that doesn’t have the money, this would certainly be the way to go. All the potential sponsor needs to do is supply the graphic or sticker to place on the car; that is their total obligation.
For anyone interested in what we believe is a fantastic opportunity, you can reach Russ Kohler at 516-322-7832. Let Russ know that you read it here in Island Hopping. Hey, maybe those two don’t need the proverbial check-up from the neck-up!
BLUNDERBUST NOTES--- We found that the familiar #16 of Rich Busick will be making his return to the Blunderbusts ranks this week, as he bought the old #53 of Dale Arnold… ‘Slim’ Jim Donaldson qualified the #29 of Jessica Larsen, who was taken to the hospital with heat-related problems. Jessica was released later in the afternoon, and able to pilot the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Long Island car in the feature…
MIKE SCHWARZ took off from the pole, and would never look back in the Charger feature. However, it wasn’t exactly clean sailing.
On lap two, Slim Jim Donaldson looped his car in turn two, and managed to nail Eric Lutz. After both made the trip to the pits to take off hanging sheet metal, they returned before the restart. Schwarz maintained the lead, followed by Ralph “The Eager” Beaver, Robert Durand, Kevin Orlando, and Chris McGuire. Durand started drifting back, while McGuire moved up to third, with Chris Turbush 4th and Orlando 5th.
McGuire got under Beaver for 2nd on lap 11. One lap later, both Turbush and Orlando also got under Beaver for 3rd and 4th. John Elwood then got under Beaver for 5th on lap 15. At the wire, it was Schwarz, McGuire, Turbush, Orlando, and Elwood. Turbush had the ride of the night in Chargers, coming up from his 16th (and last) starting spot to finish 3rd.
“The car was junk tonight,” Mike Schwarz insisted in Victory Lane. “I thought earlier that if it didn’t run well, then I was gonna say ‘the heck with it’.”
Eric Lutz and ‘Slim’ Jim Donaldson won the two heats.
CHARGER NOTES--- Daryn Miller utilized the #44 Ron Gibbs-owned car, as Daryn’s was still not rebuilt after a bad crash about a month ago…
ALL DRIVERS TAKE NOTE!!! Due to a scheduling change, the division will be running this Saturday night, although they were originally scheduled to be off. Word has it that all divisions should keep their eyes on the schedule and look for last-minute changes as more additions may very well be made to the schedule.
WITH TOM KRAFT SUFFERING FROM SUSPECTED PNEUNOMIA according to wife Kathy Kraft, TK would start the Figure Eight race. As soon as the first caution came out, TK would duck into the pits for a driver change. The new driver was ‘Dynamite’ Dan Turbush.
When the race started, it only lasted a half of a lap, as the caution flew immediately for debris. That allowed TK to hit the pits and change drivers.
On the 2nd attempt to start the race, Tom Ferrara took the lead, followed by Thom Grafff, Paul Specht, Carl Baxter, and Mike Mujsce. Roger Maynor got under Mujsce for 5th on lap 4. For the next seven laps, the order remained the same.
With Maynor banging the back bumper of Baxter’s car, Carl decided to make a move, going around Specht for 3rd, as Roger followed for 4th.
The next caution came on lap 14 as Mike Rommeney spun in turn three. After the restart, it was Ferrara, Maynor, Baxter, and Grafff. Graff, however, by lap 17 started to get very loose. At the same time, Paul Specht appeared to lose it, as he came very close to tagging the concrete barriers between turns one and two. Meanwhile, Dan Turbush came to a stop in turn one by the wall, and the yellow came out.
When the green flew, it was Maynor, Ferrara, Baxter, Mujsce, and Ken Hyde. The cars were close together, as going through turn three, Mujsce drilled Baxter, who in turn slid into Ferrara, who spun. Ferrara went to the back of the field for the restart and finished eighth. After the race, it was deemed that Carl Baxter caused the incident, and was placed 9th behind Tom Ferrara.
The finish was Roger winning his 84th career win, and Mike Mujsce, Kenny Hyde, Thom Grafff, and Paul Specht rounding out the top five.
“The car was a little loose,” Maynor said afterwards. “We went to get tires, and they didn’t have any. I didn’t know if I could hang on.” If he could beat a field with 30-lap old tires, we wonder what does that do to the hopes of the rest of the field?
What we like with the new ‘regime’ at Riverhead is some of the changes that have already been made, and the direction that they are attempting to go in. It’s obvious that Mike Cappiello and Jim Maggio are working very hard to rectify some of the past problems. It’s unfortunate that this one got by them and the wrong driver was penalized. Even so, the mistake was certainly not for a lack of trying to do the right thing. In fact, this one may be on former driver, now NASCAR official, Robin Vollmeoller, who was situated in that corner to observe. But with all the cars going through the turn on the restart, it was easy to miss the real culprit.
One of the new policies is the one pertaining to soaked (unapproved) tires. It used to be that that besides getting the tires confiscated (at $780 per set), and losing the winner’s purse of about $1450, there was also instituted a $2500 fine. Now that Mike and Jim have taken over, you can kiss the $2500 fine away, which we have felt was excessive.
When Ken Heagy was found to have soaked tires, he was DQ’d, his tires confiscated, penalized by having to start in the back for two weeks, and his tires are subject to having to be inspected at any time at the discretion of any of the officials. Even though anyone’s tires are subject to be inspected at any time by officials, it’s obvious that they will be keeping a careful eye on Heagy for the remainder of the 2007 season.
MODIFIED TIME TRIALS had Dave Brigati taking quick time at 11.955, with Bill Park 2nd at 11.960 and Chuck Steuer 3rd at 11.984. Those were the only three in the 11 second range.
In the 50-lap double-point Cromarty Cup feature, Tom Rogers took the lead from the outside pole. A caution came out on lap four after Marissa Neiderauer had a flat after contacting another car. JR Bertuccio also took that opportunity to head to the pits. What we thought would be a quick caution took quite a while, as there was an extended cleanup for fluid dropped all around the track.
When the green again flew, it was Rogers, Chuck Steuer, Dave Brigati, Mike Andrews Jr., and Bill Park the top five. On lap 15, Wayne Anderson, who was 8th, ducked under both Sal Accardi Jr. and John Fortin. At the halfway point, the top ten were Rogers, Steuer, Brigati, Andrews, Park, Dan Jivanelli, Anderson, Fortin, Accardi, and Chris Young.
Lap 27 saw Chris Young spin after contact from JR Bertuccio. Young went to the rear, while Bertuccio argued with officials that he only stopped to avoid the spin, not because he was involved. At the end, Bertuccio had to rejoin the rear of the field, behind Young.
A couple of cautions ensued up to lap 44, where John Fortin, who was running 6th, went too hard into turn three, made contact with Sal Accardi, then Fortin spun. At the end, it was Tom Roger Jr. getting the checker, with Chuck Steuer 2nd, Dave Brigati 3rd, Mike Andrews 4th, and Bill Park 5th.
For Rogers, he picked the perfect night for a win, with his major sponsors from Big Brothers/Big Sisters there at the track.
“I was able to pace myself tonight,” said Rogers. “You have to be able to do that in a long race. The car was awesome.”
WE HAVE OFTEN CHAMPIONED the cause of One-On-One Spectator Drags for years in our columns. The one this past week was a great example of why.
In the field were 10 cars, one Jeep, and the 3-wheeled motorcycle of Bud Sexton. There were several surprises, including one race between the Mike Schlaugies and the driver of the Jeep. The Jeep surprised everyone by getting the hole shot, and Mike only caught up on the backstretch and barely managed to take the win.
In the final, it was Dan Carasiti, who surprised Schlaugies with the hole shot. Although Mike tried in several places to overtake Dan, it just wasn’t to be. Carasiti took another win.
Again, it was another good night for the fans in the stands that seemed to get caught up in the excitement of street-legal cars signing in from the outside to race on the track of Riverhead Raceway. For those who would like to get involved with their own car, there will be another Spectator Drag this coming Saturday at Riverhead.
*****
Those are out thoughts this time. What’s yours? Questions, comments, and complaints will reach us at liracenews@hotmail.com. Until next time, Happy Motoring!
Mike Fields has written for the Area Auto Racing News, Raceway Media Magazine, as well as being a contributing author for the book Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul. He has also been a co-host of a weekly motorsports radio program, and a track announcer. Fields currently writes a weekly internet column, and is an occasional contributing columnist for the Riverhead Racer, the track program for Long Island's Riverhead Raceway.
While not at his full-time job (babysitting his very rambunctious 4-year old grandson), he is the owner of The Hero Card Store!, providing specialty autograph cards to racecar drivers and teams. He may be contacted by e-mail at info@LongIslandMotorsports.com, or by phone at (516) 376-4028.
Modified graphic by Tom Coufalik of www.pcracers.net.
Disclaimer: Views expressed by columnists and all others on this website are strictly their own, and may not necessarily reflect the views and/or opinions of the management of Long Island Motorsports News.
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