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Sun and Stars Shine on Riverhead Raceway and Ernie Maynor Memorial
June 22, Brentwood, NY--- A warm, humid afternoon turned into a cooler evening after sundown as Riverhead Raceway celebrated F.O.P. night and the running of the annual Ernie Maynor Memorial Figure-8 race. With Blunderbusts, Chargers, Modifieds, a Mini-school bus Figure-8 race and an 8 cylinder demo derby on the card, it was a full night of excitement for the fans. And after last week’s sudden rainout of the Figure-8’s, they provided one of the best races of the night to finish off the regular racing portion of the show as they finally got their race in. The Blunderbusts ran two heat races, as did the Chargers, and 22 Modifieds ran 3 qualifying heats to determine their 20 car starting field.
The Blunderbusts started the evening off with their feature, with Terry Stiles on the pole and Ray Shannon to his outside. Stiles jumped out to the lead at the drop of the green, but Shannon stayed right with him, and was able to pass Stiles to take the lead on lap 2, while Jessica Larsen held 3rd. Larsen suffered from a spin off turn 4 on lap 4, bringing out the first caution of the race. On the restart, Shannon and Stiles ran side by side, until Shannon pulled into the lead once more, as Paul Parisi challenged Stiles for 2nd spot, taking it a lap later, with Tommy Walkowiak moving by Stiles for 3rd. Walkowiak wasted little time passing Parisi to take over 2nd, with Chris Busick also moving up into 3rd. On lap 11, Walkowiak made move on Shannon, passing him and once again having Chris Busick follow him through to take 2nd. Walkowiak and Busick then continued their battle as they negotiated past lapped cars, but soon moved off into a race of their own, as Shannon was now a full 1/3 of a lap behind the duo. In the closing laps, Parisi managed to get by Shannon to take 3rd, but Walkowiak and Busick finished out the race in that order up front, running each other cleanly, as Parisi, Shannon and ‘Crazy’ Eddie Mistretta rounded out the top 5.
The Chargers were out next, with Frank Scimeca, Jr. and Daryn Miller at the front of the 13 car field. Miller took the early edge, as Scimeca, Jr. held 2nd, with Steve Ratti in 3rd spot. But Scimeca, Jr. quickly faded as Chris McGuire, Chris Turbush, and Thore Foss all passed him by lap 5. Miller held a car length lead over Ratti as the circled the oval lap after lap, with McGuire and Turbush hanging right with them, waiting for opportunity to knock. They ran this way for close to the next ten laps, until Turbush looked outside of McGuire on lap 15 to gain a spot, but instead slid up going through turns 1 and 2 before he recovered to maintain 4th spot. On lap 17, disaster struck Miller as Ratti tried to make a pass, Miller and Ratti made contact, with Miller spinning into the infield, and as Ratti tried to maintain control of his car, McGuire saw the opening and took the lead. Turbush followed right through, too, as did Foss to take 3rd spot. But McGuire went on to victory, as Turbush, Foss, Jay Henschel and Frank Dumicich, Jr. rounded out the top 5.
Next, the fans were treated to a display of police vehicles from various state, county village and even military police organizations during the annual Salute to Law Enforcement/Stop D.W.I. program. 33 police vehicles slowly circled the track, lights ablaze and sirens wailing to reinforce their image and drive home the idea that Driving while Intoxicated or Impaired is a bad thing and will not be tolerated.
RUSTY TURBUSH ROBBED IN FRONT OF OVER 100 POLICE OFFICERS
After a brief break, the Modifieds were out next, 20 cars strong, with Rusty Turbush on the pole, and Chris Young to the outside. Turbush edged out front into the lead at the start, but Young hung with him on the outside until Turbush pulled out front on lap 2. Young, Justin Bonsignore, Chuck Steuer, and Dave Sapienza made up the top 5. Sapienza faded a bit by lap 5, and Dave Brigati moved into 5th. But up front, Turbush held the lead, as his car looked quite strong, and despite repeated efforts by Young to find a way by, Turbush led the bumper to bumper chain of cars around the track lap after lap. Bonsignore made an attempt to get by Young around lap 15, but was unable to complete the pass, getting back into the line just as Steuer was ready to take over 3rd. On lap 22 going into turn 1 and 2, John Fortin had a problem and rode high in turn 2, with Howie Brode stopped along side of him, having nowhere to go and the caution was out as they stopped high in turn 2. As the field filed around under yellow, just as Rusty Turbush was passing the scene of the collision, Brode, not knowing he was there, backed out away from the wall, and hit Turbush’s right rear, spinning him out of the lead of the race and ending his chances of winning! Turbush took his car to the pits and his crew made hasty repairs, but the damage was done, and Chris Young inherited the lead of the race. On the restart, Young took off, with Bonsignore and Steuer right behind. Young opened a 2 car length lead by lap 25, but Bonsignore and Steuer closed in once more by lap 30. Young held onto the lead right to the end, even managing to avoid Rob McCormick’s #01 on the last lap, as McCormick graciously pulled out of the racing line to let Young pass, as Chris Young picked up the 31st win of his Modified career. Bonsignore, Steuer, Brigati and Bill Park rounded out the top 5.
The last regular race of the night, the Ernie Maynor Memorial, made it’s way out onto the track. After the previous week’s sudden rain out of a double point, 25 lap race for the division, 15 cars made their way out to contend for the prestigious trophy that goes to the winner of the race named for the late, great Ernie Maynor. With Tom Kraft on the pole, and Scott Pedersen to his outside, the field took the green, and Kraft took the lead. Pedersen hung with him in 2nd spot, until Paul Specht passed Pedersen for 2nd on lap 2, with Mike Mujsce also getting by Pedersen to take 3rd. But on lap 3, Roger Maynor and Jessica Larsen got together in turn 1, bringing out the caution. Maynor pitted immediately as Larsen’s car was towed to the pits. Maynor returned after repairs, but Tom Kraft, suddenly realizing he had a tire going down, pitted under the yellow, with Specht inheriting the lead. On the restart, Specht took off, as Mujsce and Ralph Tasso battled for 2nd. Mujsce and Tasso collide during their battle just as the approached the X, with Mujsce spinning to a stop, and the yellow was out again. On the next restart, Specht took off once more, and Tasso hung right with him, as lap after lap, they raced each other cleanly, even as Tasso tried to get the advantage over Specht on the outside. Specht was driving smart, holding the inside line through the turns at either end of the track, and Tasso was not able to pass. By lap 9, the field was spread all around the course, with many near misses at the X, and the potential for disaster for the leaders if they didn’t get the timing right at the X. Specht and Tasso, being followed closely by Carl Baxter, Kenny Hyde and Will Farrell, had to slow down more than once to safely get across the X, and on lap 18, Specht’s lead led to his disadvantage, as he had to hesitate just a second longer for crossing traffic, and Tasso grabbed the lead. Specht stayed right with him, as he now became the pursuer, and they gave the fans an exciting race, the likes of which haven’t happened in some time, but Tasso held the lead right to the end, with Specht, Baxter, Hyde and Farrell right behind him. However, Tasso declined to have his car inspected post race, and track officials had no choice but to disqualify him, giving the win to Paul Specht.
The mini school bus figure-8 race was next, with nine ‘busses’ taking to the track. In what turned into a lively battle between ‘Slim Jim’ Donaldson and Michael ‘Cheesebox’ Rommeney, ‘Slim Jim’ won out when Rommeney lost control as they approached the X side by side, with Rommeney facing the wrong way as ‘Slim Jim’ went on to take the win.
The last event of the night, an 8 cylinder Demolition Competition, saw 6 cars take to the track, but it came down to only two at the end, as Mike ‘Gravel’ Buksa and Mike ‘ Cheesebox’ Rommeney slugging it out at the end. After Buksa made the last hit, both stalled, but Rommeney was able to re-fire his car, though it wouldn’t move. Track officials wanted to call it a draw, but Buksa told them they should award the win to Rommeney, as Buksa won the judge’s choice award, and Tim Mulqueen was the fan favorite.
*****
NEWS AND NOTES: It should be noted here that Leah Maynor is spearheading a 50/50 drawing each week to raise money for the season ending Figure-8 point fund. In addition, she is helping organize a Las Vegas fundraiser at Lily Flanagan’s on Aug 24th to raise additional funds for the point fund. Details of all this can be obtained by contacting Leah at the track. We at Long Island Motorsports News commend her for her efforts to help rejuvenate the Figure-8 division. She’s doing a great job… Bob Finan announced that multiple car qualifying will be tried at August’s Whelen Modified Tour race as Riverhead now has a transponder scoring loop in place, and all competitors on the WMT are required to have a transponder installed. In addition to it’s accuracy, this system will speed up the time trial process, reducing by half or more the time normally needed for single car qualifying… It was announced last week by Gater Racing News columnist Ricky Miller that this would be his last season writing a column. We and all others in racing wish him well and thank him for his tireless efforts throughout his more than 35 years bringing us the stories from all the races he covered. He will not be easily replaced, and we hope he attends races even after retirement, this time to sit back, relax and enjoy the racing he so ably reported on all these past years… Paul Specht confided that he found some ‘bugs’ in his race motor this week and fixed them, requiring that he get the motor resealed after the repairs. Tonight’s results how that move paid off nicely…
That’s about all we can relay this week, but we’ve got a few good rumors we’re sitting on for now until they become more precise, then we’ll print them here… Until next time, live well and be safe.
Walter Johnston may be contacted at wizgrand@gmail.com.
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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