By Walter "WJ" Johnston

Riverhead Raceway Beats Weather;  LM's Beat Themselves; Bonsignore Beats Everybody

      August 7, Brentwood, NY--- With a chance of rain showers sometime during the evening, Riverhead Raceway got the program started at 4:50 PM in an effort to get a complete show in, and did so, just before very light rain began falling after 10 PM.  With the Hell Drivers as the featured family entertainment of the evening, it was imperative to move the show along, as it was doubtful they would be able to reschedule if they rained out. More on them later. Dennis Scott capped off the night with a crushing victory in the School Bus Demo Derby, besting 6 others to take the crown.  Some even thought it was better than the Demo Derby put on earlier in the evening by the LM Division. We'll get to that as the report goes on. Now for the racing…. 

      The Legends kicked off the evenings features, with Vinnie Delaney and Jim Sylvester leading the field to the green.  Delaney nosed out front coming off turn 2, with Kevin Nowak and Dylan Slepian following, as Slepian got by Sylvester to move to 2nd, with Nowak taking 3rd, as Sylvester dropped to 4th, all in the first lap.  Slepian got by Delaney to take the lead down the back stretch, but Nowak then got under Slepian, taking the top spot as they went down the back stretch on lap 2.  Following Nowak were Slepian, Delaney, Sylvester and Alex Urbina, Jr. On lap 6, Chris A. Young moved into 5th, passing Urbina for the spot. Young then set his sights on Sylvester, taking 4th coming off turn 2 on lap 7.  Jim Byrne spun in turn 4 on lap 7, and the first caution of the race flew to bunch up the field.  Nowak and Slepian ran side by side on the restart, but Nowak slipped out front exiting turn 2, but Byrne and a few others crashed in turn 4 before the lap was complete, and the caution waved again.  Byrne was done, along with Paul Dodorico and Bryan Kelly. Nowak burst into the lead on the next restart, with Slepian and Delaney battling for 2nd, while Young watched from 4th, and Justin Strumpf ran in 5th.  The 2nd place battle allowed Nowak to immediately build a 7 car length lead, as Slepian and Sylvester continued to battle for 2nd, with Sylvester finally taking it, as Slepian dropped to 4th while Young got by into 3rd on lap 9. By lap 12, Young was working on Sylvester to try to move into 2nd, while Strumpf moved by Slepian to take 4th spot away.  Young took 2nd from Sylvester, with Sylvester totally dropping out of the top 5, but Nowak was now 12 car lengths ahead and pulling away as he was just cruised along.  On lap 15, Chris Rogers and Vincent Biondolillo tangled in turn 2, bringing out the caution and wiping out Nowak's huge lead.  Nearing the time limit, this would be the final restart.  When the green flew, Nowak took off with Young right on his rear bumper, as Strumpf and Delaney battled side by side for 3rd. On lap 16, one car came to a stop on the back stretch, but the race continued, as Young looked high and low to get by Nowak, while Strumpf won the battle for 3rd spot. Young continued to hound Nowak for the lead, but Kevin Nowak held him off through the closing laps in his Racing Creations #53 to take the win, as Chris A. Young, Justin Strumpf, Vinnie Delaney and Dylan Slepian rounded out the top 5.  

     The Super Pro Trucks took to the track next, with Roger Turbush on the pole, and Lou Maestri to his outside to lead the 14 truck field to the green.  R. Turbush nosed out in front of Maestri as they went down the back stretch, taking the lead as they crossed the line to complete the first lap. On lap 2, Brian McElearney suffered a blowout heading into turn 1, hitting the wall hard and bringing out the first caution of the race.  R. Turbush nosed out into the lead over Maestri on the restart,  as Dave Koenig ran 3rd, followed by Erin Dumicich and Frank Dumicich, Sr. On the next lap, Maestri spun in turn 4, with the caution flying once more, as Maestri rejoined the the field in his original position (strange!). When the green flew once more, R. Turbush took the lead as Maestri and Koenig battled for 2nd, while E. Dumicich went high in turn 2 on the 4th lap, dropping completely out of the top 5 as Frank Dumicich, Jr. took over 5th.  Up front, Koenig got by Maestri to move into 2nd, as R. Turbush ran all alone up front.  Frank D., Jr. then passed Frank D., Sr. to take 4th, and Chris Turbush followed along and dropped Frank D., Sr to 6th on lap 6. R. Turbush now held an 8 truck length lead, as Koenig had Maestri still on his tailgate, and C. Turbush stayed glued to Frank D., Jr's rear.  As Frank D., Sr. continued to lose spots, Mike Albasini moved up to 6th, while Chris McGuire, driving for Matt Odwazny, had moved up to 7th from his 14th starting position by lap 12.  But R. Turbush was way out front by then, leading Koenig by over 10 truck lengths, as Maestri stayed right with Koenig. On lap 17, C. Turbush got past Frank D., Jr., only to get hit in the side by Frank D., Jr.as they came off turn 2, but  C. Turbush hung on to take 4th for good as he pulled away from Frank D. Jr. That's the way they finished, as Roger Turbush broke his jinx for now, taking the victory in his #88 Rheem Chevrolet Silverado, while Dave Koenig, Lou Maestri, Chris Turbush and Frank Dumicich, Jr. rounded out the top 5.  

     Next came Late Model thunder, as 15 of them took to the track, with Dennis Krupski on the pole, and Rob McCormick, Jr. to his outside.  After a false start, where the caution lights never got turned off even as the green flag waved, (2nd time in 3 weeks that's happened) they came around for the start, with Krupski nosing out to the lead by about a foot, but McCormick fought back, as Krupski and McCormick ran side by side, as did the other 8 cars immediately behind them. On lap 2, McCormick moved into the lead, but a big pile-up in turn 3 brought out the caution, as Chris LaSpisa spun, Roger Oxee hit him, Arne Pedersen spun, along with Ken Alfano and Dan Turbush, bringing out a caution on lap 2. Oxee and Turbush pitted, with only Turbush able to return. For reasons unknown, LaSpisa, though involved in the caution, was placed back in 5th spot for the restart, while the others were sent to the rear of the field. When the green flew once more, McCormick took the lead, as Shawn Patrick got by Krupski into 2nd, and then tried to pass McCormick on the low side, but McCormick managed to hold him off as Patrick got loose, and the cars behind them got backed up, with Justin Strumpf, newly chosen to drive the Unique Golf #4, suffered damage to his right front fender, as did Scott Kulesa, as the field continued for the moment. But Krupski spun in turn 2 just as Patrick made another aggressive move for the lead, and the caution flew once again on lap 4.  Strumpf and Turbush pitted with Strumpf retiring for the evening with damage to his car.  On the restart, McCormick didn't come up to speed right away, allowing Patrick to take the lead, but with McCormick still not up to full speed, another wreck occurred in turn 3 as LaSpisa rear ended Peter 'Buzzy' Eriksen, lifting his rear wheels off the ground, as LaSpisa spun once again, and Alfano,  A. Pedersen and Dan Turbush got caught up in it and stopped in turn 3 against the wall. Turbush then retired to the pits, done for the evening as LaSpisa once again got his spot back (involved, but no one saw it?)! All of this, and still only on lap 4!!! On the restart, McCormick and Patrick took off together, but Patrick was able to nose out into the lead off turn 4 as lap 5 went up on the board, but McCormick wasn't giving up just yet, as he tried his best to stay with Patrick. As they came off turn 4 on the next lap, there was contact with Eriksen as McCormick spun coming out of turn 4, with Eriksen spinning on the front straightaway a few seconds later. McCormick's car was towed off, done for the night, as Eriksen pitted to replace a flat tire, and returned. When the green flew once more, Patrick led Kevin Metzger in the single file restart, as Jarrod Hayes, Mike Bologna, and LaSpisa made up the top 5. Hayes was looking to pass Metzger, looking on the high side more than once, but to no avail, until lap 9, when Hayes was able to get inside of Metzger as Metzger gave up the inside lane, and Hayes made the pass on lap 10. Hayes then set off after Patrick, getting him loose on lap 12, but Hayes backed off and let Patrick regain control, but then got him loose once more off turn 4 and got under Patrick going into turn 1, but Patrick hit the gas and pulled out front once more. Meanwhile, Kulesa had worked his way back into the top 5 after restarting in the back earlier,  and then got by Bologna to take 4th spot. Hayes was looking to Patrick's outside now, but Patrick squeezed him to the outside wall in the front stretch, with Hayes misjudging his speed into turn 1 as he recovered, and he gave Patrick a hard shot in the rear, which caused Hayes to lose control and hit the turn 1 wall, bringing out the caution on lap 15. Hayes pitted to replace a flat, and returned after getting a new tire, but his car was never right after the hit the wall, and all he could do was make laps.  When the green flew again, with only 10 cars left running, LaSpisa spun, with A Pedersen spinning to avoid him, and caution was right back out. Oxee, who'd left with heavy damage  on lap 2, now returned to the race, 13 laps down. When the green flew once again, Patrick took off with Metzger and Kulesa in pursuit, along with Bologna and LaSpisa, the luckiest guy out there after getting his spot back yet a 3rd time, despite being the reason for the previous caution!!! Kulesa was dogging Metzger, trying to move up into 2nd, but Metzger closely guarded the bottom, and Kulesa remained in 3rd as lap 19 went in the books.  Eriksen, with damage from a few earlier wrecks, made his move to get by LaSpisa on lap 20 to takeover 4th spot, and on lap 21, passed Bologna on the high side to take 4th away from Bologna. Kulesa was still working on Metzger, giving him shoves to loosen him up, but Metzger held fast, as Shawn Patrick went on to win his 2nd feature of the season, while Kevin Metzger, Scott Kulesa, Peter 'Buzzy' Eriksen and Mike Bologna rounded out the top 5 in the Late Model demo derby portion of the show.  

     The Modifieds came out next to complete the regular portion of the show, with Robin Vollmoeller, Sr. on the pole, and Jason Agugliero on the outside row. When the green flew, Vollmoeller and Agugliero ran side by side, with Agugliero nosing out front a few feet, but Vollmoeller battled back, with Vollmoeller taking the lead off turn 2 on lap 2. But Agugliero dove under him going into turn 3, taking the lead off turn 4 as the battle continued, with Eddie Brunnhoelzl III moving up into 2nd briefly before Vollmoeller battled back once more, moving up to 2nd and challenging Brunnhoelzl for the spot. Brunnhoelzl held fast, as Vollmoeller and Chris Young now battled for 3rd spot, as suddenly, on lap 4, Jerry Solomito, Jr. hit the front stretch wall hard after contact, collecting Amber Fortin and John Fortin, Sr., among others, and bringing out the first caution of the race. J.Solomito was done, with severe right front damage, as was Amber Fortin. John Fortin pitted and did not return for the restart, as his crew worked in the pits to repair his car. Under the caution, Jason Agugliero was penalized one position for going below the yellow line to pass Vollmoeller for the lead earlier (new rule?), placing Eddie Brunnhoelzl on the pole for the restart. Brunnhoelzl took off when the green flew, with Agugliero, Vollmoeller, and Ken Darch following, but Tom Rogers, Jr. spun in turn 2, and was then hit in the left front by Sean McDonald, and the caution was displayed once again on lap 5, as Rogers was done with a bent left front suspension, though McDonald was able to continue.  On the next restart, Brunnhoelzl took control, getting out ahead of Agugliero, leading him, Vollmoeller, Darch and Justin Bonsignore, as a slight jumble of cars occurred in turn 2 when Don Howe fumbled for a moment and slowed things for about 1/3 of the field, until John Beatty, Jr. spun in turn 4 after some contact, and the caution waved again on lap 10. Under this caution, John Fortin, Sr. returned to the race, 6 laps down. On the next restart, Brunnhoelzl beat Agugliero into turn 1, holding the lead while getting loose, but they all picked right up and continued as Brunnhoelzl led Agugliero, Bonsignore, Vollmoeller and Chris Young as they circled the track. Bonsignore easily passed Agugliero on the bottom to move into 2nd, and Agugliero began to lose ground as he was hung on the outside, as Vollmoeller moved back into 3rd, while Young followed, and Bill Park moved into 5th.   On lap 18, Ken Darch spun in turn 2, bringing out another caution, and setting up a single file restart. Brunnhoelzl led Bonsignore off turn 4 at the start, with Vollmoeller, Park and Young still in tow, but Bonsignore made his move on lap 21, passing Brunnhoelzl cleanly off turn 4, and never looked back. Once in front of Brunnhoelzl, Bonsignore maintained a decent margin, not pulling away as Brunnhoelzl stayed within a car length for the rest of the race, even as the 2 of them pulled about 5 car lengths ahead of Vollmoeller.  Justin Bonsignore, in the M-3 Technologies #51,went on to win his 2nd race of the season, retaking the points lead by 30 markers over John Fortin, Sr., as Eddie Brunnhoelzl III, Robin Vollmoeller, in his best finish, Bill Park and Chris Young rounded out the top 5. 

     After a break of about 20 minutes so they could set up, the Hell Drivers performed next. I don't quite know what to say about this performance. The crowd certainly disapproved, with booing coming from various parts of the grandstands as the performance went on. Having seen Joie Chitwood's Thrill Show a number of times in years past, it certainly was a disappointment overall. One person near me remarked about 20 minutes into it, "If there were nothing to follow this, the stands would be empty by now."  Another yelled at some of the people who were booing, remarking, "Keep it down, you'll wake the people in front of you." Needless to say, when word of this gets around, and it will, the next time these guys roll into town, no one will come.  

     The 4 Cylinder Enduro and Bus Demo Derby followed. Both were way more entertaining, with some great racing in the Enduro 50 lapper, as Dennis Nelson held on through the mayhem to take the hard fought victory. Dennis Scott crashed the other buses into submission as he won the School Bus Demo Derby, much to the delight of the kids in attendance, who probably hoped one of their regular buses was getting destroyed. Sorry kids, school  will go on next month as originally scheduled, lol! 

News and Notes: We will not be publishing a story next week, as I am going away with my wife to celebrate our 42nd anniversary. We will resume the following week…  Matt Odwazny had Chris McGuire in his Super Pro Truck this week, and Chris is slated to drive it next week also. After starting 14th, Chris had a decent 7th place finish…  Ken Alfano returned to Late Model competition with his car repainted PINK!, replacing the green he's had the last couple of season's. A little shocking to look at at first, but easy to spot on the track. He finished 9th after starting 13th, but his car was mostly intact, unlike so many others…  Dan Turbush returned to the Late Model wars, shaking down Kevin Metzger's other car, renumbered 28 on this night, but left early with much damage after an early race crash that was no fault of Dan's….  Bill Finan filled in for Jeff Bressler last night, as Jeff was at a conference in Texas, and Bill did a fine job, though the microphone he used for on track victory lane interviews was a bit louder and it was hard to hear him clearly…  Don't forget, August 28th is the Marty Himes Old Timer's Reunion at Marty's Museum in Bay Shore. We'll also be helping Marty celebrate his 39th birthday again, though I've lost count of how many times we've done THAT so far….  Next week, Riverhead Raceway has an 8 cylinder demo derby, Modifieds, Blunderbusts, Chargers, Super Pro Trucks and Legends…  

That's it for this week, hope all had a good time this weekend. Until next time, live well and be safe. WJ

    Veteran Long Island motorsports writer Walter Johnston has a new Blog, that you can view at www.MyRaceNews.com. WJ may be contacted at wizgrand@gmail.com.

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