At the races: August 3

The rain clouds gave way to a beautiful sky just in time for a great night of racing at Riverhead Raceway. It would be a mix of young and seasoned behind the wheel tonight, so let’s get to it:

First Race, 20 Lap, 13 Super Pro Truck Race – In what seemed a race that did not want to get off it’s own feet and go, turned into quite a event. Brian McElearney, in the #99 truck, starting in the second position, jumps into first to lead the way. In lap 7, McElearney would lose power to his truck, ending his day on the track. This would open the door for Mark Stewart, in the #8 truck to grab the first position. After a series of accidents in laps 8 and 9, Stewart would hold the lead for good, grabbing the checkers for his second win in a row, not bad for a 15 year old. Great job, Mark!

Second Race, 20 Lap, 16 car Blunderbust Race – In what would be a quiet race, with Jack Handley Jr., in the #49 car starting on the pole. Handley Jr. would run a clean race all the way through. There was a battle between Bill Wegmann Sr., in the #79 car, and Tommy ” Wild Child” Walkowiak, in the #00 car for second place, with Walkowiak eventually winning the duel. In the end, 17 year old Jack Handley Jr. would win his second race of the year. Nice job, Jack!

Third Race, 20 Lap, 11 Car Charger Race – Another quiet race, with “Radiant” Ray Minieri, in the #43 car on the pole, to start things off. Minieri jumped out to lead the pack. There were small scrums for position between C.J. Lehmann, in the #1 car and Rich Wilson, in the #12 car, as well as Eric Zeh, in the #34 car, and Chad Churilla, in the #20 car. After a small accident between Jayson White, in the #45 car and Arne Pedersen, in the #84 car brought out the caution in lap 16, the smoke would clear, and the “Radiant” one, Ray Minieri would claim the checkerd square and notch another win to his belt, his 18th career win, third win this year. Congrats, Ray!

Fourth Race, 25 Lap, 10 Car Late Model Race – At the wave of the green, Kevin Metzger, in the #23 car would vault out into first position with Shawn Patrick, in the #88 car second, and Jeremy McDermott, in the #4 car in third. By lap 4, McDermott would pass Patrick and gain the second position. There was also a battle for position between Roger Oxee, in the #39 car and Scott Kulesa, in the #7 car. As the race progressed, it would be tight back and fourth between McDermott and Metzger, with Ken Alfano, in the #35 car lurking in the shadows. In lap 22, McDermott would look to pass Metzger for the lead in turn 3, but hit the wall and spun out, ending his run for the roses. This would leave Metzger holding off the late charge of Alfano, and Roger Oxee, to grab the checkers and his first win since May 22, 2010. His 11th career win. Great going, Kevin!

Fifth Race, Twin 30 Lap, 14 Car Modified Race – In the first 30, Timmy “The Natural” Solomito, in the #15 car, started on the pole, and quickly took the lead. By lap 2, Dave Sapienza, in the #5 car, would scoot into the second position, with Howie Brode, in the #96 car, taking third position, after starting in the sixth spot. This order would remain intact until the first 30 laps were completed, with “The Natural” Timmy Solomito winning the first half of the twin 30’s. Nice racing, Timmy!

Second half of the twin 30s had Timmy Solomito back in the lead. But by lap 2, Howie Brode would vault ahead of Dave Sapienza for second place with his sights on the race leader Solomito. With some slick driving in lap 3, Brode would grab the lead from Solomito, and the race was on. In lap 16, a pileup in turn 4 between Sapienza, Dave Brigati, Vin Biondolillo would slow the pace down, causing a single file restart. By lap 18, it would be Brode, Timmy Solomito, and Shawn Solomito in the 1-2-3 order. Howie Brode would cruise to victory in the second half of the Twin 30’s. Great job, Howie !!

Well, race fans, that about sums it up for another night of racing at Riverhead Raceway, with my apologies to the Enduros, for which I do not have the results as of this printing.

Hi to Wendy in the ticket booth, always gracious, Track Services, always on the job, you deserve a raise! Brigandi Bothers, complete towing & automotive service, Mike the photog, I’m glad Indy treated you well, my dear wife for taking great notes, Pete & Denise at RiverheadLOCAL.com, great friends, the race officials, the snack bar for ALWAYS having ice cold bottled water.

Well, time to scrub the dust from my skull, pull the tire rubber from my teeth, and call it a night. Take care, Motorheads, stay safe, and until next time, I will see you…
“AT THE RACES”

Be Well,
George

RiverheadLOCAL photos by George Faella
Click thumbnails to enlarge images
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