It was a warm, humid night in Riverhead, but the races were anything but boring. There was some great races and some great driving. The near-capacity crowd was ready on this “Miller Lite Night” of racing, so here goes………..
First Race, 20 Lap, 13 Truck Super Pro Truck Race – It started off with Brian McElearney, in the #99 truck on the pole, he maintained a good lead through the beginning of the race, in the shadows lurked Frank Dumichich, in the #5 truck, and Mike Albasini, in the #66 truck battling for second. Moving up from the eighth position was Roger Turbush, in the #88 truck. There would be a battle between Turbush and Albasini for second after Dumichich faded into the pack. Turbush would finally pass Albasini for second in lap 18, and set his sights on the leader, Brian McElearney. With one lap remaining, Turbush would pull ahead of McElearney for first place, and grab the win for his 16th Super Pro Truck victory. Great job, Roger!
Second Race, 20 Lap, 27 Car Legends Race – In a race that had more cars on the track than there was track, it would prove to be a good race. With Kyle Elwood, in the #71x car on the pole, and teammate Jeffrey Goodale, in the #46 car on his side, it looked like just another race. Kyle Soper, in the #4 car, jumps ahead of Goodale and grabs the second spot. By lap 10, The “Natural” Timmy Solomito, in the #48 car, passes Soper for second, and with some slick driving, Kyle Elwood would grab the checkers for his 4th victory this season. Nice job, Kyle!
Third Race, 20 Lap, 8 Car Chargers Race – In an exciting race, Tom Anderson, in the #23 car, starts on the pole, holds the lead until lap 2, when he spins out, enabling C.J. Lehmenn, in the #1 car, to grab the lead. There was a battle going on between Lehmann and Eric Zeh, in the #34 car for first, but by lap 12, “Radiant” Ray Minieri, in the #43 car, would make a push for second place. He would hold that until lap 19, when Chad Churilla, in the #20 car, jumped into second place. At the wave of the checkers, C.J. Lehmann would grab the victory. Way to go, C.J.!
Fourth Race, 25 Lap, 13 Car, Late Model Race – In a plain vanilla race, Shawn Patrick, in the #88 car, would be on the pole, with Jeremy McDermott, in the #4 car in second. There was a give and go between McDermott and Patrick throughout, but there were also some battles in the shadows. In the end, Jeremy McDermott would grab the checkered square, his 2nd victory this season. Congrats, Jeremy!
Fifth Race, 35 Lap, 18 Car, Modified Race – This would be a special race, with all the old favorites on the track, and some others returning to race. With a few cautions and a few spinouts, Jason Agugliaro, in the #69 car would hold the lead, while the field heated up behind him. Ryan Preece, in the #20 car, starting in the 5th position quickly made his way to the second spot by lap 18. By lap 28, Preece would make his move on Agugliaro, and overtake him for first. He wold hold this spot right to the finish, and into victory lane. It would be his 3rd victory of the year. Kids, this guy is the real deal, an outstanding driver with mucho talent. Great race, Ryan!
Making his first appearance this year at Riverhead, was Megasaurus, a fire breathing, car-crunching robot that unveils itself from inside a tank! I haven’t seen anything that scary since divorce court. The kids were going wild as it tore apart a small station wagon in the infield of the track. Megasaurus crunched and bent the car in its claws, as fire spewed out of its large mouth. The kids were in a frenzy as Megasaurus made short work of the car, setting it on fire, and then letting out a resounding belch of satisfaction. I haven’t heard something like that since my last family BBQ. The children in the stands were satisfied, parents were happy, and to all a good night.
Well motor heads, it was another fine night of racing, with some great driving, and some out of this world monsters. I’m gonna go wash the evenings races off, check under my bed for Megasaurus, and have a late night stogie for good measure. A big hello to Wendy, Rich, thanks for the hat, Track services, another great job, Brigandi Brothers towing A-one, RiverheadLocal.com, and my dear wife, and Boy Scout troop 363 from Sayville. See you next time… at the races!
Be Safe & Be Well,
George
RiverheadLOCAL photos by George Faella
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