Monster night at Riverhead Raceway

The Monsters invaded Riverhead last night, no not a zombie apocalypse, but the fearsome monster trucks! They swept into town on Friday, and were ready to rock & roll on this steamy Saturday night. It was the Commercial Drivers Training Institute Inc. feature sponsor for the Super Pro Truck race. So lets get to it……

First Race, 20 Lap, 14 Super Pro Trucks – Commercial Drivers Institute Inc. feature race. At the throw of the green, “Dangerous” Dave Koenig, in the #29 truck, vaulted into the lead, with Mark Stewart, in the #8 truck and Mark’s uncle, Roger Turbush in the #88 truck giving chase. By lap 6, Stewart and Turbush began to make their moves on the leader Koenig. A few laps later, with Stewart in the lead, Turbush developed truck issues and faded into the pack, leaving Lou Maestri, in the #1 truck, the second spot. With not enough laps left for Maestri to make a move, the freshman Mark Stewart would grab the checkers for his third victory this season. Nice Job Mark !!

Second Race, 20 Lap, 27 Car Legends Race – With the wave of the green, a streaking Vinny Delaney, in the #17 car, would grab the lead, with Brad Van Houten, in the #09 car, a close second. But by lap 3, Van Houten would grab first from Delaney and never look back. By lap 8, Timmy “The Natural” Solomito, in the #48 car, would pass Delaney for second, with his sights on Van Houten. By the end, after a few mishaps, Van Houten would grab the checkered square for the victory. Nice Job Brad !!

Third Race, 25 Lap, 12 Car Late Model Race – In a rare pole start, former Late Models Champion Scott Kulesa, in the #10 car, would move to the lead at the wink of the green. In the second spot, Chris LaSpisa, in the #7 car, would make several tries to move past Kulesa, but Scott would have none of that. By midway through, Kulesa would pull away, and hold on for the victory, his first of the season. Congrats Scott !!

Fourth Race, 35 Lap, 22 Car Modified Race – In what would be a race long heated battle between John Fortin, in the #84 car, and Timmy “The Natural” Solomito, in the #15 car would also prove to be the undoing for both drivers as things got hairy at midpoint of the race. Solomito and Fortin were in an all out battle, as well as Tom Rogers Jr., in the #0 car and Dave Sapienza, in the #5 car battling for third and fourth positions. By lap 13, Sapienza would take a hit from Rogers Jr. After the caution was lifted, Solomito would try and turn up the pressure on Fortin, with pressure coming from Rogers Jr. as well in third. By lap 30, Solomito would come into the back of Fortins car, sending him into a spin. NASCAR officials put Solomito in the rear of the pack for rough riding. With this new found fortune, Rogers Jr. would get the lead, with Howie Brode, in the #96 car, second. With 5 laps remaining, Rogers Jr. would put some distance between himself and Brode. In the end, Tom Rogers Jr. would grab the checkers for the victory, his second in two weeks. Nice Job Tom !!

Fifth Race, 4 Cylinder Demolition Derby – Matt Mulqueen, in only his second start this season, keeps his record perfect with his second victory over Rich Fowler in the demolition derby. Nice Job Matt !!

Monster Trucks – By now the kiddies in attendance were frothing at the mouth for the long awaited appearance of the Monster Trucks, the tension was high as the announcer began to introduce the four trucks. Making their way onto the track was the world famous Bigfoot, followed by the Stinger, Instigator, and the Metal Monster. These trucks would mix it up in several one on one matches, free styling, and “car crushability” The kids loved every minute of it, and the roar of the crowd would grow with every crushed roof, and burnout. This writer would not mind having one of these vehicles for use on the L.I.E every morning. Overall, it was a great night !!

Well race fans, its good to be back after a two week layoff, All the best to Wendy at the VIP window, Track services, another stellar job, after a busy night, Commercial Driver Training for the sponsor , RiverheadLOCAL for their support, My dear wife, great notes! Kevin from “Need For Speed” videos, and Mike the track photog. Well time to pick the car parts from my hair, wash the grime from my face, and get set for another week of racing. Be safe my Friends, support our Troops, and I will see you next week…AT THE RACES!

Be Well,
George

RiverheadLOCAL photos by George Faella

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