2013 Season Preview Series: Shawn Solomito, Kyle Ellwood and More

LongIslandJam.com’s next installment of its 2013 Season Preview series includes Modified drivers Shawn Solomito, Tom Rogers Jr. and Ryan Preece, Super Pro Truck driver Roger Turbush, Figure 8 driver Brian Hansen, Blunderbust driver CJ Zukowski and Legend car driver Kyle Ellwood.

Last season, Shawn Solomito, driver of the No. 66, not only won the track championship but also the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series New York state crown. He dedicated his winning season to Keri and Jason Trinca, a mother and son whose lives were cut short by a tragic accident in October of 2011; their photo had been taped to the sheet metal inside of Solomito’s car all year for good luck. However for 2013, Solomito’s plans are undecided due to sponsorship. He would like to attend a few of the Whelen Modified Tour shows this year but everything is still pending. Supporting Solomito for 2013 are his current sponsors EM Power Capital, Meade’s Welding and Fabricating, Acme Sanitary and American Tent. Solomito would like to thank his crew for all of their dedication and support that helped him win his championship; they include his crew chief, Butch Capuano; Jay Trinca; Dennis Mazzalonga; his uncle, Glenn; his loving wife and car chief, Kristy; his father, Jerry; and his brothers, Jerry and Timmy. He would also like to send out a special thanks to his wife, Kristy, for all of her love and support; his father, Jerry; his uncle, Glenn and his brother, Timmy, for allowing him to use his car when his was destroyed early on in the season.

Tom Rogers Jr. plans on taking it one day at a time for the 2013 season. “We want a repeat of the luck we had last year, except we want a lot more wins and hopefully capture the 2013 Modified championship,” said Rogers. This season Rogers teams up with Marisa Niederauer, driver of the No. 74 Modified. “My goal is to help her reach her goal,” said Rogers, “Help her get top-five [finishes.” Sponsoring Rogers this season will be Jessup Landscaping, Eastern Concrete and Tanger Outlet. Rogers would like to thank the following people for all their dedication and support: his brother-in-law, Michael Berner; Helmet; Brian; Joe; and George along with the entire Rogers clan.

Ryan Preece will be racing Bill Park’s No. 20 Modified at Riverhead Raceway once again for the 2013 season. “I’m pretty excited to be returning,” said Preece. “Bill is a great car owner and I am very grateful to be learning from him.” Besides running full-time at Riverhead, Preece will also run the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in the Flamingo Motorsports No. 16 car. Sponsoring Bill and Barbara Park No. 20 are East West Marine, J.A.D Carpet Showcase, Meade’s Welding and Fabricating, Elite Transport, Performance Autobody, In Style Salon, Righteous Window Cleaning, AP Brakes and Oval Speed Unlimited. Supporting Preece in the pits are Bill Park’s long-time crew that include Dave Wheeler; Stacia Park; Bill Park Jr.; Bob Patanjo; Adam Wheeler and Mike Ferrante. Preece would like to send a special thanks out to Bill and Barbara Park for this great opportunity, Brian Slaga for all of his help and support and his girlfriend, Heather for all of her love and support throughout his racing career.

Roger Turbush, driver of the No. 88, won the Super Pro Truck Championship in 2012. For 2013, Turbush plans on running a full season at Riverhead Raceway. “I also plan on running a few races on the New England Truck Series at [Connecticut’s] Stafford, Thompson, and Waterford speedways,” said Turbush. Turbush’s goals for 2013 are to win a few races and hopefully the championship again, although his main focus will be his nephew, Mark Stewart. “I hope to take my nephew and help him in his rookie season in the trucks,” said Turbush. Also at the conclusion of the 2013 season, Turbush plans on taking a break from racing his truck to pursue other obligations. “I’m looking to sell the truck this year in order to help take the next step in life by marrying my beautiful fiancé, Stephanie, and buying a house together,” said Turbush. Helping sponsor Turbush in 2013 are Rheem, Allied Air Conditioning, Superior Systems, Outlaw Inc., Frank’s Trannys and Rear, Boot Fabrication and Prototype Fabrication. In the pits, Turbush’s crew is always there supporting him; they include: Buddy “Ace” Turbush; Chris “Bulldozer” Turbush; John “The Toolman” Shadecker; Will “Thrill” Jackson; Darryl “No Smoking” Atkinson; “Rappin’” Ray Bouchard; his father, “Dynamite” Dan Turbush and his brother, Chris Turbush.

Brian Hansen raced primarily go-karts last season at Riverhead Raceway, but this year he’s stepping up into the Figure 8 division. Hansen’s main goal for this season is to learn as much as he can. “I want to learn how to get up front with the big boys and dance around with them on the track,” said Hansen. Hansen learned last year that having patience is the key to getting up front.  “I want to be a good driver out there and for people to take notice and sponsor me, and maybe let me drive their car in the future,” said Hansen. Hansen will be drive the No. 88 Figure 8 this season. Sponsoring him this season will be Kerrie’s Kandies of Coram, and Extreme Flights.

CJ Zukowski races in the Blunderbusts again in 2013. For this season, he hopes to fix some of the issues he faced with his race car last year. “The back end always kicked out last year,” said Zukowski. “We’ve got to work on that for this season.” Zukowski’s goal for the 2013 campaign is just to do better than last season and hopefully pick up some sponsors. “I just want to try to get some top 10 finishes,” said Zukowski. “I don’t have any sponsors right now, but we’re still looking for some.”

Kyle Ellwood, driver of the No. 71x and 2012 Legend Car Champion at Riverhead Raceway, will race in both the Legend car and the Modified divisions for 2013. “My plans for the new season is to hopefully win another Legend Championship at Riverhead and try to win a Modified race,” said Ellwood. Ellwood also plans on running as many out-of-state races as he can. “I plan to head to Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina for a couple of shows along with a few races at Mountain Speedway in Pennsylvania and Waterford Speedbowl in Connecticut,” said Ellwood. Currently Ellwood seeks sponsorship for his No. 71x Modified. Sponsoring his No. 71x Legend car are: Riverhead Building Supply and SpeedWorld FX. Supporting him in the pits Kevin Chew; Anthony Chiaramonte; his teammate, Jeff Goodale; Ed Zeh; Eric Zeh; Jarrod Zeltmann and his father, John Ellwood. “I would like to thank Russell and Cathy Goodale for getting me were I am today and for all of their support,” said Ellwood Ellwood would also like to thank his father, John; for all that he has done for his racing career and lastly, Ellwood would like to thank his girlfriend, Jaclyn; for all of her love and support.

Source: Danielle McCormack/Rob Blount/LongIslandJam.com