Riverhead Raceway Regulars Compete at the 41st Annual Turkey Derby
The 41st annual Turkey Derby at Wall Stadium Speedway featured plenty of wild moves and tight racing on a below-freezing Saturday afternoon. Long Island’s Dave Sapienza started on the pole for the Tour Type Modified 150-lap feature, and led the first 90 laps. However, after making a pit stop during a Lap 91 caution, the No. 36 car fell to the back of the pack, giving Wall’s regular Eric Mauriello the lead. Evidently, the No. 14 car took home the victory in a close finish with Les Hinckley.
“We were loose in the beginning, and it got better after we pitted,” said Mauriello following his victory. “The SK race was a lot rougher than the Tour one was. You have to know the right lines and have good restarts. I’ve been coming here since I was a little kid. Running that car only once a year, it means a lot.”
Mauriello’s fiercest competitor, Matt Hirschman, was inside of the top-five throughout the race. After making a pit stop that put him ninth on the grid on lap 83, he worked his way back up the field until his shot at the victory shattered. 2014 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Champion Doug Coby wrecked in turn 1 on lap 90 and in doing so, Hirschman slammed into the wall, along with Andrew Krause.
Ryan Preece ended the day in the eighth position after running as high as second. The 2013 Modified Tour champion struggled on restarts as he was positioned on the high line for the majority of the day. His Tommy Baldwin Racing teammate Jimmy Blewett finished third after picking up four spots in the final 26 laps.
2014 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Rookie of the Year Timmy Solomito was the highest finishing Long Island-native for the Turkey Derby. Although he only finished 11th, he struggled and was nearly lapped late in the race while piloting the No. 15 car for Wayne Anderson.
Sapienza was ecstatic following the race. Although he wrecked five laps following his pit stop, the No. 36 car was the dominant car of the day. Leading the most laps during the Tour race, he finished 21st, but still had a giant smile on his face.
“I didn’t even expect to get into the race,” Sapienza explained. “The car was just starting to go away and I figured that I would have fresher tires than everyone else since they all pitted 15-20 laps before me. I wanted to try to work my way through the field because I knew there would be more cautions. I just didn’t know I would be one of the cautions. I got into the back of the No. 0 a little bit. He lost it, and when he spun, he came up the track and it took out my left-front fender. We were really fast. I loved it. I was leading the whole way.”
Kyle Ellwood, who made his Modified Tour debut earlier this year at Riverhead Raceway, had an alternator go sour while racing for a position inside of the top-10. The No. 17 team owned by John Ellwood, Jr. attempted to stay out, but in the middle of Lap 110, he pulled into the infield.
“I ran here in the Legends car, but every time I come here, we started up front,” said Ellwood, who had a smile on his face following his modified debut at Wall. “This was my first time starting at the back at this place, and it was hairy. The car started breaking up and we lost the alternator; the belt popped off. When I wrecked the front, we blew the alternator belt off of the radiator hose. At that rate, you just lose all power to the motor and it starts breaking up. It is definitely a wild place to run. I’d love to come back in a better car and do a little better. This is a place where if you can run up front, it’s going to be a wild race.”
After struggling in qualifying, Riverhead regular Ken Darch had to contend in the 25-lap qualifier to make the race. However, on lap 2, he was hit and sent spinning after struggling with a loose condition. Darch missed the feature event with another spin on lap 19. Former NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield attempted to make the race, but was involved in a wreck after being sent to the rear of the field for being overly aggressive on lap 5. John Markovic made his way into the feature with a victory over David Calabrese.
Blewett Captures SK Victory
Eric Mauriello wasn’t quite able to sweep the modified events on Saturday. As the sun set for the 100-lap SK Modified feature, Jimmy Blewett was able to score the victory after coming close in the Tour Type Modified race earlier in the day.
Racing the No. 18 car, Blewett had a 1.114-second advantage over Jonathan Mandato when the checkered flag waved on the cold evening. Matt Hirschman dominated the race in his No. 41 car, but fell back to fourth after Blewett took the lead with 10 laps to go.
“I really wanted to get a win in that Baldwin car for Tommy and for his son, Gary Putnam and Bono Manion,” said Blewett. “Just a week ago, that car was a bare frame and they put it together for me to come to this race. It means a lot to me because I put a lot of hard work into it at my own shop. My personal crew helped me with this car. We came here and practiced this car last weekend, and I just wasn’t 100 percent with it.”
On Lap 36, Trevor Alspach brought out the caution for an engine failure entering turn 3, with major smoke billowing out of his No. 86 car. Jeremy Mayfield, who made this event based on the promoter’s choice, was the first car to get lapped on lap 15. He finished 16th after driving his car back into the pits with less than 20 laps remaining in the race.
On Lap 48, Richie Cooper got into the wall in his No. 4 machine. Simultaneously, Chad Churilla wrecked going into turn 1.
Zane Zeiner worked his way inside of the top-five during the race in the No. 76 car. After a series of cautions from Lap 73 to Lap 83, Zeiner and Blewett were involved in an incident in Turn 1. Although it appeared as if the No. 76 got into the No. 18 car, track officials said that Zeiner caused the incident.
“I thought I was clear, but I wasn’t,” explained Zeiner, who finished 12th. “That was between my spotter and I there. I went up on Jimmy (Blewett) and then just went for a ride. We had a bad time trial run, drove to the front, short pitted and made an adjustment and the car was on rails. It just didn’t work out; it’s Wall Stadium.”
Ormsbee Dominates Limited Late Model Feature
During the 50-lap Limited Late Model event, no one was able to keep up with Rob Ormsbee. The No. 119 car, which had a front-end that was shaped like a Dirt Late Model, led every lap to score the Turkey Derby Victory.
Marc Rogers came home in second-place to Ormsbee, and nearly caught him in lap traffic. However, running times several tenths faster than the rest of the field, Ormsbee was able to pull away.
Riverhead track champion Eric Zeh struggled throughout the race. He was involved in a three-car wreck on Lap 9, but rebounded to finish eighth in the No. 34 car. His teammate Greg Immerman finished 16th after being involved in the same wreck as Zeh. Mike Mujsce was entered in the No. 13 car, but finished in 14th-place; four laps down.
Rick Ross Jr. scored the victory by six seconds in the Dirt Modified 50-lap feature. Matt Janisch won the 25-lap TQ Midget feature, which featured a flip by Mike Tidaback. Tidaback was taken on a stretcher following the accident on the backstretch, but was under his own power. Riverhead Raceway regular Richie Davidowitz captured the Legends car victory on Friday afternoon.
TOUR TYPE MODIFIED FEATURE – 150 Laps – 1. ERIC MAURIELLO, HOWELL, 2. Les Hinckley, 3. Jimmy Blewett, 4. Anthony Sesely, 5. Doug Coby, 6. Shaun Carrig, 7. Andrew Krause, 8. Ryan Preece, 9. John Beatty, 10. Danny Bohn, 11. Tim Solomito, 12. Shawna Ingraham, 13. Justin Gumley, 14. Ron Silk, 15. Jamie Tomaino, 16. John Markovic, 17. Woody Pitkat, 18. Jason Treat, 19. Kyle Ellwood, 20. Tim Arre, 21. Dave Sapienza, 22. Matt Hirschman, 23. Anthony Nocella, 24. Andy Jankowiak, 25. Zane Zeiner, 26. Billy Pauch, Jr.
DOWNS FORD MODIFIED FEATURE – 100 Laps – 1. JIMMY BLEWETT, HOWELL, 2. Jonathan Mandato, 3. Shanon Mongeau, 4. Matt Hirschman, 5. Michael Gervais, 6. Jason Treat, 7. Chas Okerson, 8. Mauriello, 9. Krause, 10. Chris Reynolds, 11. Dennis Perry, 12. Zeiner, 13. Steven Reed, 14. Ken Matlach, 15. Ingraham, 16. Jeremy Mayfield, 17. Derek Hopkinson, 18. Zack Alspach, 19. Earl Paules, 20. Adam LaCicero, 21. Chad Churilla, 22. Jason Hearne, 23. Ron Frees, 24. Richie Cooper, 25. Trevor Alspach, 26. Anthony Sesely
TQ MIDGET FEATURE – 25 Laps – MATT JANISCH, 2. Buddy Sloed Jr., 3. Joey Payne, 4. Joey Bailey, 5. Ryan Tidman, 6. Avery Stoehr, 7. Carl Mederos Jr., 8. Mike Occupinti, 9. Matt Roselli, 10. Jimmy Wollcot, 11. Geoffrey Sutton, 12. Zach Burd, 13. Phil Dimario, 14. Mike Tidaback, 15. Russ Bailey, 16. Mark Rogers
DIRT MODIFIED FEATURE – 50 Laps – RICKY ROSS, 2. Jack Ely, Jr., 3. Joey Payne, 4. Mark Levy, 5. Andrew Krause, 6. David Gorbatuk, 7. Aleisa Geisler, 8. Bill Briggs, 9. Jay Kosch, 10. Mike Wahl, 11. Scott Hulmes, 12. Rick Yetter, 13. Jim Martin.
LIMITED LATE MODEL – 50 Laps – 1. ROB ORMSBEE, WALL, 2. Marc Rogers, 3. Brian Dyloe, 4. Corey Osland, 5. Howie Conk, 6. John Vullo, 7. James White, 8. Eric Zeh, 9. Dave Roys, 10. Michelle Moorman, 11. Ray Minieri, 12. Nick Shaw, 13. Brandon Stowell, 14. Mike Musce, 15. Glen Conk, 16. Greg Immerman, 17. Bill Frisbee, 18. Steve Rogers, 19. Ronnie Mullen, 20. Joe Mancuso, 21. John Parker, DQ. Mike Tillett, Gary Noe, Wayne Coury
SPORTSMAN – 50 Laps – 1. KEVIN DAVISON, HOWELL, 2. Andrew Krause, 3. Kenny Van Wickle, 4. Larry Thompson, 5. Joe King, 6. Robbie Walton, 7. Chris Lane, 8. Marc Nappi, 9. Eric Lane, 10. Jason Caruso, 11. Joe Cocca, 12. Mike Haggenbottom, 13. Dom Fattaruso, 14. Jonathan Laureigh, 15. Matt Langbein, 16. Steve Kopcak, 17. Rob Silver
FACTORY STOCK FEATURE (FRIDAY) – 40 Laps – 1. ROB MCCORMICK, 2. Joey Helberg, 3. Joe Mongeau, 4. Ronnie Mullen, 5. Neil Rutt, 6. Steve West, 7. Tiffany Olejnik, 8. Terry Cain, 9. Rob Haberstick, 10. Joe Stongvila, 11. Whitey Miller, 12. Marty Van Druten, 13. Tim O’Shea, 14. Scott Maher, 15. Dan Birdsall, 16. Andrew Krause, 17. John Bowers, 18, Jerry Koenig, 19. Dan Birdsall, 20. Josh Matthews, 21. Brian Doyle, 22. Scott Riggleman, 23. AJ Jadacki, 24. Lee Allen, 25. Terry Stiles, 26. Eddie Mistretta, 27. Chris Felber, 28. Matt Guadago
FACTORY STOCK FEATURE (SUNDAY) – 1. JOE MONGEAU, 2. McCormick, 3. Rick Mongeau, 4. Olejnik, 5. Mullen, 6. Rutt, 7. Bowers, 8. Helberg, 9. Allen, 10. Darren Cox, 11. Mike Montano, 12. Tom Chillsczyn, 13. Guadago, 14. Cain, 15. Koenig, 16. Miller, 17. Danny Bruer, 18. Matthews, 19. O’Shea, 20. Dan Springfield, 21. Maher, 22, Mistretta, 23. Riggleman, 24. Brian Brown, 25. West, 26. Van Druten
LEGEND CARS FEATURE (FRIDAY) – 30 Laps – 1. RICH DAVIDOWITZ, 2. Kyle Dealaman, 3. Brad Van Houten, 4. Robert French, 5. Devin O’Connell, 6. Nick Ladyga, 7. Joe Osborne, 8. Art Pederson, 9. Kevin Nowak, 10. Matt Maring, 11. Greg Harris, 12. Mitchell Dowd, 13. Kyle Dealaman, 14. Lou Keraitis, 15. Josh Indig, 16. Chris Gall, 17. Mike Van Houten, 18. John O’Sullivan, 19. Nick Van Wickle, 20. John Beatty, 21. Justin Strumpf, 22. Casey Robicheau, 23. Austin Langenstein, 24. Eugen Drew, 25. Matt Kurzjewski, 26. Lawbed Johnson
LEGEND CARS FEATURE (SUNDAY) – 40 Laps – 1. NICK LADYGA, 2. O’Connell, 3. Osborne, 4. Beatty, 5. Brian Spencer, 6. Strumpf, 7. Marring, 8. Nowak, 9. Harris, 10. Dowd, 11. Dealaman, 12. Davidowitz, 13. Ketaitis, 14. Robicheau, 15. Gall, 16. Nick Van Wickle, 17. O’Sullivan, 18. James Van Wickle, 19. Roger Nickerson, 20. Vincent Delaney
4 CYLINDER STOCK (FRIDAY) – 1. BRIEN CROSBY, WALL, 2, Jordan Hadley, 3. Alonzo Morales, 4. Tommy Lamonia, 5. Mitch Bombard, 6. Mike Wahl, 7. Jeff Ackerman, 8. John Carpenter, 9. Ray Herman, 10. Rob Willis, 11. TJ Graves, 12. Ron Lane, 13. Zack Haspel, 14. Ron Becker, 15. Corey Stockert, 16. Darren Burdge, 17. Christain LaCicero, 18. Joe King, 19. Jay Lane
4 CYLINDER STOCK (SUNDAY) – 1. BRIEN CROSBY, WALL, 2. Jay Lane, 3. Mullen, 4. Wahl, 5. Bombard, 6. Ackerman, 7. Becker, 8. Robbie Dunn, 9. Haspel, 10. Mike Lavery, 11. Morales, 12. Jay Conrad, 13. Jessica Dunn, 14. Graves, 15. Burdge, 16. Walt McIntyre, 17. Ron Lane, 18. Willis, 19. Herman, 20. Tom Graves, 21. Walt McIntyre, 22. Todd Dige, 23. Mike Dunn, 24. Rich Massaro
Source: Joseph Wolkin/LongIslandJam