Tom Rogers Jr. Sweeps Opening Night Twin 30’s

For the past two years, Shawn Solomito captured victories in the twin 30-lap main events at Riverhead Raceway for the season-opener. However, that streak came to an end as the moon beamed down on a chilly evening at the 1/5 of a mile oval.

Tom Rogers Jr. drew the fifth position after turning the quickest lap in time trials, but that didn’t stop him from getting his first win of the season. Sweeping the 30-lap events, Rogers, who is running part-time this year with a focus on the Whelen Modified Tour, went into Victory Lane in the No. 0 car for Joe Ambrose.

“It’s my first time winning on opening night in a modified, and it’s one of the goals that we set,” Rogers said. “I’m just proud of the guys. Without them, I couldn’t do this. It’s always a [confidence] booster, and I have a real good Tour ride.”

Ryan Preece, who was second quickest in qualifying, drew the fourth position, and fell outside of the top 10 on the first lap after getting sent into the infield entering Turn 1. However, he made his way through the field, and evidently finished second in both races.

Timmy Solomito led a handful of laps in the No. 99 car, but lost the lead after spinning his tires on a restart on Lap 7. He finished last after he had a mechanical issue, and finished 16th in the second race. His brother, Shawn, finished 13th and 15th, respectively, after being involved in multiple incidents on the night.

During the second race, there was an eight-car wreck entering the backstretch. The No. 84 car got loose coming off the corner, and George Brunnhoelzl III got into him, which created a massive pile-up. The wreck created a 15-minute red flag, and the race went 20 minutes over its scheduled time.

Richie Davidowitz Captures Legends Victory

After being quickest in qualifying, Richie Davidowitz started sixth on Saturday. However, the poor draw did not get in the way of the No. 25 car. Vinny Delaney drew the pole position, and held the lead for several laps until Davidowitz worked his way to the front.

On Lap 9, he passed Ray Fitzgerald for the second position, and evidently took the top spot six laps later. Delaney and Davidowitz split a lap car on Lap 13, and raced side-by-side for several laps. However, the high line gave Davidowitz momentum entering the straightaways, which gave him the opening night victory.

The caution came out immediately to start the race, as Artie Pedersen III hit the wall in Turn 1 on the first lap. He went over to Brad Van Houten’s car during the caution period – showing his displeasure as the cars lurked around near the frontstretch. On Lap 18, Van Houten was involved in another incident – this time with Fitzgerald inside of the top five.

Jeremy McDermott Scores Opening Night Win

Starting fourth was no problem for Jeremy McDermott on Saturday evening. Taking his No. 4 car to the front on Lap 9, he took home the trophy during the season-opener.

“It’s the best way to start off the season,” McDermott said. “It definitely helps. Whenever you win, it gets everyone’s spirits up and everyone tries harder.”

For the first caution of the race, the No. 88 car spun out on Lap 1. Five laps later, the No. 24 car was getting lapped and did not move out of the way of the lead pack. Scott Kulesa wrecked hard in Turn 1.

John Baker Wins After Controversial Finish with Eric Zeh

From the start of the race, Eric Zeh’s No. 34 car was extremely quick. Taking advantage of the clean air, he had a several car length lead throughout the race. However, after a caution on Lap 16, John Baker made a daring move on the restart to win the season-opener.

Baker’s No. 07 car was seen passing Zeh just after the start/finish line as the field took the green flag with a handful of laps remaining. Following the race, Zeh and his team argued with race officials that he was hit from behind and also was passed before the start/finish line. However, after further video review, track officials determined there was no illegal pass made.

“It pushes up that much more forward,” said Baker. “The whole race, I knew it is opening night and everyone has opening night jitters, so I just hung back. I felt a push from behind and I hit Zeh, who was in front of me, and at that point – if you lay off the throttle, you are going to get hit from behind. I just had to go with it. I definitely had some help from behind, that’s for sure.”

Reigning Champion Lou Maestri Wins Super Pro Truck Race

The No. 1 truck was first again on Saturday evening. Lou Maestri, who won the Super Pro Truck championship in 2014, kept his momentum going entering the season-opener this season. After starting fourth, Maestri worked his way to the lead on Lap 11 on the low line over Mike Albasini.

As the green flag waved, the No. 15 truck of Gerald Giordano hit the wall in Turn 1 to bring out the first caution of the season.  Brian McElearney took the lead early on, but went into the infield on Lap 12. Jimmy Rennick Jr. spun out on Lap 4, but was able to come back for a third-place finish behind Albasini.

Jack Handley Jr. Takes Checkered Flag for Blunderbusts

It was another opening night to remember for Jack Handley Jr. For the second consecutive season, his No. 49 car went into Victory Lane to start the season. Tim Mulqueen held the lead until Lap 5, but that is when Handley made a cross-over move to take the top position and never looked back.

After Brian Brown spun out on Lap 7, he intentionally hit Tommy Walkowiak on the restart – bringing out another caution. Being disqualified for their actions, both drivers are subject to possible penalties. Brown was seen running across the pit area following the incident, but team members held him back before he reached Walkowiak’s car.

Legends Results:

  1. Richie Davidowitz
  2. Vinny Delaney
  3. Greg Harris
  4. Paul Dodorico
  5. John Beatty Jr.
  6. Dylan Slepian
  7. George Tomko Jr.
  8. Josh Williams
  9. Chris Rogers
  10. Michael Rutkoski
  11. Eddie Fatscher
  12. Allan Pedersen
  13. Ray Fitzgerald
  14. Brad Van Houten
  15. Mike Van Houten Jr.
  16. Shawn Wanat
  17. Bryan Kelly
  18. Kurt Krieger
  19. Bobby Jones
  20. Ed Cheslak
  21. Steve Hersey
  22. Eric Hersey
  23. Jerry Curran
  24. Bill Fitzgerald
  25. Eric Henschel
  26. Wally Davidowitz
  27. Steve Smith
  28. Artie Pedersen III

Super Pro Truck Results:

  1. Lou Maestri
  2. Mike Albasini
  3. Jimmy Rennick Jr.
  4. Mark Stewart
  5. Dave Brigati
  6. Kevin Scharfenberg
  7. Amanda Anderson
  8. Brian McElearney
  9. Gerald Giordano

Blunderbusts Results:

  1. Jack Handley Jr.
  2. Joe Warren
  3. Bill Wegmann Sr.
  4. Tim Mulqueen
  5. Terry Stiles
  6. Jim Laird
  7. Tom Pickerell
  8. Ed Mistretta
  9. Tom Sullivan
  10. Tom Puccia
  11. Derek Wegmann
  12. Bill Wegmann Jr.
  13. Robert Ehrle
  14. Chris Van Cott
  15. Scott Maliszewski
  16. Tommy Walkowiak (DQ)
  17. Brian Brown (DQ)

Late Model Results:

  1. Jeremy McDermott
  2. Roger Oxee
  3. Chris Lescenski
  4. Chris McGuire
  5. Shawn Patrick
  6. Kyle Harvell
  7. Kevin Metzger
  8. Chris LaSpisa
  9. Richie Davidowitz
  10. Jack Orlando
  11. Mike Bologna
  12. Scott Kulesa
  13. Timmy Solomito
  14. Jarrod Hayes
  15. Kaitlyn Schober

Chargers Results:

  1. John Baker
  2. Eric Zeh
  3. CJ Lehmann
  4. Owen Grennan
  5. David Roys
  6. Ray Minieri
  7. Steve Mastro
  8. Greg Immerman
  9. Jason Hansen
  10. Rich Wilson
  11. Chris Turbush
  12. Dennis Cunningham
  13. Cory Midgett

First Modified Twin-30 Results:

  1. Tom Rogers Jr.
  2. Ryan Preece
  3. Kyle Soper
  4. John Beatty Jr.
  5. Dave Sapienza
  6. Howie Brode
  7. Jason Agugliaro
  8. George Brunnhoelzl III
  9. John Fortin Sr.
  10. Vinny Biondolillo
  11. Brendon Bock
  12. Ken Darch
  13. Shawn Solomito
  14. Eddie Brunnhoelzl Jr.
  15. John Fortin Jr.
  16. Dave Brigati
  17. Fred Vordemeier Jr.
  18. Jerry Solomito Jr.
  19. Al Ermmarino
  20. Kyle Ellwood
  21. Ken Vogel Jr.
  22. Timmy Solomito

Second Modified Twin-30 Results:

  1. Tom Rogers Jr.
  2. Ryan Preece
  3. Jason Agugliaro
  4. George Brunnhoelzl III
  5. Dave Brigati
  6. Eddie Bunnhoelzl Jr.
  7. Dave Sapienza
  8. Kyle Ellwood
  9. Kyle Soper
  10. John Fortin Sr.
  11. Ken Darch
  12. John Fortin Jr.
  13. Fred Vordemeir Jr
  14. Vinny Biondolillo
  15. Shawn Solomito
  16. Timmy Solomito
  17. Howie Brodie
  18. Brendon Bock
  19. Jerry Solomito Jr.
  20. John Beaty Jr.
  21. Al Ermmarino
  22. Ken Vogel Jr.

 

Source: Joseph Wolkin/LongIslandJam.com