5/05/2001
J.R. BERTUCCIO SCORES RIVERHEAD RACEWAY NASCAR MODIFIED
GOLD
Saturday night at Riverhead Raceway saw
young talent J.R. Bertuccio of Centereach score the victory in the 35-lap
NASCAR Modified feature event leading the entire distance in the process.
The win was the sixth for the fourth year driver and was worth $1,440 to
J.R. and his car owner and father Joe.
Breaking from his pole position at the drop
of the green flag J.R. Bertuccio took the early lead with Al Ermmarino in
tow. However a first lap tangle in turn four saw Ken Heagy, Wayne Anderson,
Bo Gunning and Gregg Shivers get together, with Anderson and Gunning done
for the night. On the double file restart Chuck Steuer was able to wrestle
second away from Ermmarino by slipping under him. Steuer would chase
Bertuccio for 8 laps until a ninth lap yellow set up another double file
restart. One good turn deserves another and on the restart Ermmarino slipped
under Steuer for second using the same tactic applied on him earlier.
As the race went on Bertuccio was able to
distance himself from the field thanks to an intense race for second that
developed between Ermmarino and Ed Densieski. The fight for second
became a high-speed game of chess. For every move Ed thought about making Al
had a counter move, all the while allowing leader Bertuccio to slip into
another zip code.
At the checker it was J.R. Bertuccio
scoring a much-needed win. “We’ve had a fast car right from the
first practice but things didn’t fall our way the first two weeks. I want
to thank my crew who have busted their tails to get us here and especially
my dad,” Bertuccio commented. J.R. also thanked his sponsors Long Island
Truck Parts, Gershow Recycling, Swan Cleaners and McBetts Racing Engines.
“Fast” Al Ermmarino of Brookhaven held
on for second in the Smithtown Volkswagen Chrysler, while Ed Densieski of
Riverhead finished third in the JAD Carpet Showcase Chevy. Dan Jivanelli of
Hampton Bays in the SPONSORS WANTED Chevy took the point lead over with a
fourth place tally, while Chuck Steuer of Bohemia placed fifth in the #11x
Muratec Monte Carlo.
Peter “Buzzy” Eriksen rode the outside
lane to victory in the Dart Fuel Oil 50 for the Late Models, their first
double point contest of 2001. Scott Kulesa set fast time at 12.763 and
collected a $100 bonus from JYD Enterprises. The top six then redrew. At the
drop of the green flag Roger Oxee from the outside pole out dragged Greg
Kleila the pole sitter to the first turn for the lead. A quick yellow on lap
1 set up a double file restart that found Sean Egan to racing his way to
second behind Oxee, slipping under Kleila. Egan would run second until lap
20 when he and third place Scott Kulesa while in heavy lapped traffic got
together, sending Egan spinning. Officials set Kulesa down for his
role. On the ensuing restart, again double file Peter Eriksen out dragged
leader Roger Oxee to turn one to take over the lead with Oxee and teammate
Mark Tooker in tow.
At the checker it was Peter Eriksen in the
Hempstead Harley Davidson Pontiac scoring the popular win. Roger Oxee
of Peconic was runner-up in The Helman Group Pontiac, with Mark Tooker of
Aquebogue third in the Hall Overhead Door Chevrolet.
In a hotly contested Figure Eight feature
Roger Maynor of Bay Shore became the first repeat winner at Riverhead
Raceway in 2001 taking the nod in a 20 lap main event. From the drop of the
green flag Ron Harrison took control of the race, first chased by Bobby
Wallace for the first five circuits. On lap 6 Roger Maynor slipped under
Wallace in turn one for second and the battle was on between him and leader
Harrison. As the race moved to its later stages Harrison tried to protect
his lead by not allowing Maynor to pass to the inside and in doing so slowed
the pace of the race. On lap 18 in the third turn Ron tried a tad to hard to
hold his line and went around allowing Maynor in the Barrasso & Sons
Mason Supplies Dodge to score the win. Anthony “Knuckles” Nunziata of
Lake Ronkonkoma perhaps turned in the performance of the night in his
unsponsored machine scoring runner-up honors, while Bill Steen of Oakdale
was third in the Euro Tech Auto Body Dodge.
Veteran wheelman Rusty Turbush of
Manorville took home the honors when he won the 20-lap Charger feature
event. Darryl Baker broke out front at the drop of the green and after John
Piazza chased him for the first two laps Rusty Turbush moved to second on
lap three. This set the stage for a classic short track game of cat and
mouse as Turbush tried repeatedly to work his way by leader Baker to the
outside, but each attempt saw Darryl equal to the challenge. Tired of trying
the high line Turbush then changed strategy and started to look downstairs
and low and behold it would pay dividends. On the 11th lap Turbush worked
his way by Baker to the inside exiting turn two for the lead. On lap 17
Robin Vollmoeller was able to over take Baker for second, but with just laps
left as hard as he tried there was no catching the race leader. At the
conclusion it was Rusty Turbush in the Panasonic Document Imaging Pontiac
notching a hard earned victory. Robin Vollmoeller of Riverhead was
runner-up in the ER Yard Care Pontiac and third fell to an impressive Darryl
Baker of Brookhaven in the Staria Automotive machine.
Chris Chirico of Huntington took home the bacon in
the 20-lap Blunderbust feature and further added to his early season point
lead in the process. Chris McGuire set the early pace when he jumped to the
lead with Dale Arnold in pursuit. On lap 5 Arnold used an inside pass off
turn two to take the lead from McGuire, who would run second until the 8th
lap when Chris Chirico worked his way by. After chasing and testing Arnold
for the top spot for some four laps Chirico would dive low on Arnold for the
race lead exiting turn two. Once out front there would be no stopping
this veteran driver, although Arnold stayed with Chris hoping for some
lapped traffic to play a role. No errors were forthcoming on Chris
Chirico’s end and at the finish he would sit in victory lane in the
Eddy’s Trailer Sales Chevy. Dale Arnold of Baldwin was runner-up in the
Firefighters Plus Collectibles entry, with Neal Feola Jr of Ronkonkoma
enjoying another solid performance for third in the Sims Steel Chevrolet.
For years Ron Humes of East Rockaway has been
known as the “Hurricane”. Soon you might want to tab him “Mr.
Outside” as the two time defending Super Pro Truck champions scored his
first win of 2001 on Trailer Transport night. Peter Sparks lead the first
lap before he was over taken by Rich Giordano on lap two after the duo got
very close in turn four. While leading during a third lap caution period
Giordano was summoned by track officials to the pits for some hanging sheet
metal, thus thrusting “Turbo” Tom Fleming into the lead. Lou Maestri ran
second until lap 8 when Ron Humes passed him now chasing Fleming. Ron once
to second wasted little time in reeling in the race leader. In what
has become customary for Humes, once he caught Fleming he jumped to the
outside groove exiting the fourth turn to take the lead. Once in the top
spot there was no catching the Davison's Metro Power Center GMC and Humes
would race to his first win of 2001. Tom Fleming of Aquebogue would have to
be content with second in the Ideal Cesspool Chevrolet, while Frank Dumicich
of Mastic raced his way to a third place tally in the Wesemann’s Sand
& Mason Supplies Ford.
