5/21/2001
JOHN FORTIN RETURNS TO RIVERHEAD RACEWAY VICTORY LANE
John Fortin of Holtsville returned to
victory lane in NASCAR Modified competition at Riverhead Raceway this past
Saturday night when he triumphed in the 50-lap feature on Big Brothers &
Big Sisters of Long Island night. The win was worth $1,740 to Fortin, with
$300 of that sum coming from a Sunoco Race Fuels bonus.
Once again J.R. Bertuccio clicked off the
fastest time in time trials with a time of 11.796, but point leader Dan
Jivanelli drew the pole the top six drew. Jivanelli was quick to race out
front at the drop of the green flag with outside pole sitter John Fortin
tucking into second. The duo would race that way for the first three laps,
with Fortin making his bid for the lead exiting turn four to start the 4th
lap. Ducking under Jivanelli off the fourth corner Fortin was able to outrun
Dan to turn one and take command of the race.
With Fortin now out front Jivanelli had to
concern himself with Joe Hartmann and J.R. Bertuccio who were testing him
for second. On a 8th lap double file restart Hartmann was able to
sneak under Jivanelli for the position. Once to second Hartmann was able to
stay right on Fortin’s rear spoiler and on occasion would think about
making a run. However Fortin was seeking his first win since August of 1999
and there would be no getting by him in this contest.
At the conclusion of the double point race
John Fortin was one happy winner. “It’s great to be back in victory
lane,” proclaimed Fortin. “We have a new engine program for 2001 with
J.A.M. Racing Engines of New Jersey and we got some help this week from
Kenny Lechtner.” In concluding John also thanked his loyal sponsors,
‘”Abbott’s Hart Cove Marina is back with us as is Honda of Riverhead
and Ramos Pizza, but we really still could use a major sponsor for both here
at Riverhead and our limited Featherlite Modified Series schedule.”
Joe Hartmann of Riverhead had to settle for
second in the Parkway Car Stereo Cavalier, while J.R. Bertuccio of
Centereach was third in the B&M Landscaping Monte Carlo. Rookie Donny
Lia of Merrick and Ken Heagy of Riverhead completed the top five.
Sean Egan of Riverhead scored his second
consecutive Late Model win of the season when he won the Bugchaser Wristband
night 25. The early going found Doug Wholey and Kevin Metzger running
one-two for the first five circuits of the event. Lap 6 found Roger Oxee
slipping by Metzger for second who then proceeded to go right to work on
leader Wholey. The battle for the lead was intense. Just prior to the
halfway mark, things got just a touch too close heading to turn one. Oxee
and Wholey made slight contact. Wholey spun up the racetrack in turn
one and Oxee got caught up as he tried to race around the spinning car to
the outside. This was just fine with Sean Egan who then raced his way from
third into the lead, with Greg Kleila coming to second in the same instance.
The final half of the race saw Egan set the
pace, but hot on his heels was Kleila and laying in wait in the third
position Peter “Buzzy” Eriksen. The final laps of the race saw Kleila
and Eriksen test each other for second and that was okay by Sean Egan who
was able to breathe slightly easier and driver the American Off Road
Specialties machine to victory lane. Greg Kleila of Lindenhurst claimed a
hard earned runner-up finish in the Parts Plus Pontiac, while Peter Eriksen
of Baldwin placed third in the Rose Fence entry.
In the 20 lap Figure Eight feature Tom
Rogers of Patchogue turned in a dominating performance to win his second
feature event of 2001. Right from the drop of the green flag it was all Tom
Rogers as he quickly jumped out front with Mike Mujsce chasing him from
second. As the race wore on Rogers simply pulled away and not even a caution
flag would deter the driver of the Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Long
Island Ford who enjoyed a large cushion for the entire race. Roger
Maynor of Bay Shore raced his way to second late in the tilt, but it was too
late to try and bring the Barrasso & Sons Mason Supplies entry even
close to the race winner. Bill Batsche of Central Islip turned in a solid
ride to claim third in the Island Moving Supplies Chevy.
Veteran “Dynamite” Dan Turbush of
Hampton Bays notched his 52nd career victory when he out distanced the field
in the 20 lap Charger feature for his second win of the young season.
Turbush protégé Rob Tribuzio zipped out front at the drop of the green,
and as was the case on opening night, Dan Turbush chased Rob early in the
race. On lap 6 Turbush took advantage of a double file restart and
used the outside lane to out power Tribuzio to turn one for the race lead,
with Ray Minieri coming to second on lap 6 as well. Minieri glued himself to
Turbush’s rear spoiler for the remainder of the race, but that was as good
as it would get for “Radiant” Ray. At the checker it was Dan Turbush
steering the Carpet Express entry to the winners circle, with Ray Minieri of
Bay Shore runner-up in the AAA Plus Fuel Oil Pontiac. Third would go to
defending Charger champion Dave Brigati of Baiting Hollow in the Carl’s
Equipment mount.
The 30 lap double point Blunderbust feature
event saw Tom Sullivan of Massapequa claim his first career victory as Tom
took full advantage of two competitors getting together while racing for the
lead late in the race. Tom Walkowiak would set the pace of the race right
from the drop of the green flag with Edwin Troeber first giving chase before
Tom Sullivan moved to second on lap 3. Tom would surrender the second spot
to Eugene Malverty on lap16 and Malverty went right to work on leader
Walkowiak. The fight for the lead saw the duo get together on the
front stretch just past the start finish line, with Walkowiak spinning to
draw a yellow. During that caution period Malverty was shown the black flag
for his part in the tangle. This moved Tom Sullivan, who had been running
third all along, into the lead with just three laps to go and Tom was able
to keep his Custom Exteriors Lincoln out front until the checker flag waved
to score a popular win. Sean Byrne of Brentwood crossed the line second, but
was later disqualified for a camshaft violation, thus moving point leader
Chris Chirico of Huntington to second in the Eddy’s Trailer Sales Chevy in
the final rundown. Dale Arnold of Baldwin was third in the Firefighters Plus
entry.
The first ever Train Race was held and in
the wild 10 lap event the Stan’s Towing tandem of Stan Wangenstein Jr. of
Holtsville and Kevin Clarke of Rocky Point maneuvered their three-car train
around the track to score the win.
