8/11/2001
MORTIMER
WINS WILD ONE/LIA SHINES IN THE MODS…
by J.A. Ackley
BLUNDERBUSTS
On
the start, Dale Rina would take off from his pole position in his #46 Fal-Ken
Heating & Cooling Cadillac. However
Sean Byrne and his #65 Lincoln put the pressure on soon enough, and on lap 3
coming out of turn four, Byrne and Rina would run neck and neck.
A lap later however, Byrne would finally shut the door on Rina and take
command of the lead. However, on
lap nine, Byrne’s pace would be slowed, as the caution would wave for
debris, namely a bumper, in turn 4.
On
the restart, Sean Byrne and his purple #65 would take off again but caution
would fly only one lap later. The caution resulted from an incident where Carl Voelker, Jr.
and his #64 D&R Welding Chevy would get sideways, and cause a major
traffic jam which would involve the #78 SPONSORS WANTED Lincoln of Gary DeMasi
and #55 Golden Auto Body Cadillac getting tangled and bringing out the dreaded
yellow.
After
a brief cleanup, Sean Byrne would once again grab the lead on the start.
Caution on lap 14 would slow the race down once again, as Dale Rina and
his #46 Fal-Ken Heating & Cooling Cadillac would lose a wheel and send him
high into the turn 3-4 area bringing out the yellow flags.
On
the restart, the 65 of Sean Byrne would retain the lead but before Byrne could
get comfortable up front, caution would wave on lap 17 for an incident in turn
2 involving the #13 of Bill Eastman Jr.
When
the green waved again, Sean Byrne would grab the lead and a good distance.
Coming up through the pack would be the #89x of Chris McGuire, but time
wouldn’t be on McGuire’s side, as Byrne would take down his first career
win in his #65 Lincoln.
Taking
the runner-up money for the second week in a row would be the purple #89x
Hitherbrook Nursery Chevrolet Impala of Chris McGuire.
Following McGuire to take third and take back the points lead, would be
the#87 Eddy’s Trailer Sales/J. Russo Contracting Chevrolet Impala of Chris
Chirico. In fourth would be the #16 Sims Steel Chevrolet of Neal Feola
Jr. and rounding out the top five would be Rich Hubbard in the #58 Wesemann's
Sand & Mason Supplies Buick.
CHARGERS
On
the start for the Chargers, Bob Ehlich and his #44 Chevrolet would jump from
the pole into the lead with heavy pressure from the #11x of Brian Schwarz and
#21 Chris Beutler. But before the
battle could be waged, caution would wave for John Piazza and his orange #48
Pontiac that had stalled up in turn 2.
After
a brief delay, green would wave, and Ehlich would once again jump into the
lead with the #21 of Chris Beutler right on his rear bumper, looking for an
avenue to the lead. However,
caution would wave once again on lap 5, as the #98x White Post Wholesale
Growers Chevrolet of rookie Frank Bonsignore would venture into the turn 1
wall.
On
the restart, Ehlich would retain the lead, but with Steve Ratti’s #75 and
Richie Carman’s #30 in hot pursuit. Coming
off turn 4, Ratti and Carman would make their move, with the two making it
three wide down the front straight and making the pass stick into turn 1,
making it a side-by-side battle. A
lap later, Ratti would take control of the lead finally, but by the time Ratti
could enjoy the breather, caution would wave for an incident off turn 2
involving championship contenders, Robin Vollmoeller in his #2 ER Yard Care
Pontiac and Dan Turbush in his #8 Long Island Ice & Fuel Chevrolet.
After
the brief interruption, racing would continue and Steve Ratti would take off.
After 8 laps, Steve Ratti would cross the line first, and enter victory
lane for the third time of 2001, in his #75 Pontiac.
Coming
up in second, would be one part of the great 2001 Charger rookie class, Chris
Beutler, in his #21 Fasco Paving/NDA Construction Pontiac.
In third would be a nice run two weeks in a row for the #11x White Post
Wholesale Growers Chevy of Brian Schwarz.
Crossing the line at fourth would be Eric Lutz in his #36 Marjam Supply
Chevrolet and rounding out the top 5 would be the #56 Chevrolet of Tom St.
Clair.
LATE MODELS
The
Late Models returned once again for the Long Island Freightliner/Tobay
Printing 50 lapper with 21 Late Models on hand to do battle.
During
time trials, Greg Kleila and his #72 Ocean Outboard Pontiac would take fast
time and the $100 bonus from JYD Enterprises.
However, if this is any indication of Kleila’s luck as of late,
Kleila would redraw 6th and for the race Larry LaFountaine in his
#53 Engines by Elsasser Pontiac would start pole with Mike Mortimer and his
#14 Tobay Printing Pontiac on the outside.
On
the start, Larry LaFountaine and Mike Mortimer would go side by side through
turns 1 and 2 as well as the back straight before LaFountaine would grab it
going into turn 3, but a few second later caution would wave for an incident
in that very same turn involving Greg Kleila and his #72 Ocean Outboard
Pontiac and Scott Kulesa and his #10 Ranco Sand and Stone Pontiac.
After
the cleanup, racing would resume and Larry LaFountaine would grab the lead
once again but under hot pursuit of Late Model veteran, RJ Oxee and his red
#39 Helman Group Pontiac. The two
would be nose to tail for quite a few laps with Oxee calculating a way to get
around LaFountaine and LaFountaine calculating a way to stay in the lead.
After a dozen plus laps, Oxee figured out a move and made it going into
turn 3 creating some exciting side-by-side racing. Going into turn 1, Oxee would grab the lead but before he
could taste the fresh air, caution would wave for debris in turn 4.
After
a brief cleanup to clean up some debris, racing restarted and RJ Oxee jumped
into the lead with Sean Egan and his #5 in tow.
As the laps would tick, the leaders would begin to catch lapped
traffic, which made the show even more interesting as Egan would catch Oxee
coming across a lapped car but Egan failed to capitalize on the opportunity,
as he would end up the one stuck behind the lapped car.
The battle would halt on lap 40 as caution would wave for an incident
in turn 3 and 4 involving the #2 Gershow Recycling Dodge of Peter Bertuccio,
#99 High Gear Racing Chevy of Mark Tooker, and #12 Delfino Insulation Pontiac
of Dennis Krupski.
When
the race would resume, Oxee would jump into the lead but in turn 1 Oxee would
loose it due to mechanical failure and spin in turn 1.
Steve Tooker would wind up inheriting the lead with Sean Egan in hot
pursuit. However, Tooker would see his fine ride end off turn 2 on lap
48, as he would get spun. Sean
Egan would wind up getting black flagged as result and winding up with the
lead on the last lap would be “Mighty” Mike Mortimer and his #14 Tobay
Printing Pontiac to go on to win their first race of 2001.
Following
Mortimer to the line would be the #23 SPONSORS WANTED Ford of Kevin Metzger.
Taking down third would be the #53 Engines by Elsasser Pontiac of
part-timer, Larry LaFountaine. Coming
in fourth and clinching the championship would be the #68 Hempstead Harley
Davidson Pontiac of Buzzy Eriksen and rounding out the top 5 would be the #1
NY Metro Peterbilt Chevy of “Bubba” Zwickel.
MODIFIEDS
The
Modifieds returned to weekly competition with a 50-lapper as well.
Coming out with fast time would be rookie Donny Lia in his #18
Huntington Honda Chevrolet and to his luck, he would redraw and become
polesitter for the race with Mike Curtis and his #07 on the outside.
On
the start, Donny Lia would jump into first but before he could defend his
lead, caution would wave for an incident off of turn 2 involving the #88
Chevrolet of Dave Roys, Jr. and the #74x of Mike Andrews Jr.
On
the restart, Mike Curtis would get the jump and take the lead.
However, caution would wave on lap 6 for the #68 of Wally Schweizer,
which was stalled up in the turn 2.
On
the restart, Mike Curtis wouldn’t have it so easy as Curtis and the #84 of
John Fortin would go side-by-side when the race turned green.
Coming into turn 3, Fortin would finally grab onto the lead.
However, before Fortin could catch his breath, caution would wave for
the #21 Ideal Cesspool Chevrolet of Peggy Smith, which had hit the turn 4
wall.
When
the race turned green again, Fortin would retain his lead, but under stiff
pressure from rookie Donny Lia. A dozen laps later, the two would be neck and neck but Lia
would finally get around Fortin to take the lead.
As Lia was beginning to look solid out front, caution would wave on lap
40 once again.
On
the restart, Lia would have the advantage of two lapped cars behind him and
between himself and second place. When
the race went green, Lia once again retained the lead.
However, just as he was beginning to taste victory, caution would wave
on lap 48 for an incident involving the #49 of Chris Young and #8x of Eddie
Brunnhoelzl Jr.
The
last two laps would be a shootout now and if Fortin or Curtis had anything for
Lia, this would be the final time to grab the lead.
When the race went green, Lia got a good jump and never looked back, as
he would cross the line first two laps later onto his first career Modified
victory in his #18 Huntington Honda Chevrolet.
Settling
for a second, and taking the points lead would be John Fortin and his #84
Abbot’s Hart Cove Marina Chevy. Coming
across the line in third would be the #07 TS Haulers Pontiac of Mike Curtis.
In fourth would be the #2 Gershow Recycling Chevrolet of J.R. Bertuccio
and rounding out the top 5 would be the #12 SPONSORS WANTED Chevrolet of Dan
Jivanelli.
COMING NEXT WEEK
Coming
this upcoming Saturday will be a night once again full of action and
excitement brought to you by 3M, Donaldson’s Volkswagen, and Wesemann’s
Sand & Mason Supply. After a
couple weeks off, the Figure 8’s return to have a double-point 25-lap
feature event. In addition to the
Figure 8’s having a double-point event, the Chargers will also have a
double-point, 30-lap event with time trials, to help decide whom the 2001
Charger Champion will be. Along
with the aforementioned events, the Blunderbusts, Late Models, as well as the
Super Pro Trucks will also be in attendance to fill a very full card of racing
action..
Sources:
J.A. Ackley/LongIslandJam.com
Posted: August 13, 2001
