At the races: August 4

Hello race fans, and welcome to another edition of  “AT THE RACES .” Hopefully everyone has dried out from last Saturday’s torrential rain, which cancelled the races at Riverhead. It’s a fresh week, another race night, and quite a night of races it was!! Well motor heads, let’s get to it.

First race, a 10-truck, 20-lap Super Pro Truck feature, was a real barn burner as Rich Campo, in the #38 truck, decided to take a drive over the hood of truck #3, driven by Peter Rotzi. On the restart, Mike Albisini in the #66 truck and Roger Turbush in the #88 truck went from the third row to the front. As the race progressed, it was a see-saw battle for first between Turbush and Albisini, but by lap 12, Roger Turbush pulled into first with Albisini second and Chris Turbush third. Chris Turbush, in the #81 truck, made his run for second, but to no avail, as brother Roger Turbush, in the Rheem Air Conditioning Chevy, notched his third straight win, and his 13th career victory.

The second race, a 27-car, 20-lap Legends feature, was close all the way to the finish. Brad Van Houten, in the #43 car, had the lead for the first five laps, with both Christian Conklin, in the #84 car, and Shawn Wanat, in the #02 car, close behind. By the sixth lap, Wanat grabbed first, with Conklin second, and a whole school of sharks like Kevin Nowak, Chris Young and Kyle Ellwood smelling blood. On lap 13, Kevin Nowak, in the #53 car, and Chris Young, in the #49 car, came together lke two bucking broncos, and sent car parts flying everywhere. The final seven laps of the race would play out like the last act in a mystery, as Conklin grabbed the lead, with a hard-charging Jeffery Goodale, in the #46 car, and Brendon Bock, in the #33 car, hot on his tail.The race came down to Bock and Conklin, but in the end, Conklin grabbed the checkered square by a mere 0.011 margin (see my photo of the finish) in his East End Limousine car. It was his first career win in just his 10th start.

Third Race, a 21-car, 20-lap Blunderbust feature, was another good race that had Richie Hubbard, in the #58 car in the lead for the first four laps. But by the fifth lap, Rob Bader, in the #19 car, grabbed the lead. Bader held the lead as points leader Tom Pickerell, in the #4 car, grabbed second from Hubbard. Pickerell would set his sights on Bader and the lead for the remainder of the race. Lap traffic was heavy, with Bader and Pickerell weaving their way through. But in the end, Rob Bader Jr., winless since 9-11-10, grabbed the checkers in his Total Dental Care Chevy, his seventh career Blunderbust victory.

Fourth Race was a 14-car, 30-lap Charger feature. As the light winked green, Eric Zeh, in the #34 car, bolted to the front, with Brian Doyle, in the #73, a close second. A double file restart on lap 6 gave Chris Turbush, in the #81 car, a shot at second. After passing Doyle, and taking command, Turbush set his sights on the lead, and in two laps, it would be his. Normally, you would close the book on this story, but Jeremy McDermott, in the #5 car, who had just passed Zeh, said “No Mas” and went to work on the leader, Turbush. But the drop of the white flag, and a slight bump to Turbush’s car from McDermott caused a slight problem to McDermott but not Turbush. The smoke cleared, and Chris Turbush, in the Meadowbrook Sweeping Pontiac, grabbed the win, his second straight, and 32nd of his Charger Career.

Fifth Race was a 17-car, Twin 30-lap NASCAR Modified feature. After grabbing the #1 ticket in the qualifiers, which meant a straight up start, Howie Brode, in the #96 car, bolted to the front of the pack with the wink of the green. A caution on lap two with three cars coming together set a double file restart, and Tom Rogers Jr., in the #0 car, quickly moved into first with Brode second, and Ted Christopher, in the #15 car, third. For the first 30 laps, Tom Rogers Jr. grabbed the win. The double file restart for the second 30 laps had Rogers move out front in a heartbeat. It was a good clean second half, with the usual players right where they should be, and in the end, Tom Rogers Jr., in the Relay Communication Chevy, grabbed the broom and swept both ends of the Twin 30 lapper for the victory, his 5th Riverhead Raceway Points Paying win for 2012, 18th career victory. Good race, Tom!

In the 50-lap Enduro, James Charrier, in the Clear Beer Draft Chevy, grabbed his third win of 2012.

The rollover competition saw former champion Jason Savoy, scoring a one point win over Thaddeus Lattanzio 13-12 in his Monster’s Recycling Saturn.

Well guys, another evening of racing comes to a conclusion. I think I’ll scrape the bugs off my hat, the grime from my teeth, and the bountiful aroma of crankcase fluid from my shoes. A big hello to Wendy at the VIP Booth, another great, tireless job by track services, Brigandi Brothers A+++ job. Big hello to all the NASCAR officials, feel free to check my photos anytime. Good job by all the drivers. Well motor heads, I will see you next week…

AT THE RACES.

Be Well,

George

RiverheadLOCAL photos by George Faella. 

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