(Press Release from Riverhead Raceway)
The NASCAR Whelen Modified tour were not the only ones affected by heavy rain that swept in over Riverhead Raceway after qualifying was completed Saturday evening as four Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series events also bowed to mother natures fury. Early Sunday those events were completed prior to the Buzz Chew Chevrolet Cadillac 200 WMT with Vinny Delaney of East Islip scoring his first career Eagle Auto Mall Crate Modified victory in a 25-lap event.
Vinny Delaney and Stephen Coleman two friends off track brought the Crate Modified field to the green flag with the two INEX Legend Race Car graduates tussling for the lead early on at times side by side. The race was dotted with a few cautions the first of which waved for Chase Grennan who broke his left front suspension on lap 2 stopping in turn 4. Delaney and Coleman lined up side by side for the restart with Delaney remaining the race leader. Coleman soon found himself in the clutches of Alex Colasanto in a race for second allowing Delaney to get away some. However on lap 13 Colasanto ducked under Coleman in turn two and ran out of racing room spinning and drawing a yellow flag. That turn of events lined Coleman up alongside Delaney once again on the restart with the race leader again holding serve when the race resumed. A couple of more minor spins would line the two combatants up side by side with Delaney able to ward off Coleman but late in the race things started to heat up. After testing Coleman for second for several laps championship leader Sean Glennon ducked to the inside exiting the fourth turn on lap 20 to wrestle second away. Glennon quickly found leader Delaney and the five lap dash for the cash was on. Glennon was all over the leader in the closing laps but in the end it was Vinny Delaney bringing the Stakey’s Pumpkin Farm Chevy home for a career first Crate Mod victory. Sean Glennon of Northport fell just 0.231 short settling for second in the R&R Brothers Electric Chevy with defending champion Richie Davidowitz of East Moriches racing his way to a third place tally after starting tenth in the Benimax Trucking Chevy.
It was race one of the Miller Lite Triple Crown Series for the Blunderbusts and in qualifying Saturday evening before the rains came Cody Triola of Bay Shore set fast time with a lap of 14.602 with Tom Sullivan second at 14.626. Triola and Sullivan brought the field to green but before a lap was completed Sullivan found himself third as Max Handley who started third quickly got under the veteran for position at the start. For the first third of the tilt Handley chased Triola keeping the leader honest lap after lap. Then on lap 11 with an inside pass Handely was able to works his way by Triola for the race lead while Sullivan watched all of this unfold from third. The race was moving right along when suddenly on lap 27 Eddie Diaz spun drawing a caution flag and setting up a late race double file restart between Handley and Triola. When the green light came back on Triola on the outside actually lead the 28th lap by a nose but as the two warriors swapped paint it would be Handley reclaiming the lead as they took the white flag. When the checkers waved after a hard fought race and especially last two laps Max Handley of Medford earned his second win in a row in the Hydro Action Caprice. Cody Triola was runner-up in the Cesspool Pros entry while Brandon Hubbard of Mastic who started the race 5th made a late race charge to finish third in the United Exhaust Shop racer.
Simpley stated the 2021 INEX Legend Race Car season to date had been tough on rising star Joey Braun of Manorville lined with mechanical failure and crashes along the way. However Sunday afternoon the stars lined up for the driver they call “Blankets” as he won the 20-lap main event. Michael Benton and Jeffrey Farruggia Jr. lined up at the front of the 26 car field with Farruggia breaking to the early lead leading the first four circuits. Lap 4 Ray Fitzgerald came to a halt by the first turn wall with the yellow waving before Ray even stopped setting up an early race restart. When the race resumed on a second attempt at restarting Joey Braun who started 4th in the field made some quick moves to pass both leader Farruggia and Benton with Brad Van Houten tagging on to Braun to come to second. Van Houten could only look on as leader Braun was able to get away from his as the laps wore down but on lap 14 a Michael Benton spin drew a yellow flag setting up a restart. Van Houten was hoping to get the measure of Braun when the race went back to green but Braun was having none of it and in fact trapped on the outside Van Houten would lose second to George Tomko Jr. on the restart. Tomko like Braun seeking his first win of 2021 went to work on the race leader but in the end it would be a very relieved and elated Joey Braun pulling the Miller & Caggiano Attorney At Law machine into victory lane at the end of 20-laps. By just 0.178 George Tomko Jr. of Aquebogue was runner-up in the Montauk Distillery entry while championship leader Eric Hersey of Ronkonkoma secured another podium finish in the Grillin Villain mount.
Brian Brown of Riverhead scored his second Street Stock win of 2021 when he topped their 20-lap feature event Sunday afternoon. Veteran Rhett Fogg broke to the early advantage over Jimmy White Jr. when the race started. Brian Brown who started the contest 6th was on the march quickly passing White for second with an inside pass on the front stretch on lap 3. Over the next 8 laps Fogg would show Brown the way around before a lap 11 yellow flag waved for malfunctioning caution lights. The deluge of rain that hit the track Saturday caused an issue with the yellow light unprompted suddenly coming on. The double file restart that followed would prove to be the undoing of early leader Rhett Fogg as Brian Brown rode the outside lane to the race lead, a lead he’d never surrender in the Robert’s Express Oil Chevy claiming his 6th career win in the process. Fogg of Westhampton was second in the McBetts Racing Engines Monte Carlo while defending champion Dave Antos of Lindenhurst was third in the EP Milling & Sweeping Chevy.
Crate Modifieds: 1. Vinny Delaney 2. Sean Glennon 3. Richie Davidowitz 4. AJ Desantis 5. Stephen Coleman 6. Owen Grennan 7. Eric Hersey 8. Michael Berner 9. Rich Gerbe 10. Alex Colasanto 11. Eddie Schutze 12. Mike Albasini 13. Dennis Krupski 14. Matt Brode 15. Mark Stewart 16. Steve Ratti 17. Chase Grennan DNS- Terry Stiles
Blunderbusts: 1. Max Handley 2. Cody Triola 3. Brandon Hubbard 4. Tom Sullivan 5. Bill Wegmann Jr. 6. CJ Lehmann 7. Jarrett Campbell 8. Jim Laird Jr. 9. Alyssa Paprocky 10. Eddie Diaz 11. Tom Pickerell 12. Joe Warren Jr. 13. Bill Wegmann
Legend Race Cars: 1. Joe Braun 2. George Tomko Jr. 3. Eric Hersey 4. Kevin Nowak 5. Brad Van Houten 6. Jeff Farruggia Jr. 7. Allan Pedersen 8. Jason Castaldo 9. Ray Fitzgerald 10. Alex Halinar 11. Anthony Marsh 12. Riely O’Keefe 13. Scott Cheslak 14. Sean McElearney 15. Christopher Coleman 16. Jeff Otto Jr. 17. Charlie Hodge 18. Mike Benton 19. Mike Van Houten Jr. 20. Pat Moore 21. Jake Curran 22. Steve Woytsiak 23. Jayden Glennerster 24. Ryan T. Warren 25. Jim Sylvester 26. Bill King Jr.
Street Stocks: 1. Brian Brown 2. Rhett Fogg 3. Dave Antos 4. Gerard Lawrence 5. Brian McCormack 6. Jay Henschel 7. Alyssa Paprocky 8. Jimmy White Jr. 9. Danny Pizzo 10. James DiPietro 11. Robbie Blackmore 12. Luke Foerster DNS- Chris Lescenski, Ed Fontana, Chris Mancz, Justin Ferreri & Roger Oxee.
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