Timmy Solomito Takes Second Consecutive Riverhead Raceway Opening Night NASCAR Modified Victory
RIVERHEAD, NY — “The Natural” Timmy Solomito of Islip scored his second straight opening night victory when he topped the second segment of the Twin 30 NASCAR Modified features this past Saturday night at Riverhead Raceway. The win was a very emotional one for the young talent as he dedicated it to Keri & Jason Trinca Jr. who tragically lost their lives last October in a motor vehicle accident.
In pre-race time trials Dave Brigati blistered the track with a lap of 11.805 but in the redraw among the top six from time “The Fancy Farmer” drew 4th while Ed Brunnhoelzl III and Howie Brode picked the front row. Brunnhoelzl wasted little time jumping into the lead with Timmy Solomito who started third racing under Brode quickly for second with Tom Rogers coming to third. On lap 7 Rogers got by Solomito for second and then hounded leader Brunnhoelzl until there were two laps left in the segment when Timmy Solomito worked his way by. With just two laps to go Brunnhoelzl in the Senix Creek Inn Chevy was able to hold off Timmy Solomito in the Al-Lee Installation Chevy for the top spot as the checker waved.
As the second segment quickly started things would go south in a hurry from leader Brunnhoelzl who had his car start to bog with an apparent carburetion issue, Solomito quickly roared out front while things went from bad to worse for the former leader. Brunnhoelzl slowed dramatically on the front stretch and Ronnie Silk tagged him at full bore with no place to go, both cars were heavily damaged and done for the night. On the restart Solomito now found his former car owner Dave Brigati hot on his heels and the former teammates would be left to decide the outcome of the race.
In the closing laps Brigati tried on more than one occasion a cross-over maneuver but Timmy was having none of it. On the final lap entering turn three Dave made one more attempt at taking the lead when he nudged Timmy going into turn three but the latter showed great car control and he drove the James M. Becht Construction Chevy to the popular and important win. When he rolled into victory lane Timmy pulled to the left of the number 48 which is being used in honor of Jay Trinca Jr.
“I had two angels riding with me tonight” Solomito noted as he choked back tears “This one is for Keri and ‘Lil Jay’, we all miss them terribly.”
Dave Brigati of Calverton was runner-up in the JDL Environmental Chevy and said afterwards “I did all I could to pass Timmy. I hope the fans liked the show” Former two-time champion Frank Vigliarolo Jr. of Mount Sinai was third in the Frankie’s Towing Chevy while Howie Brode of East Islip and Tom Rogers Jr. of Patchogue completed the top five.
Defending Late Model champion Mike Bologna of Melville was just one of several 2011 champions that got their title defense going in victory as Mike topped the 25-lap Late Model feature. Chris LaSpisa and Roger Oxee moved to the front at the throw of the green and would battle for the lead for nearly the first half of the race. However on lap 11 the duo tangled exiting turn four and came to rest against the wall just past the start/finish line. Oxee was done for the night, while LaSpisa seeking his second straight opening night win would return. That turn of events put Peter “Buzzy” Eriksen into the lead with Mike Bologna second and just after a lap behind the new leader, Mike made a tight outside pass on Eriksen to put his Schlaugies Fuel Oil Chevy out front and from that point forward he never looked back posting his 8th career win. Eriksen of Baldwin was runner-up in the Harley Davidson of Nassau County entry while Kevin Metzger of Massapequa survived a rough early portion of the race to cross the line third in his V&J Auto Body machine.
Sometime it’s just as good to be lucky or perhaps in the right place at the right time as was the case when Arne Pedersen of Mastic Beach won the Figure Eight 15-lap main event. For the first 14-laps of the race Mike Mujsce showed the way over Kenny Hyde Jr. and the two rivals went at it toe-to-toe. After taking the white flag Hyde made contact with Mujsce going into the third turn of the Figure Eight course and both cars went spinning. That turn of events opened up the door for Arne Pedersen in his BNR Home Improvements Dodge to drive from third place to victory lane starting his championship defense from 2011 off in fine fashion. Mike Mujsce of Westhampton Beach never lifted after spinning and was runner-up in the K. Clement Landscaping racer, while teammate Tom Ferrara of Patchogue was third in his Bill Beener Tree Service entry.
2011 Charger Rookie of the Year John Baker of Centereach turned a winter’s worth of hard work into a trip to victory lane as the sophomore driver scored his first career win in the 20-lap Charger feature. CJ Lehmann and Baker ran side by side for the first lap but on the very next lap Baker came back with an inside move to take the race lead and in this race out front is where you wanted to be. Plenty of contact and incidents filled Baker’s mirror in the early going but after things settled down it would be him and former champion Ray Minieri left to race for the win. Minieri, a tested tough veteran did all he could to try and pass John Baker but there was no getting by the Sunrise Medical Labs Chevy as Baker drove to that all important first career win. “Radiant” Ray of Bay Shore was runner-up in the Sunrise Chiropractic Pontiac, while Eric Zeh of Selden drove his new Finishline Construction & Container car to third place money.
“The Wildchild” Tommy Walkowiak of Ridge is one step closer to his 50th career Blunderbust win after he notched his 49th in their 20-lap feature event. Scott Sepe and Bill Wegmann raced for the top spot early with Sepe leading the first two laps before Wegmann took over on lap 3. Moments after Sepe’s night went bad after the lapped car of Brian Hansen clipped him causing a right rear flat and sending him into a spin. After the Sepe caution Wegmann soon saw his mirror fill-up with the likeness of Tommy Walkowiak and after two laps of chasing the “Racing Grandfather”, Tommy worked his way by on lap 9 for the lead. However just because he lost the lead didn’t mean Wegmann’s race was over as he glued himself on the rear bumper of Walkowiak’s Blaze Fuel Oil Chevy. In the end Tommy would hold on for the win with Wegmann of N. Bellmore placing second in the Cracker Jack Auto Stores Olds. Tom Pickerell in the Premier Utility Service machine finished third after working his way to that finish from 13th.
In a non-stop opening night Super Pro Truck main event Lou Maestri of Deer Park led wire to wire to post his 22nd career win, tying him for the top spot on the all-time win list with Danny Grennan at 22. From the outside pole Maestri quickly moved his IGA of Fort Solonga entry to the race lead with Frank Dumicich Sr. and Mike Albasini in tow. As the race laps clicked off Lou was able to pull away for the Dumicich-Albasini fight for second which intensified lap after lap. Finally on lap 17 Albasini made an inside pass of Dumicich exiting the second turn but by that time Lou Maestri’s lead would be insurmountable and he’d drive to victory. Mike Albasini of Flushing was runner-up in the Gardiner Specialty Auto truck, while Frank Dumicich of E. Quogue was third in the Tonino’s Pizza Ford.
Defending Legend Race Car champion Chris Young picked up right where he left off last year as he won the 20-lap main event. After Alex Urbina showed the way for the first lap Kyle Ellwood took the lead on the second circuit bringing Paul Dodorico to second with him. Ellwood-Dodorico would run first and second until lap 8 when Chris Young burst upon the scene passing Dodorico to the outside for second and then setting sail for the race leader Ellwood. With an inside pass of Kyle Ellwood in the third and fourth corner Chris Young moved out front but Ellwood wasn’t going to let him get away easily. Lap after lap Kyle threw his car into the corner in an effort to get to Young but to no avail as the Ray The Plumber driver went on to score the victory. Kyle Ellwood in the Riverhead Building Supply mount was second with Paul Dodorico of Miller Place in the Martha Baker DDS racer finishing third.
NASCAR Modifieds Twin 30’s (final finish): 1. Timmy Solomito 2, Dave Brigati 3. Frank Vigliarolo Jr. 4. Howie Brode 5. Tom Rogers Jr. 6. Eric Goodale 7. Dave Sapienza 8. John Fortin 9. Jason Agugliaro 10. Shawn Solomito 11. John Beatty Jr. 12. Amber Fortin 13. Glenn Logan 14. Don Howe 15. Chris McGuire 16. Brad Van Houten 17. David Roys 18. Vincent Biondolillo 19. Ryan Preece 21. Ron Silk 22. Ken Darch 23. Ted Christopher 24. Rich Pallai Jr. 25. Jerry Solomito Jr. 26. John Fortin Jr.
Late Models 25-laps: 1. Mike Bologna 2. Peter Eriksen 3. Kevin Metzger 4. Shawn Patrick 5. Chris LaSpisa 6. Arne Pedersen 7. Dennis Krupski 8. Scott Kulesa 9. Rob Tribuzio 10. Roger Oxee
Figure Eights 15-laps: 1. Arne Pedersen 2. Mike Mujsce 3. Tom Ferrara 4. Dennis Scott 5. Ken Hyde Jr. 6. Tim Mulqueen 7. Tim Farrell DQ-Roger Maynor
Chargers 20-laps: 1. John Baker 2. Ray Minieri 3. Eric Zeh 4. Jeremy McDermott 5. CJ Lehmann 6. Brian Doyle 7. Chris Turbush 8. Derek Stachecki 9. Cory Midgett 10. Jayson White
Blunderbusts 20-laps: 1. Tommy Walkowiak 2. Bill Wegmann 3. Tom Pickerell 4. Jack Handley Jr. 5. Rob Bader 6. Scott Maliszewski 7. Tim Mulqueen 8. Ed Mistretta 9. Jimmy White Jr. 10. Tom Sullivan 11. Brandon Hubbard 12. Tom Puccia Jr. 13. Ray Shannon 14. Justin Wahl 15. Mike Accordino 16. Bill Portney Sr. 17. Paul Parisi 18. Bob Muller 19. Neal Feola Sr. 20. Scott Sepe 21. Brain Hansen 22. Fred Nolan 23. Frank LaPocca Jr. 24. Bryan Quilliam 25. Jessica Cohan
Super Pro Trucks 20-laps: 1. Lou Maestri 2. Mike Albasini 3. Frank Dumicich Sr. 4. Chris Turbush 5. Frank Dumicich Jr. 6. Erin Dumicich 7. Dave Koenig 8. Roger Turbush 9. John Denniston 10. Keith Rotzi 11. Peter Rotzi 12. Kevin Scharfenberg 13. Jimmy Denis
Legend Race Cars 20-laps: 1. Chris Young 2. Kyle Ellwood 3. Paul Dodorico 4. Kyle Soper 5. Brendon Bock 6. Kevin Nowak 7. Chris Rogers 8. George Baker Jr. 9. Tom Sherman 10. Dylan Slepian 11. Vinny Delaney 12. Jeffrey Goodale 13. Jason Sendlewski 14. Richie Davidowitz 15. Jim Byrne 16. Danny McNamara 17. Cody Triola 18. Shawn Wanat 19. Fred Card 20. Greg Harris 21. Silas Hiscock Sr. 22. Alex Urbina 23. Jim Sylvester 24. Joe Scibelli 25. Michael Rommeney 26. Mike Smith 27. Bill Hiscock.
Sources: Bob Finan/Riverhead Raceway PR