2 Brunnhoelzls at Riverhead Opening Day
Bill Park stepped out of the driver’s seat of his always beautiful No. 20 NASCAR Modified, he has filled that seat with several talented drivers. Park will have a trio of drivers this year. Last year’s regular driver Ryan Preece will be back for 8 races and Ron Silk will be in the car for about 5 races plus the 2 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races.
A familiar face will drive the car on opening night at Riverhead (NY) Raceway. Former Long Islander George Brunnhoelzl, III will venture north from North Carolina to pilot the East West Marine/Elite Towing and Transport/Meade’s Welding & Fabricating car. He will be returning to Riverhead for the first time since 2011, when he drove a NASCAR WMT race.
I talked to George Monday about coming back to Riverhead, coming back to Long Island to drive for Bill Park and his season in general.
George said he and Bill Park have been talking for years about coming north and driving the No. 20, but they just could not make it happen. He was supposed to drive Bill’s car late in 2013, but the car was done for the year when Preece got into a backstretch wreck at Riverhead.
This year neither Preece nor Silk could make opening night, so Park and George struck a one race deal. The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour (NWSMT) is off until July 4 at Caraway (NC) Speedway, and his only other upcoming race will be the May 22 KOMA Unwind Modified Madness Series race at Concord (NC) Speedway.
George will fly up with his wife Heather and 3-year-old daughter Riley to be at Riverhead. They will also get some time to visit family and friends. He is really excited about coming to Riverhead after an admitted tough start to the NWSMT season. George started with DNF’s in the first three races. He didn’t get on track until a pole and a third at Langley (VA) Speedway April 11.
Now George will not be the only Brunnhoelzl in the field on opening night. Cousin and longtime Riverhead regular Eddie Brunnhoelzl, III will debut his new 2015 LFR Chassis race car. Eddie will have several sponsors on his new car. Hagerman Systems/Elsasser Race Engines/Go Green Generators and JDL Environmental will all be supporting his season.
Eddie only ran a partial schedule in 2014, sitting out the last half of the year. He spent the offseason retooling and getting his new car ready for 2015.
He was at Riverhead practice Saturday shaking down this new purple #8 car. Eddie said that they only had old tires on the car, but the first run went well. When I commented that you won’t miss the colorful No. 8 Eddie on the track this year, he said that was the idea.
Eddie remembered the last time he and George were on the track together, it was a regular show in May of 2011 at Riverhead. Eddie in his 8X and George in the Ed Harvey #09. George also came up in July of that year to run the Lighthouse Mission 200, but Eddie did not race that night.
Both EBIII and GBIII will be at Riverhead Raceway this Saturday for the second practice day. They will be shaking down their respective rides and getting them dialed in for opening night.
The highest finishing Brunnhoelzl will win bragging rights until they meet again which hopefully will not be in another four years.
Opening night at Riverhead will be Saturday night May 2 featuring twin 30 Modified features and a full evening of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action.
Sources: Michael Jaworecki/YankeeRacer.com