Shawn Solomito Sweeps Twin 30 NASCAR Modified Features at Riverhead Raceway
RIVERHEAD, NY — Week two of the 2015 NASCAR Whelen All American Series at Riverhead Raceway once again featured Twin 30 NASCAR Modified main events and when the checker flag waved on both events it was Shawn Solomito of East Moriches steering the famed Wayne Anderson entry earning the victory in both races. Shawn took over the seat in Anderson’s machine during the off season when younger brother Timmy left for the Flamingo Motorsports ride on the NASCAR WMT.
Tom Rogers Jr of Riverhead again set fast time with a lap of 11.942 but in the redraw could only muster a 7th starting position while the front row was drawn by Vinny Biondolillo and John Fortin. When the green flag dropped it was Fortin edging ever so slightly out front on Biondolillo for the first three laps before Vinny made his way to the lead on lap 4 with Shawn Solomito working by Fortin for second at the same time. Once to second Solomito wasted little time making his way under Biondolillo to the inside for the lead on lap 5 and took control of the race at that point. Biondolillo remained second up until the 20th circuit when Tom Rogers Jr. made his way by for the position to the inside. Rogers was able to draw close to leader Solomito over the final 10-laps of the first 30 but close would be as good as it would get.
When the checkers waved Shawn Solomtio in the Eastport Feeds Chevy was first underneath them with Tom Rogers Jr. runner-up in the Jessup Landscaping entry. Ron Silk of Norwalk, Ct. was third in the East West Marine Chevy of Bill Park. Vinny Biondolillo of Farmingville and John Fortin of Holtsville completed the top five.
The intensity for the second 30 was high right from the start of the race as Shawn Solomito and Tom Rogers Jr. made up the front row with Rogers having some past history with both the Solomito and Anderson families. When the green light winked on Solomito was able to move out front with Rogers hanging tough as long as he could on the outside. Throw in a double file restart or two and the tension level rose even higher as Shawn made Tommy as uncomfortable as he could on the outside. Clean racing would prevail with Solomito maintaining his lead and Rogers eventually tucking back in line. Over the final 10-laps of the contest Solomito was able to put some race track between himself and Rogers which allowed him some breathing room.
At the conclusion it was once again Shawn Solomito over the line first with Tom Rogers Jr. and Ron Silk completing the podium finish. Eric Goodale of Riverhead placed fourth while John Fortin notched another fifth place tally.
“This is pretty cool, winning our second time out in Wayne’s car” Shawn noted in victory lane, “I can’t thank him and Joette enough along with Doug Corwin of Eastport Feeds for the opportunity”. As to his move to the race lead and subsequent battle with Tom Rogers Jr., Solomito noted, “I knew I had to get out front because that 0 car was coming. Tommy is the driver to beat here and he’s a hardnosed racer but we had a good clean race”.
Scott Kulesa of Georgetown, Ma. rebounded from a rough opening night in the Late Model ranks to score a 25-lap victory in week two which earned him his 21st career win along the way. Chris Lescenski raced with Shawn Patrick for the race lead on the first lap but a quick yellow flew as the field tried to complete the second lap. On the ensuing restart Scott Kulesa slid under Patrick for second on lap two and one lap later made the same move under leader Lescenski in a bid for the lead. While the duo ran side by side on lap 3 Lescenski’s car got loose off turn four and bounced off Kulesa sending Chris hard into the wall on the front stretch. Roger Oxee had nowhere to go and was collected and he and Lescenski were done for the race. When the race went back to green Scott Kulesa, who just minutes ago had survived that close call, put his Eastport Feeds Pontiac out front and he never looked back as he drove his new car to victory. Chris LaSpisa of Shirley was runner-up in the McBetts Racing Engines Chevy with Jeremy McDermott of Riverhead third in the Statewide Roofing Chevy.
When Tom Rogers Jr. of Riverhead topped the 15-lap Figure Eight main event it would prove to be a milestone victory as it was Tom’s 20th career win. Mike Mujsce and Ken Hyde Jr. broke out front at the start of the race and ran in that order for the first half of the race. However as so often occurs when these two race for the lead or for that matter any position sparks will fly and they did on lap 8. Hyde got into the corner a bit too hot and made contact with Mujsce who spun from the lead drawing a yellow flag. NASCAR Officials sent Hyde to the rear for rough riding. Moments prior to the Mujsce-Hyde encounter Tom Rogers Jr. worked his way by Roger Maynor for what at that time was third place but in fact the pass would turn out to be the winning move of the race. When the race resumed Maynor made a few runs at Rogers for the lead but in the end Tommy in the United Exhaust Shops Plymouth Coupe would be the stronger car and take down the win. Maynor of Bay Shore was second in the Barrasso & Sons Mason Supplies Camaro while Scott Pedersen of Shirley crossed the line third in the Reliable Motors entry.
It is not very often you will find Chris Turbush of Wading River starting a Charger feature on the front row but indeed that was the case Saturday for the former four time track champion. Chris starting on the outside pole alongside Greg Immerman rode the outside line for the first laps of the race before taking sole possession of the lead on the second lap. Once out front Chris who came to the 2015 season with 39 career wins in the division drove off to a milestone 40th career victory in his Golden Oak Builders Chevy. “I have to dedicate this win to Carl Tribuzio who we lost recently. He was Rob’s father but also like an uncle to us Turbush boys” “Radiant” Ray Minieri of Bay Shore crossed the line second in his Long Island Performance Chevy with CJ Lehmann of Shirley third in the Your Floor Store Monte Carlo.
Jack Handley Jr. is off to another fast start in Blunderbust competition as he is now two for two in 2015 winning another 20-lap main event. Tom Puccia showed the way over Tom Sullivan for the first lap of the race with Sullivan moving out front for lap two. Handley, who started the race fourth quickly came to second when Sullivan took the lead and wasted no time moving to the outside of Tom to start the third lap. Once he had the lead in his Liccardi Builders Chevy there was no catching Jack Handley Jr. who drove off to another convincing win. Tom Sullivan of Massapequa came home second in his Custom Exteriors Chevy with defending champion Tom Pickerell of Huntington racing his way from a 9th starting spot to finish third in the Premier Utility Chevy.
Another driver off to a quick start in 2015 is defending Super Pro Truck champion Lou Maestri of Deer Park who made it two in a row in their 20-lap feature. Mark Stewart broke out front early with Brian McElearney in tow. This race for the lead would intensify as the laps clicked off. Exiting turn two on lap 6 Stewart and McElearney made contact off the corner with Stewart spinning drawing a caution flag. NASCAR Officials would then send McElearney to the rear for rough riding. That turn of events put Lou Maestri who was running third into the race lead on the restart. During that restart while Maestri led, Roger Turbush and Jimmy Rennick Jr. staged a heated side by side battle for second which was music to the ears of the race leader. When the dust settled Lou Maestri in his Star Car Collision Center Chevy drove off to his 29th career win while Roger Turbush of Riverhead claimed second in the Rheem Air Conditioning Chevy. Dave Brigati of Calverton made a late race pass for third in his JDL Environmental Dodge.
After a tough result opening night that ended with a crash, Artie Pedersen III of Center Moriches rebounded nicely Saturday evening as he won the 20-lap Legend Race Car feature for his second career win. After winning the first heat race Artie was joined in the front row of the 28-car field by younger brother Allan who won the second qualifier. When the Pedersen brothers brought the field to green it was Artie wrestling the lead away from Allan who ran second for the first two laps. George Tomko Jr. came to second on lap three and ran there until the 7th circuit when he was passed on a double file restart by Josh Williams. Over the final half of the race veteran Williams making only his second Riverhead Raceway start was able to draw to within a car length of leader Pedersen from time to time but that would be about it. At the finish Artie Pedersen III in his Lombardo Electric racer would enjoy the hard earned win after the opening night misfortune while Josh Williams of Concord, NC was runner-up in the Fatscher Racing entry. Devin O’Connell of Westbrook, Ct. was another impressive invading driver who wheeled his way to a third place finish after starting 8th.
1st NASCAR Modified Twin 30:
1. Shawn Solomito 2. Tom Rogers Jr. 3. Ron Silk 4. Vinny Biondolillo 5. John Fortin 6. Eric Goodale 7. Jason Agugliaro 8. John Beatty Jr. 9. Howie Brode 10. Ryan Preece 11. Dave Brigati 12. Kyle Soper 13. Dave Schneider 14. Ken Darch 15. Jerry Solomito Jr. 16. Eddie Brunnhoelzl III
2nd NASCAR Modified Twin 30:
1. Shawn Solomito 2. Tom Rogers Jr. 3. Ron Silk 4. Eric Goodale 5. John Fortin 6. Jason Agugliaro 7. Vinny Biondolillo 8. Kyle Soper 9. Ryan Preece 10. Jerry Solomito Jr. 11. Dave Brigati 12. John Beatty Jr. 13. Howie Brode 14. Ken Darch 15. Dave Schneider DNS-Eddie Brunnhoelzl III
Late Models:
1. Scott Kulesa 2. Chris LaSpisa 3. Jeremy McDermott 4. Mike Bologna 5. Jack Orlando 6. Shawn Patrick 7. Kyle Harvell 8. Kevin Metzger 9. Chris McGuire 10. Richie Davidowitz 11. Kaitlyn Schober 12. Chris Lescenski 13. Roger Oxee 14. Jarrod Hayes
Figure Eights:
1. Tom Rogers Jr. 2. Roger Maynor 3. Scott Pedersen 4. Mike Mujsce 5. Tom Ferrara 6. Ken Hyde Jr. 7. Bryan Quilliam 8. Tom Kraft Jr. 9. Gary Fritz Jr. 10. Mike Herbst
Chargers:
1. Chris Turbush 2. Ray Minieri 3. CJ Lehmann 4. Daryn Miller 5. John Baker 6. Cory Midgett 7. Jason Hansen 8. Steve Mastro 9. Owen Grennan 10. Eric Zeh 11. Rich Wilson 12. Greg Immerman 13. David Roys
Blunderbusts:
1. Jack Handley Jr. 2. Tom Sullivan 3. Tom Pickerell 4. Joe Warren Jr. 5. Terry Stiles 6. Tim Mulqueen 7. Scott Maliszewski 8. Tom Puccia 9. Jim Laird 10. Ron Langdon 11. Ed Mistretta 12. Bill Wegmann Sr. 13. Bob Muller 14. Derek Wegmann 15. Robert Ehrle 16. Chris Van Cott 17. Bill Wegmann Jr. 18. Dennis Scott
Super Pro Trucks:
1. Lou Maestri 2. Roger Turbush 3. Dave Brigati 4. Jimmy Rennick Jr. 5. Mike Albasini 6. Jerry Giordano Jr. 7. Kevin Scharfenberg 8. Amanda Anderson 9. Mark Stewart 10. Brian McElearney 11. Anthony Vecchio
Legend Race Cars:
1. Artie Pedersen III 2. Josh Williams 3. Devin O’Connell 4. Ray Fitzgerald 5. Richie Davidowitz 6. John Beatty Jr. 7. Allan Pedersen 8. Dylan Slepian 9. Michael Rutkoski 10. Chris Rogers 11. Greg Harris 12. Vinny Delaney 13. Shawn Wanat 14. Kevin Nowak 15. Eddie Fatscher 16. George Tomko Jr. 17. Kurt Krieger 18. Mike Van Houten Jr. 19. Vinny Colletti 20. Eric Hersey 21. Ed Cheslak 22. Wally Davidowitz 23. Jerry Curran 24. Cassandra Cole 25. Steve Hersey 26. Bill Fitzgerald 27. Bryan Kelly 28. Paul Dodorico
Sources: Bob Finan/Riverhead Raceway PR