Kyle Soper Roars From 10th Starting to Spot to Victory Lane Saturday at Riverhead Raceway for 20th Career Win

The race got off to an auspicious start when Roger Turbush who started the race third spun off the fourth turn at the hit of the throttle and before the first lap was completed John Beatty Jr. would spin drawing a caution flag after Jarrod Hayes led the first lap over CJ Lehmann. On the early restart, it would be Lehmann getting the measure of Hayes for the race lead with Hayes settling into second. In the meantime, Kyle Soper was moving forward in a hurry and soon was putting the heat on Hayes for second. Ducking to the inside entering the third turn Soper worked his way by Hayes for second setting his sights on leader Lehmann.

The complexion of the race would change on lap 14 when the yellow waved this time for Eric Zeh who hit the wall under the starter’s stand. As the field circled the track under yellow everyone wondered what groove leader Lehmann who choose and when the field was called to order to the surprise of some CJ picked the outside groove moving Soper to his left flank. When the race went back green it was Soper nailing the restart grabbing the lead away from Lehmann. Once out front Kyle in the Eastport Feeds Chevy was able to get away from Lehmann and the pack. Lehmann ran second until lap 31 when Dylan Slepian made his way by for second.

Dylan Slepian of Dix Hills was runner-up up in his Eastport Feeds Chevy while rising talent Michael Rutkoski of Mattituck was third in the Buzz Chew Chevrolet Cadillac entry. John Beatty Jr of Merrick recovered from his lap 1 spin for fourth with defending champion Tom Rogers Jr. of Riverhead fifth.

Ray Minieri of Bay Shore over the years won 22 times in the old Charger division but to date had never won a Late Model feature event until Saturday night when he topped the Late Model 50-lap feature. The race was the first installment of the Miller Lite Triple Crown Series and in qualifying defending champion Jeremy McDermott topped the charts with a lap of 12.700 while Minieri was second at 12.727. Starting from the pole McDermott quickly moved out front and was pulling away from the field and for a while, it looked as though Jeremy would score the clean sweep. However on lap 17 a caution flag waved for a Joe Warren Jr. and Kevin Metzger tangle in turn one, During that caution, McDermott’s car suddenly started misfiring as he circled the track forcing him to the pits relinquishing the lead to Ray Minieri. When the race resumed with McDermott still in the pits “Radiant” Ray Minieri was the new race leader with Jerry Giordano giving chase. Giordano’s fine run would hit a snag on lap 36 when he spun off track moving Brandon Turbush to second. In the end, it mattered not to Ray Minieri who was running second as he drove off in his Long Island Performance Chevy to a long-awaited first career win. Brandon Turbush of Manorville was runner-up in the Sea Pro Marine Dock Builders racer while Kevin Metzger of Massapequa recovered from his early race incident to come home third in the Complete Well & Pump Toyota.

Another first-time winner in his new division would be “The Real Deal” Mark Stewart of Riverhead as the former 25-time winner in the Super Pro Trucks scored his first-ever Eagle Auto Mall Crate Modified win in a 25-lap affair. After Chase Grennan of Glen Cove opted to start at the rear of the field rather than on the pole that moved Mark Stewart to the pole as the inside lane moved up. When the race went green Stewart and Dennis Krupski tussled for the lead with Stewart coming out on top. On lap 3 Terry Stiles came from 7th to race by Krupski for second on a double-file restart after a major backstretch crash. Stiles would chase Stewart until the 19th lap when on another double-file restart Owen Grennan made his way by for second. With Stewart leading and Grennan second, those watching rewound to June 12th when the same scenario played out but this time there would be no last-lap contact as Mark Stewart steering the Eastern Fuel Chevy made sure nobody was going to take this win away from him. Owen Grennan of Glen Cove was second in the Dillner Precast Chevy while Terry Stiles of Rocky Point was third in the O’Brien & O’Brien Attorney At Law Chevy.

Defending Figure Eight champion Joe Warren Jr. of Ridge collected his first win of the 2021 season when he won the 15-lap feature event. Brian Hansen broke to the early race lead with Bryan Quilliam giving chase. On lap 3 Joe Warren Jr. who started 5th in the field made his way past Quilliam for second and just one lap later wheeled his way by Hansen for the race lead. Hansen having one of his best runs of his career ran second until lap 8 when on a restart he was passed by Tom Ferrara for second. As it played out so many times in 2020 teammates Warren and Ferrara ran at the front of the field battling for the lead with Joe Warren Jr. in the Exit Realty Office of Alex Katz Cadillac coming out on top. Tom Ferrara of Patchogue was runner-up in the Beach Auto Collision entry while Scott Pedersen of Shirley was third in the Land, Air & Water Environmental Chevy.

Another first-time winner on the night would come in the 20-lap Mini Stock feature as Ryan Warren of Ridge, Joe’s brother would earn his first career win in a nonstop race. Starting alongside Justin Squires in the field Warren quickly put his MSM Motorsports Cavalier into the race lead. Squires ran a solid second until lap 18 when he was passed to the outside on the backstretch by defending champion CJ Zukowski. By the time CJ got to second, there was no catching his leading teammate Ryan Warren who was about to enjoy the thrill of victory for the very first time. CJ Zukowski of Riverhead was second in his MSM Motorsports Cavalier while Justin Squires of Flanders placed third in the CRC Video Surveillance Honda.

After years of trying Eric Germuth of Hicksville finally broke through when he won the 40-lap 8-Cylinder Gut & Go Enduro to close out the night.The race was a spirited one for it’s entire distance with the likes of Sean Fitzpatrick, David Verbeeck, Richie Carman, and Greg Harris all battling in close quarters. After starting 4th on the grid Germuth in the Suffolk Tree Works Chevy was chasing Fitzpatrick who was seeking his third win in a row late in the race. In the final two laps, Germuth not only caught Fitzpatrick he then executed a textbook inside pass to take the lead and popular win. Richie Carman of Port Jefferson was also able to get by Fitzpatrick for second in the United Exhaust Shop entry while Sean Fitzpatrick of West Babylon had to settle for third in the Tire Express Chevy.

NASCAR Modifieds: 1. Kyle Soper 2. Dylan Slepian 3. Michael Rutkoski 4. John Beatty Jr. 5. Tom Rogers Jr. 6. Craig Lutz 7. John Baker 8. John Fortin Sr. 9. Justin Brown 10. JB Fortin 11. Roger Turbush 12. Jack Handley Jr. 13. CJ Lehmann 14. Wes Gilbert 15. Jarrod Hayes 16. Howie Brode 17. Chris Young 18. Eric Zeh 19. Jeremy McDermott

Late Models 1. Ray Minieri 2. Brandon Turbush 3. Kevin Metzger 4. Ethan Brown 5. Brian Doyle 6. Jerry Giordano 7. Ed Cheslak 8. Joe Warren Jr. 9. Jeremy McDermott 10. Chris Turbush 11. Chris McGuire