Max Handley, Joey Braun & Roger Oxee Among Riverhead Raceway Wednesday Night Winners
Riverhead, NY Aug. 25th — The annual Monster Truck Back To School special unfolded Wednesday night at Riverhead Raceway with 128 cars filling the pit area and a sizeable crowd turning out for a night of racing excitement and family fun as the summer of 2021 dwindles down. Max Handley of Medford won the 20-lap Blunderbust feature event while “Blankets” Joey Braun of Manorville won the INEX Legend Race Car 20-lap main event. For both drivers, it was their fourth win of the season.
Ageless Bill Wegmann Sr. who is closing in on 80 years young led the first two laps of the Blunderbust feature before high flying “Mad” Max Handley worked his way by for the top spot to start the third lap. Wegmann was soon under attack from Eddie Diaz in a battle for second that allowed race leader Handley to start to distance himself further from the field. Diaz made his way by Wegmann for second and while he closed in on the race leader it would be the Hydro Action Caprice with Max Handley at the wheel taking home the win. The victory was the 6th of Max’s career breaking a tie with his father Jack Handley a five-time winner. Brother Jack Jr. has them both covered with his 32 career Blunderbust wins. Eddie Diaz of Centereach was runner-up in the Notorious Tattoos racer while veteran driver “Turbo” Tom Sullivan of Massapequa was third in the Island Trees Automotive Chevy.
Mike Benton broke to the early INEX Legend Race Car feature event lead over Sean McElearney but a quick caution on lap 2 set the stage for an early race double-file restart. When the race resumed Benton stayed out front but Joey Braun who started 8th on the grid made his way by McElearney for second to start lap 3. Not one to waste any time Braun armed with a new sponsor in Papa Carmine’s Hot Peppers wanted to take his new backer to victory lane and “Blankets” made his move on Benton for the lead with an inside pass to start the 4th circuit. Once out front, Joey Braun remained the class of the field leading the remainder of the race in route to his 7th career INEX Legend Race Car win at Riverhead. Braun with the win moves into a four-way tie for 9th on the all-time win list with Brendon Bock, John Beatty Jr., and John Bagshaw. Ray Fitzgerald of Manorville made his way to second on lap 11 and that is where the driver of the Benimax Trucking racer would finish with Eric Hersey of Ronkonkoma third in the Grilling Villain machine.
Having authored 64 career Late Model wins in his Cromarty Wall of Champion career Roger Oxee of Peconic was starting to wonder if he’d ever win a Street Stock feature event. Well, Wednesday night he got the answer as Roger led all 20-laps of the Street Stock feature for his first career win in the class he considers his golf game these days. When the green light came on Oxee jumped right out front with Alyssa Paprocky in tow over the first 13 laps of the tilt. With the laps winding down Jay Henschel made his way by Paprocky for second on lap 13. While able to start closing in on the race leader Henschel in the Sal Sinatro owned Chevy was unable to get close enough to post a threat to the race leader. At the checker, it was Roger Oxee flashing over the line first in his Jarrod Hayes prepared Southold IGA Chevy for the win. Jay Henschel of Levittown was second while Gerard Lawrence of Miller Place was third in the EP Milling & Sweeping Chevy.
Towing all the way from his home in Raleigh, North Carolina Jacob Bradley made the traveling worth the effort when he won the INEX Bandolero 15-lap Group A feature. Austin Allen paced the race early before Ben Morabito, who has traveled up and down the Eastern seaboard with his Bandolero made a pass for the race lead. Soon three-time winner Darren Krantz Jr. made his way to second and an intense fight between Morabito & Krantz was about to unfold for the lead. With just two laps to go Krantz tried darting under Morabito for the lead and the two touched sending them into a slide but not a spin. Jacob Bradley who was running third took full advantage of the leader’s miscue and drove his Rehead Racing machine to the race lead and win over the final lap. Ben Morabito of Miller Place was runner-up in the Benimax Trucking mount while Darren Krantz Jr of Huntington placed third in the Angela’s House racer.
Tucker Bock of East Hampton enjoyed the thrill of victory for the first time in his career when he won the Group B feature that was shortened to 13-laps due to the time limit expiring. Matthew Vescovi Jr. who was running his last Bandolero race at Riverhead due to his family moving to Illinois would lead the first lap of the contest before Tucker Bock steering the One Stop Market entry made a pass for the lead that would turn out to be the winning pass. Wayne Meyer Jr. of Calverton would finish second in the Long Island Poultry machine while Reid Halpin of Wading River marched from a 6th place starting berth to finish third in the Florida Connection entry.
Chris Olivari of Coram survived a wild 40-lap 4/6-Cylinder Gut & Go Enduro to win his first race of the season, second of his career. The event was stopped three times by red flags. Late in the race Chris Olivari, who by trade is an operating room surgical technician drove to the race lead with a handful of laps left in his sponsor wanted car for the win. Zach Tyler of Cutchogue in the Miller & Caggiano Attorney At Law racer was second while Bob Haeger of Hampton Bays was third in the 27 Dollar Band entry.
Sources: Bob Finan/Riverhead Raceway PR