Patrick Emerling & Timmy Solomito Latest Entries for Islip 300 Saturday at Riverhead Raceway
Riverhead, NY Nov. 10th — 2021 WMT championship runner-up Patrick Emerling of Orchard Park, NY and Timmy Solomito of Islip, a 20-time career Tour Type Modified winner at Riverhead Raceway are the latest drivers to confirm their intentions on racing for the Islip 300 victory Saturday. With the Emerling and Solomito entries, 29 Tour Type Modified teams have expressed their intentions of racing in the $32,650 event that pays $7,000 to the race winner.
For Emerling, the three visits of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour to Riverhead in 2021 panned out better than the 29-year old talent could have envisioned when the schedule was announced. During the May and June WMT 200-lap events at the quarter-mile bullring, Patrick was a solid third both times to race winner Doug Coby and runner-up Justin Bonsignore. After local drivers led the September Miller Lite 200 early Emerling was running a conservative pace early on before making his way to the race lead and first career Riverhead triumph. Based on his 2021 podium finishes in ’21, Emerling and crew will be making the long downstate haul from Northern New York to Long Island in hopes of a $7,000 victory.
Homegrown Timmy Solomito has enjoyed much success and popularity at Riverhead Raceway, Saturday “The Natural” hopes to win a race run in honor of a track that sat less than a mile from the house he grew up in. Timmy comes to the 300 with 20 career Tour Type Modified wins under his belt, the most recent of which was a 50-lap Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series win on August 4th, 2018. Solomito has authored three WMT triumphs at his home track, sweeping the 2017 Riverhead Raceway dates after a single win in 2016. Timmy, who’ll turn 30 in early December was a part-time entrant on the 2021 WMT, a Islip 300 victory would be a rewarding early birthday gift for the second-generation driver.
2021 WMT Justin Bonsignore of Holtsville along with 2021 Riverhead Raceway NASCAR Modified champion Kyle Soper of Manorville will lead an all-star caliber roster of competitors into action Saturday afternoon. Drivers from five states and all walks of open-wheel Modified racing will first battle in qualifying for one of the 25 available Islip 300 starting spots. If needed a B-Main will be contested depending on race day car count.
Joining the Islip 300 are a 50-lap Eagle Auto Mall Crate Modified and 40-lap INEX Legend Race Car events.
Pits will open at 8:00 am with haulers allowed to enter one hour earlier at 7:00 am. INEX Legend Race Cars practice from 10:00 -10:30 am, Crate Mods from 10:30-11:00 am. Spectator gates swing open at 11:00 am, just in time for a one-hour Tour Type Modified practice that will run until 12-noon Qualifying will start at 1:00 pm for the Legends, followed by Crates and Tour Type Modifieds. B-Main races will be run if needed for the Legend and/or Crates.
General admission is $35 for adults, kids 6-12 $15, 5 & under are free. Pit admission is $55. A live stream of the Islip 300 race day activities can be viewed on Riverheadraceway.Tv starting at 12:45 pm.
The Islip 300 race procedure, rules, race day event schedule, and entry list can be found at www.riverheadraceway.com. E-mails reach the track at riverheadraceway1@gmail.com, our phone number remains 631-842-RACE.
Sources: Bob Finan/Riverhead Raceway PR