One word to discuss tonight's race...

[mazz627]

BRUTAL........On a high note, Congrats Justin on your first modified win.

[Ka$h25]

Also, Mike Andrews Jr. took a car from last place and was in good position for a possible top 5, certainly top 10. Heck of a run by Mike.

[mazz627]

I agree. Too bad Wayne had to crash to pass. When will these officials become consistent with their calls?

[Ka$h25]

Officials have a lot to do, I hate to blame them for MISSED calls, but it sure seems like Wayne can do no wrong around there.

[nobandwagonhere]

Jivanelli ran Tommy all over the track till Tommy finally turned him. Tommy had to start behind Jivanelli. Fine. No biggee. BUT.....Wayne was involved in 3 wrecks and STILL kept his spot everytime. I think we need to stop making up the rules as we go along. BE CONSISTENT or some of these drivers are going to consistently wreck the field.

BTW....Great run by Justin.

[fred card]

Tommy should be called crash to pass. The officials made some good calls but also some poor ones. I hope in the future the mods run with more respect for each other.

[W. J.]

Let's be very, very careful here. Comments are one thing, personal attack comments are another, and will not be tolerated. Be constructive in what you have to say. It was a rough race from 5th spot on back all night, with MANY guilty parties. Learn from the mistakes of others and let's move on.

[Turn2Guru]

Respect is a two way street in short track racing. The officials say in every drivers meeting that seems to go unheard by many drivers in every division, "If a driver is much faster than you one week, let him go, next time you may be the faster car and want the same respect." We know who was faster last night, we know who blocked all over the track last night, and we know the ridiculous way things were handled on the race track with more than just these two drivers. Tommy was penalized on the track, should have been the end of the whole deal. Dan took it upon himself to spin Tommy back and keep the tempers hot. No call was made. Where is the respect in that? I know everyone has their own opinion on this matter, mine is Dan was the lesser of the two by dumping Tommy after he had already been penalized. Too many drivers have developed this "take matters into my own hands" style of driving and it is ruining the division. You can pretty much tell a few laps ahead who is going to do what to whom. It is no longer hard racing as it is mirror driving, chopping, and just plain rough riding. Last night was a disgrace by more than just these two drivers, many cars were just plain dumped last night and only one was sent back for it, ridiculous. You want to label Tommy "crash to pass", what will you be calling Dan from now on, or Wayne, or Sal, or John...? Do you see where this is going? The horrible racing throughout this whole division is not the fault of Tommy Rogers. Everyone has made a bad move, driven hot headed for revenge, and most have gotten away with it. I don't think the officials know how to fix this problem. The Black flag is non-existant in every division. It is a shame, there have been more fights in the pits since the new duo has been appointed, than in previous years. The problem lies in some have been given the "Golden Ticket" and some haven't. Fair and consistant officiating is the only thing that can whip this and all divisions back into shape. It is a shame, because Dan and Tommy both are hard chargers and could have put on a good show, if the respect level was in place and the penalties were consistant for all. If you know the fine, you will think twice about doing the crime.

[Jeff T]

Last night was probably the worst Modified race I have seen in quite some time. Lot's of hot tempers and no control by the officials. The most pathetic thing seen out there last night was the crew member from the 6 taking a shot at Danny while he was still in the car and, and after the 44 crew removed him, he comes back 10 minutes later to start another fight, which turns into a brawl between crews. And where were the officials and track security during all of this????? As far as I saw, not a single track official to be seen during the melee. If it weren't for the surrounding crews and drivers, the fight would have gone on longer than it did.
If the powers that be from Riverhead Raceway truly do read this message board, I urge you to PLEASE gain control of your facility before someone seriously gets hurt or even worse, killed. Let's get some security or more efficient officials in the pits to put an end to this BS.

[DOR 58 FIGURE 8]

I couldn't agree with you more both Turn2Guru & Jeff T!! But I have to say that what happened with Kenny Darch was really :mad: UNFAIR, TOTAL BS, BAD CALL, etc.!! Now I didn't see what happened in the consi, but I heard that Kenny dumped the 21, and he was black flagged. OK, like I said, I didn't see it, but heard from a few people that it didn't "look" intentional, don't really know for sure. They never even went to Kenny and ask him what happened or anything. But then to have him set down for the night was TOTALLY UNFAIR!!! Yes, he got Mike Andrews to drive and Mike did a great job, as usual. If the officials can do that with Kenny Darch, I know MANY other driver, in all the divisions who should get that same rule, but haven't, and won't. OK, it's over, they made an example with Kenny, will they follow through next week and for now on??? :disgusted Guess we'll just have to see, but Kenny won't. Because of that bad, call he won't be back to Riverhead, he'll be somewhere where they have the same calls for every driver. Any other track I've been to, their officials would NEVER put up with this. If you bump someone and it looked intentional, you are sent to the back, do it again, you're done for the night. No if, ands, or buts about it. And all the drivers know this and they have some of the best racing and No Fighting later in the pits.
I don't know for sure, maybe the reason the officials don't care about making the same calls for every driver is to get rid of them, so they know where they can go to race and have fun, so when Riverhead is gone, the drivers and fans won't be heart broken that there isn't any racing left on Long Island. :*-(
Fred Card: Tommy should be called crash to pass.
I know many a driver who could be call crash to pass, But Tommy, I don't think so. Maybe your driver couldn't handle the pressure of a "Young", "Top Runner, Driver" who can drive around him?? :confused:

[Golf Guy]

I was wondering why the 93 left the race after being talked to by an official. He didn't look happy...

[W. J.]

I didn't get a chance to talk to Sal, but I'm guessing since they wanted him to go to the rear, on a rough riding call, he disputed that, and decided he no longer felt like racing. Just my guess.

[fred card]

Who was wrong here, Tommy or Dan? Neither driver. A crew member attacked Dan while still in car. He started the brawl and the 44 crew took care of it. No more to say, stay out of other's pit area.

[Turn2Guru]

Fred, I am glad you are so proud of the fighting the 44 crew was able to accomplish last night, however that should not be the issue here, besides, I was right there and it wasn't much of a fight. I have had a harder time splitting up my children, then the so called stomping you seem to think transpired. More innocent people got hit than the guilty parties. The fighting is a shame, and everyone was wrong, but we need to understand the reasoning for the hot tempers and why this is happening every week between the top teams in the top division. Inconsistancy on the track is the issue, make the same calls for everyone and the fighting will subside. Years ago, if the officials thought someone was blocking or driving agressively, they would stop them under caution and tell them to settle down or get sent back. If you were even near the leader and he spun, you got sent back. It may have been unfair at times, but no one dared play around for fear that they would get the boot. That was control, drivers drove cleaner, closer and harder than they do today. Passing was an art, not an option, faster cars were given a lane to pass in, high or low; today slower cars drive in both to stay up front. Teams work hard on set up to get whatever edge on the competition they can. That is frustrating enough with bad tire selections, what seems like the few untouchables that can do no wrong, and now personal vendetas being thrown into the mix. How can you blame the drivers for getting hot? I say kiss and make up, what happened, happened. You guys are second and third in points and should be professional enough to let the best man win. If you are not, then park the cars before someone really gets hurt. If he beats you this week, then he deserved it, if you beat him, then congrats to you. Wrecking each other and fighting will not gain anyone sponsors nor fans, or respect among your fellow competitors. Racing is fast and tight, stuff happens and it is not always intentional. Give the benefit of the doubt. It would be nice to know Dan and Tommy can race side by side next week with no problems, because they WILL be starting next to each other. You don't win championships wrecking for revenge.

[Turbo]

Yeah, last night was a mess. The fight afterwards was a bad taste in the mouth, mainly because after it was over there were little kids and familys at the surrounding cars!! That's just bad publicity for them to see people fighting around them and what makes them want them to bring their kids back to see all of this? I think the drivers egos are getting too big when they get taken out (in every division not just mods), whether they spin or just get moved up another groove, they seem to come back and retaliate with no remorse! We need to get back to the racing like we all used to know it, whether it's the officials calls or the crews and drivers actions afterwards. It's just not the same anymore. I used to enjoy going racing, now it's just my obligation to help out my family and it sucks because it used to be great to watch!!! Now it's who is gonna retaliate on who, or who is gonna wreck who this week....:disgusted

[The Bullfather]

This is getting ridiculous. I left the track during the heats of the modifieds, I was feeling really ill and had to leave. I was waiting most of the night for results, excited to see who won and what not. Week after week, people are blaming this person and that person. ENOUGH!!! This is getting too crazy, makes the head spin! EVERYONE, every driver and every pit crew member needs to take responsiblity and STOP blaming others! People need to "Man up!" and start acting like true professionals on and off the track. You have sponsors you need to represent, how many sponsor show up and see what going on? Would you want to sponsor a hot headed driver that not going to bring class to their establishment?

Drivers are tired of being walked over and leaving the track. It's disguisting to see everytime, because we are losing great people and great families. Every time an official makes a call, someone is up in arms and when no call is made, everyone is up in arms! You say one thing and want another thing!

Egos of having to throw up fists and put up has to stop! The sport has changed, but racing shouldn't. Respect has be shown on and off the track. Week after week this board has become a bash em' bathroom wall post. We're losing everything because someone has to prove something and the everyone is on the losing side, NO ONE WINS! The clock keeps turning and we're losing time, but no one seems to want to save what we have and make this a better sport. Maybe not everyone is to blame and I'm sorry that "we" the sport have to be mixed in with it! But, it's the truth, people see it as a whole.

We do this because we love it, but every bit of joy is being sucked dry when something arises every week and people are blaming each other and then take matters into their own hands. Whose going to pay? WE ARE! I can't wait till next season already when most of everything is forgotten and we can start with a clean slate for racing without drivers remembering what someone did to them last week or week before. Blame can be placed everywhere, not just one area. Time to clean it up and get acts straigthen out, before we'll be racing golf carts on the gold course.

thanks for you time.

[Gravel]

Pete, your right. Fighting, throwing objects, lack of respect between drivers is appalling. That's some of the reasons I haven't been to the track this year.[There are other reasons, too] As far as calls go, everyone wants the same thing. To be treated FAIRLY!!! Make consistant calls. That seems to be EVERYONE'S biggest complaint. The track had a good crew of officials years back. I know quite a few of them would come back if asked. Some won't. It's up to the Cromarty's to make an assessment of what they have and make changes where necessary. JMHO

[top row crew]

Congratulations Justin on your first win.

[randomrodder]

Pete, you hit it on the head with the, "Man UP" part. I understand competitive natures and tempers flaring but, at some point in life people have to grow up and take what comes up their way and make lemonade out of the lemons they have been handed.

I belong to a number of forums, all but this one, centered around hot rodding. One has a number of young wannabie rodders. I happen to like this forum very much but with all the arguing going on here lately it's reminding me of all the flaming and "I'm right, you're wrong" attitudes of that one aforementioned forum. The only ones that keep them in line are us old timers that have been part of the scene all our lives. Still, they don't want to listen.
That is what a lot of all this on track, in the pits, and on the forum stuff reminds me of.

Sorry if I sound cynical, but I always taught my kids to man up and take it as it comes. Things have a way coming full circle.

[W. J.]

All wonderful thoughts, thank you everyone. However, this is starting to turn into a place for certain people to come and try to continue the animosity, so I'm shutting it down, right here, right now, and we will not have another thread or post regarding this specific race or the incidents associated with it. I hope everyone gets that clear message.