RGeeProductions
06-06-2011, 10:31 AM
Dave Brigati of Calverton announced just weeks before the 2011 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series opener at Riverhead Raceway that he would be teaming up with John Redding Motorsports at the quarter mile oval. In just their fifth start as a tandem Brigati drove to victory in the 35-lap New York State Fraternal Order of Police night main event Saturday earning $1,450 in the process.
Eddie Brunnhoelzl III and Chris Young tussled early on for the race lead, a battle that would find the duo side by side during some double file restarts with Young actually leading up to the 11th lap before Brunnhoelzl came back to reclaim the top spot. As the race moved forward Brunnhoelzl was able to pull away slightly as Young soon found himself racing with Shawn Solomito for second in very close quarters. Solomito tried an inside move on Young that found contact between the two, sending Young spinning and Solomito having to stop with no place to go.
That turn of events moved Dave Brigati from fourth to second behind Brunnhoelzl and after trying him several times after the green reappeared Brigati was able to make his move by nudging Brunnhoelzl going into the corner in turn three which opened the door for Dave to drive under. The opening also allowed John Beatty Jr, the 2010 Rookie of the Year, to race his way to second and in the closing laps John was able to try and nudge Brigati from the lead, but Dave was able to thwart the attempts by the sophomore talent.
At the checker it was Dave Brigati in the JDL Environmental Chevy sitting in victory lane with his new car owner, former driver John Redding. "I really wanted to get John to victory lane" Dave admitted afterwards, "I saw Eddie having trouble getting through the corner, I gave him a nudge, nothing crazy, but hey I wanted to win too"
John Beatty of Valley Stream was runner-up in the Precision Installations Chevy, with Justin Bonsignore of Holtsville roaring back from an early race trip to the pits to finish third in the M3 Technology Chevy. John Fortin of Holtsville and Eddie Brunnhoelzl III of Levittown rounded out the top five.
A few years back Eric Lutz of Miller Place vacated the seat in both his Charger and Late Model machines for young son Craig to take over. Well, Saturday night was dad's turn to take back the wheel of the family Charger car and the result was Eric taking a last lap win, his first since 2007. Chris McGuire set fast time in the pre-race qualifying earning $50 from Brigandi Brothers Automotive for his lap of 13.563. Frank Dumicich Jr., who drew the pole for the race, moved out front when the green light winked on with Eric Lutz charging from third to second. For the entire distance of the double point tilt Lutz would hound Dumicich for the lead, spending most of the time tucked right under the back bumper of the leader. The race boiled down to the white flag lap when Lutz, exiting the second turn, got a run under Dumicich, who attempted to throw a block going into turn three. Eric was having none of it holding his ground, while Frank tried to hold on in the outside lane, off the fourth corner. Dumicich couldn't hang on and Eric Lutz was able to score his 10th career win in the Cousin's Smoothies Chevy. Frank Dumicich of E. Quogue finished the race backwards in second place in his Arenz Heating and Air Conditioning Toyota, much to the delight of the fans. Chris Turbush of Riverhead drove from 7th to third place money in his Chris Mohr Landscasping Chevy.
Arne Pedersen of Mastic Beach notched his second Figure Eight win in three starts when he won their 15-lap feature. Pedersen raced directly out front when the race got underway and for the first 7 laps of the race was chased by point leader Mike Mujsce. However during a yellow flag period on lap 7 Mujsce was moved to the rear of the field for hitting a cone that prevents drivers from cutting the infield, the cone was one of two reasons for the caution. When the race resumed it was all Arne Pedersen as he led the remainder of the race in his BNR Home Improvements Dodge to notch his 6th career win. Tom Ferrara of Holbrook saved the day for the Mujsce Race Team with a runner-up showing in the Bill Beener Tree Service Chevy, while Mike Mujsce of Westhampton Beach did a masterful job of racing the D&D Auto Body machine back to a third place showing.
Defending Legend Race Car champion Kevin Nowak of Medford continued his early season hot streak with his second win of 2011 in a 20-lap event. Mike Malone led the first dozen laps of the race with the likes of Jim Byrne, Chris Young and Justin Strumpf all pursuing him at one time or another. On lap 9 during a double file restart Nowak raced under Strumpf for second. Once by Justin it was time to challenge the race leader for the lead and win. Racing off the second corner on lap 13 Kevin Nowak moved his Racing Creations entry by Mike Malone for the top spot and once out front he would never look back scoring the popular win. Mike Malone of Mastic Beach was runner-up in the Malone Racing machine, while Justin Strumpf of Selden placed third in the Monsters Recycling mount.
A trio of drivers slugged it out for the 4-Cylinder Enduro and when the dust settled on the 50-lap contest it was Anthony Pizzo of Lake Ronkonkoma scoring the win. Pizzo along with Steve Trimboli and Dennis Nelson became the three main combatants in the race, with Pizzo and Trimboli swapping the lead more than once, with Nelson hot on their heels the entire way. Trimboli actually led late in the race before Pizzo in his STS Tire Stores racer got by for the win. Dennis Nelson of Coram in the Repo Joe entry made a late race pass for second, while Steve Trimboli of Freeport had to settle for third in the Pit Bull Motors Mercedes.
NASCAR Modifieds 35-laps: 1. Dave Brigati 2. John Beatty Jr. 3. Justin Bonsignore 4. John Fortin 5. Eddie Brunnhoelzl III 6. Tom Rogers Jr. 7. Don Howe 8. Kyle Ellwood 9. Jerry Solomito 10. Chris Young 11. Shawn Solomito 12. Frank Saladino 13. Robin Vollmoeller Sr. 14. John Fortin Jr. 15. Terry Stiles 16. Wayne Anderson 17. Ken Darch 18. Mike Watson 19. Jason Agugliaro DNS-Jimmy Reed
Chargers 30-laps: 1. Eric Lutz 2. Frank Dumicich Jr. 3. Chris Turbush 4. Chris McGuire 5. Jeremy McDermott 6. Erin Dumicich 7. CJ Lehmann 8. Ray Minieri 9. John Baker 10. Tom Sullivan 11. Eric Zeh 12. Brian Doyle 13. Daryn Miller 14. Kory Comiskey 15. Derek Stachecki 16. Allen Reeves 17. Frank Scimeca Jr.
Figure Eights 15-laps: 1. Arne Pedersen 2. Tom Ferrara 3. Mike Mujsce 4. Roger Maynor 5. Justin Bonsignore 6. Dennis Scott 7. Tim Farrell 8. Mike Herbst 9. Scott Pedersen
Legend Race Cars 20-laps: 1. Kevin Nowak 2. Mike Malone 3. Justin Strumpf 4. Paul Dodorico 5. Chris Young 6. Kyle Soper 7. Jim Byrne 8. Kyle Ellwood 9. Chris Rogers 10. Jim Sylvester 11. Glenn Maningo 12. Brendon Bock 13. Cody Triola 14. Buddy Commerdinger 15. John Harley 16. Tom Andrews 17. Tony Naglieri 18. Vincent Biondolillo 19. Bryan Kelly 20. Jason Sendlewski 21. Vinny Delaney 22. Michael Rommeney 23. Anthony Cacioppo 24. Artie Pedersen III
4-Cylinder Enduro 50-laps (top five) 1. Anthony Pizzo 2. Dennis Nelson 3. Steve Trimboli 4. Matt Brown 5. Robert Endlekofer
Bob Finan
Eddie Brunnhoelzl III and Chris Young tussled early on for the race lead, a battle that would find the duo side by side during some double file restarts with Young actually leading up to the 11th lap before Brunnhoelzl came back to reclaim the top spot. As the race moved forward Brunnhoelzl was able to pull away slightly as Young soon found himself racing with Shawn Solomito for second in very close quarters. Solomito tried an inside move on Young that found contact between the two, sending Young spinning and Solomito having to stop with no place to go.
That turn of events moved Dave Brigati from fourth to second behind Brunnhoelzl and after trying him several times after the green reappeared Brigati was able to make his move by nudging Brunnhoelzl going into the corner in turn three which opened the door for Dave to drive under. The opening also allowed John Beatty Jr, the 2010 Rookie of the Year, to race his way to second and in the closing laps John was able to try and nudge Brigati from the lead, but Dave was able to thwart the attempts by the sophomore talent.
At the checker it was Dave Brigati in the JDL Environmental Chevy sitting in victory lane with his new car owner, former driver John Redding. "I really wanted to get John to victory lane" Dave admitted afterwards, "I saw Eddie having trouble getting through the corner, I gave him a nudge, nothing crazy, but hey I wanted to win too"
John Beatty of Valley Stream was runner-up in the Precision Installations Chevy, with Justin Bonsignore of Holtsville roaring back from an early race trip to the pits to finish third in the M3 Technology Chevy. John Fortin of Holtsville and Eddie Brunnhoelzl III of Levittown rounded out the top five.
A few years back Eric Lutz of Miller Place vacated the seat in both his Charger and Late Model machines for young son Craig to take over. Well, Saturday night was dad's turn to take back the wheel of the family Charger car and the result was Eric taking a last lap win, his first since 2007. Chris McGuire set fast time in the pre-race qualifying earning $50 from Brigandi Brothers Automotive for his lap of 13.563. Frank Dumicich Jr., who drew the pole for the race, moved out front when the green light winked on with Eric Lutz charging from third to second. For the entire distance of the double point tilt Lutz would hound Dumicich for the lead, spending most of the time tucked right under the back bumper of the leader. The race boiled down to the white flag lap when Lutz, exiting the second turn, got a run under Dumicich, who attempted to throw a block going into turn three. Eric was having none of it holding his ground, while Frank tried to hold on in the outside lane, off the fourth corner. Dumicich couldn't hang on and Eric Lutz was able to score his 10th career win in the Cousin's Smoothies Chevy. Frank Dumicich of E. Quogue finished the race backwards in second place in his Arenz Heating and Air Conditioning Toyota, much to the delight of the fans. Chris Turbush of Riverhead drove from 7th to third place money in his Chris Mohr Landscasping Chevy.
Arne Pedersen of Mastic Beach notched his second Figure Eight win in three starts when he won their 15-lap feature. Pedersen raced directly out front when the race got underway and for the first 7 laps of the race was chased by point leader Mike Mujsce. However during a yellow flag period on lap 7 Mujsce was moved to the rear of the field for hitting a cone that prevents drivers from cutting the infield, the cone was one of two reasons for the caution. When the race resumed it was all Arne Pedersen as he led the remainder of the race in his BNR Home Improvements Dodge to notch his 6th career win. Tom Ferrara of Holbrook saved the day for the Mujsce Race Team with a runner-up showing in the Bill Beener Tree Service Chevy, while Mike Mujsce of Westhampton Beach did a masterful job of racing the D&D Auto Body machine back to a third place showing.
Defending Legend Race Car champion Kevin Nowak of Medford continued his early season hot streak with his second win of 2011 in a 20-lap event. Mike Malone led the first dozen laps of the race with the likes of Jim Byrne, Chris Young and Justin Strumpf all pursuing him at one time or another. On lap 9 during a double file restart Nowak raced under Strumpf for second. Once by Justin it was time to challenge the race leader for the lead and win. Racing off the second corner on lap 13 Kevin Nowak moved his Racing Creations entry by Mike Malone for the top spot and once out front he would never look back scoring the popular win. Mike Malone of Mastic Beach was runner-up in the Malone Racing machine, while Justin Strumpf of Selden placed third in the Monsters Recycling mount.
A trio of drivers slugged it out for the 4-Cylinder Enduro and when the dust settled on the 50-lap contest it was Anthony Pizzo of Lake Ronkonkoma scoring the win. Pizzo along with Steve Trimboli and Dennis Nelson became the three main combatants in the race, with Pizzo and Trimboli swapping the lead more than once, with Nelson hot on their heels the entire way. Trimboli actually led late in the race before Pizzo in his STS Tire Stores racer got by for the win. Dennis Nelson of Coram in the Repo Joe entry made a late race pass for second, while Steve Trimboli of Freeport had to settle for third in the Pit Bull Motors Mercedes.
NASCAR Modifieds 35-laps: 1. Dave Brigati 2. John Beatty Jr. 3. Justin Bonsignore 4. John Fortin 5. Eddie Brunnhoelzl III 6. Tom Rogers Jr. 7. Don Howe 8. Kyle Ellwood 9. Jerry Solomito 10. Chris Young 11. Shawn Solomito 12. Frank Saladino 13. Robin Vollmoeller Sr. 14. John Fortin Jr. 15. Terry Stiles 16. Wayne Anderson 17. Ken Darch 18. Mike Watson 19. Jason Agugliaro DNS-Jimmy Reed
Chargers 30-laps: 1. Eric Lutz 2. Frank Dumicich Jr. 3. Chris Turbush 4. Chris McGuire 5. Jeremy McDermott 6. Erin Dumicich 7. CJ Lehmann 8. Ray Minieri 9. John Baker 10. Tom Sullivan 11. Eric Zeh 12. Brian Doyle 13. Daryn Miller 14. Kory Comiskey 15. Derek Stachecki 16. Allen Reeves 17. Frank Scimeca Jr.
Figure Eights 15-laps: 1. Arne Pedersen 2. Tom Ferrara 3. Mike Mujsce 4. Roger Maynor 5. Justin Bonsignore 6. Dennis Scott 7. Tim Farrell 8. Mike Herbst 9. Scott Pedersen
Legend Race Cars 20-laps: 1. Kevin Nowak 2. Mike Malone 3. Justin Strumpf 4. Paul Dodorico 5. Chris Young 6. Kyle Soper 7. Jim Byrne 8. Kyle Ellwood 9. Chris Rogers 10. Jim Sylvester 11. Glenn Maningo 12. Brendon Bock 13. Cody Triola 14. Buddy Commerdinger 15. John Harley 16. Tom Andrews 17. Tony Naglieri 18. Vincent Biondolillo 19. Bryan Kelly 20. Jason Sendlewski 21. Vinny Delaney 22. Michael Rommeney 23. Anthony Cacioppo 24. Artie Pedersen III
4-Cylinder Enduro 50-laps (top five) 1. Anthony Pizzo 2. Dennis Nelson 3. Steve Trimboli 4. Matt Brown 5. Robert Endlekofer
Bob Finan