John Fortin takes Riverhead point lead with Miller Lite 50 victory

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John Fortin of Holtsville took over the Riverhead Raceway NASCAR Modified points lead Saturday night when he won the Miller Lite night 50-lap main event worth $1,760. It was Fortin’s fourth win of 2009.

For the second time trial race in a row, Chuck Steuer set fast time with a lap of 12.000 barely edging out Bill Park who clocked in at 12.004, but once again Steuer drew sixth in the redraw among the top six. Justin Bonsignore drew the pole with Fortin alongside and it would be Fortin powering his way into the early race lead. A couple of early race yellows forced double file restarts and on a third lap restart, Dave Brigati was able to slide under Bonsignore for second, bringing Park and Steuer with him. Steuer would later slip by Park for third.

Ironically enough, Fortin, who came into the double points race third in points just six back of point leader Steuer and four back of Brigati in second, would lead Brigati and Steuer for the remainder of the race, which was exactly what he needed to do in the championship chase. Brigati would pepper Fortin over the final half of the race, but as the race hit its final 10-lap cycle, Fortin was able to gain a slight advantage, while Brigati was able to do the same over Steuer for second.

At the finish it was Fortin in the SGS Stone Works Chevy taking his 22nd career Riverhead Raceway win, but more importantly getting the point lead as he seeks his third track crown. “It’s going to be tight for next week” Fortin said. “I have to thank my crew chief, Butch Capuano. He throws set-ups at this car that just click. Also, all the wives and girlfriends of my crew, we field two cars weekly and it’s nearly another full-time job. They sacrifice a lot.”

Brigati of Calverton was runner-up in the Integra Shocks Chevy, while Steuer of Bohemia was third in the Country Roads Catering Chevy. Park of Manorville and Mike Andrews Jr. of Ridge in a Steuer team car completed the top five.

John Ellwood of Calverton notched his first Charger win of 2009 when he topped the Miller Lite night 20. Ellwood, starting from the pole in the Lolly’s Hut Pontiac, jumped to the early lead with Erin Dumicich giving chase for the first nine circuits of the contest. Daryn Miller, with an inside pass, took second away from Dumicich exiting turn four on lap nine and Miller, seeking his first career win, started to close the lead Ellwood had built up. However, a caution flag on lap 16 would aid Miller as he’d now be on the leader’s back bumper, but also hurt him as Chris Turbush roared from a 13th starting berth to run in third was now on Miller’s tail. When the green waved again, Turbush dipped under Miller for second entering turn three and quickly zeroed in on Ellwood. However, the sand in the hourglass would run out and Ellwood would post his eighth career Charger triumph. Turbush of Riverhead was runner-up in the Chris Mohr Landscaping Pontiac and Miller of Franklin Square crossed the line third in the Tarr’s Home Improvement Chevy.

The 20-lap Blunderbusts feature event once again featured a lot of late race shuffling of positions before all was said and done and when the dust settled Scott Maliszewski of Deer Park scored his second win of ‘09. Veteran Bill Portney Sr. broke out front at the drop of the green and would lead the race for the first seven laps before Paul Parisi and Wayne Okula worked their way by in tandem. Parisi, after being challenged by Okula for two laps, then found Kevin Rommeney filling his mirror. However, as the class is known to do in exciting fashion, the final five laps are always action packed and Scott Maliszewski, in his Thomas J. Stock Attorney At Law Chevy, made a late race bid for the lead payoff with his 11th career victory. Tom Pickerell of Huntington also made some bold late race moves to finish second in the Pickerell Clam Buick, while Tim Mulqueen of Levittown scored another great finish with third in the Timmy’s Towing entry.

Former Super Pro Truck champion Frank Dumicich Sr. of East Quogue earned his 15th career victory in the class when he went wire to wire in their 20-lap tilt. Dumicich was tested at first by Kathleen Hallock, who ran second in the first lap before Shaun Gouldsbury passed her for position. Gouldsbury, on lap five, was quickly replaced in second by Frank Dumicich Jr., who tried to narrow the lead his father built. Late in the race, Frank Jr. would have to worry more about a fast closing Danny Grennan and the battle for second became very intense with Dumicich spinning with just two laps remaining. That yellow allowed Grennan to sit on Frank Dumicich Sr’s rear tailgate for a green white checker finish and the elder patriarch of the racing Dumicich family was able to prevail in his Wesemann’s Sand & Mason Supplies Ford F-150. Grennan of Glen Cove would settle for runner-up money in the PCHS Race Engines Chevy, while Roger Turbush of Riverhead crossed the stripe third in the Rheem Air Conditioning GMC.