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     Where to start? 21 Late Models signed in, best anywhere, looking exciting for Double Point 50 lapper. Good, not great, modified car count, same with Chargers and really decent amount of Blunderbusts. Finishing off the night with a smashing, crashing full sized School Bus Demo Derby. Sunshine, mostly clear skies, temperature moderate and pleasant. What could possibly go wrong? Read on…

     The Blunderbust feature rolled off first, with Chris LaSpisa and Paul Parisi leading the field to the green. LaSpisa took off well, as Parisi faltered a moment, making it look as though LaSpisa jumped, but Jim Maggio ruled it a good start and the race continued, with LaSpisa leading Tom Sullivan as he battled Parisi for 2nd, with Tim Mulqueen following in 4th. On lap 2, Sullivan caught LaSpisa, passing him at the line to take the lead. LaSpisa got caught up top, with Parisi taking 2nd a lap later, with Mulqueen doing the same on the next lap. Mike Rommeney and Rob Bader also passes LaSpisa, quickly dropping him to 6th. A lap after that, M. Rommeney went high and Rob Bader got by to take 4th from him as positions in the top 10 continued to change on each lap. In one intense battle for 7th on lap 10, Terry Stiles, Chris LaSpisa and Gary Caldwell got into it heavy, with Stiles and Caldwell spinning, but Stiles rejoined the race as the yellow flew for Caldwell, who was stalled on the apron. Stiles pitted with a flat during the caution, and rejoined the field, minus his rear bumper after receiving an assist with the officials from Frank Dumicich, Jr., who argued that Stiles could run minus the bumper (and won the argument!)

     On the restart, Sullivan took the point over Parisi once more, and Mulqueen immediately challenged Parisi for 2nd, taking the position a lap later. Meanwhile, seemingly out of nowhere, Tommy Walkowiak and Ron Langdon worked their way into the top 5, with Walkowiak passing Mulqueen to take 2nd away, while Langdon took over 5th, dropping Rob Bader to 6th. Parisi was caught up on the outside, and was quickly passed by Langdon and Bader, with Parisi settling into 6th by lap 14. Langdon then went to work on Mulqueen, getting by him as Bader stayed glued to Langdon’s bumper, advancing with him towards the front. That left Mulqueen, who’d been 3rd most of the race, sitting 5th. Up front, Walkowiak found the opening underneath Sullivan that he was looking for, making the pass to takeover the top spot on lap 16. Sullivan wasn’t giving up by any means, but Walkowiak still pulled away as Sullivan fought off Langdon’s attempts to get by. Tommy Walkowiak hung on through the last 4 laps to collect his 42nd Blunderbust victory, with Tom Sullivan, Ron Langdon, Rob Bader, Jr., and Tim Mulqueen rounding out the top 5. 

      The Chargers were next on the track, with Derek Stochecki and Daryn Miller leading the field to the green. Stochecki pulled out into the lead, with Frank Dumicich, Jr. taking 2nd from Miller, as Eric Zeh ran 4th, with Erin Dumicich in 5th, as she had CJ Lehmann challenging her for that spot. E. Dumicich held on to 5th and then battled Miller for the spot as he slid further back from his 2nd starting spot. Kory Comiskey them took 5th from Miller, who was have handling problems, as his car seemed very loose off the corners. On lap 4, F. Dumicich got by Stochecki to take the lead, with Zeh taking 2nd away from Stochecki. On the next lap, Miller got loose off turn 4, just as Kevin Orlando saw a chance to pass him, but Miller’s unruly car made contact with Orlando, and Orlando crashed hard after getting hooked and spinning into the wall in turn 1, causing heavy damage to his car, and likely ending whatever chance he had of finishing in the top 3 in points for the season. Orlando was able to climb from his car, but expressed his displeasure with Miller, pounding his fist on his windshield, and then diving into Miller’s car as track personnel quickly grabbed Orlando and pulled him away. No word on any penalties being assessed in this one. Both cars suffered enough damage to require being towed to the pits. 

      On the restart, F. Dumicich held the lead, as Stochecki held 2nd, with Zeh close by in 3rd. Zeh moved into 2nd quickly, as Stochecki and Comiskey battled for 3rd, while behind them it was a 3 wide battle for a moment with E. Dumicich, Dan Turbush, and Lehmann, but Turbush wisely backed out of it before disaster could strike when E. Dumicich got loose. Lehmann got by E. Dumicich to move into 5th, as she faded back to 10th before recovering control of her car, and then dropping out with a flat on lap 8. Up front, the top 5 ran single file, with F. Dumicich, Zeh and Comiskey pulling away from Lehmann in 4th and Jeremy McDermott in 5th. Suddenly Zeh got loose, allowing Comiskey to get by for 2nd, and Lehmann also got by as Zeh corrected, with Lehmann taking 3rd away. McDermott got by Zeh to take 4th away a lap later, as F. Dumicich continued to dominate the race up front. Suddenly in the backstretch on lap 13, Jay Henschel and Chris Turbush got together, both fishtailing as they recovered, but C. Turbush suffered a flat as he spun into turn 4 and was then hit by Stochecki, bringing out the caution. When the green flew again, F. Dumicich once again took the lead, with Comiskey in 2nd, but Lehmann mounted a challenge, getting side by side with him, with Lehmann taking the spot. Comiskey apparently didn’t like getting passed, as he banged into him all through turns 3 & 4, continuing down the front straightaway, and then banging on his rear bumper so hard going into turn 1, that Comiskey spun Lehmann in turn 2. With nowhere to go, Zeh and Brian Doyle hit Lehmann, and the yellow was out once more. All of this took place under the watchful eyes of Co-Chief Steward Mike Cappiello, who was observing the race right outside the fence in turn 2.

      So, the field gets realigned for a restart, and lo and behold, Comiskey is placed 2nd in the running order. No penalty, no getting sent to the rear (or the pits) for rough riding and causing the caution. Comiskey was missing half of the front bumper on his car, making it obvious some pretty heavy hitting took place, but no penalty? When asked why this occurred afterwards, Cappiello stated that was a decision made by Steve Tooker and Jim Maggio, over Cappiello’s idea that Comiskey was at fault. (When I asked Jim Maggio about it later in the evening, after the races, his answer was, “I don’t remember the incident.”) So anyway, the race goes back to green, with a single file restart, and F. Dumicich leads the field to the line, with Comiskey, Roger Turbush, McDermott and D. Turbush now making up the top 5. R. Turbush managed to get under Comiskey to take 2nd away, without getting wrecked, as further back, D. Turbush and C. Turbush ran side by side for 5th spot. On lap 18, R. Turbush tried to pass F. Dumicich on the outside, giving Comiskey a chance to get under him to battle for 2nd once more, with Comiskey giving R. Turbush a hard bump to get by him, but R. Turbush held the spot. C. Turbush got by D. Turbush and McDermott to move into  4th spot, but C. Turbush suffered a flat left front coming off the last corner, trying to take 3rd, after banging around with Comiskey, dropping all the way to 7th as McDermott, D. Turbush, and Chris McGuire all get by his smoking, slowing racer. Frank Dumicich, Jr. held on to take his 2nd win of the season, as Roger Turbush, Kory Comiskey, Dan Turbush, and Jeremy McDermott survived the carnage to round out the top 5.

       Up next was the 50 lap, double point, Late Model feature, with 20 cars in the starting field. After a redraw, Rusty Turbush sat on the pole, with fast timer Jarrod Hayes to his outside. When the green flew for the first time, Bob Baker was into the wall in turn 1, causing a caution that lasted 15 minutes!. On the next attempt at a start, there was contact between Turbush and Hayes entering turn 1, with Hayes suffering a left front flat and coming to a halt just off turn 2, bringing out the caution before a lap could be completed. (Jim Maggio ruled Hayes intentionally drew the caution, and noted over the radio he should be penalized a lap for doing so.) At this point, I won’t bore you with the details of the numerous attempts to get the race underway, but I will point out that the first successfully completed lap didn’t occur until 35 minutes after the original green was displayed. It was THAT bad. NASCAR Officials finally decided to start the race in single file order, and it finally got under way, with Turbush leading a very determined Peter ‘Buzzy’ Eriksen, with RJ Oxee, and Mike Bologna right behind them, as they completed the first official lap of the race. Eriksen constantly looked to the low side of Turbush’s car to get by for the lead, but Turbush continually thwarted that effort. The leaders then had to deal with the lapped cars of Johnny Vullo, Lenny Podlaski, and Daryn Miller, who all did the right thing and stayed low, but it put off any further efforts by Eriksen to get by Turbush to try and take the lead, as the top 6 continued running bumper to bumper in a single file formation. Eriksen, once they’d cleared the lapped cars, continued putting pressure on Turbush, and Turbush did a great job holding off his efforts to get by, but on lap 14, Eriksen finally found the room to get under Turbush, passing him for the lead on lap 15. Now it was Oxee putting pressure on Turbush, but Oxee couldn’t seem to get the steam he needed at the right point to make a pass. Eriksen pulled away by about 2 car lengths as Oxee continued to ride about 3 feet away from Turbush’s rear bumper, with Mike Coll and Bologna riding patiently behind Oxee in 4th and 5th. Suddenly on lap 18, Ken Alfano’s car let out a cloud of steam as he quickly pulled it to the infield, but a caution was necessary to clean up the water in the back stretch. 

      When the green appeared once more, Eriksen took off, with Turbush a car length back, and Oxee right on Turbush’s bumper once more. Up front, Eriksen did all he could to build on his lead as Turbush continued to hold Oxee, Coll and Bologna off as lap 20 went up on the board, when suddenly, Chris LaSpisa and Vullo got into an altercation in the back stretch, with Vullo hooking and spinning LaSpisa in turn 3, bringing out yet another caution. After a brief cleanup, green flew again, with Eriksen taking off once more, as Turbush, Oxee, Coll and Bologna hung right with him, but back in 6th, Kevin Metzger was suddenly loosing ground and heading to the rear after bumping with Shawn Patrick a few times. Meanwhile, Coll took a look under Oxee to make a pass, but Oxee fought back, retaining 3rd place. By lap 23, Eriksen, Turbush and Oxee distanced themselves a bit from Coll and Bologna, but on lap 24, Patrick spun in turn 2, bringing out another (quick) caution. When the green returned, Eriksen defended his lead once more, until the next caution came out on lap 28. When the field went back to green this time, NASCAR officials announced it would be the last time, as the next caution would end the race. Mike Coll suffered a flat and hit the turn 2 wall, but managed to get off the track and into the infield, avoiding a caution, while Eriksen once again was fending off a challenge for the lead from Turbush, who was bumping and rubbing with Eriksen to try and get by for the lead, and behind them, a good race was starting to take shape as with 20 to go, it was time to try and gain positions for everyone. Point leader Kevin Metzger was experiencing a loose condition in his car, with numerous cars passing him, though Daryn Miller and Metzger made contact, with Miller pulling his car to the infield with damage as the race continued. But on lap 31, Metzger hit Patrick hard, with his car going over the hood of Patrick’s, and the final yellow of the race was thrown, ending the race due to running over the time limit. Confusion struck as NASCAR officials ordered everyone to remain on the track for a final realignment of the field to take a yellow/checker, but the 3rd turn gate was opened, and a few cars exited the track before the final flag was thrown.

     The last regular racing feature of the night came out next, as the Modifieds rolled out for their 35 lap feature, led by Al Ermmarino and Ken Darch, with Amber Fortin and Chuck Steuer in 3rd and 4th. When the green flag waved, Ermmarino and Darch ran side by side, with Tom Rogers coming quickly to 4th spot as Amber Fortin faded, but up front, Ermmarino took command, as Chuck Steuer moved into 2nd, with Rogers in 3rd as Dave Brigati and Ken Darch battled for 5th, with Brigati taking the spot as Bill Park moved into 6th by lap 5. Rogers and Steuer had a brief battle for 2nd with current point leader Rogers taking the spot and setting his sights on Ermmarino. Behind them, Park and Brigati were side by side battling for 4th spot, as Rogers made a move on Ermmarino, but got loose and had to drop back. Park and Brigati continued to run side by side, but on lap 9, there was a wreck in the back of the field, with Chris Young into the wall, and Joe Hartmann around backwards beside him, bringing out the first caution of the race, as both of them were done for the night. When the green flew again, Ermmarino and Rogers ran side by side, as Steuer and Brigati battled for 3rd behind them, while Park and John Fortin ran side by side behind them. Rogers, who’d dropped back behind Ermmarino, got under him and made the pass for the lead on lap 11, while the two battles for 3rd and 5th continued behind them. Brigati took 3rd a lap later, with Fortin not only disposing of park, but also passing Steuer to takeover 4th spot. Rogers pulled away by 3 car lengths from Ermmarino, who now had Brigati looking as Park and Steuer ran side by side in a battle for 5th. Suddenly, on lap 15, Steuer spun in turn 1, bringing out the caution for the 2nd time. With green back out, Rogers pulled away from Ermmarino as Brigati got under him to take 2nd away. Fortin, running 4th, got into Ermmarino entering turn 1 going 3 wide, and they spun into the infield, collecting John Beatty, Jr. in the process, and caution flew once more as Fortin quickly pulled away. Beatty suffered major damage to the left rear of his car in the incident, but to the shock of many, myself included, when the field was realigned for the restart, Ermmarino and Fortin were positioned in 3rd and 4th as though nothing ever happened! ( Questioned about this after the races, Co-chief Steward Jim Maggio answered, “I don’t know”. when asked why this happened, and when asked whose decision was it, he again answered, “I don’t know”! I wonder who does?)

      When the green flew once more, Rogers took off with Brigati on his tail, as J. Fortin moved into 3rd, with Ermmarino in 4th, while Timmy Solomito and Park battled side by side for 5th.  Then Sean McDonald spun in turn 2, but rejoined the field without bringing out a caution. Rogers continued to hold the lead with Brigati and J. Fortin running closely behind, with Ermmarino falling further behind in 4th, while Park followed in 5th, looking for a way to get by the obviously slower car of Ermmarino. Solomito, running 6th, suddenly made an outside pass on park, then went low around Ermmarino, moving him into 4th! On the next lap, Justin Bonsignore and Eddie Brunnhoelzl III then got by Ermmarino, dropping him further behind into 8th spot by lap 25. Up front, Rogers, Brigati and Fortin were now 12 car lengths ahead of 4th place Solomito, but Dennis Freese and Frank Saladino had a little skirmish in turn 4, bringing out another caution to close up the field on lap 27. The green flew once more a few minutes later, and Fortin took advantage of the double file restart to get under Brigati, taking 2nd from him, while Solomito and Park were going at it once more for 5th spot, with Bonsignore and Brunnhoelzl going at it for 6th and 7th. Solomito won his battle with Park for 4th, and Bonsignore smartly filled the void left there to move up and take 5th spot. But Tom Rogers, Jr. was cruising up front, and went on to take the victory, his 4th of the season (driving with his broken wrist in a cast), and add to his point lead over Fortin and Steuer. John Fortin, Dave Brigati, Timmy Solomito and Justin Bonsignore rounded out the top 5 at the finish. 

       There was a full sized school bus demo derby following this which was  won by Michael Rommeney, who benefited from the good sportsmanship of ‘Slim Jim’ Donaldson. Though at one point, Donaldson was the only bus running due to Rommeney’s bus being locked with Ken Hyde, Jr’s,  Donaldson, knowing that Rommeney’s bus was still running, gave it a few strategic hits to get it loose, and Rommeney resumed what he apparently does best, and proceeded to destroy Donaldson’s bus to take the win. Congrats to both for putting on a great finish to entertain the fans.

News and Notes: Though I’ve mentioned some displeasure lately with the lack of mention of this website, I have decided, after hearing from many of my readers, to continue to provide full coverage of all racing at the track, at least through the beginning of next season, and see if anything gets better now that they know how I feel about it. This will happen, no matter what, I promise you….  Someone raised the idea, after seeing one team with DAPO shirts, that selling FAPO shirts might be an enterprising idea. After this week, I’d have to agree….  I went to the annual Racer’s Reunion at the Himes Museum on Sunday, one of the reasons this is later than usual, and in my brief and early visit there, enjoyed the company of many former racers, and of course, seeing Marty himself and being able to wish him a Happy Birthday. Though he claims to be 39, Marty looks to be in his mid 40’s now! If the attendance after I was there increased any more, the gathering was a huge success. I know there are many pictures around the internet, so be sure to see them all. If you have any, pleas arrange to send them to Bryan Johnson so he can add them to the collection on the Himes Museum site. Send them to Bryan at thehimesmuseum@optonline.net  I’m sure Bryan (and Marty) will be very appreciative….  Too much wrecking and too little respect for other people’s equipment as the season draws to a close. Let’s all try to remember, no one makes money doing this, even if they don’t crash, even YOU!…  Thanks again to all who’ve mentioned their support for this site and what it brings each week. I try my best to bring accurate, complete and truthful stories to you each time out, and from your reactions, it sounds like I’m doing okay…. Note to announcers: it’s  www.myracenews.com    We can work together if we really try.

Until next week, live well and be safe. WJ