Riverside FANatic 7/08/06
by Alan Plummer
Wow, what a night of racing on July 8, at Riverside Speedway, a PASS sanctioned track. The weather was hot, and the racing hotter. A near full moon seemed to be affecting some drivers, as their driving was a little more aggressive than normal.
First up were the Angels. The number 55 of Traci Nelson was on the pole with the 7 of Kate Demar outside her door. Demar jumped to the lead and stayed there the entire race. The 44 of Jennie Dion quickly moved to second and proceeded to try and catch Demar, but the laps ran out. Demar was 1st followed by Dion and the 83 of Lindsey Rexford.
Next up were the Daredevil youth racers. The novice class did not start the night off on the right foot. With 2 starts botched by cars getting together, Dick Therrien decided they had better start them single file if they ever wanted to get the race going. The 19 of Walter Bandy started in the front with the 73 of Riley Hartshorn behind him, and the 41 of Vanessa Brown. Bandy worked the car to keep it out front. On lap 10, Hartshorn tried the outside groove, but couldn’t make it stick. On the last lap Bandy and Hartshorn got together, and were all over the place, but both held on, with Hartshorn edging out Bandy for the win. Brown followed in 3rd place.
In the Daredevil Master’s class the 7 of Dayna Randall started on the pole, with the 8 of Tyler Leighton outside. Randall grabbed the lead as Leighton went really high. The 5 of Jesse Switser moved into 2nd and the 77 of Brandon Lambert moved to 3rd. Lap 7 the 72 of Cody Hodge spun in turn 1. A botched restart sent Hodge to the penalty box for one lap. The restart was done in single file. On lap 9 the 04 of Shawn Swallow took 3rd and then 2nd. On the following lap the 01 of Sammie Gooden went under Lambert then outside Switser for 3rd. Swallow passes Randall on lap 15. Gooden and Randall get together in their battle for 2nd causing a caution, and moving them both to the rear of the field. Gooden pushed to try to get back to the front, but at the stripe ends up 4th. Swallow takes the win, followed by Switser for 2nd and the 93 of Alex Theroux for 3rd.
The Dwarf cars were up next. The 38 of Ruby Pinkham started on the pole with the 2 of Eric Hall outside. Hall jumped out in front, but it is short lived as the 98 of John Drinkwine shoots by bringing with him the 6 of Travis Belisle. On lap 6 Belisle passes Drinkwine. On lap 9 the 28 of Sparky Lapan takes 3rd place. Lap 12, Pinkham is off turn 1. Belisle takes the restart, bringing Lapan with him. Belisle takes the checkers followed by Lapan and Drinkwine.
The Super stocks, affectionately known as the crunch bunch, were next on the card. The 10 of Adam Hurd started on the pole with the 6 of Robin Hood outside. Hurd took the first spot, followed by the 73 of David Ofsuryk Jr. The 18 of Ron Watson and the 48 of Willey Holebrook, quickly move up through the field, and by lap 8 are battling for 3rd. Hurd, using more than his fair share of track gets loose, and the 1 of Jeremy Lacoss tries to duck under, but Hurd recovers and pinches him off. Holebrook starts smoking on lap 19, he apparently had a power steering problem and drove the rest of the night without power steering. Hurd takes the restart, then Lacoss finally completes the pass. Watson then battles Hurd and takes 2nd. On lap 22 the 04 of Nathan Swallow gets together with Hurd, who bounces off the 74 of Dan Sidney. Hurd and Swallow are sent to the rear. Watson takes the restart. Lacoss, Watson, and Ofsuryk go three wide, with Lacoss coming out in the first spot. Watson gets bumped and shuffled back several spots. Lacoss crosses the checkers first followed by the 93 of Reggie Theroux in 2nd and Sidney in 3rd.
The Late Models took to the field for an extremely clean and technical race. The 90 of Floyd Bennett started on the pole with the 12 of Mike Paquette outside. Bennett takes the start, as Paquette falls back. The 18 of Brooks Clark gets second, but that is short lived, as the 04 of Jamie Swallow Jr. passes him on lap 4, and the 10 of Bryan Mason goes by him for 3rd. Swallow moves into 1st on lap 6. The 11 of Brian Gosselin who has had mechanical problems the last couple of weeks starts to slowly move through the field. On lap 11 the 3 of Mike Kenison moves into 2nd and the 01 of Sam Gooden moves into 4th. Steve Hodgdon, in the 2, spins in turn 2 on lap 28. Swallow takes the restart as Kenison gets shuffled back. On lap 29 Gosselin moves into 3rd. At the line it is the rookie Swallow followed in 2nd by Gooden and the rookie Gosselin taking third.
The Street Stocks also had a great race with a flag to flag race. The 73 of Jason Emerson started on the pole with the 2 of Arnie Krupula Jr. outside. Emerson took the lead with the 66 of Michael Moore moving into 2nd and the 1 of Mike Mcgee into 3rd. On lap 6 Moore passes Emerson to take 1st, and the 19 of Jake McDowell passes the 07 of Bill Stebbins Jr. for 3rd. On lap 9 McDowell moves into the 2nd position. Stebbins retakes 3rd on lap 10. McDowell passes Moore on lap 15 for the lead. On lap 17 the 76 of Ryan Delabruere takes 3rd, then on lap 21 takes second. Delabruere and McDowell battle for the lead. On the last lap with 2 lapped cars running directly in front of them Delabruere makes a bold move and splits the lap cars right down the middle to take first place. McDowell gets 2nd and Moore 3rd. Actually the 4 of Steve Quenneville took 3rd, but he was actually doing tire testing for the track and was not actually scored.
The Cyclone Enduros had a great night also. With, I believe, only one red flag, it was a race to the finish. Although not as close as last week, a finish right down to the wire saw the 12 of Tyler Therrien take the win. The 7 of Jason Kenison was 2nd and the 41 of Jeff Ainsworth 3rd. I wish I could write more about the Cyclones, but with 30 of them whizzing around the track, it is hard to write and watch at the same time.
Join us Friday this week, for a special night of racing. The Bear Ridge Speedway Sportsman’s Coupes making their way to Riverside, they normally run on dirt, but are running 2 dates on the asphalt of Riverside in a point counting event. I have never seen these guys run, and am looking forward to a great night. Also on the card will be Street Stocks, North Country Dwarf Cars, Angels, Daredevils, Cyclones and $100 to win Spectator Drags. It will be Little League night, and all players in uniform will be admitted free of charge. Post time is 7:30pm. Pit gates open at 3pm and grandstands open at 5:30pm. Pictures and archived FANatic articles can be seen at http://racing.apcomptech.com If you have any questions or comments email me at riversidefanatic@apcomptech.com