Eight NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers competed in the
Islip 300 on Saturday night at Riverhead Raceway.
With just three weeks remaining before the Buzz Chew
Chevrolet Cadillac 200 lap Whelen Modified Tour race at the New York oval,
multiple drivers attempted to capture the victory in one of the most
prestigious Modified races Riverhead offers each year.
Some had success.
Craig Lutz, Eric Goodale and Jon McKennedy all finished
inside the top five, finishing third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Lutz has
three podium finishes in his last four Whelen Modified Tour starts, including
two consecutive third-place efforts. The Miller Place, New York, driver used
the Islip 300 as a tune-up for the upcoming tour race on July 6.
“Kinda messed up when I spun and couldn’t get it
started back up but the cautions fell right for the lucky dog. I think we
needed one more caution though,” Lutz said in a track release. “My
Goodie Racing team and I weren’t sure if we were going to race the race or just
practice, but we had a good night and learned some things for the Whelen
Modified Tour race on July 6.”
Goodale, who scored his first career Whelen Modified Tour
win at Riverhead in 2014, has four top fives in 15 starts at the quarter-mile.
With his fourth-place effort on Saturday, Goodale also earned the “Ironman”
Sonny Densieski Hard Charger of the Race award.
McKennedy, who drove a throwback paint scheme for Tommy
Baldwin, took the clock back in time to when Baldwin’s father competed at Islip
Speedway.
Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Sam Rameau was 13th,
while former Sunoco Rookie of the Year Calvin Carroll was 16th. Jimmy Blewett,
Ryan Preece and Max Zachem also competed, but finished outside the top 15. From
Rameau on back, drivers were more than 30 laps down at the finish.
Defending NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track champion
Kyle Soper won the 300 lap affair. The Manorville, New York, driver has three
career tour starts at Riverhead, with a best finish of third.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to Riverhead for the first of two stops at the historic oval on Saturday, July 6.
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