Race teams at Riverhead Raceway are going to be greeted with
some brand-new pavement next month when the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
season opens.
But the new pavement doesn’t cover the whole track.
Riverhead track owner Ed Partridge says that they made the decision to pave the entire pit area and a certain section in turns 3 and 4 for this year.
“Turns 3 and 4 were always patched up and had pieces of
concrete, so it was always rough. We had a group come down, grind it like they
do the roads, and we put two down lanes in the bottom and middle groove of
brand-new asphalt,” Partridge said. “It was pretty bumpy, but right
now, they paved it and we drove over it and it does seem to have a little bit
of a dip, but no bump. We are playing it by ear and seeing how it works
out.”
The pit area was the beginning of the process for Partridge
and his team, hoping to improve the quality of experience for race teams and
fans both.
“Our pits were in need because it was breaking up; they
needed it for the cars and the people just walking and almost twisting ankles.
Every year we start to do some upgrades to the facility,” Partridge said. “We
were asphalting the pits, we have the first coat down and we’re waiting on some
better weather but we figured we would take a look at the track while we were
at it. We have some demos and some enduros here during the summer, so we when
we put asphalt down, sometimes the rims drag and it can pull it up. It’s a
toss-up whether we want to pave through the whole track or not.”
For more than 30 years, Riverhead, a quarter-mile bullring
on Long Island in New York, has also featured as least one race each year since
the inception of the Whelen Modified Tour in 1985. This year, the series
returns for two more visits on Saturday, July 6, and Saturday, September 7.
“The Tour shows have been action-packed, the last one was a
rainy night, but the races here are really good. I’m not knocking any other
tracks, but we have a bullring and we have a lot of action and a lot of passing
going on,” Partridge said. “The last shows I remember here were really good
shows. Everyone who comes through the pits says that they love the Whelen
Modified Tour here.”
The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series season opens on
Saturday, May 4, and rolls through Saturday, September 28, but the racing won’t
only take place on Saturday nights. Riverhead made the decision to place three
Whelen All-American Series shows on Wednesday nights, and if there are any
rainouts throughout the season on a Saturday, the entire racing will be card on
the next Wednesday night.
“We only have so many days we can race at the track,”
Partridge said. “A lot of different tracks run more than one night. Up at
Seekonk Speedway, they run Friday and Saturday. If people want to race, they
are going to come.”
For now, with just under a month to go before the first
green flag, Partridge is busy making the sure the facility will be ready for
action.
“We’re just trying to do some tire management as well to offset costs for the competitors this year,” Partridge said. “We’re looking forward to the season, and we’re just looking for some better weather. Last year was a killer with rain.”
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