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POINTS RACE #10 AT OCEAN SPEEDWAY
July 04, 2008 |
| Concern
about fire hazard resulted in the cancellation of fireworks display at
Ocean Speedway this 4th of July night. But, I did notice a couple of
spent bottle rockets zip-tied to Toste's frame rails - probably gave
the #8B another 0.002 horsepower! Surely that's not legal and I'm
surprised that the tech crew didn't catch it. Also, they
should have busted the Diattes for having way too much Gatorade in
their hauler. Actually, Gilbert had a very successful night which should help offset his misfortune in Race #9. He led 90% of the laps he ran, in heat, dash and feature (all laps in the feature). In winning heat, dash and feature, he had his second sweep of the season. If he had had fastest recorded lap time in the feature (which he did in heat and dash), in addition to winning the feature from the pole, he would have had a double hat trick. As it happens, he had the fastest lap time for the season, an honor previously held by Punky Pires. So, the next time you see him, if he says 'Who's your daddy?' - just hit him. HEAT RACES Winners of the four heat races were, Dave MOSIER (Heat 1), John WEAR (Heat 2), Ricardo RIVERA (Heat 3) and Gilbert TOSTE (Heat 4). In Heat 1, Dave was quick to go from 3rd place at the start for the lead. Although average lap times for Dave and Ryan Diatte were very close, Dave won by a straightaway over Ryan who started at the rear. Dan Youngblood also started deep (6th) but got past Oscar Milla on the last lap for the 3rd place finish. Oscar had been running 3nd for five laps but finished 4th. Thomas Smith was 5th. Fast time = 15.667 sec, Dave Mosier In Heat 2, John started on the pole and stayed at the front to win by 4.3 seconds over Mark Tillinger and 4.8 seconds over Punky Pires who ran 2nd and 3rd the entire race. Steve Oliveira started 6th and ran 4th from lap 2. Martin Whittingham was 5th. Fast time = 15.464 sec, John Wear In Heat 3, Ricardo started 3rd, passed rookie, Nick Squatritto, for 2nd on lap 5 then, in the last turn, sent rookie, Camron Diatte, to the wall and took the lead and the win. Nick was 2nd, followed by Duane Daniel who started 6th and Mark Biscardi who started 4th, both within 1.5 seconds of the winner. Doug Penny was 5th. Fast time = 15.701 sec, Ricardo Rivera In Heat 4, Gilbert lost no time going from 4th position at the start to the lead, winning convincingly by almost 7 seconds over Robert Mesloh. His lap times kept improving and, on the last lap, he had the best lap time of the season = 15.356 seconds! Troy Wagner stated 3rd and finished 3rd. Polesitter, 'Pinky' Liston fell off the pace, ran 3rd for 4 laps, slowed on lap 6 then traded places with Troy for a 4th place finish. Rookie, Mike Collins, was 5th. This race was flagged at 7 laps. Fast time = 15.356 sec, Gilbert Toste TROPHY DASH Start: Mosier, Wear, Toste and Rivera. Finish: TOSTE, Wear, Rivera and Mosier. Dave ran 15 second laps in his heat but, for whatever reason, ran in the 16 second range in the dash. Gilbert finished less than 0.4 seconds ahead of John. Fast time = 15.651 sec, Gilbert Toste B MAIN This was a solid race for Martin WHITTINGHAM, who led from lap 3 for the win. Camron Diatte also had a notable race, coming from a 10th place start to 2nd by mid-race, setting fast time on the last lap and finishing only 0.25 seconds behind Martin. Doug Penny started 3rd, steadily improved in lap times until lap 8 when he was nose-to-tail with Martin, then was overtaken by Camron on lap 11; finished 3rd. Mike Collins started 4th and finished 4th. Eric Weisler, first time driver in Marty's #46B, made good progress for a 5th place finish. Danny Zuger started 5th and finished 6th for the final transfer spot. Fast time = 16.023 sec, Camron Diatte A MAIN This race was led by Gilbert TOSTE from start to finish but, with a bunch of hungry chase hounds on his trail, it was no leisure drive. He built a lead of eight to ten car-lengths, even through a series of caution/restarts and crossed the finish line with a lead of 12 to 15 car-lengths over Ryan Diatte. Ryan started 5th and passed John Wear for 2nd on lap 12. John had been running 2nd for twelve laps but couldn't seem to get close enough to make a challenge like he did in Race #9; finished 3rd, 1.3 seconds off the pace. In the last race at Ocean (Race #9), these three drivers had an exciting battle at the front which ended in a closing-lap incident, erasing their top finishes. This night, Ricardo Rivera started 2nd, dropped back to 6th and recovered to finish 4th but was disqualified (illegal motor). Duane Daniel had gained eight positions in ten laps to settle into 5th place, 4th place with the DQ. Dave Mosier, off his game this night, was 5th with the DQ adjustment. The rest of the top 10 were, Doug Penny, Steve Oliveira, Robert Mesloh, Martin Whittingham and Oscar Milla. Fast time = 15.682 sec, John Wear This was not a good night for the talented young rookies, Camron Diatte and Nick Squatritto. Both got boinked by a visiting driver, Camron in his heat, Nick in the feature. Camron made the A through the B but left the race early; started 17th and made a steep gain of 8 positions in 7 laps but had electrical problems; scored 17th. Nick transferred to the A and started 6th but got banged up on lap 8 and couldn't continue; scored 22nd. CONGRATULATIONS TO GILBERT TOSTE (HEAT, DASH & A MAIN WINNER), MARTIN WHITTINGHAM (B MAIN WINNER). OTHER HEAT WINNERS (DAVE MOSIER, JOHN WEAR & RICARDO RIVERA) AND TOP FINISHERS. THANKS TO ALL DRIVERS WHO MADE THE SHOW. SPECIAL CONGRATULATIONS TO GILBERT TOSTE ON HIS SECOND SWEEP AND SEASON FAST TIME. THANKS TO JOE AND DEBBIE BRECHEL FOR THE DELICIOUS FOOD THEY BROUGHT FOR EVERYONE. FINALLY, THANKS TO ALL WHO OFFERED A LITTLE FRIENDSHIP TO MY GUEST THIS NIGHT. HIS YOUNG DAUGHTER, WHO HAS A VERY RARE AND LIFE-THREATENING ILLNESS, UNDERWENT DRASTIC SURGERY AT NIH/BETHESDA THE DAY BEFORE AND I BROUGHT HIM TO THE RACES FOR A LITTLE DISTRACTION. |