Eric Mauriello put all of his bad fortunes of the 2016 season behind him Sept. 24 and won the 40-lap Downs Ford Modified stock car main event at Wall Stadium Speedway. The “Snap On Night” win was the Howell resident’s first victory of the season.
Mauriello took full advantage of the front-row starting spot, earned in the handicapping system by his streak of poor fortunes, to rocket to the lead at the outset. He was first forced to fight off the advances of Derek Hopkinson before the Toms River racer was forced to pit on lap 26 with a flat right front tire. Steven Reed of Jackson, the defending champion and point leader, then took up the chase and hounded Mauriello most of the way.
At the checkered flag, Mauriello was the winner, while Reed stretched his point lead slightly by finishing second. Title contender Andrew Krause of Holmdel, who spent much of the race passing cars in the outside lane, finished third and another title contender, Chas Okerson of Freehold, was fourth. New Egypt’s Jason Hearne was fifth.
“It just feels good to get this off my shoulders and win a race,” Mauriello said in the winner’s circle in a press release. “This has been a real tough year. We’ve had some good finishes, and we’ve had our share of bad luck. It is really nobody’s fault, just racing. I have to thank Dick and Robert Barney for giving me a great car every week and for sticking with it.”
Snap On Sportsman title contender Ricky Collins of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, overcame challenges by Dom Fattarusso of Brick and Jackson’s Blake Barney to cross the finish line first in the 30-lap “Fan Appreciation Night” feature race. Barney was second and Kenny Van Wickle of Manasquan was third. Tyler Truex of Mayetta and Nick Shaw wrapped up the top five. Howell’s Kevin Davison, the point leader going into the event, was involved in two skirmishes during the race and was forced to come from the rear of the field twice. The combination of Collins’ crossing the line first and Davison’s eighth-place finish puts them in a points knot going into the final point race of the campaign Oct. 1.
As of Sept. 25, the Sportsman finish is not yet official while technical inspectors determine whether a motor part in Collins’ car conforms to rules.
Ron Booth of Eatontown grabbed the lead with 10 laps remaining to win the O’Shea’s Auto Repair Factory Stock 25-lapper. Booth, who works for Snap On, enjoyed his win in front of his company’s crowd. Brick’s Joe Mongeau all but wrapped up the driving title by finishing second, with early leader Scott Maher of Brick, Union’s Joey Helberg and Gerry Koenig of Seaford, New York, completing the top five.
T.J. Graves of Wall crossed the finish line first in the Surf Side Collision 4-Cylinder Stock 25-lapper, but when his car had trouble with an unapproved chassis part in post-race inspection, Brick’s Ronnie Mullen was awarded the win. Howell’s Brian Osborn, Darren Burdge of Jackson, Brick’s Jason Lane and Jeff Loesch of Neptune City were second through fifth.
Defending champion Robert French of Howell won the 25-lapper for the Green Flag Driving Experience Legend Cars, grabbing the top spot near halfway. Joe McGrath of Middletown, Edgewater Park’s Nick Van Wickle, Brick’s Chris Gall and Peter Bruno of Little Silver completed the top five.
Shannon Mongeau of Manchester won his second straight 25-lapper for the Elite Maintenance Limited Late Models coming from the rear of the field. Freehold’s Howie Conk, Ray Minieri of Bay Shore, New York, Brian Doyle of Ronkonkoma, New York, and point-leader Mike Tillett of Bayville were second through fifth.
The Saturday night stock car regular season wraps up Oct. 1 with “Champions’ Night” competition. All feature races will offer double points, and champions will be crowned in every division. In competition will be the Modifieds in a 40-lapper, the Sportsman cars in a 30-lapper and the Factory Stocks, Legend Cars, Limited Late Models and the 4-Cylinder Stocks all racing in 25-lappers.
Grandstand seating opens at 5 p.m. Qualifying starts at 5:45 p.m., and feature racing begins at 7 p.m. In the event of rain on “Champions’ Night,” a rain date is in effect Oct. 8.
Postseason events, the “Spooky Spectacular” Oct. 15 and the Thanksgiving weekend “Turkey Derby,” are also being planned. Each event will be contested during the daylight hours and details will be announced soon.
Wall Stadium is located on Route 34 in Wall Township, just 1 mile north of Garden State Parkway exit 98 and Interstate 195 exit 35B. The speedway hotline number is 732-681-6400, the website is wallspeedwayracing.com and the email address is [email protected].