Auto Racing: Preece wins chess match on the track

RIVERHEAD RACEWAY

The Baldwin, Evans & Jarzombek 77 NASCAR Modified event at Riverhead Raceway on Saturday turned into a game of restart chess. Ryan Preece of Berlin, Conn., was the one calling out checkmate at the end as he topped a 24-car field. It was his second win of the year for car owners Bill and Barbara Park.

Shawn Solomito of Islip took runner-up honors and emerged from the race as the new points leader by 12 over Howie Brode. Todd Szegedy of Ridgefield, Conn., ran a smooth and steady race all night to finish third. After his Lap 33 spin, Ted Christopher of Plainville, Conn., barnstormed his way back to a fourth-place finish with Eric Goodale of Riverhead completing the top five.

In other races:

Roger Maynor of Bay Shore notched his third Figure Eight win of 2012 in a 20-lap affair, bumping his total to 107 wins in the division since 1985. Arne Pedersen of Mastic Beach was the runner-up. Ken Hyde Jr. crossed the line third. That finish moved Hyde into a tie with Mike Mujsce for the championship lead with 320 points. Pedersen is third with 318.

Chris Turbush of Riverhead found himself in an unusual position. As the 20-lap Charger feature lined up Saturday, Turbush sat on the outside pole, a rarity for the four-time defending champion. Jeremy McDermott of East Stroudsburg, Penn., locked horns with Turbush over the final half of the race, but couldn’t prevent Turbush from steering his Chevy into the winner’s circle for the 31st time in his career. McDermott was second and Eric Zeh of Selden third. McDermott leads Zeh in points by 12.

It was a big week for Roger Turbush. The Riverhead driver not only got engaged to his girlfriend, Stephanie Brigati, but he collected his 12th career feature event victory, coming in first in a Super Pro Truck event. His brother, Chris Turbush, was second, with Lou Maestri of Deer Park third. Chris Turbush leads Maestri by eight points in the title chase.