Bandoleros raced on Wednesday, August 2, at Riverhead Raceway (NY), with Reid Halpin winning the Bandits feature and Ben Morabito winning in Outlaws competition. Press release race stories from the track below (Bandolero portions extracted for posting on LN). A short video recap of the racing action can be seen here. Photos by Richie Grodski
In the 15-lap Bock Auto INEX Bandolero main event Reid Halpin knew starting in 9th he’d have to make some fancy early race moves to get to the front. Nobody, including Reid himself could have predicted what happened next. On the recent advice of his crew chief Chevy Rommeny, Halpin has learned how to roll the outside, which he did Wednesday. When the green flag dropped, Halpin, after passing a car or two low swung to the outside and exiting turn two made it four wide with the right side of his car up against the concrete wall. By the time the 12-car field came to complete the first lap Halpin was the race leader with Mason Goodale, making some bold moves of his own quickly coming to second. With no caution flags displayed during the event Reid Halpin in the Couch Racer entry drove off to a convincing win, his second in a row and third of 2023.In just his fourth start Mason Goodale continues to impress with a runner-up tally in the Terra Vite Winery & Vineyards entry while Emmett Grattan of Southold placed third in the IGA Food Markets racer.
Less than 24 hours after winning the Cook Out Summer Shootout Summer Series Bandolero championship, Ben Morabito was back in the cockpit of the Benimax Trucking Outlaw at Riverhead trying to pad his local championship lead in a 15-lap affair. Gavin Romano moved to the race lead at the throw of the green with Morabito quickly darting to second. For the first dozen laps of the tilt Romano looked as though he might earn his first career win, but Morabito had other plans. With just three laps left in the contest Morabito dove to the inside of Romano in the third and fourth corner coming away with the race lead, a lead he’d keep until the checker earning his 4th win of 2023, 7th of his career. After losing the lead Romano’s night went south falling off the podium as Cillian Tennant of Riverhead crossed the line second in the Miller & Caggiano Attorney At Law machine. Will Sipala of Manorville was third in the JD Posillico Contracting racer.
Bock Auto Bandolero Bandits: 1. Reid Halpin 2. Mason Goodale 3. Emmett Grattan 4. Kix Bock 5. Aria Ligon 6. Blake Grattan 7. Antonio D’Alonzo 8. Christian Ryan 9. Aiden Pelis 10. Brooke Meyer 11. Jordan Ryan 12. Layla Quilliam
Bock Auto Bandolero Outlaws: 1. Ben Morabito 2. Cillian Tennant 3. Will Sipala 4. Phillip Alaimo 5. Gavin Romano 6. Jayden Owens-Bader 7. Giavanna Agugliaro 8. Madison Tomaszeski 9. Nick Hodge 10. Tucker Bock
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