Joe Hunter Memorial Drill Preview

by Dan Laverty

This upcoming Tuesday July 3rd is the Joseph Hunter Memorial Tournament. This will be the 10th year this drill has been held on Weir St. in Hempstead. The generosity of support continues to fund to scholarships in Joe’s name. Hunter as some called him was the epitome of a fireman; he loved what he did and gave 100% every time he stepped in the firehouse. Whether it was for work, volunteering or drilling he could always be counted on by those around him. Matt Spinelli, Joe’s friend since childhood gives up time from his family and life every year to oversee every aspect of this drill. When Matt reads this I am sure he is going to be wondering why we are talking about him instead of Joe. The night of the drill though, Matt takes a step back and enjoys the drill just like Joe would have. Matt, thank you for all your hard work and dedication to this drill.

The lineup of this drill is chock full of quality teams, the cream of the crop so to speak. At the end of every year’s State Drill, teams not only tally their points for the day but they also look to see if they are going to be invited to next year’s Joe Hunter Drill. Let’s take a look at who’ll be participating this year…

Two-time Champs, the West Sayville Flying Dutchmen are coming into this drill with a 1st place finish at Lindenhurst and a 3rd place finish at the Selden drill. The Dutchmen this year are seeing come changes reminiscent to their 1995 and 2000 seasons where their team went through a lot of changes. They appear though to be on track to having an excellent year.

The North Lindenhurst Piston Knockers posted state record times on both B and C-Hose in 2011. They also placed in the top five in six out of the eight drills they ran in last year. They won "The Joe" in 2010 and as usual they won’t just be racing that night but helping out with the drill as well. The Knockers have seen a return of veteran Scott Rice and the addition of Vinny Bogert from Copiague. Vinny is the 2nd Vice President of the SCDTCPA and is a curator of all things racing. The Knockers definitely gained an experienced racing man who helped them with a new team record in Motor Pump in Lindenhurst with a time of 5.74.

The Central Islip Hoboes "racing program" as Joe Hunter once said won this drill last year and wowed the crowd with an Efficency run of 8.37. The Hoboes this year have taken 3rd place in Lindenhurst and placed 1st at the Selden drill. They continue to nurture their youth and will be a major force in racing for a long time to come.

The Bayshore Redskins are a pivotal part of this drill year in and year out. They provide support to the food concessions and help wherever it is needed. The Redskins placed in last years State Drill and were ahead of all the other teams going into Efficiency. Let’s hope their veteran leader Paul Susskind can keep the Redskins on top.

The East Islip Guzzlers placed in seven of the nine drills they entered in 2011. They won the C.I drill and the Deerfield drill. They lost a key component of their team though with Josh Kasin going home to Islip. So far in 2012 The Guzzlers have only been seen at the Selden drill.

The St. James Wildcats have been steadily improving recently with the introduction of new members and with the help of veteran Wildcats like Phil Coward and Lenny Gombert. The Wildcats are poised to place in more drills in 2012.

The Copiague Yellowbirds have not been on the line in 2012. Don’t know what to expect from The Yellowbirds in 2012.

The Westbury Turtles took 5th place at "The Joe" last year as well as taking 3rd place at the Nassau County drill, 1st at the TONH and 3rd at the North Bellmore drill. The Turtles have only raced in this years TONH/TOB where they took 4th overall. If Daryl Ranaldo, The Turtles driver continues to give them good drops they will continue to take points and place in drills.

The Elmont Bangtails are invited to "The Joe" this year after taking 2 points at last years state drill. Unfortunately the "Bangtails" will not be participating in Firematic Drill Team Competitions this year.

The North Babylon Taildraggers also took 2 points at the State in 2011 giving them an invite to this year’s drill. They are a steadily improving team and are real fun to watch.

The Roslyn Highlanders tied for 4th place in Lindy and won the TONH/TOB already this year. The Highlanders and Stan are always a team that should never be counted out in any event. They continue to show they have the goods and are on the course to make a real statement this year.

The Lindenhurst Snails took point in last year’s State Drill and took 2nd place in B-Hose at their own drill this year. They are a great bunch of guys to have around and when they are on the track we all are watching because you never know what they are going to do.

The Main Transit Slo Pokes are the only upstate team to be invited to "The Joe" this year. Their Bucket run secured them the spot. I am not sure if they are making the trip down for this drill but I really hope they do.

The West Hempstead Westerners took 5th place at this year’s Selden drill. The look like they are going to give Roslyn a run for their money when it comes to Nassau County points in 2012.

This drill continues to be a fan favorite as well as a favorite to Drill Team members who are lucky enough to compete. See you all on Tuesday night on Weir Street in Hempstead at 6:00pm when Matt and the Hunter family will be promptly kicking off this drill.

Preview for the William St. George Drill

by Dan Laverty

This Saturday, June 30th, is the William St. George Memorial Drill. Bill St. George was a Vice President with the Nassau County Drill Team Association. The Tomcats started this drill to raise money for his son and for a scholarship. The scholarship is available to any member, or family member of a drill team. The Baldwin Tomcats drill team put a lot of energy and work into a drill that they make zero dollars on. All proceeds go to the scholarship fund.

The lineup in previous years was the bottom ten in Nassau County. This year marks the 5th annual drill and will be the bottom 10 from both Nassau & Suffolk. The following is a preview of sorts for the teams that are in the lineup. Sixteen teams are entered and it is rumored we may have more. Come on down and see some good old Firematic Drill Team Competition at Hempstead’s track on Weir St. It’s a 12:00 start but get their early for a good seat because I have a feeling the stands will be packed.

 The Tomcats took 5th place in this drill last year with 15 points. This was in a field of nine competing teams from Nassau County. So far in 2012, the Tomcats have not competed in the motorized category but did attend the 2,3,4 Battalion Drill held last Sunday.

The New Hyde Park Termites did not participate in this drill last year and so far in 2012 we have seen them at the TONH/TOB held on June 9th. The Termites took 3rd place overall and 3rd place in the TONH. A team that has seen a recent rebuilding seems to be on the rise.

The Brentwood Tigers participated in nine Drills in 2011. This year The Tigers have already participated in two drills and took a half point in B-Hose at the Lindenhurst Drill. I must say that the Tigers are a very resilient team who keep coming out week after week and put their heart and soul into what they do.

The Riverhead Ironmen have participated in three drills so far in 2012. They took 5th place at the Town of Brookhaven Drill. They appear to not have utilized their C-Truck so far this season.

The West Islip Raiders had a short season last year due to lack of manpower and will be coming into this drill with a team that no one has seen. A lot of eyes will be on the Raiders to see what they are going to do in 2012.

The Oyster Bay Teddy’s Boys played in seven drills in 2011 and maybe it was their trip to Point Pleasant at the end of August that brought this team together. So far in 2012 we have seen a resurgence of youth and a team that looks like a bonded group. Let’s all hope they continue to grow and learn and keep this team that is deep in tradition on the course.

CUTCHOGUE PANTHERS

The Cutchogue Panthers only competed in four drills in 2011 and so far in 2012 they have played in the Town of Brookhaven Drill where they took 2nd place overall. C’mon Cutchogue! Keep coming out and keep having fun. We all love to see you on the course.

GLENWOOD GREENHORNS

Last year, the Glenwood Greenhorns took 2nd place at this drill and competed in seven others. At the TONH/TOB drill this year the Greenhorns were 2 points shy of placing in the top five.

The Deer Park Bucks have not seen the tournament course in 2012 but raced in six drills last year. It has been confirmed that the Bucks have purchased the Inwood Mud Ducks B-Truck and maybe this is the item that will help this team put up better times in the B-Truck events. Let’s all hope that the Bucks’ old rig doesn’t get lost in the shuffle and goes to a team that could use it and keep it on the track.

NORTH BELLMORE RINKY DINKS

The North Bellmore Rinky Dinks have not been on the line in 2012 so far. The current Wm. St. George Champs had a 2011 season with only 1 point in a major motorized drill out of the 5 they participated in beside this drill. They have the equipment, they have the bodies but they just can’t seem to be able to put it all together recently. Hopefully this young team has been practicing and will show us all something in 2012. Can they repeat their success of 2011 and win this drill in 2012?

The Carle Place Frogs were in six Drills in 2011 and at the TONH/TOB they were on the cusp of placing in the top five TONH. They did not run C-Ladder but did run C-Hose and you know we all love to hear Bill Rowse announce "THE FRAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGS, from Carle Place!” and see them on the course.

The East Farmingdale Hares were out at the Lindenhurst Drill and apparently they have a new C-Truck in their possession. We only saw the Hares at the Suffolk County Drill in 2011 and hopefully there is some new interest and we will see more of them in 2012.

ROCKVILLE CENTRE WOODLANDERS

The Rockville Centre Woodlanders as we all know can run O.F with the best of them. The OF Co-Champs of 2011 did not utilize their B-Truck last year but seemed to be poised to get more use out of it in 2012. I know they were at the 2,3,4 Battalion but I do not recall where they placed in the drill.

The Levittown Rebels raced in a bunch of drills in 2011, with their best finish being the TOB where they took 3rd place. They have not been out on 2012 so we don’t know what to expect out of them this year. We here at The Drill Team Blog have not heard much concerning The Rebels but sometimes no news is good news.

LAKEVIEW SPARKS

The Lakeview Sparks placed a few times at OF Drills in the beginning of 2011 but injuries and loss of members saw a Sparks team struggling to keep it together towards the end of the season. The offseason brought put some new “spark” to the team’s fire with the purchase of a B-Truck that Sayville used last year. With help from Sayville and many people throughout the racing community Lakeview was able to obtain the equipment needed to put a motorized team on the track. With the tutelage of many people with many years of racing under their belts, this team has been shown how to run the motorized events. With their already acquired knowledge of the ground events and their newly acquired motorized knowledge hopefully the Sparks will take some points this Saturday and continue to take points the rest of the year. Good luck, Sparks. We’ll be watching.

The Islip Terrace Schlagers only ran 3-Man and Efficiency at Lindenhurst in 2011 and have not been out so far in 2012. We don’t know what we are going to see from this team so let’s all watch and cheer them on this Saturday.

I don’t know who will come out on top on Saturday, but it will sure be fun to watch and find out. It’s up to the above teams to put the practice in and show us all what they can do.

Good Luck to all teams participating and please stay safe.

Long Island Invitational Drill at Lindenhurst held on June 2, 2012

by John Lewis

With a shaky weather forecast looming, seventeen Firematic Drill teams from Nassau and Suffolk Counties eagerly awaited the beginning of the 2012 Firematic Drill Season. The smell of Cam2 fuel and burning rubber had been absent since the West Sayville Flying Dutchmen waltzed away with the New York State Championship last August. After the early morning storms made parts of the track in Lindenhurst look like a water hazard, the sun had come out to shine on Long Island’s Bravest.

Before the drill was the parade, a tradition as old as our sport. At the beginning of the 7th Division a special guest rode in a replica of the 7-time State Champion  Rough Riders B-Truck*. The special guest was Will Jakubowski, an Elmont fireman who was injured in practice last summer. The course was lined with members of every team who clapped as he rode through waving. The fans in the stands stood and also gave a nice round of applause as he rode by.

This is the first drill where the new helmet rule is in effect: all team members participating must adorn a DOT certified helmet. It was interesting to see the how the different teams approached this new rule. Some teams had skull type helmets and others utilized a larger helmet. There were a few Great Gazoo helmets out there but it's all good because everyone is now safer.

As teams lined up for the drill it appeared to me that that there was going to be an excellent opportunity for some different teams to score some points as only seventeen teams made the trip to Lindenhurst to compete. Not attending were four teams that were highly competitive last year: the Copiague Yellowbirds, Westbury Turtles, East Islip Guzzlers and the Hempstead Yellow Hornets. Things seemed business as usual as the Dutchmen and Hoboes placed first and second in 3-Man Ladder. The Roslyn Highlanders put up a time of 6.56 for third place and appear to be on track for a season full of top five finishes. The Wolves put up a real nice time of 6.73 without the help of veteran Billy Moon. The Port Washington Road Runners took fifth place for their first 3-Man ladder points in a Nassau/Suffolk mixed drill in some time.

B-Ladder saw West Sayville taking first place with the ever present Bay Shore Redskins hot on their heels finishing second. The Islip Wolves took third place and the North Lindenhurst Piston Knockers followed them. The Sayville Blue Jays christened their “new to them” B-truck with a trophy by running a 5.90 giving them fifth place honors. The Roslyn Highlanders who had received 3 points in 3-Man Ladder hit a bit of a snafu when Official Tom Leggio asked to see the inspection certificate for their B-Truck. This led to thrower Mike McCann running to the Highlanders camp to retrieve the certificate. The crowd hooted and hollered as Mike made his way back to the starting line. Unfortunately, the one minute time limit that was implemented years ago to keep drills moving along had expired and they were disqualified for taking too much time on the line. Roslyn took it like gentlemen and moved on. Rules are rules for a reason.

Only a handful of C-Trucks lined up for C-Ladder with the Redskins taking home the first place trophy with a 9.17 and Roslyn taking second place with a 9.38. The Dutchmen and Wolves followed and took the third and fourth place trophies. The Road Runners anxiously waited for the last teams to run before they celebrated their second top five finish. This was the first drill for the new C-Truck rules regarding hubs and tire size. All eleven teams that ran their C-Trucks did not seem to have any problems.

The ladder events were now concluded with the Flying Shoes possessing 13 out of a possible 15 points as they began to run way from the pack. The 'Skins were still in striking distance with Roslyn and Islip not far behind with 7 points each. The water test was conducted and a time of 4.65 was announced as the fans rushed back to their seats after hitting up the food and drink booths. The Dutchmen came down the track and put up a solid 12.49 to win the contest. The Piston Knockers were right behind them putting up a time of 12.52 which came after their first run was negated because of a digital error. The rising St. James Wildcats ran a 12.58 making it three teams to finish in the mid 12's. Not bad considering this was the first drill since last year’s State Drill and the first of 2012.

The B-Hose contest began with a bang as the Lindenhurst Snails looked anything but Snail-like as they put up the first sub-8 run with a 7.99. The Dutchmen again showed that they have been practicing with a 7.84 walking way with another first place trophy and giving them 23 out of a possible 25 points. Roslyn finished third, just a couple of ticks shy of a 7 as Stan and the Crew put up an 8.01. Rounding out the top five in B-Hose were the Knockers and the Brentwood Tigers. The Tigers seemed to have picked up where they left off last year running an 8.69 to tie C.I for 5th place.

The Efficiency contest times for the day were pretty much as expected as it doesn't seem that the water at the Lindenhurst track is conducive to good Efficiency numbers. The Central Islip Hoboes would take home the first place trophy with a 9.30 and nobody really challenged that as second place North Lindenhurst put up a 9.53. The Wildcats came in third giving them their second third-place finish on the day. Bay Shore hung onto fifth place with a 10.33. With this event done everyone saw that going into Motor Pump West Sayville had already clinched first place in the drill, so now the rest of the teams were locked into a dogfight for positions two through five.

Motor Pump once again saw the Dutchmen winning with a time of 5.66 with North Lindenhurst right on their heels with a 5.71. St. James again finished in third place as they continue to improve and become a well rounded team. The Selden Slowpokes posted a 6.74 with a nice smooth run obtaining their first points of the day. Sayville continued to show off the truck that was purchased from Melville with a fifth place run.

Buckets began with West Sayville once again showing they aren’t going to slack off even with drill already won. They put up a 21.30. Behind them there was a lot at stake with a handful of teams in the mix: North Lindenhurst had 16 points, Roslyn had 12, Bay Shore had 11, Central Islip had 9.5 and St. James had 9. Central Islip took second place followed by St. James. Port Washington came to the line with a new lifter and a new man on the bottom of the ladder and put it together for a nice fourth place run of 23.88. Bay Shore took fifth place in the contest and our first motorized drill was officially in the books.

Final Results of the Drill:

The West Sayville Flying Dutchmen having shifted a few positions around scored 35 out of a possible 40 points. Not new to the sport, but new to the driver's seat, Frank Miller Jr. looked like he had been driving for years and did an excellent job for his first drill behind the wheel.

North Lindenhurst did not lose a step from last year despite a new home for their practice endeavors. Maybe this was the change they needed? They scored in five events and took home the second place trophy.

The Central Islip Hoboes placed in four events and compiled 13.5 points. They continue to show that they can run Efficiency.

Bay Shore, Roslyn and St. James rounded out the top five with a three way tie with each team having 12 points. St. James looks poised to have a really good season and you can never count out the Redskins in any event with the veteran presence they have on their team. The Roslyn Highlanders looked really good all day and will no doubt continue their climb to the top all season long.

Overall the drill ran incredibly smooth with no delays or problems. There was a small amount of teams in attendance but the stands were full at several times throughout the day. It was a great day to be at the track and the 2012 racing season got off to a nice running start.

All stats and times courtesy of NYSDrillTeams.com.
* This sentence was changed to correct an error. Good eye, old fart.

We're Back! Town of Oyster Bay/North Hempstead Recap

by Dan Laverty

This past Saturday the Town of Oyster Bay/North Hempstead drill was held at The Denton Avenue track hosted by the Manhasset-Lakeville Minute Men. There was a looming indication of rain all morning until the drill kicked off at 2:00 PM. The sun could not have been more out this day and there was a good crowd on hand. "The Brotherhood" had the upper right corner of the stands occupied from beginning to end. They had a major party foul before the drill but they seemed to overcome it.

New Hyde Park kicked off 3-Man Ladder with the only 6 to be run. The rest of the top five times were in the 7's. The drill rolled right along into B-Ladder with Hicksville running one of the two 5's and Roslyn running the other. The Inspection Certificate I understand has been securely placed in Roslyn’s B-Truck after the marathon run of the thrower once they were on the line at Lindenhurst and were not permitted to run. Glenwood, Manhasset and Carle Place all got additions to their participation plaques for placing in B-Ladder.

C-Ladder was the first tournament runs for three out of the nine teams running with the new C-truck rules. Only six teams utilized their C-trucks. Roslyn having taken 2nd place at Lindenhurst ran very close to that time and took 1st place. Port Washington bested their fastest C-Ladder time so far this year by 12/100ths of a second rising from 5th place at Lindenhurst to 2nd place. Manhasset, Glenwood and New Hyde Park rounded out the top five in C-Ladder.

Going into the hose events:

Roslyn - 12

Glenwood - 7

Port Washington - 8

New Hyde Park - 6

Manhasset/Hicksville - 5

The Water Test began earnestly at 3:15 with the Ladder events only taking about an hour to run. There seemed to be a brake pulled on this drill as everyone scattered for shade during the way over an hour wait for the water test to be conducted. This was due to the gate being pulled off the hydrant while emptying the hose. This caused the track to become saturated with water and required the leaf blowers to be used.

Once the water was tested and the track dried, the drill continued with the running of C-Hose. Roslyn bested their time of 13.14 that they ran at Lindenhurst by 48/100ths of a second. The Highlanders ran a 12.66 and the rest of the top five times were in the 14’s.

Sorry to say but I am mentioning Roslyn again but they ran the only 7 in B-Hose and took five more points. Westbury, Hicksville, New Hyde Park and Port Washington also placed in this event.

Going into Efficiency:

Roslyn - 22

Port Washington - 12

New Hyde Park - 12

Hicksville - 8

Glenwood - 7

Manhasset/Hicksville - 5

The Efficiency contest was one of the closest events we saw all day. There was only a 1/2-second difference between getting 5 points (Roslyn with a 9.29) and 1 point (Glenwood-9.79). Motor Pump was a whole other story with the best times ranging from 6.90 to 12.00. Port Washington took 1st place in Pump followed by Hicksville, Roslyn, Glenwood and Carle Place. In buckets, Westbury was able to jump into the overall Top Five with a nice run of 24.28. New Hyde Park secured themselves a Top Three finish by taking second in the event followed by Port Washington, Roslyn and Oyster Bay.

Here are the final results of the drill courtesy of www.NYSDrillTeams.com: