Preview for the West Hempstead Labor Day Drill at Hempstead

by Dan Laverty

Wow, this year’s Labor Day Drill at Hempstead looks like it is going to be an exciting one. With no drill being held in 2011 and the defending champs from 2010 in a rebuilding stage it appears that some new faces are going to be gracing the winner’s podium come Monday afternoon. The song by Jimmy Buffet "Come Monday" is stuck in my head. We will all see come Monday who will come out on top. This is a review of sorts of the season and a pre-view of the Labor Day Drill.

First up in the teams that are entered for this drill are the Coram Hellraisers. Will they be the only Suffolk team to attend? North Lindenhurst has frequented this drill in the past but will they post-enter come Monday morning?

Levittown has recently seen not only their C-truck get re-vamped but it appears their attitude towards the sport has gotten re-vamped as well. The Rebels seem like a more determined and motivated team this year.

Westbury was on cloud nine mid July when they won the Nassau County drill at Denton Avenue. Over a month and a half later the Turtles are going to be playing in a field mostly comprised of Nassau teams. Let’s see if they can recapture the success they had back in July.

Roslyn has had some ups and down this season and one of the ups was the State Drill at Main Transit and the TONH-TOB Drills. I spent the day in Roslyn’s camp at the TONH-TOB and they are really a great bunch of guys who deserve the success they have achieved this year. The Highlanders were leading the State Drill for a major portion of the day. A No-Time in B-Ladder, an Over-Time in Motor Pump and a 27.23 in Buckets did not help them with their point total on the day. In the two weeks since the State Drill I am sure they have reviewed film and found out where their weak points were and practiced to improve. I see Roslyn definitely in the top five on Monday.

Manhasset-Lakeville has not had the greatest year in 2012. Mike Ward can only run so many spots you know. I think they should take a page from Port Washington’s book and pick one event and practice the heck out of it. Once they see success in that event I feel that it will spill over into the other seven and the Minute-Men will be seeing more trophies being carried back into their camp.

Port Washington has seen most of the points they got this year come from the last three events. The Road Runners have to be the team who seems to have the most fun doing what they do and at the end of the day they know they did their best. They also are currently holding 4th place in County Points and will have to stay ahead of New Hyde Park and North Bellmore this Monday to stay in the top five in county points. The Port Washington F.D. and the Road Runners drill team should be commended on the two day show they put on in mid July. They hosted the Nassau County OF and Motorized Drills as well as a parade. They ran the drills very professionally and well staffed.

Baldwin is slated to play in both Labor Day Drills this weekend. From what I can gather they are the only team that is doing this in 2012. Of the five drills the Tomcats have attended so far in 2012 they had the most success at the William St. George Drill held at the end of June.

Glenwood unfortunately did not have much success in the latter part of the 2012 Drill Season. The Greenhorns saw success though at the William St. George drill where they took second place. The Greenhorns are definitely a Nassau team to keep your eye on and I would not be surprised if we saw them come down the course on Monday at the end of the drill.

Carle Place is a team I believe is missing something. What that something is I am sure they wish they knew what it was. The Frogs raced in seven drills so far in 2012 and continue their search for their missing link.

New Hyde Park is another team that saw a lot of success early on in the season: 3rd place at the TONH/TOB, 1st place at the William St. George and a 5th place at the Nassau County Drill. The Termites continue to improve with the help of younger members on their team. With all the history and racing knowledge the Termites have I am sure will be absorbed by these younger members sooner or later and they will see success again.

Hempstead/South Hempstead Yellow Hornets as you all know is a combined team that is part Rascal and part Yellow Hornet. Their hydrant-man was injured mid season and that did not help them much. They also only ran a C-Truck once in 2012. They also did not play in the State Drill. One should never count this team out though. With the experience and talent that they possess they could easily place in the top five on Monday.

North Bellmore steadily took points here and there all season long. They placed 3rd at the William St. George Drill. If they can get their left side digger to hold on they will definitely take some ladder points on Monday. The Rinky Dinks are a team that has the talent but just need the sun to shine down on them.

Hicksville has not run a C-Truck at all this year. They seem to be doing ok with just a B-Truck. Taking points in B-Ladder and B-Hose. Hicksville took 2 points in the State Drill. Is this their first invite to the Joe Hunter Drill?

West Hempstead, where do I begin? They went out to Ridge in June and put up a 9.18 in C-Ladder that made many perk their heads up and think "Whoa! The Westerners have come to play this year". They took 5th place at this drill and they took 4th at the Joe Hunter Drill. They followed that up with 2nd place at the County and 5th place at Central Islip’s Invitational. The Hempstead Invite was no different they placed 2nd where they ran the first “8” in C-Ladder that day They also took 2nd place at the North Bellmore Drill. There was not one drill they attended where they did not drive down the course and the end of the day. But each ride was behind other teams no matter how hard they tried. The State Drill at Main Transit would change that for The Westerners. They took a point in 3-Man, used their B-Truck to take two 1st places and their C-Truck to take two 3rd places. The Efficiency and Motor Pump events were not their friends this day and they did not add to their point total. The Westerners went into Buckets with 17 points. Needing to gain 2 points to tie Roslyn and 3 for the win, they did just that. They took 3 more points and that gave them a total of 20 points and the distinction of STATE CHAMPS. Come Monday, I hope they can roll over some of the mojo from the State Drill and come down the course with no other team in front of them.

Oyster Bay is another team that has not run a C-Truck this year. The Teddy’s Boys continue to mold the youth on their team and come out week after week and put their all in what they do.

Lakeview is entered in this drill but I do not believe we will see them on the course. 2012 was a learning year for the Sparks as they got their feet wet in the motorized division. I am sure that The Sparks will be back in 2013 with a renewed commitment and with a few notches on their belts. This team from one of the smallest departments on the island I am sure will continue to put members out on the course with "SPARKS" written on their shirts.

Monday looks like it is going to be both a great day weather-wise and racing-wise and the Highlanders and Westerners will put it all on the line and revisit the battle they had at the State Drill.

(Editor's note: I accidentally typed North Hempstead instead of South. Sorry about that.)