2012 N.Y. State Drill Hosted by Main-Transit F.D.

by Stewy Michels

Roslyn's 1st Place 3-Man Run

It was cool and breezy at the Main-Transit track for the 8:00 AM start of the 2012 New York State Drill. Monk from Spencerport got the day started as teams lined up for 3-Man Ladder and fans made their way up into the stands and it didn’t take long for the Islip Wolves to make the first “statement” run of the day. Their 6.42, their best time so far this season, gave them an early lead in the contest and got the growing crowd buzzing.  Copiague and West Hempstead had good runs but Islip’s time held until Central Islip got their turn and tied them with a 6.42 of their own only to be knocked out of the top spot by Roslyn with a time of 6.38. Just like that, we were underway and the day was moving along quickly.

At this point, Ralph Fraile took over announcing duties and the B-Trucks made their way to the starting line for B-Ladder. After a short “breakdown” the Wolves stayed hot and followed their 3.5 points up with a great B-Ladder run that netted them another 2nd-place finish and 4 more points. Islip's veteran climber, Billy Moon, looked like his old self out there on the track. North Lindenhurst and Hicksville had two good runs and Bay Shore was able to capitalize on their re-run (digital error) to post a time of 5.40 which was good enough for 1 point. West Sayville looked poised to take the top spot but Michael Marra slipped and the Dutchmen were suddenly 0-2 in two of their best contests. With the door officially ajar, the West Hempstead Westerners took advantage and put up a run of 5.19 and grabbed themselves 5 points.

The Flying Dutchmen easily take 1st Place
in C-Ladder with a time of 8.80

The Wolves were riding high with two consecutive 2nd-place trophies and a chance to take a nice early lead in the drill. As we mentioned earlier, Islip had their veteran climber on the ladder and even though he slipped initially, he was able to get his team a re-run when he faked out the officials at the top of the ladder. I have no idea if it was intentional or not, but as he jumped for the top rung he hesitated just a bit before grabbing hold. That hesitation was enough to throw the officials off and get the team a re-run. Of course the team was able to capitalize and they managed another 2nd-place finish with a time of 8.96. West Sayville got back on track with a blazing run of 8.80 followed by the Westerners with a 9.04. It looked like Roslyn and Central Islip would tie for 4th place, but that wasn’t the case. At the completion of the contest there was some confusion with the announced times and it turned out that some of the faster C-Trucks had not had the proper times reported due to the cone-time restrictions. Five teams incurred varying cone-time penalties: West Islip, Central Islip, Port Washington, West Sayville and North Lindenhurst. Once the proper times were announced, the crowd was informed that Central Islip’s time would be 9.13 instead of 9.09. That difference pushed them into 5th place in the contest.

TOTAL POINTS AFTER 3 CONTESTS
ISLIP	11.5 Pts.	WEST SAYVILLE	5 Pts.
BAY SHORE	1 Pt.	WEST HEMPSTEAD	9 Pts.
NORTH LINDENHURST	3 Pts.	CENTRAL ISLIP	4.5 Pts.
COPIAGUE	2 Pts.	ROSLYN	7 Pts.
HICKSVILLE	2 Pts.

With ladders out of the way the officials and local committee began the water test. Fans took advantage of the break in the action to grab a bite to eat, stretch their legs or even get their nails done if they wanted too.

You don't want to miss the State Drill
because of a nail appointment.

One festive group decided to decorate a nearby pine tree to brighten up the grounds...

By now the stands were mostly filled up with a healthy mix of hardcore race fans and curious passersby. The time of the water was set at 4.67 and it was time for C-Hose to be run.

Chris Treglia goes smooth into the hydrant as the
East Islip Guzzlers set a new State Record

The fans were treated to a new announcer, Scott Magin from Spencerport. (He's no stranger to these parts.) Islip had a chance to build on their early lead but failed to put up a competitive time and no one else put together a good run until North Lindenhurst came down the track and ran a 12.90. East Islip had been quiet so far but everyone was expecting them to make some noise in the hose contests, and they did not disappoint. “GENERAL JUDGES!” The crowd went nuts; many fans had them hand-timed at just under 12 seconds and they weren't off by much. The Guzzlers crushed the previous record of 12.15 with a new record of 12.00. The Guzzlers were pumped, the crowd was buzzing and the days’ first record run (hint, hint) was on the scorecard. Roslyn and West Hempstead followed in 2nd and 3rd place and both teams had now scored in all four events. The Hoboes seemed to get back into the race with a run of 12.27 which would have given them 2nd place, but the officials pulled their hose after the run. Both Central Islip and North Lindenhurst ended up being disqualified because of fast hose. The Westbury Turtles and Lindenhurst Snails scored their first points of the day as they took their place in the top five.

North Lindy beats Bay Shore's B-Hose time by .01 seconds 

The crowd was anxious for some action after waiting for the teams’ hoses to be tested following C-Hose and the roar of the B-Trucks was music to my ears as the long delay finally ended. Bay Shore was the first team to have a good run with an 8.02 but they were beaten out a couple of teams later when North Lindy edged them with an 8.01. West Sayville righted the ship (I'm sorry) with the first 7 of the contest, running a 7.90. That time didn’t last very long either as the two front-running Nassau teams posted better times pushing them to third. The Westerners took 1st with a time of 7.73 followed by Roslyn with a 7.89. Lindenhurst was in the top five again with a 4th place time of 7.96. North Lindenhurst held on for 5th pushing Bay Shore into 6th by just 1/100th of a second.

The Henrietta Ol' Henries show how
Efficiency is supposed to be run.

Monk was back announcing the drill and the soothing tones of his Western N.Y. voice inspired the Ol’ Henries to their first points of the day. They ran a 9.42 followed by Copiague with a 9.48. West Sayville had their mojo back and ran the contests’ first 8. This time their run held up and they finished first giving them a total of 15 points and getting them within striking distance of the lead. The Westerners failed to score for the first time all day and the Hoboes continued to struggle as Ryan Murphy (sorry buddy) missed at the hydrant in what is normally the teams’ best contest. Another Nassau team got into the scoring with the Rinky Dinks from North Bellmore taking 3 points just behind the drill-leading Highlanders.

TOTAL POINTSS AFTER 6 CONTESTS
ISLIP	11.5 Pts.	WEST SAYVILLE	13 Pts.
BAY SHORE	1 Pt.	WEST HEMPSTEAD	17 Pts.
HENRIETTA	2 Pts.	NORTH BELLMORE	3 Pts.
NORTH LINDENHURST	4 Pts.	CENTRAL ISLIP	4.5 Pts.
EAST ISLIP	5 Pts.	WESTBURY	2 Pts.
COPIAGUE	3 Pts.	ROSLYN	19 Pts.
HICKSVILLE	2 Pts.	LINDENHURST	3 Pts.

Central Islip en route to tying the Motor Pump State Record

Although there were two contests remaining, the drill was far from over. Motor Pump gave a couple of teams the opportunity to jump right back into the race and give them a shot to win it all. Islip got things started with a time of 5.79 only to be beat out by Bay Shore a few runs later. The Redskins’ 5.70 held for 1st place until the Hoboes came down the track and triggered the day’s second “GENERAL JUDGES!” The Hoboes tied the State Record with a time of 5.47 and got themselves back into the thick of it with a well-timed, great run. West Sayville closed the gap as well by gaining 2 points with East Islip taking home the 5th-place trophy.

With one contest to go, there were four teams (mathematically at least) with a chance to be crowned the 2012 New York State Champs. Roslyn (19) held a slight lead over West Hempstead (17) while West Sayville (15) and Islip (14.5) lurked just within striking distance. The dramatic stage was set and the crowd was on their feet. Islip had the first crack at making the rest of the teams sweat but they missed their mark, running a 29+. The Wildcats and Guzzlers did not want to be left out of the action and they secured points with runs of 24.13 and 23.32, respectively. The biggest surprise of the day came next as the Main-Transit Slo Pokes ran a 21.00 raising the bar for the rest of the teams hoping to score some points. The Slo Pokes have been the top Buckets team in Western NY all season long, but this was by far the best run they’d had all season. It was great to see the reaction when the time was announced. West Sayville had a chance to really put the pressure on Roslyn and West Hempstead but they failed to pull it off as well. It was now or never for the Westerners. Here’s a team that had not won a motorized drill since 1990 and here they are in position to take the lead in the State Tournament. Their time of 23.08 was good enough for 3rd place and put them in the lead, but we weren’t done just yet. Roslyn came to the line with a chance to close it out and crown themselves champs. They had battled all day long with the Westerners and they knew what they were up against and what they needed to run to secure the win. The last time they were in the top five at the State Drill was back in 2000 on this very same track and they were so close they could smell it. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be and the Westerner’s time stood. Game over.

The Westerners’ celebration began as soon as they had the drill locked up and I’m pretty sure it’s still going strong as you read this. You just could not have come up with a better finish to the season. I don’t think Hollywood could have scripted a better story: two teams, under the radar, fighting it out all day long while the supposed "favorites" struggled to stay relevant. This was no "David vs. Goliath", this was Rudy Reuttiger stepping into the ring with Rocky Balboa and laying the smack down. At the end of the day, it was the best team coming down the track. They picked the perfect time to run the best they have run in years and and it was awesome to get to see it shake out on the track. Congratulations Westerners!

THE WEST HEMPSTEAD WESTERNERS ARE YOUR 2012 N.Y. STATE CHAMPIONS

TOP FIVE - FINAL RESULTS - 2012 N.Y.S. DRILL
1ST PLACE	WEST HEMPSTEAD WESTERNERS	20 Pts.
2ND PLACE	ROSLYN HIGHLANDERS	19 Pts.
3RD PLACE	WEST SAYVILLE FLYING DUTCHMEN	15 Pts.
4TH PLACE (TIE)	CENTRAL ISLIP HOBOES	14.5 Pts.
4TH PLACE (TIE)	ISLIP WOLVES	14.5 Pts.

Photos courtesy of Kim Versheck and Stewy Michels. See more photos from this drill and others at The Late Night Buff Network.

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.

Recap of the Deerfield Drill on 6/18

by Kyle Stephens

On June 18th, the Northern Area ran its second drill of the 2011 season in Deerfield. East Islip and part of Central Islip made the journey upstate along with the Drill Team Radio show. The weather was a complete turnaround from Northern Convention the week before. It was a muggy day with a very slight breeze, a temperature around 85 degrees and sunny.

The day began, as usual, with 3-Man Ladder which was very competitive. East Islip came out on top, running a 6.38 with Central Islip coming in a close second with a 6.41 even though they didn’t have their normal 3-Man team. Elsmere and Copenhagen took third and fourth place, with Elsmere running .2 seconds quicker with a time of 6.94.

The host team, Deerfield, started off B Ladder. While getting off the truck, their climber, Jason, rolled his ankle and wasn’t able to finish the climb. To make matters worse, he would not be able to run the rest of the tournament. He went to the hospital but was okay and returned to the track later that day. Copenhagen’s thrower, Bill, suffered a similar fate during their run of B Ladder but he was able to finish out the day. After all of that, it was East Islip who took first place in the even with a time 5.72. It’s also worth noting that Great Bend took fifth place, scoring points in B Ladder for the second week in a row.

Since Deerfield’s climber was injured, it was time for them to find a replacement. Marc Stephens, Ilion’s climber back in the early 90’s, stepped up to the plate. The last time he climbed C Ladder, Ilion’s C truck was involved in an accident which eventually ended Ilion’s team all together (but that’s a story for another time.) With a time of 13.45, they took fourth place. Taking first place was Lake Placid with a time of 10.30. Louisville finished in second place.

East Islip, who had an outstanding run of 12.84, took C Hose. It was their first tournament of the year as well. Lake Placid took second place, running a 15.08 and Deerfield third with a time of 16.30. Louisville was disqualified from their run for failing to put an adaptor on the hydrant. In B Hose, Lake Placid was able to win their second event of the day with a 9.30. Elsmere came in second, right behind them with a run of 9.52.

In the Efficiency contest we got another look at the partial team from Central Islip. They finished third in the event behind East Islip (9.87) and Elsmere (9.97.) The Guzzlers also took first place in Motor Hose Replacement, which is remarkable because they normally do not run this contest. They only practiced the race once during the week (so they say...) Their time was 18.26 seconds which beat everyone else by over a second. Louisville came in second followed by Deerfield. East Islip also took motor pump with a time of 6.24. The Great Bend Cobras had an outstanding run, considering it was their second tournament ever, running a time of 8.86.

By this time, East Islip had wrapped up the tournament win. The battle now was for first place for Northern points and second place overall in the tournament. Once again, it came down to Buckets. Heading into buckets, Lake Placid had 19 points, Elsmere had 16, Copenhagen with 14, Louisville had 13 and Deerfield had 11. With East Islip winning buckets, there were 4 points up for grabs. Lake Placid failed to score any points and left the door wide open for Elsmere to steal second place in the tournament. Copenhagen ended up taking those 4 points with a time of 27.98. Louisville finished in third, Elsmere was fourth and Deerfield took fifth.

The final standings for the drill were as follows:

1st Place – East Islip - 36 Pts.

2nd Place – Lake Placid - 19 Pts.

3rd Place (Tie) - Elsmere/Copenhagen - 18 Pts.

5th Place – Louisville - 16 Pts.

Congratulations to the East Islip Guzzlers for their tournament win. The next Northern race will be in the heart of the beautiful Adirondack Mountains where “miracles” tend to happen…

You guessed it! We’ll be in Lake Placid on July 9th with a start time of 12:00 noon. Will any miracles happen this year? Stay tuned to find out!

Recap of the Northern Convention Drill on 6/11

by Kyle Stephens on June 17, 2011

This past Saturday the start of a day of racing wasn’t a pleasant one. Tarps covered the track due to rain, actually more of a steady mist than anything, but it was enough to get everything wet and delay the start of the drill. We were supposed to start at 9:00 AM but did not begin running Individual Ladder until around 11:30. Elsmere won Individual with a time of 4.80 with Copenhagen a close second with a time of 4.83. Next up was 3-Man Ladder, which was won by Copenhagen, the host of the drill, with a time of 6.99 seconds. They also took first place in B-Ladder with a run of 6.56. Great Bend, racing in their first ever tournament, made their mark in B-Ladder finishing in second place. Lake Placid took their first of four first place runs in C-Ladder with a time of 11.50. Copenhagen was a threat to take a lot of points in ladders but their truck shut off on the line, twice, and motor issues kept them from running their C-Truck.

In C-Hose, Deerfield had an outstanding run, beating every other team by over 3 seconds with a time of 14.79. B-Hose was taken by Lake Placid with a time of 10.01 and Elsmere won the Efficiency contest with a run of 10.21 seconds.

Next came Motor Hose Replacement, where Deerfield ran the best time in the event (beating Lake Placid by more than a second) but was disqualified due to having the replacement coupling being outside the hose-bed before the target was tripped. This ultimately put Lake Placid in the top spot, having a time of 20.81. Elsmere is the team to beat in Motor Pump here in Northern and it was no surprise to see them win the event with a time of 7.55.

It would all come down to Buckets…

Lake Placid and Elsmere were tied, both with 24 points going into the event. Lake Placid ended up getting a second chance due to the tub not being filled when they ran. Elsmere was in first place but Lake Placid took advantage of their re-run and won the contest, and the Northern Convention, with a time of 26.42.

The final results of the drill were as follows:

1st Place – Lake Placid - 29 Pts.

2nd Place – Elsmere = 28 Pts.

3rd Place – Louisville - 24 Pts.

4th Place – Copenhagen - 23 Pts.

5th Place – Clayton - 17 Pts.

The next drill will be in Deerfield on June 18th where the Drill Team Radio crew and the East Islip Guzzlers will be making the trip up to Northern. This will be the first time the radio crew has done a drill in Northern other than the State Tournament, so make sure you tune in.