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:

Interview with Donald "Bumpy" Bray

There is no such thing as the offseason here at The Drill Team Blog. Our very own Dan Laverty recently sat down for a conversation with Donald “Bumpy” Bray of the Hempstead Flukes. Here’s how it went.

This interview took place on November 17th at the West End Firehouse.

Dan: I would like to start off by saying thank you for taking the time and for granting me this interview.

Bump: You got it! Anytime.

Dan: When did you join the Hempstead Fire Department?

Bump: June 10th, 1963

Dan: What Company?

Bump: Engine 5

Dan: Did you race right away?

Bump: Yup

Dan: Why did you join?

Bump: Why did I join? I was first on the Junior Flukes. With the Junior Flukes we got to see different activities within the fire department and as far as racing goes we got to see the B & C trucks. When we were juniors we ran the ground events – 3-Man Ladder, Efficiency but no Buckets in those days – this is how I got involved and as soon as I became 18 years old I joined. At first it was to race, but it isn't just racing it is also about protecting lives and property.

Dan: Who were some of your teammates that first year you joined?

Bump: Well of course there was Jackie (Jack Cloudman). He and I were the best of friends. As a matter of fact, I was the best man at his wedding. We knew each other since we were kids and we always did everything together. He was a year older than me and joined the fire department before me. Billy Florence, all of these people I am going to mention we all lived on the same block and we all played sports together. Just alone from Covert Street alone there was Johnny Orzenz, Bobby Cosgrove and Eddie Florence from my age bracket.

Dan: Where did your nickname Bumpy come from?

Bump: It is a family thing, we all had nicknames. Everybody in the family had nicknames. My father gave me mine. I was about two years old and I used to always bump my head. Believe it or not it stuck for 66 years.

Dan: Do many people still call you Bumpy?

Bump: Sure, yup.

Dan: Do you like being called Bumpy?

Bump: Yeah sure, mainly because it is family orientated.

Dan: I am going to say a few words and you say what comes into your head…

Dan: State

Bump: Biggest

Dan: Bone

Bump: Jimmy O'Neil

Dan: Hydrant

Bump: Best position in racing

Dan: Did anyone Mentor you?

Bump: Not really because I started in junior racing and there we all learned ourselves, we watched others that were older than us. We just basically learned by our mistakes.

Dan: Have you passed your knowledge on?

Bump: Oh yes, definitely. Even now when I go to practices I try and help the younger members. Some of people I did help were Joey, you know JoJo Simone from the Yellow Hornets. He is more or less my protégé. Skippy Abrams, I helped him, he ran for North Bellmore.

Dan: Not many people know you had an incident in 1981, would you like to talk about that?

Bump: I don't remember that because it was a head injury that I had. I will say this there were a lot of prayers going on. I was told by a lot of people, when I came out of being semi-toast for nine days. All those prayers work because it worked with me.

Dan: Were you on any State Record runs?

Bump: Oh yeah, a couple of them – Old Fashioned and Motorized. Motor Pump, B-Hose and C-Hose. 6.18 in Motor Pump, it was the first time in 20 years that the record had been broken and it was by almost a whole second. Two Into One and Efficiency records also. A big part of it was Pat Jeffares, who was probably the best nozzle-man. He was something else, he was good.

Dan: How long did you race?

Bump: 1963-1981

Dan: How many drills do you think the Flukes won during your career?

Bump: In the 70’s we had our biggest winning streak. We won Nassau County Total Points a couple years in a row.

Dan: Name the greatest single shot that stands out to you the most?

Bump: I really can’t say…

Dan: Because there were so many?

Bump: *Laughs*

Dan: Favorite track you raced on?

Bump: Oh easy, Hempstead, without a doubt.

Dan: During your racing career who were some of your biggest competitors?

Bump: West Sayville, they were very big. We were always catching up to them. They would get us in ladders and we would slowly but surely creep up behind them and sometimes we got ‘em and sometimes it was second and third places. You know it was catching up a lot. Central Islip too, it was predominately Suffolk teams back then we competed with. In the beginning of my racing career it was the Oyster Bay Rough Riders, they were tough. Port Washington too with their three teams: The Rowdies, The Runts and The Rangers. They were pretty competitive and also Westbury had a good water team. Their hydrant-man was Tallo. We always competed against each other in tournaments.

Dan: Why do you think some guys are able to race for 20-25 years while others only last a year or two?

Bump: Well it’s hard to say, you could be the best athlete in the world, that don’t mean you can race. Because what happens a lot of times a guy comes out of High School and they try to jump off the truck and stuff like that, it’s a different element. You know, it is not like carrying a football or running for yards and stuff, it is a totally different aspect. We have had good athletes on the team and like you said they only last a year or two because they lose interest. Here is when junior teams come into play. We started back then and we loved it back then and we continued to love it. Another thing too that I found is that the team events in a tournament, where you had the most people from your team running kept the teams together too. If they were competitive in those events you got along better because they were always getting trophies and they were always winning. You had your four-man teams, you know like ladder, hose and stuff like that. If you weren’t winning or at least competitive then the interest waned. They would try for only a couple of years and that would be it. With Efficiency, Pump and Buckets where they all ran, they stayed together a lot more.

Dan: How do feel about all the recent advancements and innovations that have been made to our sport? Drill Team Radio, the Scoreboard, The Drill Team Blog and speeding up of tournaments, etc…

Bump: Between you and I, I only go to one or two tournaments a year these days. I was never much into the Captains Association and stuff like that. I never really followed up to it like that.

What I didn’t like and this is when I was running: the money. You know, some teams had the money and others didn’t. What I mean by having money, I don’t mean from the tax-payers, I mean from fund raising events they used to have. Port Washington and Manhasset-Lakeville used to have these block parties and that gave them income. Every other team would go, a lot of camaraderie, we would all go and support them. That helped them. That helped the drill teams; it was not that they got the money from their departments or the taxpayers because back then we didn’t. What happens now I am not that familiar with, but back then you were self-sufficient. The Flukes would raffle off football tickets, have car raffles, that was a source of income for the drill team.

Dan: Is there any one call that an official has ever made that still sticks with you all these years?

Bump: Oh yeah, sure. Motor Pump, sure, they used to call him "Red Flag". And what it was is he used to red flag us all the time because they thought I jumped off the truck before the line.

Dan: What was your favorite C-Truck that the Flukes ran?

Bump: My favorite C-Truck? The prettiest was the Ranchero. As far as going? Nah, it didn’t go worth anything, but it was pretty. It was not competitive with the trucks like Port Washington’s, Manhasset and the teams of that nature. They had the best of trucks, aerodynamic trucks, lighter and they went into it better than we did.

Dan: Who were the Drivers during your career?

Bump: Jackie and before him was Bobby Marra. I even ran with Al Cooke, Sr.

Dan: How do you feel about Old Fashion versus Motorized?

Bump: Old Fashion is great. For the simple reason is that there is a large body of men competing against each other and that would keep them together. Back in the 70’s we had a very competitive Old Fashion team, we would always be competing against Freeport Truck One. They were also competitive and we would always duel it out at tournaments. Old Fashion was great.

Dan: If you were able to have raced for any other team during your career what team would it have been?

Bump: Probably the Yellow Hornets, more than likely because I knew all of them, I knew everybody on that team.

Dan: How did Bobby Marra leaving the Flukes affect you and the team?

Bump: There wasn’t that much of a difference where it hurt the team. Jackie filled right in after him.

Dan: How did Pat Jeffares leaving The Flukes affect you and the team?

Bump: That hurt big time because he was one of the nucleus of the team as far as his talent, he ran every event and it just hurt.

Dan: What year did you feel or say this is the year for the Flukes, state champ wise?

Bump: What year? I would say the late 70’s – 1977 to 1980. We were very competitive and we could have done it.

Dan: 1978 perhaps?

Bump: It came down to Buckets. It is a team event and everything happened so quick.

Dan: Do you have a lot of racing memorabilia at home?

Bump: Yes, my wife kept a scrapbook. Back then we used to have articles in the paper after every tournament and she clipped out every one of them, pictures too.

Dan: What is your most cherished racing possession?

Bump: My trophy. It is a ten year competitive trophy for B-Truck Total Points. After the tenth year I decided to take it out and keep it at the firehouse.

Dan: What single piece of advice would you like to give to Hydrant-men who are currently running?

Bump: I would have to say consistency, don’t try to break the record and be fancy. Consistency, that’s the key to racing, also learning from your mistakes.

Dan: What were some of the Flukes’ sayings or mottos you would like to share?

Bump: "Hold onto your hats!" When we marched in the parade at the state tournament, the announcer said underneath the arch when we walked through: "Here comes the Hempstead Fire Department Flukes Drill Team and hold onto your hats because they broke the state record!" We all grabbed our hats and walked under the arch laughing and smiling.

Dan: What individual person do you enjoy watching race nowadays?

Bump: Who do I enjoy? JoJo Simone.

Dan: What team do you enjoy watching race nowadays?

Bump: The Yellow Hornets.

Dan: Have you ever wished you did not get involved with racing?

Bump: NO

Dan: I understand you only attend two drills a year, what would entice you to attend more?

Bump: The thing is they have it on the weekends and I work on the weekends. If it wasn’t for that I would go to more.

Dan: We got to get you out to some Friday night drills. The Islip Town Drill, Babylon Town Drill and the like.

Dan: In our pre-interview conversation I mentioned that I interviewed Willie McCarthy from Central Islip. Who were some other people you remember competing against?

Bump: I don’t know his last name, Neil from The Meadowlarks and Darcy. They are the guys the guys I remember racing with and I see them now playing golf. I just played with Neil a few weeks ago at Eisenhower.

Dan: Who ran Hydrant for The Flukes before you?

Bump: Jackie

Dan: After you?

Bump: Who did I break in after me? I guess that would be Pat Cooke, yes Pat Cooke ran after me.

Dan: How did you feel when The Flukes stopped racing?

Bump: You know, to tell you something, I was not that close to the team anymore. I did not have any feelings about it because it was slowly but surely going that way anyway. They didn’t have the older members on the team to keep it together. I would go down to practice and give advice but if you miss two weeks of practice they go back to doing what they want to do anyway. Here’s another thing too…It used to be very family orientated, I had my Uncle, Pappy Oates and Jackie had his father. There were so many different things that changed, outsiders came in and the feeling wasn’t the same. It did not bother me that much, they stopped when ‘98? I stopped racing in 1981 so I was 18 years out of the game at the time.

Dan: What is your favorite color?

Bump: Blue, that is our company color.

Dan: How did you feel about the Flukes’ B-Truck going to another team?

Bump: It is one of the better B-Trucks ever made, it was very reliable and built right. There is no mistaking it. I am glad it is still on the track, it’s a part of racing.

We’d like to thank Bumpy for taking the time to sit down with us and we’d also like to wish all our readers, fans and friends a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Recap of the Point Pleasant Drill on 08/27

by Scott Magin

(This drill took place on August 27th at Point Pleasant. Full results can be found at www.NYSDrillTeams.com)

Although it felt like the season just began, it was upon us, the final drill. The teams were standing on the Point Pleasant track, which is the final stop on the Western New York tour, and ready to put everything on the line and run their best.

Going into this drill, the Main-Transit Slo-Pokes had a 29-point lead over the Point Pleasant Pea Pickers for the WNY Total Points Championship. However, a lot can happen in one drill. Although there was a lot of ground to make up, no team would ever surrender and give up their opportunity to become the Champions!

The Point Pleasant drill attracts more than just Western New York Teams. The Port Washington Road Runners, Oyster Bay Teddy’s Boys and the Roslyn Highlanders made the trip to run in this drill. There were other Long Island, and past Long Island, residents on hand to watch the drill as well.

The weather report the morning of the drill showed Hurricane Irene was heading towards Long Island and it was inevitable that something was going to be happening since parts of NYC and Long Island were already closed off and/or evacuated. Before the drill began, the Highlanders made a tough decision as a team and began to head for home while they still could. They were all missed and would have definitely changed the final outcome of the drill.

The running order for the day was: Port Washington, Henrietta, Spencerport, Main-Transit, Sheridan Park, Sea Breeze, Point Pleasant, Oyster Bay and North Greece. The clock struck 12:00 and the drill was underway…

The Road Runners set the pace in 3-Man Ladder with a 7.11 and it seemed with them running 1st, they would set the pace in all of the races throughout the day. Henrietta ran a 7.97 while Spencerport congested the ladder and was only able to pull a 10.62. Main-Transit put up their time of 7.49, Sheridan Park ran a 12.80, Sea Breeze received a No Time and Point Pleasant stepped up and ran a 7.47. The Teddy’s Boys used their utilization Tool, Vinny Monaco, in the event and pulled out a 9.43, while North Greece finished the event with an 8.14. Team order of finish was the Road Runners, Pea Pickers, Slo-pokes, Ol’ Henries and the Lil’ Squirts.

It should be noted that although the teams outside of WNY will earn the points for the drill and daily trophies, the points for yearly trophies are reconfigured using only the WNY teams and their times. For example, the WNY points in 3-Man Ladder were distributed as such: Point Pleasant – 5, Main-Transit – 4, Henrietta – 3, North Greece – 2 and Spencerport – 1.

Motor Hook & Ladder Class ‘B’ was started out by Port Washington and a 6.00, followed by the Ol’ Henries with an aggressive run that unfortunately had them dig outside of the safety zone for a No Time. Main-Transit came in with a longer than normal break into the patch which resulted in a conservative 6.31 and the Indians followed up with an 11.89. The Pea Pickers saw the door open again to gain points on the Slo-Pokes and put up a smooth 5.90, while Oyster Bay followed up with a 9.68 and the Lil’ Squirts with an 8.14. The Pea Pickers won the event, followed by Road Runners, Main-Transit, North Greece and Oyster Bay.

Port Washington’s C-Truck coming down the track really woke the crowd up for C-Ladder and allowed them to post a 9.38 to open the event. Henrietta stormed in and was able to complete the event with a 10.14 followed by Main-Transit. The Slo-Pokes were to salvage the deep drop by pulling the ladder back into the patch ahd finishing with a 14.25. Sea Breeze ran an 11.40, with Point Pleasant running an aggressive 9.83 to pull closer while North Greece received a No Time. Port Washington won the event, followed by Point Pleasant, Henrietta, Sea Breeze and Main-Transit.

Total points going into C-Hose:

Port Washington – 14

Point Pleasant – 13

Main-Transit – 7

Henrietta – 5

North Greece – 3

Sea Breeze – 2

Oyster Bay – 1

The water time was set at 4.68 for the hose races and the teams were ready to continue with the day. Danny Salerno brought the Road Runners in very well and set the pace at a 13.40 for the other teams to challenge. Henrietta ran a 16.25 and the Spencerport Red Onions were back on the track after not racing in the ladder events. Joe Muniz drove the C-Truck in and gave Johnny Short the chance for a good hit at the hydrant while allowing Brian and Chris the time to put the nozzle on and finish with a 13.26. The Slo-Pokes ran into another hurdle and finished the event with an 18.73, only to be followed by the Indians and a 23.47. Mark Champion brought the Pea Pickers in aggressively and Jamie hit the hydrant really well. That left Jeff Champion with only one shot to break the hose and get the nozzle on. With the water at that speed, the Pea Pickers blew off and finished with a 17.47. The Lil’ Squirts followed with a 14.38. The Red Onions took first place followed by the Road Runners, Lil’ Squirts, Ol’ Henries and Pea Pickers.

Port Washington was not letting second place, or fast water hold them back. They came down the track and put up a strong 8.58 (1st place) and setting the pace again! Chuck came in hot for Henrietta allowing Josh to hit the hydrant with some authority and giving Eddie the opportunity to hit the target and put up an 8.68 (3rd place.) Spencerport ran aggressively and nipped the Ol’ Henries by a hundredth with an 8.67 (2nd place.) The Slo-Pokes troubles continued with an 11.48 (5th place.) The Indians ran an 11.52 and Point Pleasant a 15.57. Oyster Bay did not complete the event and North Greece ran a 9.55 (4th place.)

Although it had been a rough road for the Main-Transit Slo-Pokes, at this point in the drill they had secured winning the yearly trophy for total points.

Total points going into Efficiency:

Port Washington – 23

Point Pleasant – 14

Henrietta – 10

Spencerport – 9

Main-Transit – 8

North Greece – 8

Sea Breeze – 2

Oyster Bay – 1

The Efficiency contest brings out all the teams back to the track and shows a real team effort. The 9.64 run by the Road Runners didn’t hold for long as the Ol’ Henries topped it with a 9.52, which is the fastest WNY Efficiency time this season. Spencerport’s times have improved at every drill and continued today when they ran a 10.55. Main-Transit ran 12.66, Sheridan Park ran 11.88, Sea Breeze ran 12.51 and Point Pleasant received a controversial No Time for nozzle over the nozzle-line. Oyster Bay ran 11.58 and North Greece finished the event with 10.14. Henrietta won the event followed by Port Washington, North Greece, Spencerport and Main-Transit.

The track for motor pump must have been a little slick, or things got in the way of some people because more than a few teams lost control of the nozzle, or couldn’t gain control because someone slipped along the way. Port Washington ran an 8.26, Henrietta ran a 12.48, Spencerport ran a 10.42. Main-Transit and Sea Breeze both ran Overtime. The Pea Pickers ran a smooth 7.51, while the Teddy’s Boys ran an 11.37 and North Greece finished with an 8.50. Point Pleasant won the event with Port Washington finishing in second, North Greece in third, Spencerport in fourth and Oyster Bay in fifth.

The Bucket Brigade was the final call for WNY and would be the last event until next year. The Road Runners set the bar once again with a 23.06 and they seemed quite happy with their day. Henrietta pulled out a 30.65 followed by Main-Transit, who ran off their pace but still put up a 23.95. Sheridan Park, with only 4 people on the ground, ran a 49.64 and Sea Breeze, with only 3 people on the ground, ran a 38.93. Point Pleasant ran a 26.62, Oyster Bay ran a 38.26 and North Greece finished out the WNY season with a 32.83. The Road Runners took first place followed by Main Transit in second, Point Pleasant in third, Henrietta in fourth and North Greece in fifth. Both Sheridan Park and Sea Breeze were troopers ALL season. Buckets was an event they both could have chosen to not participate in because of manpower issues; however, went to battle knowing they are running for pride and earned a lot of respect from their fellow teams and the fans.

Total points for the day:

Port Washington – 36 Pts.

Point Pleasant – 22 Pts.

Henrietta – 17 Pts.

North Greece – 15 Pts.

Spencerport – 13 Pts.

Main-Transit – 12 Pts.

Oyster Bay – 3 Pts.

Sea Breeze – 2 Pts.

The Road Runners had one heck of a day, placing in first or second in every event. Special thanks to the people and teams that made the journey to Point Pleasant for their 2011 drill, and congratulations to the Main-Transit Slo-Pokes for winning the 2011 Total Point Championship trophy.

Here’s an (unofficial) summary of the yearly trophy winners:

3-Man Ladder - Main-Transit Slo-Pokes

B-Ladder - Main-Transit Slo-Pokes

C-Ladder - Point Pleasant Pea Pickers

C-Hose - Point Pleasant Pea Pickers

B-Hose - Henrietta Ol’ Henries/North Greece Lil’ Squirts (tie)

Efficiency - Main-Transit Slo-Pokes

Motor Pump - Henrietta Ol’ Henries

Buckets - Main-Transit Slo-Pokes

C-Truck Points - Point Pleasant Pea Pickers

B-Truck Points - Henrietta Ol’ Henries

Truck Points - Point Pleasant Pea Pickers

Foot Points - Main-Transit Slo-Pokes

Yearly Points - Main-Transit Slo-Pokes