Recap of the Western NY Drill on 6/18

by Scott Magin

The Western New York racing season began on Saturday, June 18th with Sea Breeze hosting their drill at the Point Pleasant track. Lots of things changed throughout the pre-season and this drill is when it all was put into place. Point Pleasant needed to obtain a new C-Truck and it was nice to see Syosset’s truck, with a little green added to it, on the track again. The Albion Fireflies were close to being able to run in the motorized events this season but they will not be able to compete this season and it is unknown when, and if, they will be able to return. The 2010 WNY Total Point Champs, the Spencerport Red Onions, lost many team members recently and there was not a lot of time to recruit more and get them enough practice time to compete in this drill. It is unknown when their trucks will be on the road this season, if they will at all. Main-Transit was short on members as well, but was able to convince some people to come out of retirement and enjoy the season. There were so many variables and interferences with teams’ practices, especially the terrible weather that hindered them from preparing for the start of the season.

WNY was able to add a new team to the line-up in 2011. The “All Thumbs” from the Sheridan Park Fire Department have once again been resurrected from the past to compete. Although foot races are all they are participating in, the WNY teams are happy to have them on board.

Like most season openers, it took some extra time to get everything squared away and get the drill underway. We started a touch later than expected, but teams were lined up for 3-Man Ladder and the 2011 racing season had officially begun with six teams ready to compete. In attendance we had the North Greece Lil’ Squirts, the Ol’ Henries from Henrietta, the aforementioned All Thumbs from Sheridan Park, the Sea Breeze Indians, the Point Pleasant Pea Pickers and the Main-Transit Slo-Pokes.

3-Man Ladder began the day and the times were unique, to say the least, with each team staking their claim to a particular second. (We had runs of 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12) Henrietta started the season off on the right foot and took the first event of the season with a 7.23.

B-Ladder started with North Greece running a 7.51 and pushing the others to beat it. Henrietta put the ladder up outside of the safety zone and Sea Breeze tried and received an 8.75. It finally came down to Point Pleasant running a 6.92 to take the event, although Main-Transit had a good run but finished with a 7.91.

A lot of people were looking forward to the C-Ladder event. New climbers, upgrades on some motors and unfamiliar trucks speeding down the track can really get your attention. Main-Transit’s motor work brought them to a 3.60 cone time; however the end result was an 11.11. Henrietta pushed this event and really tried to take it with a 10.39, but Syosset’s former C-Truck allowed the Pea Pickers to sneak in and take first place with a 10.34.

The water test happened to take a lot more time than originally planned. After five tests, the water time was official and we were ready to go. However, when the hydrant was opened to wet the area around it, the pump lost its prime, and was never able to get it back to hold. Point Pleasant requested their truck to the track and set up for the drill. Once up and running, a few more tests and we were finally ready to go!

C-hose was a tough run for Sea Breeze. Once the Indians left the hydrant the bar broke and the nozzle-man and breaker were left stranded at the center of the course. The Pea Pickers followed with a 16.35 and the Slo-Pokes with a 13.89 to win the event. After C-Hose, Point Pleasant and Main-Transit were tied overall with 15 points.

B-Hose was completed by all teams; however, this is where the points started to be spread apart. Point Pleasant won the event with a 10.02 followed by North Greece with a 10.51. Sea Breeze ran an 11.67, Henrietta ran an 11.75 and Main-Transit had the nozzle blown away, and ended with a 17.47.

There were three 10’s in Efficiency and although the Slo-Poke’s won the event, the Pea Pickers were still able to take second and only give up a point on their lead. Sea Breeze took third, Henrietta fourth and Sheridan Park was able to take their first point of the new season with fifth place.

Motor Pump was close with three 8’s and a 9. Point Pleasant won the contest with an 8.31 followed up by Henrietta and Main-Transit who ran an 8.52 and a 9.94 respectively.

While the equipment was being set up for Buckets, it was noticed that a rung on the service ladder was cracked and after review it was decided to play it safe and forego the Buckets contest. Buckets was not run at this drill and will be run twice at North Greece’s drill the following week. Better to be safe, than sorry!

The points at the end of the day were:

Point Pleasant Pea Pickers – 29 Pts.

Main-Transit Slo-Pokes – 23 Pts.

North Greece Lil’ Squirts – 19 Pts.

Henrietta Ol’ Henries – 19 Pts.

Sea Breeze Indians – 11 Pts.

Sheridan Park All Thumbs – 1 Pt.

Congratulations to the Pea Pickers for winning the opening drill and also taking the overall motorized points. Buckets being run at the next drill will make up for the cancelled contest here and will decide who will win the overall points for foot contests. The next drill is the WNY Drill at the North Greece training grounds on June 25th beginning at 1:30 PM. See you there!

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.

Recap of the 7th Battalion/Town of Hempstead Drill

by Dan Laverty

Last Friday night was the 7th Battalion/Town of Hempstead combination drill. In the previous five times this drill was held, only Efficiency Replacement was added back in 2008. This year the host decided to not run C-Trucks and instead added Efficiency Replacement and Two Into One. Due to weather conditions 3-Man Ladder, B-Ladder and B-Hose were not run. Motor Pump was the only motorized event to be run which led many who were running to declare this an Old Fashioned Drill, making die-hard Old Fashioned fans very happy.

The Hempstead Yellow Hornets put on a great drill as always and were not thinking about how many were in attendance when it was time to run Buckets. The Yellow Hornets, as we all know, can run some great buckets. They set the best time of the year by running a 21.21. Still early in the season with many chances still out there to set the new state record.

Highlight of the evening had to have been Benny Casselo of the Sally Boys (South Hempstead Rascals) running nozzle in Two Into One. Benny is the team’s Motor Pump nozzle-man so he wore the same gear and ran the way he knows how…sliding just like in Pump. When I told Benny about the crowd’s reaction when the nozzle hit the street, he just shook his head and laughed.

Another notable highlight had to have been the WYE that the Westbury Turtles brought out onto the course for Two Into One. It was approximately five feet long in total length but they had to use it because the smaller WYE that the team had was not in good enough condition for them to run with. I asked Daryl Ranaldo about the giant WYE and all he could say was, “It is what it is.” (They took third place in the event in case you were wondering.)

The Lynbrook Tumblers seem to always be in the top five and that didn’t change when they place 4th overall in the Town of Hempstead drill. I overheard them saying that they set a new team record in Efficiency Replacement. Congratulations, Tumblers!

This was a close throughout the night. It was a great night of racing and a good, safe time was had by all. Nobody was injured during the drill which is something you always like to hear. At the end of the night I got a great quote from Patrick Cloudman regarding interviews, “You can’t ask for an interview. You have to do something great and they ask you.”

Here are the Final Results from the drill:

7th Battalion Drill Final Results

1st Place – Hempstead – 21 Pts.

2nd Place – West Hempstead – 20 Pts.

3rd Place – South Hempstead – 16 Pts.

4th Place – Elmont – 11 Pts.

5th Place – Franklin Square – 6 Pts.

Town of Hempstead Final Results

1st Place – Hempstead – 16 Pts.

2nd Place – West Hempstead – 14 Pts.

3rd Place – Westbury –12 Pts.

4th Place – Lynbrook – 10 Pts.

5th Place – Freeport (DEK) – 9 Pts.

Western NY Preview (Better Late than Never)

by Thomas Champion

There were plenty of stories spreading around the western drill team circuit this offseason. Sheriden Park, from out near Amherst, were coming back to racing and the Albion Fireflies purchased the Oceanside Eggnoggers trucks. From what I hear now, Oceanside’s trucks won’t be making their return back to the track in Albion. The first scheduled truck inspection only had two teams attend which leads me to believe a few teams had a late start on their offseason maintenance. Here’s short breakdown of what to expect this season from the Western area:

It’s going to be a big rebuilding year for the Spencerport Red Onions. I have heard that most of their seasoned members have retired from racing, which included their entire ladder team. But who’s to say we won’t see their old-timers come back for the state drill in C.I.? I’ve seen it done a couple times before.

Main Transit has been coming around the past couple years with their youth. They will be looking for their first Western title in 15 years but I’m not sure how much practice time they have gotten in. A Western title would be especially nice considering that this year marks 75 years of service for the Main Transit Fire Department. The Indians will also have an anniversary this year, celebrating 75 years of racing.

Henrietta is another team that has been putting up some good times the past couple of years. I hear that their old-time nozzle-man has decided to retire. They are one of two teams currently running that have yet to win a Western title, the other being North Greece. 2011 could be the year for either team to change that.

The 2010 Western title was only decided by one point and I think this year could be another close one. Sea Breeze has been busy this offseason with working on and dealing trucks. They have taken back possession of the old Oyster Bay rig after one year in Albion but they had to do a lot of work on it to get it track ready. I haven’t seen it on the track yet so we’ll see if it will be ready in time for their drill. They did some remodeling to their C-Truck as well, adding a couple of inches in the middle.

The Pea Pickers did some offseason work as well. They did some body work to the C-Truck and had it re-painted. Unfortunately, some misfortune struck and the new body will not be making its scheduled debut this year. The Pea Pickers purchased the Syosset Night Raiders C-Truck and everything has gone well with it. They are looking forward to its return as a Pea Picker at the Sea Breeze drill and the team is ready for a return to the top of the Western standings. (Get well soon, Charlie!)

The Western racing season is scheduled to start on June 18th at 1:00 PM. Sea Breeze will be hosting the drill at the Point Pleasant track. Teams will be excited to get the season underway and are looking to beating some of the best times from last season.

Here’s a list of the best times of 2010:

3-Man Ladder – 6.66

B-Ladder – 5.10

C-Ladder – 8.88

C-Hose – 12.98

B-Hose – 8.00

Efficiency – 10.10

Motor Pump – 6.27

Buckets – 21.15

Recap of the Lynbrook Old Fashioned Drill on 6/11

by Justin Chichi

The Old Fashioned season started with a few bumps…one being the weather and the other being the timing equipment with a dead battery. The skies opened up around 4:30 and the head official gave the team captains the word that “the day was going to be pretty rough and we would try to get the drill in.” Thirty minutes later, a vote was in place to run 3-Man Ladder and Running Cart Ladder. Only three teams voted to run ladders (Miller Place, Amityville, and Lakeview). Looking at the digger website, there seems to be some discussion regarding the decision. History does show that the events have been run in the rain, but safety is an important goal for all fire departments to have. Nevertheless, it stopped raining five minutes after the decision was made.

Other than that, the tournament hit the ground running (literally) with Running Hose. Miller Place was the one team in the 11’s despite the slick conditions. The teams in the top five gave around a 5.5-6.0 stick down for the nozzle-men, hence the close times by Freeport (Clamdiggers), Lakeview, Amityville, and Freeport (Nighthawks). Next was Running Hose Replacement – probably the most competitive event at the tournament – with 2 teams in the low to mid 20’s and a team record 22.68 by the Cold Ducks. Being one of the most difficult events, it was great to see all that the teams took their spring practices seriously.

Efficiency Replacement had some interesting times with Miller Place leading the pack with a 24.90 and the rest of the top five mixed in between 26 and a mid-28. The top teams to this point were Miller Place with 12 points, the Nighthawks with 11 points and Lynbrook with 6 points.

Efficiency and Two Into One would decide the day’s outcome, as they usually do. Miller Place blew off at the hydrant while Lynbrook and the Nighthawks had two solid shots in the high 9’s. Two Into One had some great runs by the top five with every team in the low to mid 9’s. Malverne beat their team record while the Freeport Nighthawks locked in their first place finish.

Going into Buckets, the teams vying for second place (Miller Place, Malverne & Lynbrook) were all very close. Miller Place put up a 26.38 with a dropped bucket, which locked them into second place for the day. Malverne and Lakeview put up the other two 20’s of the day posting a 28.04 and 29.39 respectively.

Overall, the final standings were:

1st Place – Freeport Nighthawks – 18 Pts.

2nd Place – Miller Place Extinguishers – 17 Pts.

3rd Place – Malverne Chipmunks – 15 Pts.

4th Place – Lynbrook Tumblers – 14 Pts.

5th Place – Lakeview Sparks – 11 Pts.

It’s obvious from the outcome of this tournament that the Old Fashioned game is going to be very competitive this year. They’ll meet again at the Battalion Drill in RVC hosted by Malverne, which also happens to be in celebration of their 100th Anniversary, with a quick stop at their town tournaments.

There are a couple questions to get us going to start the season: Who will be going for the “very get-able” 10.50 Running Hose record? And, who will emerge as the best Nassau County Old Fashioned team?

I hope you're all as excited as we are to find out.

Recap of the Central Islip Junior Drill

by Jimmy Leggio

The Juniors raced in their second tournament of the year at Central Islip on Sunday, June 12th. There were 13 teams in attendance with The Jr. Hares from East Farmingdale making their first appearance of the year. They had a good showing for a second year team, and they look like they will be a force to be reckoned with, especially in the Intermediate Ladder contest. There was a great crowd on hand and the teams were looking forward to running on the brand new surface at the C.I. track. There were no complaints with the track conditions and many racers commented on how they enjoyed the “grippy” surface.

Junior ladder started out just like last week with Central Islip taking first place and five points. Intermediate Ladder followed with Islip Terrace taking first place with a nice run. Watch for this young Schlager to possibly break the state record at some point this season. The Jr. Hoboes added another five points by taking first place in Individual Ladder with the Lindenhurst Jr. Snails taking second. In Cart Ladder, Islip put up a fast run (8.67 seconds to some timing in the stands) but the climber did not grasp and hold the top rung which resulted in a No Time (N/T.) Bay Shore held first place in the contest with a run of 8.94 but they had to sweat it out at the end as the Jr. Snails got a re-run after an official’s error. The Snails’ second run was not pretty and the Jr. Redskins got the five points. Coming out of the ladder contests, the Jr. Hoboes led all teams with 14 points.

After a long water test the teams finally lined up for Jr. Cart Hose, which was won by the Jr. Snails. Cart Hose was next and there were a lot of delays in the contest due to a problem with the timing lights. The track has a big crown in it and some of the cart handles came into contact with the equipment. There is a restriction in the rule book preventing the officials from adjusting the height of the timing lights during the contest so it was a bit of a hassle. Once they got the contest going, Islip took first place with Islip Terrace and Bay Shore behind them. Islip followed that run up with another five points in the next contest, Cart Hose Replacement.

Junior Efficiency Replacement was next with Bay Shore taking first place. Islip Terrace took first place in the WYE contest and the Hagerman Jr. Gamblers took second. Heading into the final contest, the Gamblers were ahead of the pack with 24 points but there were five teams right behind them. Bay Shore, Islip, Islip Terrace, Central Islip and Lindenhurst were all within 7 points of the lead, setting the stage for an interesting finale.

The Gamblers were unable to put the tournament away with their run when their nozzle-man failed to have his foot on the starting line and the team received a N/T. This opened the door for the other teams to jump ahead and win the tournament. The Hoboes missed their chance when they missed the target. The Redskins and Wolves also came up empty. The Snails had a good run, but it wasn’t enough to pass the Gamblers who breathed a sigh of relief as team after team failed to capitalize on their mistake. The contest was won by the West Sayville Jr. Flying Dutchmen and Hagerman held on to win their first tournament of the year.

The final results of the drill were as follows:

1st Place – Hagerman Jr. Gamblers

2nd & 3rd Place (Tie) – Islip Jr. Wolves & Islip Terrace Jr. Schlagers

4th Place – Lindenhurst Jr. Snails

5th Place – Central Islip Jr. Hoboes

After the C.I. drill, it looks like we have a few more contenders in the mix so it should make for an exciting season. The Juniors will be back in action on June 26th at the Hagerman track beginning at 11:00 AM.

Sponsor Spotlight: Triangle Grinding & Machining Corp.

by Dan Laverty

Triangle Grinding & Machining Corp. located in West Babylon is a family owned and run business. It was started in 1980 by the three Turano brothers: Peter (who passed away in 2000), Santos and George, which is where they got their 3-sided name and logo. The Turano family is originally from Italy who emigrated to Argentina and finally America. They had not heard of our sport until 1996 when Richie Goelz (Hempstead Flukes Alumni) knocked on their door asking if they could fabricate a hose tester. Since that day, Triangle and Drill Team Racing have had an excellent relationship.

On a recent trip to their shop to get a WYE worked on, I was greeted at the door by Santos. I was welcomed into their office where I was offered a seat and an espresso. The seat I took but the espresso I declined. (The last thing this writer needs is more caffeine.) Santos introduced me to Jerry, Peter's son, who also works at Triangle. After showing them the damage that was done to the WYE they made, I was given a tour of the shop. I was shown all the equipment they make for Drill Team Racing and was given some history about each piece. Jerry offered one of the more interesting explanations when he told me how he came to create a special double thread bronze insert with a double jacket hose coupling made of stainless steel. The purpose of this is to eliminate having to cut your hose to put a new hydrant coupling on. Once the steel coupling is put on your hose you will never have to cut your hose again, you just flip over the bronze coupling if anything happened to the threads. They came up with this innovation about four years ago after listening to some of the needs of the players in the game. I was listening to the Turano brothers tell me about how nice those Murphy brothers from Central Islip are when a bell rang – not in my head, but literally – this is how they summon their employees to the office. That bell is just about the only thing that can be heard above the hum of the machines they are running. It was a very interesting trip and if you ever find yourself at the shop picking up or dropping off equipment, I suggest you take them up on the offer to get the grand tour. Whether it is the personalities of the crew or the products they offer; let me tell you that you will not leave disappointed. They treat their customers in a way that has fallen by the wayside these days as many businesses are only interested in making a quick buck. Triangle Grinding & Machining Corp. is a unique company that not only excels at supplying equipment for teams, but has also put themselves in the mix as innovators of the sport where they live up to their motto: “If you dream it, we can make it."

Triangle Grinding & Machining Corp.

66A Nancy St.

West Babylon, NY 11704

Phone: (631) 643-3636

Fax: (631) 253-2757