Woody Pitkat traveled with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour to Riverhead Raceway (NY) this weekend for the Riverhead 175 where he was able to overcome a mishap early in the event for a  15th-place finish.

“We had to go to the heat race because we missed it in qualifying; we were just a little bit off in time trials,” explained Pitkat.  “The car was pretty good in the heat and then at the start of the feature there was a wreck in front of us and we had to stop for it because we were blocked on the track.  They probably should have red flagged it, but they kept it under caution, so by the time I got back up around some of the cars, we went a lap down.”

At that point Pitkat found himself in an intense race to regain position on the lead lap.

“There were like four or five us that were a lap down, so we basically had to race each other to try to get the lucky dog, so our race didn’t even really start until lap 85 when we were able to get back on the lead lap.

Woody Pitkat's # 28 NASCAR Whelen Modified. (Jim Dupont Photo)

Pitkat Battles Many Obstacles in First Race at Riverhead

Pitkat Overcomes Disappointing Starting Position for 15th-Place Finish

“Once we were back on the lead lap our car was pretty good,” continued Pitkat.  “It was a little bit too tight on the bottom, so we were a little bit better on the outside.  There was a restart with 23 to go and we were 12th and I passed a couple guys on the outside and got to about eighth.”

Unfortunately Pitkat’s bad luck was not over for the day.  He was dealt one more card before the checkered flag flew.

“We got stuck behind a Riverhead regular that was struggling on the outside,” commented Pitkat.  “And we just fell back.  By that time there were only like five laps to go and the only place I could get back in line was in 15th.”

Although Pitkat had been on the track previously, he had never competed in a race there before and was satisfied with the finish.

“I’d been there before but never qualified, so considering the fact that it was basically my first time there, since that was the first race I’d ever qualified for, and I finished 15th, and the car is in one piece, we’re pretty happy with that.”

Pitkat will be back in action this weekend in his Sunoco Modified at Thompson International Speedway (CT) on Thursday and on Friday at Stafford Motor Speedway (CT) in both his SK Modified and his NASCAR Whelen Modified.