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The Last Race (2018)
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There's a lot of cars here tonight. - We're gonna have a full field. - Cool. And both, uh-- Who? Brian and Jessica are here. - Cohen and Smith. - Jessica's gonna race? - Her car's here. - Oh, come on. Don't tell me that. You didn't see it in practice? No. You didn't see the blue number eight? - No! - It's here. - No. - Yep. And the-- And the flat black 84. I know the 84's here, but he's not so-- Yeah, he's bad, but he's not-- Oh... - He gets out the way. - He gets out the way. She thinks she's a race car driver, and she's gonna race you. She's all right. She doesn't bother me. Me and her have a special bond. - I--I know. - Okay? I've seen. I've given you a Sawzall to cut your fender off your front tire. I know. I had to use all my restraint not to fucking wreck her in that last race. Oh, I'm sure. - So instead, I lapped her four times. - He's setting up the car. Let's see if we can give him advice. That guy , he's got a phenomenal car. - What, that Monte? - Yep, that's-- No, that 39. - Bob Muller with the red-- - Oh, yeah. That's a fucking-- That thing is-- You ever seen underneath the hood of that thing? - It's immaculate. - Yeah, I know. - Could eat off of it. - I know. If he don't win Best Looking Car, then there's something wrong with this track. Yeah, no, absolutely. It's not me. You think? We don't look good. We're just-- We like to go fast. Riverhead Raceway. Everything starts at six o' clock. Right. We finish up about 9:00, 9:30. It's-- Yes, it's, uh, 30 for adults, five dollars for children. Six to 12 is the child and five and under are free. Okay, see you later. Ah, it's always nice to have a first-time guy come with five kids. Ladies first, thank you. Um, once again, we welcome you back. It's, uh, 37 years for us, so it's 37 years of "welcome back." Never gets tired of-- of saying it. Never get tired of being here and seeing you all. I mean, the cars look absolutely gorgeous, all of them, we know the hard work that goes into them, and we thank you for it. And we're gonna have a great year this year. 1 just know it. So best of luck to everybody. Well, I'll ditto all of that, and, uh, let's hope that this day's weather is what we're gonna get-- is a prelude for the rest of the season. Give a special hello from-- from our daughter, Robin. Uh, we just want everyone to know that, uh, she's had some problems, and she loves everybody here at the track, and, uh... and I think that's about it for me, uh, so thanks a lot, and good racing. We are going racing, guys. Be awake. Bill Wegmann Jr., second generation driver, and the "Pistol Paul Parisi. Getting ready to rumble. Twenty laps blunderbust style. Usually this division provides us with some great race finishes on the last lap. Wegmann, Parisi. Green flag flies. Dueling green flags from Mike Rickert. It's a drag race to turn number one, with 8,400 pounds of blunderbust leading the way, and it's Bill Wegmann, Jr. to put the Crackerjack Auto Stores number 76 out in front. The "Pistol Paul Parisi tries to settle into second, but here comes the Jack Attack, Jack Handley, Jr. He and Tom Pucci go side-by-side. Pucci to the inside in the Ferrandino & Sons Construction, number 51. Handley will take third away riding the outside groove in his Liccardi Builders Chevrolet. Bill Wegmann Jr. continues to hold the lead. Three of 20 in the books. The "Pistol" Paul Parisi second, but the car to keep your eyes on is 17-year-old lead foot, Jack Handley Jr., who will return to Patchogue-Medford High School in a few weeks to continue his high school studies. He's underneath Parisi going into one and two. And Jack Handley Jr. will bring the number 49 to position number two. Parisi settles to third in the Tidewater Dock Builders, number 69. Jimmy "The Kid" White Jr. brings the Busy Bee Pest Control number 32 to fourth. Meanwhile, back up front, Jack Handley Jr. is closing in, and in a hurry, on your race leader Bill Wegmann Jr. The driver of the Crackerjack Auto Stores number 76 is about to feel the heat big time Saturday night from Jack Handley Jr. Parisi remains third, White fourth, Langdon fifth. The "Wild Child" Tommy Walkowiak has raced his way to sixth and brought the defending champion, "Slick Pick Tom Pickerell to seventh. Oh, baby. We're getting set up for one of those classic blunderbust finishes. Okay, this photo that we're looking at here was taken at Freeport Stadium, uh, either 1963 or '64, coming down the main straightaway following car number 393, Red Reynor, and ahead of us a couple of car lengths was Bruno Brackey in the black and white car, and he spun out, and he blocked most of the track, but Red Reynor kept going. So I said, "Well, if Red Reynor's keeping going, that mean-- that mean he figures he can get through. But he didn't get through. He locked up on the back of Bruno Brackey's car and stopped short, and I went right up over top of his car. If you look in the photo, I'm flying through the air. My four wheels are off the ground. Went another 15 feet or so and took down a telephone pole, and then... Here's the picture of the after, after the car was wrecked before they towed it away. Um, it actually took the carburetors, took the radiator apart, took the carburetors right off the intake manifold, and all I got out of it was a few bruises and a lot of broken glass, but it was a memorable night, that's for sure. How's that? Freeport Stadium. Harnett Raceway. Holmes Airport. Jackson Heights. Island Gardens in Hempstead. Islip Speedway. Juniper Valley Park, Queens. Long Island Motor Parkway. Montauk Point on the street. Madison Square Garden Bowl in Queens. Maspeth Fairgrounds. Mineola Fairgrounds. Nassau Coliseum. National Speedway. Oakwood Park. Riverhead Street. Riverhead Fairgrounds. Riverhead Raceway, paved. Ridgewood Oval. Roosevelt Raceway. Roosevelt Raceway half-mile dirt. Sports Arena in Brooklyn. Suffolk County Air Base. Speonk Raceway. Sheepshead Bay, Springfield to Babylon. With all those tracks, course 99 percent of them are now defunct, they're gone. Riverhead is here. A square piece of property. There's business coming in this way, business coming in this way, this way and this way, and it's gonna squeeze 'em out eventually. When Riverhead goes, that will be the end of racing on Long Island. Hi, my name is Millie Thomas. I'm the broker/owner of Landmark Realty in Wading River. It's just about eight miles west of Riverhead Raceway where we are today. I've been a realtor for about 20 years. The area has seen considerable growth. I started coming out to Riverhead when I was a little girl. On the weekends, my parents had a summer house here, and we would shop Downtown Riverhead. It was a Main Street area only. A couple of shops as well as a supermarket, and that's pretty much what Riverhead used to be. It's a commercial area that has grown and continuing to grow, and this piece of property is worth millions of dollars. Whether or not the family wants to sell it, that's another story, but it's sitting in the middle of complete growth in the Riverhead area. I mean, to see it bulldozed over for another shopping center is really not what-- what we personally would like to see if we can avoid it, and so we keep our fingers crossed. As far as selling it, like when we feel days like today when you don't feel so good and it would be nice to be home relaxing, and not worrying, and not have all the stress and the problems that we know will-- You know, there will be problems tonight, that's just the way it goes, and, um... Right? So some days we say well, we could do without it, but, uh... but the other thing is much more overriding. What was the other question? Yeah, even when Barbara was in the rehab hospital, that's all she really wanted to know was, uh-- Thank God for telephones, and I kept her up to date on everything. And it was easy for me because she set up such great patterns here, and so, uh, it, uh... But it wasn't the same with her not being here so I can tell you that. What the fuck is that all about? - You hit me. - No, fuck-- You just dove down in front of me. You know what, get the fuck out of your car. I'm gonna fuck you up. What, you got a fucking problem? Get out of your fucking car right now. Get out. I'm gonna fuck you up. - Ll didn't run at your car. - Yeah? Come here. Come here. This fucking asshole in the 71 just smashed into me after caution's done. And he just told me he's going to come kick my ass. Fucking guy's an asshole. The 71 dove down and says, "Why'd you hit me?" Yo, I'm fucking running second place or third place. I mean-- So you know what he just said? "I'm gonna come and kick your ass, you fucker. And that's when he smashed into me again sitting still. I mean, come on. They better throw his ass out or I'm gonna ride-- I'm gonna fuck him up if you don't. The fucking asshole in the 71. So then he fucking says to me... Gettin' out of the car now. Let's make some noise for "Krazy" Ed Mistretta! And Shrek took the ride with him. Shrek over here inside the car. Well, Eddie, on behalf of Buzz Chew Chevrolet and Cadillac, it was supposed to be their night at the races last week. That's been rescheduled for August 12th, but since you guys have the nightoff, you get the, uh-- the Buzz Chew trophy here tonight. Congratulations. A great run. - You're back. - Thank you. - I can't even talk. - It's got to be-- No, let's talk about it. It's been a hot day. How hot was it getting inside this car? Very hot. I'm, like, out of breath. This win was for my father. Passed away... Yeah, and that was dedicated to my dad. My dad died on the 29th of July, so this was the win for my dad, so that's why I wanted to show you the video. So it felt good to pull it off, and now we'll just keep winning after that as much as we can. Next thing you know I bought the car. I just bought a new truck last week. Oh, yeah, I had just bought a new truck too. So what'd you think of the video, pretty good? We spoke about when we met each other that you're gonna back up on that. Now they are pushing you to go back racing because you agreed that you probably were not gonna do it. They are pushing you so much, calling you so much, that you decided to do it, and you have to remember you were planning to get married, having a house together. That's a lot of expenses involved, -and all that. - Well, I was hoping you're rich - so you could cover that. - But I am not. I'm only kidding. - But I am not, and I-- - No, I understand that. I understand that. Like you said. I guess it's in the blood. I followed my father's footsteps. Been around the track since I was born. Uh... Last time I saw my dad, I took a win for him in New Jersey. I know my father had tears in his eyes. He always says to me, "You go do it," he says, "I know you'll be good at it." And when he saw me win, he goes, "Now I know you're gonna be better than me, he says, "So don't ever give up on it." He says, "And if you love what you're doing, don't stop till you can't do it no more." You have breathing problems. You having sinus problem. You have high cholesterol. You have all your heart attacks and stents, and you have to... I think you forget a little bit about that and worry about the racing more than your health. Well, it's funny to say, but when you get in a race car, you could have pain in your arm, soon as you get on that racetrack, you don't have pain in your arm. Dalton, we can go this way. There's one in the front and one in the back. They're German hornets. Do not slam that ladder on there. It'll be one of the worst mistakes you ever make. - Take this. - You will get torn the fuck up. - What are you gonna have? - Eggs. - Eggs? - All-righty. - Bugsy, you make it. I'm-- - You guys set the table. I'll make the breakfast, all right? You get the eggs from down there already? Yeah, I got 'em this morning. Yeah, okay. Somebody's got to wake the chickens up. Had to wake the goddamn chickens up, and sit around here for three hours before you get here. Am I gonna need my, uh... calm-me-down pills today or not? - What? - I'll make a roll I guess. - Right? - You don't want eggs? You can make me eggs, but I'll eat a roll - in the meantime. - All right. I see rolls there. I'm pretty sure-- Like, even last week. It cost you, what, two wheels, two tires, and a week's worth of work. - Now-- - Rims, tie rod. New tie rod ends just from his anger management problem. - But-- - Yeah, we need a win - to pay for it now. - What goes around comes around. He bring it on himself. So now you got, like, - a few seconds now. - Okay, ready? Al right. Just tell me about yourself. Tell me what you do and where you're from - and what you do here. - Well, I, um-- Oh, okay, sure. Hi, everybody. I just want to let you know that I been-- we been doing this filming here at Riverhead Raceway for 25 years, and starting last week, we taped the whole show from start to finish here at Riverhead Raceway, and then, um... I had fun taking the tapes home at night, and replaying 'em, and making copies for all the winners out here at Riverhead Raceway. - Right, Bob? - That's right. Oh, the-- Oh, the house? Alright , that came with the years of experience and my request. I-- We started down on the ground 25 years ago, and it was just getting too crowded. People were walking in front of the camera all the time, - so I moved up here for-- - Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It's officially time... So I'll see you later. We're getting ready to go for the show. So thanks a lot, everybody, and we'll talk to you later. Thank you. Tonight, it-- Whoa! Oh, God. - Oh! - Is he out? No. Oh, God! Now, did you breathe in? Nope, I held my breath the whole time. - The whole entire time? - Yeah, that's ultimately what they told me saved my life. / mean, do you remember it at all, besides-- I remember it from beginning to end. To the helicopter, to begging the guy for more morphine, to almost wrecking the helicopter. Going into the hospital. Getting put into an ice tank to cool my body off. I remember the scrub downs. I remember every shower. It was miserable. That was the worst part. The ambulance wouldn't come onto the track till the car fire went out. I had to sit there and wait a good four or five minutes, and I was just talking to my sister the whole time, just trying to talk to her 'cause I looked down, I saw my shinbone. That's how bad my right leg was. Hit the window. Hit the window. Come on, you got to get the window. - That's the money shot. - Is that it? That back window is the money shot. My wrist is killing me. That back shots the w-- Oh, come on. - I'm not hitting the window. - Come on. I got to clean up the glass then, dude. - I'm not cleaning up glass. - Ah, stop. Got bolts in there. Right there. Don't drop them bolts. This thing's heavier and heavier. It never got lighter. - The heaviest car to push... - Good. That's it. Flip it around. Is it on the wrong way? It's the wrong way, right? Just put it down. There you go. - It's not flush. - Just let go. I got to get this side first. - It's not good. - It is good. The bolt right here isn't lined up. It will line up. Right here. This one, Dad. Seventeen-year-old Jack Handley Jr. out of Medford Last week he won the race, but post-race tech was found with an unapproved cam shaft. Oversized. The team, Dennis Krupski and the Liccardi Builders 49 team went to work. Lots of hours in the shop. Another motor, another cam shaft in the car, and it did not matter. Jack Handley Jr. is a winner here tonight at Riverhead Raceway, and if there was ever a way to atone for the DQ last week, this young Patchogue-Medford High School student showed you how it's done. That's my son's trunk lid. You know, he bought this car and started driving it around, and I says, "You know, that's just like my race car. I says, "I'm gonna get that car one day for parts. He said, "No way." Well, he ended up blowing the motor in the car, bought a new one, and here it is. I got his whole car back here. Doors, fenders, hoods. I can't carry them all out, but there's a story behind each piece. These are all my spare parts. For anybody that wants to get rough with me, go for it because I got-- I got it covered. That's why I'm not afraid to hit none of you guys out there. That's why you're all mad at me all the time. But anyway, on my spare time when I'm not working on my race car, I actually have a soft side of me that likes to garden. He-- Right here we got my tomato plants, which are always the best. I make tomato sauce. The best. And then I have my flowers. The reason for the flowers and the tomatoes next to each other is 'cause the bumble bees like the flowers, and they pollinate the tomatoes, if anybody knows anything about that. I have blueberries. Blueberries every spring. Beautiful. No problem. My morning glories. You come out here in the morning, this whole bush is lit up. And we end up over here by the raspberries that you could see are full of bees. That's why they're here too 'cause the raspberries . Actually, the bees love the raspberry smell, and the bees pollinate everything else. You have to have bees. You don't have any bees, you don't have any garden. Plain and simple. It's the way it works. All right, can you-- You can hear me? Okay, great. It's, uh-- I'm standing across the street from the Riverhead Raceway, right in front of Route 58, which is now a four-lane road with about 26,000 cars going by a day. The property that I'm standing on right now used to be all woods, about 40 acres, and it was cleared in a matter of days. Uh, it's the future home of a large shopping center with Costco and about-- The first phase is about 270,000 square feet, and the next phase is probably another 200,000 square feet. So this is really ground zero for development around the Riverhead Raceway. Across the street, you have a 13-acre piece of property that used to be all wooded. That was cleared in a matter of days. The buildings are up. Probably will open fairly soon. It's gonna be a supermarket, a sporting goods store, and another array of restaurants. And to our west, slightly, is where a new Super Walmart is gonna go up. Uh, that was another piece that was all woods, cleared, about 17 acres. Walmart is actually down the street in a smaller store, and they wanted a bigger store, and they want it to be right here, again, right by the Raceway. Wave these cars off... Ladies and gentlemen always... Blast off the excitement with these cars. Bill Wegmann Jr. The "Pistol" Paul Parisi. Well, I tell you what. 16-year-old Jack Handley Jr. the "Jack attack", one of the more popular drivers in the pit, good young man, is just instinctive in this kind of situation. And just make sure you visit Jack Handley Jr. after the race. He's fourth in a row, at 16 years old. His disposition, you won't be able to tell, but only one racer had that misfortune. He has bridged young age, a true professional, and has the right attitude. You can't even tell me... He's just hanging out and having a good time. That's it. That's the way to do it. "Jack attack" Jack Handley Jr. on the outside... Strong hand. You want me to... 1 got the... What's that? That's my mother. Rubber bands? - Be careful. - Okay. Don't take anything personal. Okay? Hey, come here. I got that-- I got that tape you were looking for. - Yeah? - Yeah. Come on over. Just come on over here. Don't even see the cameras are there. Nice to see you. And here's that tape I promised you from last week. When the camera goes off, give it me back. Yeah, yeah. - So how you doing? - Good, good. Good luck tonight. Good luck tonight, and I'll see you-- where I want to see you. - Yeah, in the lead. - Yeah, there you go. - All right, good luck. - You got it. Thank you very much. Is Jack here? Come here, Jackie. Oops. Hey, Jack. Hi, Jack, how are you? - How you doing today? - Good. Here's that tape I promised for you, okay? - Thank you. - And, uh... - And good luck tonight. - Thanks. - Huh? - You gonna be videoing? Yeah, we'll be there. All right, sounds good. All right, so we'll talk to you later, okay? - All right. - Thanks very much. Here you go. Thank you. You know, we go to Florida in the winter and our friends there, you know, the big topic of conversation when you're retired is what bridge game you're gonna play, or where you're gonna have dinner, and that kind of thing. I mean, we always had this other life. Life is-- We're still part of life and youth, in our own way, and it's a good feeling. So, you know, you just don't toss that away so readily. When work is all you've known all your life, to give it up, it's a tremendous decision. And a lot of people just die when they do it because they get so depressed, and, um... Most people are not happy when they retire. He's a fucking piece of shit. He runs everybody like a fucking asshole. If he comes near me again... And I'm telling you something, you fucking ever touch me again, I'll fucking knock you the fuck out. You come up to my driver, I'm gonna knock you out. Fuck you, I didn't touch him. I fucking was talking to him. You touch me again, I'll knock you the fuck out. No, you had your hand in the car to the driver. Now, you see my son going over to your driver like a fucking man? That's fine. Let the drivers deal with it. Why the troops? Go fuck yourself. I've never driven in a race. I mean, I've driven a race car. I had fun going in... ...um... the car and driving it around, but, I mean, I just can't imagine the com-- you know, the adrenaline that gets going when you strap yourself into a race car, and the feeling that you must have, and, um... and then it goes on afterwards, you know, the discussions and "what did we do wrong?" "What did we do right?" "How can we fix it?" "How can we make it better?" And, I don't know. And then you-- You know, the kids-- the little kids in the pits, and they-- they look up to these drivers. I mean, this guy that, what does he do? Maybe he's got a plumbing store, he's got a shoe store, he's got the... He's a regular guy, but he comes to the racetrack, and he's a hero. And the kids look at them with such adulation, and they get their autographs, and, uh... I don't know where you get that anywhere else. The, um... The love. I get very emotional. Why am I so emotional? Anyway, it touches lives in a very strong way. A way that you don't get-- you just, you just don't get anywhere else. This is really what it's all about. This-- This, uh... intimate, emotional... interplay that goes on between human beings. Uh... Hm. No, we'll hang in there and, you know what? God works in mysterious ways. You never know what's gonna happen. The next flag I want to talk about is the caution flag. This flag God's been waving at our lives since we were teenagers, okay? At the racetrack, you know, the drivers hate it, 'cause they just get driving, like last night at the track, you know, this-- there-- Half a lap and there's a caution flag, half a lap there's a caution flag, and you never get to race. They're like, "Oh, man, another caution flag." Because racers, and like us, do we want to be pulled off to the side and have to be dealt with or have somebody...? We just want to keep on racing! But God is telling us like he tells the racers, "Your tire's falling off. Your car is on fire." "No, I'm okay. I can keep going. I'm doing good. I don't want to stop. And if you don't listen to the yellow flag, your crew can't come and fix you, right? And who's waving the flags? The officials. A lot of times we don't like the officials, right? Sometimes the officials don't get our love because the officials make the call, and in some ways, the officials, they're the law. They're the law, and God is the law, and we're gonna have to obey God's law whether we like it or not, but, brethren, I want you to think, is God waving the caution flag in your life? Is he saying, "I'm trying to get your attention. Maybe everything that's happening in your life or has happened, has simply been me waving the caution flag, and saying, 'I'm over here. You can't do this by yourself. You need me. "No, I'm fine. Some people say, "Well, you know, "I'm waiting till I'm 95, and then I'll pull over. You know? God says, "They're gonna be-- It could be too late. Um, my name is George Muse. I'm the owner-- well, I'm not the owner. I'm the worldly owner of the Comet here. Um, my name is on the registration. Personally, I believe that God owns all things, and he gave me the privilege of owning this car. Um, I've owned it for about 25 years. I've always been in love with muscle cars since I was a kid. Shout to the North and the South Sing to the East and the West Jesus is savior to all Lord of heaven and earth We will shout to the North and the South And sing to the East and the West Jesus is savior of all Lord of heaven and earth Lord of heaven and earth Lord of heaven and earth The racetrack next door is the perfect location. It's just a question of time before Jim and Barbara give it up or they pass on and their kids allow us to develop the property and, uh-- and accept a price that makes economic sense for us to develop it. Oh, I hate that shot. Some people might say that the development of the racetrack would be a bad thing, and that it would be taking away a piece of history, and that might be so for a limited audience that's interested in the racetrack, but for the masses that are interested in going to movies, and restaurants, and the theater and the like, they would probably get a great relief by having the race track go away. Wow, what a great putt. We're tired. It's just that simple. And coming out here week after week, and-- I mean, we live out of a suitcase. Every Friday, I pack a suitcase and we stay Friday and Saturday night, and we go back on Sunday. It's hard. We decided to sell. Tomorrow is a double show. The last show. Yo! Yeah! That's why we do this, motherfucker! - You got it! - Why we do it! You got it, motherfucker! - Motherfucker! - That's why we do it! OCR'd and Corrected By NILNUWAN |
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