"Where it all began..."

YOUR NEWEST INDUCTEE--- JOE BIONDOLILLO, JR.
by SAFER Staff

    Entering the Ernie Maynor Memorial Hall of Fame in 2004 is one of the best drivers ever to compete in the Figure 8 division here on Long Island and elsewhere during the past 25 years--- mainly running at Islip Speedway and Riverhead Raceway.

    Joey, with the help and support of his family and friends was able to put together numerous track championships and rack up an enormous amount of feature wins in the Figure 8 division.  He always had his mom and dad and brother Andrew at his side, along with other family members and close friends and relatives, including brother-in-law Adam Carr and his brother Wayne working to keep the #66 at the front of the group.  He always had his car prepared to do battle every week, and Joey himself was a force to be reckoned with each and every week.  At times, his team was absolutely unbeatable!

    Joey raced against the cream of the crop, who gave him a run for his money, including Roger Maynor, George Brown, John Fortin, Mark Lento, Tom Kraft, Chris Young, and many others who tried their best to deny Joey another victory.

    Joey has run out of state and competed well away from Long Island, including racing at the Figure 8 Championships in Indianapolis, and running at many different tracks in Florida.

    Joey also tried his hand at Late Model racing and was able to win a few features in that division also.  He sported around a few times in some Modifieds at time, trying to qualify and get a ride here and there.  Joey is a dedicated father, husband, and family member and has that racing blood in hi that won't let him quit at anything.

    Joey's #66 cars were at times the nicest in craftsmanship, and they had "killer" looks too! They looked good in the countless trips to Victory Lane over the years.  Joey has been in our debates all the time when we say who was better? Who was faster? Who was smoother? Who could come through traffic? Could it be Roger or Joey or John or even Chris Young? Joey can even compare to some greats of the past driving with the consistency of a Jerry Bowers, the patience of Ernie Maynor, the ability to come through traffic like John Rigney, being smooth like Doug Huber, having top notch equipment like Chris Young, fabricating like Bobby Lane, winning like Sammy Atkins, showing signs of a Whitey Voelker at times, and along the way being a really great sportsman like Johnny Zell.  All those members mentioned are Hall of Fames just like Joey's dad, Joe Sr., who fielded Figure 8 cars for years, and gave Joey his start in Figure 8 racing.