Pit Bull Trimboli likes speed

They call him The Pit Bull.

Steve Trimboli's affinity for the dogs earned him that moniker. He has two pet pit bulls and for more than two decades, has helped rescue abused dogs. There's also his aggressive personality, a no-nonsense demeanor and the open-book candor with which he speaks. But the nickname became more fitting once he hit the Riverhead racetrack in 2009.

Trimboli, 41, admittedly, is "a motor head" -- an adrenaline junkie with a need for speed. "I try not to do stupid [stuff]," he said of racing, "but I drive like an animal."

He's doing it legally now. Trimboli said he fell in love with cars and motorcycles as a teen and began street racing at 17. "My dad always tried to push me into football or baseball," he said, "but I wanted to do my own thing."

Fast forward and Trimboli now runs two Mercedes-Benz repair shops (named Pit Bull Motors, naturally) in Freeport. One passion funds another: He owns nine vehicles, including a 450-horsepower Mustang GT, a speed boat and a drag truck. Oh, and his Riverhead special: a black '85 Benz 190E, which he races on the Enduro circuit.

It's his release. The Baldwin native has a typical workweek, along with a wife and three small kids (he also counsels youngsters against animal abuse). But inside the race car, "you're in another world," he said. "You feel nothing. It's you, the competition and your foot to the floor."

Trimboli won the Enduro championship in 2010 and this season, having won two of the four races (with two remaining), he's got a shot to repeat.

Fortin, Bonsignore close. With only two Modified races to go, it's becoming a safer bet that the Riverhead champ will be a Holtsville native. Justin Bonsignore (518 points) and John Fortin (496) have distanced themselves from the pack in the standings.