By Dan Kapuscinski
OSWEGO, NY (July 7, 2015) – The mighty ISMA Supermodifieds, as well as the NEMA Midgets and NEMA Lites, return to Oswego Speedway on Saturday, July 11 for the seventh edition of the prestigious King of Wings presented by Shea Concrete and Helena Chemical Company.
King of Wings VII will mark the third round of the Shea Concrete ‘Steel Palace’ ISMA Super Series at the Speedway, bringing the best in winged Supermodified racing to the Port City for the right to wear the crown that comes along with a King of Wings championship.
Joining the ISMA Supermodified 50-lap King of Wings VII main event will be the ultra fast NEMA Midgets and NEMA Lites, which will both compete on the full 5/8 mile oval.
Since the inaugural King of Wings in 2009, a total of five different drivers have claimed the coveted title.
King Charlie Schultz I was the first champion of the of the popular summer spectacular, out-gunning then teammate Tim Ice, Mike Lichty, Ray Graham, and Chris Perley for the title.
In 2010, King Bob Bond II earned his first career Supermodified win in the King of Wings driving his own No. 25 Supermodified to victory with Ice again settling for second ahead of Bobby Dawson, Bob Magner, and Joe Gosek.
The 2011 running of KoW would see a third different winner, but again the same runner-up. This time it would be King Mike Lichty III leading Ice across the line for the win with Timmy Jedrzejek, Trent Stephens and Randy Ritskes filling the top five spots.
The King of Wings main in 2012 was one for the record books, with longtime Supermodified car owner Steve Miller finally grabbing his first main event win with King Dave Gruel IV wheeling the Sweet 16 to victory over Johnny Benson, Schultz, Lou Cicconi, and Jedrzejek.
In 2013 the King of Wings would see its first repeat winner as King Mike Lichty V flew to victory over Dave Shullick Jr., Ben Seitz, Ice, and Jeff Locke.
Just last year another name was added to the illustrious list of King of Wings champions as King Dave Shullick VI stormed to the payday over Perley, Lichty, Locke, and Seitz.
Each year Oswego Speedway’s King of Wings provides another thread of memorable moments and this year will be no different as defending champion Shullick will be joined by previous winners Lichty and Bond as well as Oswego winners this season Mark Sammut and Jedrzejek, plus Oswego point leader Otto Sitterly.
The top ten of the ISMA Supermodified point standings heading into Oswego this weekend is a who’s who of Supermodified competitors including Jon McKennedy, Locke, Seitz, Eddie Witkum Jr., Danny Shirey, Rob Summers, and Ryan Coniam.
The NEMA Midgets and NEMA Lites are fresh off the annual Boston Louie Memorial at Seekonk Speedway, which took place on July 2.
Todd Bertrand drove away with the Boston Louie win over Randy Cabral, John Zych Jr., Avery Stoehr, and Oswego Supermodified regular Jeff Abold.
Abold will return to action this Saturday at Oswego with the No. 29 NEMA Midget.
A total of 21 machines were on hand at Seekonk.
A huge field of NEMA Lites took on Seekonk on July 2 with PJ Stergios running to victory over Dylan Duhaime, Ryan Bigelow, Anthony Payne, and Jim Chambers.
Payne is the son of longtime Oswego Supermodified standout Joey Payne.
Tickets are on sale now for King of Wings VII. Tickets can be purchased at the Speedway box office or by phone.
General admission seating is available for $30 with padded reserved seating for $35. Pit admission on Saturday is $40 with VIP seating available for $90.
For more information on Oswego Speedway visit online at www.oswegospeedway.com or LIKE on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OswegoSpeedway or FOLLOW on Twitter @OswegoSpeedway. Those interested in Speedway video programming online can subscribe to the Speedway’s YouTube Channel, ‘OswegoSpeedwayOnline’.
To purchase tickets for the 2015 racing season call the Speedway box office at (315) 342-0646.
Oswego Speedway King of Wings Champions:
2009 – Charlie Schultz
2010 – Bob Bond
2011 – Mike Lichty
2012 – Dave Gruel
2013 – Mike Lichty
2014 – Dave Shullick Jr.
About Oswego Speedway: Oswego Speedway, a sports entertainment company, is a 5/8 mile semi-banked pavement racing oval located off the shores of Lake Ontario in scenic Oswego, NY. Oswego Speedway has been a continuously run weekly racing venue since August, 1951. The premier open-wheel pavement short track cars in the world, Supermodifieds, run weekly at Oswego Speedway making Oswego the only weekly Supermodified racing venue in the world. The Small Block Supermodifieds accompany the full blown Supers on a weekly Saturday night schedule which runs from May through September. Oswego Speedway is mentioned in racing circles as the “Indy of the East,” as no fewer than a dozen past and present competitors have competed at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway including Mario Andretti, arguably the greatest driver of all time, two-time Indy 500 champion Gordon Johncock, along with former International Classic Champions Bentley Warren, Joe Gosek, and Davey Hamilton.