By Camden Proud
OSWEGO, NY (May 8, 2017) – Oswego Speedway will open for its 67th consecutive season of racing action this Saturday, May 13 with a triple header presented by Mitchell’s Speedway Press of Oswego featuring kick-off events for the Novelis Supermodifieds and Pathfinder Bank SBS as well as the Richie Evans Memorial 61 for the Ferris Mowers Race of Champions Asphalt Modifieds.
Nearly 75 racecars are expected for the speedway’s opening night, which will open the point championships for the Novelis Supermodifieds and Pathfinder Bank Small Block Supers as part of a 12 race Road to the Championship which includes twin events for both divisions.
This Saturday’s RoC Modified Richie Evans Memorial will be the second event on the RoC schedule with the ground pounders already having competed in one show this season with Andy Jankowiak scoring a victory at Lancaster National Speedway back on April 29.
A total of 18 RoC Modifieds were on hand for the RoC opener just a couple of weeks ago, with many more expected at ‘The Steel Palace’ this weekend.
Last year, Patrick Emerling started his 2016 campaign strong at Oswego, holding off Matt Hirschman, Austin Kochenash, Bryan Sherwood and Jimmy Zacharias for the big win. Visit RocModifiedSeries.com for more info.
In the Pathfinder Bank SBS division last season, Mike Bond held off teammate Matt Magner, 2012 SBS Champion Kreig Heroth, multi-time feature winner Anthony Losurdo and eventual track champion Dave Cliff for the opening night checkers.
2016 track champion Michael Barnes graced Novelis Supermodified victory lane on Opening Night for the first time of his career one year ago, winning an exciting main event over 5-time Opening Night winner Otto Sitterly, Tim Devendorf, Aric Iosue, and Pat Lavery.
WHAT:
Mitchell’s Speedway Press 67th season opener featuring the Novelis Supermodified Kick-Off 50, the Pathfinder Bank SBS Kick-Off 30, and the 61-lap Race of Champions Modified Richie Evans Memorial.
WHEN:
Saturday May 13, at Oswego Speedway in Oswego, NY. Pit gates will open at 11:30 a.m., grandstands at 1:30 p.m., hot laps at 3 p.m., time trials at 4 p.m., racing at 5 p.m. Rain date set for Saturday, June 17.
WHERE:
Oswego Speedway is located at 300 East Albany St. in Oswego, NY
TICKETS:
Padded reserved seats $30, general admission $25, Pit Passes $40, VIP $90. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling (315) 342-0646. Kids 16 and under are FREE with paid adult for each race this season with the exception of Budweiser International Classic Weekend. Active military are free with proper ID.
ON THE INTERNET:
Oswego Speedway – www.oswegospeedway.com
Twitter – @OswegoSpeedway
Facebook – facebook.com/OswegoSpeedway
YouTube – OswegoSpeedwayOnline
Live Updates can be found on Twitter, Facebook, as well as the Oswego Speedway website.
ABOUT THE TRACK:
Oswego Speedway is a semi-banked 5/8 mile paved oval. The non-wing Novelis Supermodified track record is held by Joey Payne with a time of 15.802 seconds at 142.397 mph, established on August 29, 2014. The wing Supermodified track record is 14.730 seconds at 152.749 mph, set by Mike Lichty on May 28th, 2016. The official SBS track record is held by Russ Brown with a lap of 18.504 seconds at 121.595 mph set on September 2, 2016.
Novelis Supermodified Opening Night Winners:
1962 – Art Bennett
1963 – Dave Paul
1964 – Nolan Johncock
1965 – Art Bennett
1966 – Bob Smith
1967 – Gordon Dukes
1968 – Red Barnhart
1969 – Ken Andrews
1970 – Norm Mackareth
1971 – Jim Shampine
1972 – Jim Shampine
1973 – Jim Shampine
1974 – Jim Shampine
1975 – Jim Shampine
1976 – Jim Shampine
1977 – Kempton Dates
1978 – Ed Bellinger Jr.
1979 – Jim Shampine
1980 – Bentley Warren
1981 – Chuck Ciprich
1982 – Doug Heveron
1983 – Steve Gioia Jr.
1984 – Warren Coniam
1985 – Ed Bellinger Jr.
1986 – Bentley Warren
1987 – Bentley Warren
1988 – Joe Gosek
1989 – Bentley Warren
1990 – Mike Ordway
1991 – Joe Gosek
1992 – Pat Abold
1993 – Pat Abold
1994 – Bentley Warren
1995 – Doug Didero
1996 – Cliff Graves
1997 – Mike Muldoon
1998 – Randy Ritskes
1999 – Mike Muldoon
2000 – Greg Furlong
2001 – Bob Goutermout
2002 – Mike Ordway
2003 – Mike Ordway
2004 – Mike Ordway
2005 – Joe Gosek
2006 – Otto Sitterly
2007 – Joe Gosek
2008 – Otto Sitterly
2009 – Ray Graham
2010 – Otto Sitterly
2011 – Randy Ritskes
2012 – Otto Sitterly
2013 – Davey Hamilton
2014 – Dave Danzer
2015 – Otto Sitterly
2016 – Michael Barnes
Pathfinder Bank Small Block Super Opening Night Winners:
1992 – John Phelps
1993 – Russ Brown
1994 – Scott Landers
1995 – Fred Taylor
1996 – Bob Rundell
1997 – Tom Jodway
1998 – Ray Graham
1999 – Brian Sweeney
2000 – Shawn Muldoon
2001 – John Ketcham
2002 – Matt Wheeler
2003 – Mike Bond
2004 – Kris Meyn
2005 – Russ Brown
2006 – Josh LaRochelle
2007 – Larry Muroski
2008 – Mike Bond
2009 – Dave Gruel
2010 – Steve Abt
2011 – Mike Bond
2012 – JJ Andrews
2013 – AJ Bernys
2014 – Andrew Schartner
2015 – Dalton Doyle
2016 – Mike Bond
Novelis Supermodified Tentative Roster:
00 – Joe Gosek – Oswego, NY
01 – Dan Connors Jr. – Oswego, NY
02 – Brandon Bellinger – Fulton, NY
05 – Jeff Abold – Baldwinsville, NY
0 – Tim Snyder – Tilton, NH
2 – Dave Shullick – North Ridgeville, OH
5 – Tim Devendorf – Brewerton, NY
7 – Otto Sitterly – Canajoharie, NY
14 – Joey Payne – Fair Lawn, NJ
15 – Michael Muldoon – Baldwinsville, NY
18 – Howard Page – Oswego, NY
24 – Jerry Curran/Jeff West – Oswego, NY
47 – Bob Bond – Mexico, NY
50 – Dave Gruel – Fulton, NY
51 – Joey Moriarty – Phoenix, AZ
52 – Dave Danzer – Oswego, NY
55 – Keith Shampine – Cornelius, NC
56 – Hal LaTulip – Oswego, NY
68 – Michael Barnes – Mexico, NY
70 – Dave McKnight – Brampton Ontario, Canada
71 – Bill Sharkey – Oswego, NY
72 – Tim Jedrzejek – Independence, OH
83 – Lou LeVea Jr. – Fulton, NY
94 – Logan Rayvals – Brockville Ontario, Canada
Pathfinder Bank Small Block Super Tentative Roster:
01 – Dalton Doyle – Fulton, NY
04 – Kreig Heroth – Ephratah, NY
7 – Alex Hoag – Bath, NY
8 – Josh Kerr – Whitesboro, NY
9 – Jack Patrick – Fulton, NY
13 – Russ Brown – Belleville, NY
14 – Alex McRae – Oswego, NY
15 – James Babcock – Oswego, NY
22 – Mike Bruce – Oswego, NY
23 – Cameron Black – Lafargeville, NY
37 – Jesse Bearup – Redwood, NY
50 – Dave Cliff – Oswego, NY
54 – Camden Proud – Oswego, NY
67 – Tyler Shullick – Vermilion, OH
69 – Mark Castiglia – Oswego, NY
71 – Ray Sand Jr. – Brockport, NY
74 – Mike Bond – Mexico, NY
77 – Cameron Rowe – Oswego, NY
87 – Matt Magner – Oswego, NY
88 – Ron Pratt – Oswego, NY
89 – Tony Pisa – Oswego, NY
90 – Greg O’Connor – Oswego, NY
91 – Barry Kingsley – Volney, NY
99 – Dennis Rupert – Fulton, NY
Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Points (Top 15):
1. Andy Jankowiak – 115
2. Patrick Emerling – 100
3. George Skora – 95
4. Chuck Hossfeld – 83
5. Daren Scherer – 78
6. Tyler Rypkema – 75
7. Cam Barber – 69
8. TJ Potrzebowski – 66
9. Bryan Sherwood – 63
10. Mike Leaty – 63
11. Tommy Catalano – 62
12. Kevin Miller – 60
13. Amy Catalano – 57
14. Kirk Totten – 56
15. Alan Bookmiller – 54
Oswego Speedway Race of Champions Modified Richie Evans Memorial Winners (2006-2016):
2006 – Mike Leaty
2007 – Pete Brittain
2008 – Matt Hirschman
2009 – Ted Christopher
2010 – Chuck Hossfeld
2011 – Chuck Hossfeld
2012 – Kyle Ebersole
2013 – Matt Hirschman
2014 – Matt Hirschman
2015 – Mike Leaty
2016 – Patrick Emerling
UP NEXT at Oswego:
Saturday, May 27th – Racing on May 27 will consist of a huge ‘Super Spectacle,’ with the 75-lap Jim Shampine Memorial for the Novelis Supermodifieds, 50-lap King of Wings IX main for the ISMA Supermodifieds, and 35-lap Pathfinder Bank SBS Tony White Memorial all on the card. All of the action will begin with time trials at 4pm. Grandstand gates open at 1:30pm with hot laps soon to follow.
For more information on Oswego Speedway be sure to visit www.oswegospeedway.com. You can also FOLLOW on Twitter @OswegoSpeedway and LIKE on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OswegoSpeedway.
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.