OSWEGO, NY (June 9, 2019) – Jeff Abold started outside pole and drove a perfect race with his family No. 05 for a dominant win in the first of two Novelis Supermodified Twin 35’s on Burke’s Do It Best Home Centers and Bosco’s Night at Oswego.
For Abold, the 2016 Budweiser International Classic 200 champion, it was his first checkered at the Oswego Speedway since August of 2017. His fourth career victory came in the same event he picked up his first ever feature win in three seasons earlier.
“Track position was key tonight,” Abold said. “It was a short race. Even the lapped cars are fast right now, so that makes it tough. I could feel Otto (Sitterly) coming behind me. I knew the car was good enough that I could hold him off, I just had to keep picking off cars as best I could.”
Dave Shullick Jr. was scheduled to start on the pole for the first Twin 35, but due to mechanical issues, did not make the call, instead handing the front row over to Alison Sload on the inside and Abold on the outside.
Abold outdueled Sload into the first corner to take the lead with fourth starting Michael Barnes immediately following to grab the runner-up spot with Dave Gruel in tow.
A quick yellow flag came out on lap 3 when Logan Rayvals and Tyler Thompson brushed wheels going into turn one, causing the Thompson No. 98T to swap ends. Fortunately, no damage was done to the car and Tyler was able to continue.
On the restart, Gruel shot out of a cannon to get Sload up high for third and next made a power move under the No. 68 of Barnes in turns one and two to grab the second spot before next setting his sights on the No. 05 of Abold.
With Barnes now back in third, Sload had also fallen to fifth as teammate Otto Sitterly began his drive towards the front from the sixth spot. One lap after he had gone by Sload, Sitterly then dove to the inside of Barnes to move into fourth.
As the top five began to separate themselves from the field just a little bit, things got very exciting with a dozen laps complete when Abold was slowed momentarily by lapped traffic, allowing Gruel and Sitterly to close in.
While Abold was working on the lapped cars, Gruel and Sitterly were in an intense battle for second. Each lap, Sitterly tried the outside in turns three and four, with the two nearly brushing wheels at the halfway point.
The close call separated Gruel and Sitterly momentarily, but Otto was able to reel the No. 50 back in with about fifteen laps remaining as Abold continued to work through heavy traffic out front.
When the board showed a dozen laps to go, Abold again got stuck behind a slower car, bringing the front three nose to tail in what was now a trio of cars battling for the race lead.
Finally, Abold found his way by the traffic as did Gruel and Sitterly, but that did not do the race leader much good. Four laps later, he was pinned behind another lapped machine, bringing Gruel and Sitterly to his rear deck one more time.
The top three found themselves boxed behind two lapped cars through the final five laps. When Gruel made a small mistake going high in turns one and two, it gave Sitterly the hole he needed to take over second with three to go.
Just ahead of Sitterly, Abold was working hard on the lapped car of Ben Seitz, and as soon as he made his move to go by on lap 33, it was clear track ahead as Abold held on for the win ahead of Sitterly, Gruel, Barnes, and Joe Gosek in the top five.
Rounding out the top ten in the first twin were Sload, Dave Danzer, Keith Shampine, Dan Connors Jr, and Brandon Bellinger. Rayvals, Aric Iosue, Thompson, Dan Bowes, and Seitz completed the top fifteen.
Gosek, who nipped Sload at the line for a top five, came from fourteenth to do so, earning the D&S Landscaping Hard Charger Award for his tremendous drive.
Connors Jr. was the Lighthouse Lanes Up & Comer Award recipient.
Oswego Speedway is back in action next weekend with a ‘Road to the Championship’ event presented by A&P Auto Parts featuring full programs for the Novelis Supermodifieds, Pathfinder Bank SBS and 350 Supermodifieds plus the always popular driver autograph session.
For more information on Oswego Speedway, you can visit the track’s website online at OswegoSpeedway.com. Fans can also FOLLOW on Twitter @OswegoSpeedway or LIKE on Facebook at Facebook.com/OswegoSpeedway.
BOX SCORE
Burke’s Do It Best Home Centers and Bosco’s Twin 35’s
Oswego Speedway
Oswego, NY
Saturday, June 8, 2019
Novelis Supermodifieds
Feature 1 (35-laps): 1. 05 JEFF ABOLD, 2. 7 Otto Sitterly, 3. 50 Dave Gruel, 4. 68 Michael Barnes, 5. 00 Joe Gosek, 6. 39 ® Alison Sload, 7. 52 Dave Danzer, 8. 55 Keith Shampine, 9. 01 Dan Connors Jr, 10. 02 Brandon Bellinger, 11. 94 Logan Rayvals, 12. 11 Aric Iosue, 13. 98T Tyler Thompson, 14. 25 ® Dan Bowes, 15. 32 ® Ben Seitz, 16. 78 Jerry Curran, 17. 90 ® Jack Patrick, 18. 54 ® Camden Proud, 19. 83 Lou LeVea Jr, 20. 15 Michael Muldoon, DNS – 95 Dave Shullick Jr, 56 Hal LaTulip
Heat 1 (12-laps): 1. 68 Michael Barnes, 2. 11 Aric Iosue, 3. 05 Jeff Abold, 4. 52 Dave Danzer, 5. 00 Joe Gosek, 6. 78 Jerry Curran, 7. 25 ® Dan Bowes, DNF – 56 Hal LaTulip
Heat 2 (12-laps): 1. 7 Otto Sitterly, 2. 39 ® Alison Sload, 3. 94 Logan Rayvals, 4. 55 Keith Shampine, 5. 98T Tyler Thompson, 6. 15 Michael Muldoon, 7. 54 ® Camden Proud
Heat 3 (12-laps): 1. 01 Dan Connors Jr, 2. 50 Dave Gruel, 3. 83 Lou LeVea Jr, 4. 95 Dave Shullick Jr, 5. 02 Brandon Bellinger, 6. 90 ® Jack Patrick, 7. 32 ® Ben Seitz
Group Time Trials: 1. 00 Joe Gosek – 15.869, 2. 02 Brandon Bellinger – 16.060, 3. 98T Tyler Thompson – 16.080, 4. 05 Jeff Abold – 16.082, 5. 95 Dave Shullick Jr. – 16.150, 6. 7 Otto Sitterly – 16.195, 7. 25 ® Dan Bowes – 16.202, 8. 50 Dave Gruel – 16.214, 9. 55 Keith Shampine – 16.345, 10. 52 Dave Danzer – 16.362, 11. 32 ® Ben Seitz – 16.364, 12. 15 Michael Muldoon – 16.397, 13. 01 Dan Connors Jr. – 16.402, 14. 39 ® Alison Sload – 16.451, 15. 11 Aric Iosue – 16.487, 16. 83 Lou LeVea Jr. – 16.489, 17. 94 Logan Rayvals – 16.523, 18. 68 Michael Barnes – 16.555, 19. 78 Jerry Curran – 16.617, 20. 54 ® Camden Proud – 16.750, 21. 90 ® Jack Patrick – 16.911, 22. 56 Hal LaTulip – 17.387
D&S Landscaping Hard Charger Feature 1: #00 Joe Gosek
Lighthouse Lanes Up and Comer Feature 1: #01 Dan Connors Jr.