By Camden Proud
OSWEGO, NY (June 22, 2024) – Saturday’s 50-lap Chase Enterprises Novelis Supermodified feature event at Oswego Speedway was not only the race of the year so far, but also arguably the race of the ‘tail wing’ Supermodified era, delivering everything a race fan could want in a Supermodified feature. Drivers such as Bruce, Shullick, Barnes, Sitterly, Thompson, and of course Abold charged to the front in the action-packed main event.
The field was led to the green flag by Camden Proud and Lou LeVea Jr., with Proud taking the lead from the outside on the first lap. Jeff Abold made an incredible move, jumping from ninth to fifth in the first corner on the outside, while LeVea Jr. held onto second with Logan Rayvals third, fifth-starting Mike Bruce in fourth, and Abold up to fifth as Joe Gosek moved into sixth, passing fourth-starting Brian Osetek. Osetek quickly dropped back as Dave Danzer, Otto Sitterly, Dave Shullick Jr., Michael Barnes, and Tyler Thompson all surged through the pack, taking positions seven through eleven respectively, leaving Osetek in twelfth.
Out front, Proud built a near straightaway lead in just four laps, but the race was halted by a yellow flag for rain, leading to a two-hour delay for track drying. When the race resumed in single-file order, Proud led LeVea Jr., Rayvals, Bruce, Abold, Gosek, Danzer, Sitterly, Shullick, Barnes, and Thompson. Shullick and Barnes both got by Danzer for eighth and ninth in the early going, while Proud continued to extend his lead out front.
Sitterly was next to turn up the pace, moving into sixth by passing Gosek on lap 16, and Shullick followed suit on the outside a lap later to take seventh. Bruce was also putting on a great show, driving around the outside of Rayvals for third on lap 23.
At the halfway mark, the order was Proud, LeVea Jr., Bruce, Rayvals, Abold, Sitterly, Shullick, and Barnes. Shortly after halfway, Abold then passed Rayvals on the outside for fourth, with Rayvals falling to fifth and soon sixth as Sitterly continued his charge, cracking the top five on lap 27. Otto next attempted to pass Abold for fourth but lost control exiting turn four on lap 28, fortunately escaping without any damage.
On the ensuing restart, Proud continued to lead, still trailed by LeVea Jr., Bruce, Abold, and Rayvals. Abold had an excellent restart, moving to the outside of Bruce and into third on lap 29, while Shullick passed Rayvals in the high groove to crack the top five. Abold then made a bold move for second around LeVea Jr. on lap 30 and began reeling in Proud for the lead.
Meanwhile, Bruce and Shullick were both battling LeVea Jr. for third, with Bruce looking to the outside and Shullick to the inside. This trio nearly went three-wide, but Bruce used a gutsy power move on the outside to stay ahead of both of them and hold onto third.
Abold had since caught and showed Proud a wheel on the outside with 16 laps to go, taking over the lead on lap 34. Over the next five laps, Bruce reeled in Proud and passed him on the outside for second, with Shullick following suit for third as the handling started to go away for the early race leader.
Things got complicated as the laps wound down with Abold encountering heavy lapped traffic with seven to go, giving Bruce a potential opportunity, but Abold navigated through it and was in clean air by lap 45. Meanwhile, Barnes also passed by Proud, who fell to fifth, with ‘The Hustler’ moving up to fourth.
On the final lap, Proud’s battle with a lapped car resulted in a wild three-wide finish for positions six through eight. LeVea Jr. held on for a fine sixth, while Sitterly and Proud split the lapped car at the line, with Sitterly finishing seventh by 0.052 seconds over Proud.
Out front, Abold secured the victory by several car lengths over Bruce. This marked the Triple Crown winner’s first victory at Oswego Speedway since the 2022 season, following a winless 2023 at the Steel Palace, but triumphing at the Sandusky Hy-Miler Nationals to complete the Triple Crown and also scoring a significant win at the Evans Mills Raceway Park John Burr Classic in September. This was also the first win with independent front suspension for Team Abold Racing’s 05 car after significant strides since the 2024 Season Opener.
Reflecting on his progress, Abold said, “I saw before that everybody was kind of hugging the bottom, getting a little bit loose. I saw that Mike Bruce was trying the outside. He was the first one to try it and kind of showed me the line up top. I saw it could stick, so I said, well, I’m going to give it a shot and try it, and sure enough, it did stick. I committed to making a run on the outside, had to get through lapped traffic, and then I was really happy to see clean air after that and just tried to finish it out. I’d like to thank A&P Automotive, Valvoline, Magic Wand Construction, D&D Fabrication, Barzee Auto Body, LaGraf’s Pub & Grill, everybody that’s helped us. I’ve got to thank my crew. They have worked their tails off since the offseason. We made a ton of changes to the car. We’ve gained and gained and gotten better every time. Had a bad start to the season, but second place last week and first place this week. There is no quit in these guys and girls, and this is such a redeeming, awesome feeling.”
Bruce, Shullick, Barnes, Thompson, LeVea Jr, Sitterly, Proud, Gosek and rookie Junior Farrelly filled in the top 10 finishing positions.
This Saturday night, June 29, Holiday Inn Express & Suites and NBT Bank of Oswego present the second Winged Super Challenge, Round 3 of John Nicotra’s five-race Challenge. The event is headlined by the 50-lap, $7,000 to win main event for ISMA/MSS Supermodifieds, marking the last chance to see Winged Supers at the Oswego Speedway in 2024. Full programs are also included for the Pathfinder Bank SBS and J&S Paving 350 divisions.
Stay connected with Oswego Speedway for more information. Visit OswegoSpeedway.com, follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@OswegoSpeedway), and Instagram (@OfficialOswegoSpeedway).
About Oswego Speedway: Oswego Speedway is a 5/8 mile semi-banked pavement racing oval located off the shores of Lake Ontario in scenic Oswego, NY. The 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 the Oswego Speedway making it the only weekly Supermodified racing venue in the world. The Small Block Supermodifieds and 350 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, two-time Indy 500 champion Gordon Johncock, and former International Classic Champions Bentley Warren, Joe Gosek, and Davey Hamilton.
RESULTS
Chase Enterprises Autograph Night
Novelis Supermodified 50
Saturday, June 22, 2024
Oswego Speedway
Oswego, NY
Feature (50-laps): 1. 05 JEFF ABOLD, 2. 22 Mike Bruce, 3. 95 Dave Shullick Jr, 4. 68 Michael Barnes, 5. 98T Tyler Thompson, 6. 83 Lou LeVea Jr, 7. 7 Otto Sitterly, 8. 54 Camden Proud, 9. 00 Joe Gosek, 10. 72JR ® Junior Farrelly, 11. 90 Jack Patrick, 12. 02 Brandon Bellinger, 13. 75 Brian Osetek, 14. 0 Tim Snyder, 15. 94 Logan Rayvals, 16. 52 Dave Danzer, 17. 20 ® Nick Snyder, 18. 66 Lou LeVea Sr.
Heat 1 (12-laps): 1. 94 Logan Rayvals, 2. 7 Otto Sitterly, 3. 95 Dave Shullick Jr, 4. 02 Brandon Bellinger, 5. 90 Jack Patrick, 6. 0 Tim Snyder
Heat 2 (12-laps): 1. 52 Dave Danzer, 2. 54 Camden Proud, 3. 68 Michael Barnes, 4. 75 Brian Osetek, 5. 20 ® Nick Snyder, 6. 66 Lou LeVea Sr.
Heat 3 (12-laps): 1. 00 Joe Gosek, 2. 05 Jeff Abold, 3. 22 Mike Bruce, 4. 83 Lou LeVea Jr, 5. 98T Tyler Thompson, 6. 72JR ® Junior Farrelly
Lighthouse Lanes Up & Comer ($100 bonus to the highest finishing driver who has never won a feature at Oswego Speedway): #83 Lou LeVea Jr.
D&S Landscaping Hard Charger ($25 bonus to the driver advancing the most positions): #98T Tyler Thompson