By Camden Proud
OSWEGO, NY (November 24, 2025) – The Pathfinder Bank SBS division will honor one of its most influential builders and fabricators when Oswego Speedway opens its 2026 season on Saturday, May 30. The division’s season opener will be highlighted by the Ray Hedger Memorial, a 33-lap, $1,333-to-win special presented by Salmon River Maple Products and Maplewood Bar & Grill, paying tribute to the late car builder who passed away in September. The 33-lap distance serves as a nod to the Hedger family’s longtime No. 33 Modified, driven for many years by Ray’s brother, Randy.
Hedger’s chassis played a defining role in the growth and success of the SBS division. His cars carried some of the class’s most accomplished drivers, including SBS “grand champion” Russ Brown. Brown earned five Pathfinder Bank SBS track championships, four of them in Hedger-built machines, highlighted by a three-year title run in 2005, 2006, and 2007. In total, Hedger cars accounted for thirteen SBS championships at Oswego Speedway. Brown later added another title with the new Hedger house car in 2013. Brown has expressed interest in competing in the memorial race and has already received multiple offers from car owners for the event.
The special is presented through the efforts of SBS veteran Darrick Hilton, driver of the No. 66 SBS. Hilton is supporting the race through his business, Salmon River Maple Products, which produces small-batch maple syrup and a wide selection of maple goods available online at www.salmonrivermp.com. Additional support comes from Hilton’s sister Patty and partner Frank Bell, and the family’s newest venture, Maplewood Bar & Grill, which will soon open at the former location of Zebb’s Bar & Grill in Mattydale, NY.
“I feel it is important that Ray is honored,” Hilton said. “Ray helped so many of us in racing. His dedication to the sport created extraordinary results. He turned persistence into progress while teaching us all that integrity is not spoken, it is lived. I cannot think of a better way for us all to thank Ray than with a memorial race at Oswego Speedway.”
Special tributes are planned as part of the program. Hedger’s son, Brian, will be invited to wave the green flag for the memorial. Several vintage Modifieds restored and maintained over the years by Dick Clark, Ray Hedger, and Randy Hedger will be displayed at the Speedway’s main entrance courtesy of the Classic Asphalt Modified Series. Additional bonuses and contingencies for competitors are expected to be announced as the event approaches.
The Ray Hedger Memorial will be part of a full Opening Day program to launch the Speedway’s 75th Anniversary Season. The card also includes the first of two 2026 appearances by the Winged ISMA/MSS/Oswego Novelis Supermodifieds with the running of the first John Nicotra Oswego Super Challenge Race, a 50-lap feature for the top-wing Supers. The Oswego County Tourism 350 Super Season Opener, a 30-lap special, will round out the night. The following weekend, as in years past, the Novelis Supermodified Jim Shampine Memorial 60 and Pathfinder Bank SBS Tony White Memorial 35 will again run together, with the 350 Supers also part of the program.
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