By Camden Proud
OSWEGO, NY (July 5, 2026) – There continues to be no stopping Otto Sitterly.
For the third consecutive race to open the 2026 Novelis Supermodified season, Sitterly charged from deep in the field to JP Jewelers Victory Lane Saturday night, slicing his way from the 12th starting position to score his third straight victory aboard the John Nicotra Racing No. 7 in the Burke’s Do It Best Home Centers of Oswego & Fulton Independence Day Spectacular.
The victory marked another milestone in one of the greatest careers in Oswego Speedway history. Sitterly’s triumph was his 50th career Novelis Supermodified feature victory and the 54th Supermodified win of his career at Oswego Speedway, including 50 tail wing, tail section, or shovel tail victories and four top wing triumphs. With his 53rd career victory on June 20, Sitterly officially moved past Eddie Bellinger Jr. for third on the Speedway’s all-time Supermodified win list and now trails only Bentley Warren and Jim Shampine among the winningest Supermodified drivers in Speedway history between both wing divisions.
Jack Patrick and Camden Proud, both heat race winners earlier in the evening, brought the 50-lap feature to the green flag from the front row. Proud, starting from the outside, edged ahead entering turn one while Patrick settled into second. Nick Snyder, fresh off the first heat race victory of his young Supermodified career, quickly moved into third with Logan Rayvals fourth and Jeff Abold fifth in the opening laps.
As the leaders completed lap two, Snyder made a strong move underneath Patrick to grab second. Rayvals followed him through a lap later, taking over third while Proud and Snyder began setting the pace out front.
Meanwhile, all eyes quickly turned to Josh Sokolic. Starting 14th, Sokolic wasted no time charging through the field. By just the fourth circuit he had already worked his way past Sitterly, Bob Reis, Tyler Thompson, Danny Connors, and Dave Danzer to climb into eighth.
One lap later, Sokolic got around Lou LeVea Jr. for seventh before immediately setting his sights on Brandon Bellinger for sixth, still with only five laps complete.
Out front, Proud continued to lead while Snyder and Rayvals battled for second. Snyder got a bit loose in turns three and four, allowing Rayvals to slip underneath and take over the runner-up position on lap seven before immediately beginning his pursuit of the race leader.
By the completion of lap eight, Sokolic’s impressive charge continued as he worked around Brandon Bellinger’s No. 02 for sixth before setting up Jeff Abold for a place inside the top five.
At the completion of 10 laps, Proud still held the point, but Rayvals had closed in on the No. 54. The lead pair had since opened a comfortable advantage over Snyder, who remained in third. Behind them, Patrick held fourth while Sokolic completed another impressive outside pass on Abold before lap 12 to move into the top five after starting 14th.
The leaders now stretched nearly a straightaway ahead of the field as Rayvals, of Brockville, Ontario, returned after a heavy crash on June 20, with the family-owned-No. 94 hooked up and applying heavy pressure to Proud.
Further back, Sokolic’s charge through the field signaled to Sitterly that it was time to go.
Sitterly responded by driving past both Bellinger and LeVea Jr. to climb into seventh behind sixth running Abold at lap 15. Just behind them, LeVea attempted to dive underneath Bellinger entering turns three and four. The two made contact, sending LeVea’s No. 83 around before backing slightly into the outside foam barrier. Both drivers were forced to pit with damage.
The caution reset the field with Proud still leading over Rayvals, Snyder, Patrick, Sokolic, Abold, Sitterly, Danzer, Connors, and Thompson.
On the restart, Proud initially maintained the lead, but Rayvals quickly mounted a challenge. Working to the outside between turns three and four, Rayvals completed the pass as the field completed lap 15 to become the new race leader. Proud slipped back to second while Snyder remained third.
Just behind them, Sokolic completed another pass, diving underneath Patrick to take fourth, while Sitterly also wasted no time on the restart himself, driving around Abold to move into sixth.
Proud then got up a bit wide in turns three and four, allowing Snyder – putting together by far the strongest Supermodified drive of his young career – to make another excellent move down the frontstretch to reclaim second. Sokolic followed Snyder through the opening as well, taking third and dropping the early race leader Proud back to fourth.
And quietly, Otto Sitterly had already climbed into the top five, getting around Patrick. Sitterly then made his next move, cruising to the inside of Proud down the frontstretch to take over fourth.
Just when it appeared Snyder was poised for the best run of his career, heartbreak struck on lap 18.
Running second and firmly inside the top five for yet another week, Snyder suffered rear-end failure on the Snyder Racing No. 0, ending another outstanding run in disappointing fashion. Despite the mechanical failure, Snyder again showed he has become a legitimate contender in the Novelis Supermodified field.
With Snyder’s misfortune, the running order for the ensuing restart now showed Rayvals leading Sokolic, Proud back in third, Sitterly fourth, and Patrick fifth. Connors, who had started dead last, had worked his way to sixth, followed by Abold, Danzer, Thompson, and Bellinger.
The restart provided another exciting battle for the lead.
Sokolic immediately shot to the outside of Rayvals entering turn three and made a tremendous move to take over the lead. At the same time, Sitterly wasted no time reclaiming a podium position, slipping past Proud for third before setting his sights on the new lead duo of Sokolic and Rayvals.
Rayvals settled into second, but before long Sitterly had closed rapidly on the pair as the front four pulled away considerably from the remainder of the field.
Sokolic now led the race, but Sitterly knew he could not waste any time.
Coming to complete lap 20, Sitterly pulled alongside Rayvals on the outside to take over second before closing onto the rear bumper of Sokolic heading down the backstretch.
Sitterly first looked to the outside of Sokolic entering turns three and four but couldn’t quite complete the pass. He tried again entering turns one and two, where he carried enough momentum around the outside to surge into the lead with 22 laps complete.
Once out front, Sitterly had the No. 7 Hawk Chassis on cruise control.
Behind him, Sokolic was now trying to fend off Rayvals for second while Proud continued his strong run in fourth, and Patrick having another great night, rounded out the top five. At halfway, the running order showed Sitterly, Sokolic, Rayvals, Proud, Patrick, followed by Connors, Danzer, Thompson, Bellinger, and LeVea Jr. in the top 10.
With 11 laps remaining, another caution slowed the field when Bob Reis was spun in turn three, collecting LeVea Jr. The No. 83 sustained heavy damage in the incident, while Reis was able to continue in the former Gosek No. 00 machine.
The restart with 11 laps to go lined the field up with Sitterly, Sokolic, Rayvals, Proud, Patrick, Connors, Danzer, Thompson, Bellinger, and Junior Farrelly.
On the restart, Sokolic made one final bid for the lead, diving to the inside of Sitterly, but he did not have enough to complete the pass. Sitterly maintained the point and quickly began stretching his advantage as the remainder of the top five spread out behind him.
Further back Connors continued to run sixth before developing nose wing issues on the No. 01 with fewer than 10 laps remaining. Danzer, who had been applying steady pressure on Connors, was finally able to race underneath him as the nose wing began to invert, causing Connors to lose significant pace before eventually pulling into the pits.
Danzer inherited sixth while Thompson advanced to seventh as Bellinger, Farrelly, and Reis completed the top 10.
Out front, however, there would be no denying Otto Sitterly.
Pulling away to win by more than a straightaway, Sitterly crossed the finish line for his third consecutive Novelis Supermodified victory to open the season, his milestone 50th career Novelis Supermodified feature victory and 54th overall Supermodified triumph at Oswego Speedway.
Sokolic completed an outstanding drive from the 14th starting position to finish second, while Rayvals capped the podium with a strong third-place finish. Proud and Patrick completed the top five finishers. Following the race, Sitterly reflected on another milestone evening in victory lane.
“It was pretty tough. It’s really hot, sticky and humid tonight. Young Josh Sokolic at the start – I was messing around with Tyler (Thompson) a little bit and next thing I knew this black and blue streak went flying by me and I said, ‘Oh no… that was my old car.’ So he did a great job coming through the field. It just looked like he got a little tight at the end, Logan (Rayvals) got tight, a bunch of guys were tight. We actually freed the car up just before the feature, and I guess it was the right thing to do, but with these conditions I wouldn’t have thought that you would have had to have done that, but it worked out.
“A couple shout outs to a couple different people…my grandson Clark turned three today. Hopefully he’s still awake and watching from home. Sorry we had to miss that deal today, but all my crew as well, my high school shop teacher Dave is here today for the first time in about 20 years. He came to see me run a couple more times, so it was really cool to see him and his son Mike, and then of course Johnny Nicotra, and my wife. This really never gets old and it definitely does not come easy – ever.”
The Novelis Supermodifieds return to action Saturday, July 18 as part of Bike Giveaway, Autograph, and Mascot Night presented by JP Jewelers and Rupert’s Party Rentals. It will be DOUBLE FEATURE night for the Novelis Supermodifieds, with a huge evening on tap featuring Twin 40-lap main events.
RESULTS
Burke’s Do It Best Home Centers of Oswego & Fulton
Independence Day Spectacular
Novelis Supermodifieds
Saturday, July 4, 2026
Oswego Speedway
Oswego, NY
Feature (50-laps): 1. 7 – OTTO SITTERLY, 2. 6 – Josh Sokolic, 3. 94 – Logan Rayvals, 4. 54 – Camden Proud, 5. 90 – Jack Patrick, 6. 52 – Dave Danzer, 7. 98T – Tyler Thompson, 8. O2 – Brandon Bellinger, 9. 72JR – Junior Farrelly, 10. 4 – Bob Reis, 11. O1 – Dan Connors Jr, 12. 83 – Lou LeVea Jr, 13. O5 – Jeff Abold, 14. 0 – Nick Snyder, 15. 11 – Aric Iosue, 16. 95 – Dave Shullick Jr, 17 – O9 Bob Bogwicz (DNS)
Heat 1 (10-laps): 1. 0 – Nick Snyder, 2. 94 – Logan Rayvals, 3. 52 – Dave Danzer, 4. 11 – Aric Iosue, 5. 72JR – Junior Farrelly, 6. 95 – Dave Shullick Jr
Heat 2 (10-laps): 1. 90 – Jack Patrick, 2. 7 – Otto Sitterly, 3. O2 – Brandon Bellinger, 4. 4 – Bob Reis, 5. 6 – Josh Sokolic, 6. O9 – Bob Bogwicz (DNS)
Heat 3 (10-laps): 1. 54 – Camden Proud, 2. O5 – Jeff Abold, 3. 98T – Tyler Thompson, 4. 83 – Lou LeVea Jr, 5. O1 – Dan Connors Jr
JP Jewelers Halfway Leader ($100 bonus to the leader of lap 25): #7 Otto Sitterly
Lighthouse Lanes Up & Comer ($50 bonus to the highest finishing driver who has never won a feature at Oswego Speedway): #90 Jack Patrick
D&S Landscaping Hard Charger ($25 to the driver advancing the most positions): #6 Josh Sokolic