Story By: CAMDEN PROUD / OSWEGO SPEEDWAY – OSWEGO, NY – For yet another season, Oswego Speedway will again offer $200 Fast Friday testing as well as track rentals to all competitors and divisions on the track’s 2018 schedule.
Any Supermodified, Small Block Supermodified, ISMA Supermodified, 350 Supermodified, or Tour-Type Modified team may enter into any of the ten Fast Friday sessions scheduled between the months of May and August.
All Fast Friday sessions are scheduled to be ran from 4 to 8pm on Fridays prior to race weekends in 2018 and dates include May 25, June 8, June 15, June 29, July 6, July 13, July 20, August 3, August 10, and August 17.
The cost to join any of these ten Fast Friday dates is just $200 per car and includes unlimited track time within that four hours and free admission to the pit area for the driver and any crew members.
Track rentals will also be available for the 2018 season along with the return of special rentals during Bud Classic Week from August 27 to August 30.
For any regular season track rental, the price is $1,500 per car. Rentals may be set up on any given date or time per request.
Classic Week track rentals will be reduced to the Friday rate of $200. Slots include August 27, August 28, August 29, and August 30 all from 4 to 8pm.
A handful of drivers have already signed up for the first Fast Friday of the season including Dave Shullick Jr, Otto Sitterly, Michael Barnes, and Tim Glidden Jr.
To sign yourself or your team up for a testing session in 2018, please call the speedway at (315)-342-0646 or email oswegospeedway@gmail.com.
Handicapping Procedures Announced For Jim Shampine Memorial Twin 50’s
Just over a week from Opening Day, Oswego Speedway officials have released the handicapping procedure for the inaugural running of the Jim Shampine Memorial Twin 50’s for the Supermodifieds scheduled for next Saturday, May 26.
‘Twin’ feature events have a rich history at the ‘Steel Palace’ and the duel 50-lappers set for next weekend will mark the first ever event of its kind at Oswego since 1972.
The Twins began in 1970 as 50-lappers and remained as such through the ‘72 season before Triple 33’s and Twin 30’s were added to the schedule in 1973.
By 1975, the traditional Twin 35’s had taken over and were contested at least once a year until the completion of the 1998 season. The twins did not return in any form for 1999.
In 2002, the twins were back again, this time in 30-lap form and remained on the schedule until 2005.
For 2006 and 2007, once again, no twin shows were held, but the first ever edition of the ‘Twin 45’s’ got the green flag in 2008 just before the track returned with Twin 30’s only a mere handful of weeks later in August of that season.
2009 and 2010 each saw twin events on the schedule with Twin 30’s in ‘09 and then the return of the 45’s in 2010.
For three more years, the twins were not included on the schedule although a ‘Twin 50’ race was held in June of 2013 to makeup for a rained out feature earlier in the season.
By June of 2014, finally, the Twin 35’s had returned and remained intact on the speedway’s schedule for the past four seasons.
With Twin 50’s scheduled for May 26 and Twin 35’s on June 16, the 2018 schedule will mark the first time since ‘08 that two separate twin events have been contested in one season at Oswego Speedway.
It’s only fitting that the first Twin 50 show since 1972 receives the ‘Shampine’ name on its back, as the ‘8-Ball’ was dominant throughout twin events in Shampine’s career with 17 total twin victories.
The handicapping and race procedure for this year’s Twin 50’s is brand new and sure to excite Oswego fans and teams.
Oswego commitment cars will be guaranteed $1,400 minimum for the event while non-commitment cars will be guaranteed $1,100 minimum.
For both Twin 50’s, all cars must run the same three stenciled right front, left rear, and right rear tires for time trials, the heat race, and both feature events.
If you have a damaged tire, you must use a previously run tire and start last in both main events.
The handicapping procedure will begin just like any other race night on Oswego Speedway’s 2018 schedule.
All cars will time trial in open pit format for 15 minutes. Points will be awarded 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Heats will be inverted 18-24 based on car count.
The top four finishers in each heat will receive their time back. Fast time will draw one number from 1-12 and race directors will invert that number drawn for the first Twin 50.
For the second twin, the lineup will be based on the starting position of the first feature. Finishing positions 1-6 in the first feature will start 7-12 in the second feature. The winner of the first Twin 50 will start 12th and 6th place will start 7th.
Finishing positions 7-12 in the first feature will redraw positions 1-6 for the second feature. All six cars will draw for their positions.
13th place in the first feature will start 13th in the second feature with the remaining first feature finishers starting in their same position for the second feature. The winner of the second feature will start no better than 12th at the next event they attend.
The new handicapping procedure makes it just as good as “anyone’s guess” as to who will find victory lane in Jim Shampine’s honor next weekend.
Oswego Speedway’s 68th season opens this Saturday, May 19 with the track’s annual open practice session set from 1-5pm. Grandstand admission will be FREE to the public.
Racing action at Oswego Speedway begins on Saturday, May 26 with Holiday Inn Express ‘Opening Day’ highlighted by the Jim Shampine Memorial Twin 50’s for the Novelis Supermodifieds along with the Tony White Memorial 35 for the Pathfinder Bank SBS. To purchase tickets, please call the box office at (315)-342-0646.
