Information By: CAMDEN PROUD / OSWEGO SPEEDWAY – OSWEGO, NY – Defending Oswego Speedway track champion Dave Shullick Jr. parked the Futuri Media, John Nicotra Racing No. 2 machine in victory lane for his second straight Opening Night checkered in the first of two Jim Shampine Memorial twin feature events contested this past Saturday.
Chris Perley brought Oswego Speedway to its feet last night when the ‘Rowley Rocket,’ the most successful winged Supermodified driver of all-time at the speedway, drove to his first ever non-wing victory in the second Jim Shampine Memorial Twin 50.
Shullick, of North Ridgeville, O.H., won last year’s season opener to rebound after running out of fuel while leading the 2017 Budweiser International Classic 200.
This year, ‘The Shoe 2’ was singing a different tune as the defending Classic champ had all the confidence in the world approaching Oswego’s 68th season and also a new crew chief in longtime Supermodified fine tuner Jim Paternoster.
It appears as though the new combination is working quite well as Shullick drove from sixth place to the lead in the early stages and never looked back.
“The car was really good all day,” Shullick said post-race. “The changes we made over the winter really seemed to improve it. Jim (Paternoster) and I work really well together. Today was excellent.”
Dave Gruel and Dave Danzer made up the front row for the first feature with Danzer jumping out to the early lead in the No. 52.
Gruel quickly faded back out of the top three as fourth starting Otto Sitterly moved into second right away in the former Moriarty No. 51 turned Nicotra Racing No. 7.
Danzer lead early on with Sitterly giving chase, but soon the car on the move was Shullick from sixth.
Sitterly pushed high off turn two leaving the low lane open for Shullick who took advantage and marched into second.
By just a mere few laps later, Shullick drove around the outside of Danzer to take the lead.
At the same time, seventh and eighth starting Michael Barnes and Keith Shampine had also gotten by Sitterly to move into third and fourth before a handful of cautions set up opportunity for some of the front runners to pressure Shullick for the victory.
The caution flag flew for the first time on lap 10 when Bill Sharkey went around in the Shark Motorsports No. 71 over in number one.
This caution stacked the field up again allowing Barnes and Shampine to close in on Danzer as well as give Sitterly the chance to stick with the top four as he had since fallen back to fifth.
Barnes gave it everything he had, but all race long, Shullick just continued to run away on the restarts.
Rookie Nathan Schultzkie had a tire blow on the UniFi No. 26 and backed it into the turn 2 wall on lap 18.
Another yellow flag was thrown on lap 21 when Lou LeVea Jr. spun out going down the frontstretch and into the first turn.
Seven more laps were completed before Dan Connors Jr. had mechanical problems on the No. 01 and came to a sudden halt on the frontstretch, collecting rookie Tyler Thompson and causing minor damage to the Team Tapout No. 98T.
During the lap 28 caution, Gruel also went to the pits showing smoke out of the U-Pull U-Save No. 50 machine and pulled the car in nose first.
On lap 29, Barnes was finally able to make his way by the No. 52 of Danzer on the restart to take over second.
Danzer then got a bit out of shape six circuits later on lap 35 allowing Shampine and Sitterly by as well to take over the third and fourth spots.
Even with another yellow on lap 40 for Jeff Abold, who had fire coming out of the No. 05 down the backstraightaway, Shullick was still too much for the No. 68 of Barnes.
Barnes said,” We are in a much better direction than last year. The car was great, we just weren’t quite aggressive enough on the setup. We have a better idea of what way to go and I’m real happy with second to DJ, but we didn’t have anything for him.”
Shullick pulled away from Barnes, Shampine, Sitterly and Danzer in the top five to run away with the first Jim Shampine Memorial Twin and was ecstatic to be back in victory lane after five main event victories last season.
“After today we know what our baselines are and what we need to have ready to go for the rest of these races,” Shullick stated. “I’m looking forward to coming back in two weeks and want to say thanks to Futuri Media for coming onboard this year. They are a great company and I’m happy to put them in victory lane.”
Brandon Bellinger, Joe Gosek, Chris Perley, Aric Iosue, and Dan Bowes completed the top ten.
Bowes’ top ten effort was put together as part of the ISMA regular’s first ever non-wing main event at Oswego.
Lou LeVea Sr, LeVea Jr. and Hal LaTulip were the last cars on the track in eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth, while Abold, Dave McKnight, Gruel, Connors, Thompson, Schultzkie, and Sharkey all did not finish.
LeVea Sr. was the hard charger for driving from twentieth to eleventh while Bowes was the up and comer in his first ever Novelis Supermodified start.
Heat wins for the night went to Perley, Shullick, and Sitterly.
Driving the Vic Miller owned No. 44 Hawk Chassis, which is the same car he won the Jack Murphy Memorial King of Wings ISMA event with on Memorial Day Weekend a year ago, Perley won his heat race to start off the evening and drove to a seventh place effort in the first Twin 50.
Perley’s finish in the first twin allowed an open draw to be held for his starting spot in twin number two which wound up being the third spot and that soon paid off for the Rowley, M.A. driver.
Polesitter Joe Gosek beat second place starting Aric Iosue for the lead heading into turn 1 with Gosek leading the first six circuits with relative ease.
Although Gosek had a fairly large lead, Perley soon took second from Iosue and was beginning to give chase to the leader when a parts failure in the right rear of the No. 00 sent ‘00 Joe’ around off of turn four.
Gosek, who was a favorite to win the second twin 50, just as soon found himself out of the action after lap five.
On the ensuing restart, ninth starting Shullick tried to go way to the outside and got caught in the marbles in turn three, sending the No. 2 car into the foam with heavy force. DJ was unharmed, but done for the night after winning the first Twin 50.
The race really got going on lap 7, and so did Perley, as the Shea Concrete No. 44 took off ahead of Iosue, Bellinger, Danzer, Sitterly, Barnes, and Shampine.
By the halfway point, Bellinger and Iosue began to fade backwards into seventh as Danzer took over second.
It appeared early on as if Barnes may have something for the top three after finishing second in the earlier twin, but instead Dave Gruel, in a great recovery effort after dropping out of the first 50 lapper, drove by the No. 68 after starting fifteenth to charge inside the top five.
Barnes remained in sixth while Bellinger dropped from fourth to seventh with Danzer still in second for the moment, but the car on the move at that point was Shampine.
Shampine got by Sitterly for third, Danzer for second, and then began to give chase to Perley in the closing stages.
By lap 40, Shampine was right there on the back bumper of the No. 44.
Perley was feeling the pressure, and on lap 43, he slipped up just enough to allow the No. 55 past, but Shampine’s lead was negated due to a spinning Iosue. He was not able to regain the top spot.
Shampine, last year’s race winner and third place finisher in the first twin, said, “There’s definitely a little disappointment in getting the lead and then having a yellow come out, so it’s mixed emotions, but we are very happy with the two podiums. I think we were the only driver to do that tonight, so it’s something I’m proud of.”
With seven laps to go, the restart made the difference for Perley as he sailed to a popular victory; the tenth of his career at Oswego and the first in non-wing competition.
“I’m overwhelmed to win without a wing. I just can’t believe it,” Perley said. “ I never dreamt that I would win this quick in this car. I seriously was hoping for a top five in one of the races and that’s it, I would’ve been happy. Shampine showed me a wheel underneath and I can’t believe he didn’t get me back. I just tried to not spin out, not do anything stupid and ran my ass off. I’m amazed. It was a lot of fun. This is a great place and a great club to be in to win with and without the wing. Just awesome.”
Sitterly, on the other hand, is still in search for his first checkered flag since September of 2015, but driving the former Moriarty No. 51 as opposed to his regular No. 7 ride, the seven time speedway champion showed he is certainly on the right track with two top four finishes to start off the season.
“It was a good start tonight,” Sitterly commented. “We learned a little bit on the 51, but have some work to do on the (blue) 7 car, but we’re all good. It was coming at the end of the second twin, I think we had something for them. It really is just tough sledding out there.”
With Perley, Shampine and Sitterly making up the podium, Danzer and Gruel finished off the top five.
Barnes and Bellinger finished sixth and seventh while Bill Sharkey drove to a very solid eighth place effort in the No. 71.
Dan Bowes, an ISMA regular, finished ninth after a tenth place run earlier in the evening to score top tens in each of his first two non-wing starts at Oswego.
Iosue recovered for a tenth place finish.
Rookie Tyler Thompson and Lou LeVea Sr. were the last cars on the track in eleventh and twelfth while Hal LaTulip, Nate Schultzkie, Gosek, Shullick, Dan Connors Jr, Lou LeVea Jr, and Dave McKnight all did not finish or did not start due to issues from earlier in the evening or a crash in the second twin.
Sharkey was the D&S Landscaping Hard Charger and Lighthouse Lanes Up and Comer after advancing eleven spots from nineteenth to eighth.
Heat wins for the night went to Perley, Shullick, and Sitterly.
68th Annual Opening Day presented by Holiday Inn Express & Suites
Supermodifieds
Jim Shampine Memorial Twin #1 (50-laps): 1. 2 Dave Shullick Jr, 2. 68 Michael Barnes, 3. 55 Keith Shampine, 4. 7 Otto Sitterly, 5. 52 Dave Danzer, 6. 02 Brandon Bellinger, 7. 00 Joe Gosek, 8. 44 Chris Perley, 9. 11 Aric Iosue, 10. 25 Dan Bowes, 11. 66 Lou LeVea Sr, 12. 83 Lou LeVea Jr, 13. 56 Hal LaTulip, 14. 05 Jeff Abold, 15. 70 Dave McKnight Jr, 16. 50 Dave Gruel, 17. 01 Dan Connors Jr, 18. 98 Tyler Thompson, 19. 26 Nathan Schultzkie, 20. 71 Bill Sharkey
Heat 1 (10-laps): 1. 44 Chris Perley, 2. 02 Brandon Bellinger, 3. 55 Keith Shampine, 4. 70 Dave McKnight Jr, 5. 11 Aric Iosue, 6. 83 Lou LeVea Jr.
Heat 2 (10-laps): 1. 2 Dave Shullick Jr, 2. 01 Dan Connors Jr, 3. 50 Dave Gruel, 4. 05 Jeff Abold, 5. 98 Tyler Thompson, 6. 25 Dan Bowes, 7. 56 Hal LaTulip
Heat 3 (10-laps): 1. 7 Otto Sitterly, 2. 68 Michael Barnes, 3. 52 Dave Danzer, 4. 71 Bill Sharkey, 5. 00 Joe Gosek, 6. 26 Nathan Schultzkie, 7. 66 Lou LeVea Sr.
Group Time Trials: 1. 55 Keith Shampine – 16.216, 2. 68 Michael Barnes – 16.261, 3. 2 Dave Shullick Jr. – 16.300, 4. 02 Brandon Bellinger – 16.486, 5. 7 Otto Sitterly – 16.583, 6. 05 Jeff Abold – 16.647, 7. 11 Aric Iosue – 16.690, 8. 52 Dave Danzer – 16.761, 9. 50 Dave Gruel – 16.774, 10. 44 Chris Perley – 16.800, 11. 98 Tyler Thompson – 16.822, 12. 25 Dan Bowes – 17.061, 13. 01 Dan Connors Jr. – 17.074, 14. 70 Dave McKnight – 17.117, 15. 71 Bill Sharkey – 17.615, 16. 83 Lou LeVea Jr. – 17.726, 17. 56 Hal LaTulip – 18.176
Jim Shampine Memorial Twin #2 (50-laps): 1. 44 Chris Perley, 2. 55 Keith Shampine, 3. 7 Otto Sitterly, 4. 52 Dave Danzer, 5. 50 Dave Gruel, 6. 68 Michael Barnes, 7. 02 Brandon Bellinger, 8. 71 Bill Sharkey, 9. 25 Dan Bowes, 10. 11 Aric Iosue, 11. 98 Tyler Thompson, 12. 66 Lou LeVea Sr, 13. 56 Hal LaTulip, 14. 26 Nathan Schultzkie, 15. 00 Joe Gosek, 16. 2 Dave Shullick Jr, 17. 01 Dan Connors Jr, 18. 83 Lou LeVea Jr, 19. 05 Jeff Abold DNS – 70 Dave McKnight
Heat 1 (10-laps): 1. 44 Chris Perley, 2. 02 Brandon Bellinger, 3. 55 Keith Shampine, 4. 70 Dave McKnight Jr, 5. 11 Aric Iosue, 6. 83 Lou LeVea Jr.
Heat 2 (10-laps): 1. 2 Dave Shullick Jr, 2. 01 Dan Connors Jr, 3. 50 Dave Gruel, 4. 05 Jeff Abold, 5. 98 Tyler Thompson, 6. 25 Dan Bowes, 7. 56 Hal LaTulip
Heat 3 (10-laps): 1. 7 Otto Sitterly, 2. 68 Michael Barnes, 3. 52 Dave Danzer, 4. 71 Bill Sharkey, 5. 00 Joe Gosek, 6. 26 Nathan Schultzkie, 7. 66 Lou LeVea Sr.
Group Time Trials: 1. 55 Keith Shampine – 16.216, 2. 68 Michael Barnes – 16.261, 3. 2 Dave Shullick Jr. – 16.300, 4. 02 Brandon Bellinger – 16.486, 5. 7 Otto Sitterly – 16.583, 6. 05 Jeff Abold – 16.647, 7. 11 Aric Iosue – 16.690, 8. 52 Dave Danzer – 16.761, 9. 50 Dave Gruel – 16.774, 10. 44 Chris Perley – 16.800, 11. 98 Tyler Thompson – 16.822, 12. 25 Dan Bowes – 17.061, 13. 01 Dan Connors Jr. – 17.074, 14. 70 Dave McKnight – 17.117, 15. 71 Bill Sharkey – 17.615, 16. 83 Lou LeVea Jr. – 17.726, 17. 56 Hal LaTulip – 18.176
Small Block Supers
Tony White Memorial (35-laps): 1. 50 Dave Cliff, 2. 13 Russ Brown, 3. 1 Anthony Losurdo, 4. 9 Jack Patrick, 5. 37 Jesse Bearup, 6. 54 Camden Proud, 7. 27 Dave LaTulip, 8. 77 Cameron Rowe, 9. 23 Cameron Black, 10. 91 Barry Kingsley, 11. 8 Josh Kerr, 12. 26 Joshua Sokolic, 13. 90 Greg O’Connor, 14. 67 Tyler Shullick, 15. 12 Dennis Richmond, 16. 15 James Babcock, 17. 22 Mike Bruce, 18. 32 Steve Flack 19. 94 Tim Glidden Jr, 20. 74 Mike Bond, 21. 00M Dan Kapuscinski, 22. 88 Tyler Henry, 23. 01 Dalton Doyle
Heat 1 (10-laps):1. 74 Mike Bond, 2. 67 Tyler Shullick, 3. 50 Dave Cliff, 4. 91 Barry Kingsley, 5. 12 Dennis Richmond, 6. 32 Steve Flack, 7. 15 James Babcock, 8. 90 Greg O’Connor
Heat 2 (10-laps): 1. 27 Dave LaTulip, 2 00M Dan Kapuscinski, 3. 9 Jack Patrick, 4. 54 Camden Proud, 5. 23 Cameron Black, 6. 77 Cameron Rowe, 7. 26 Joshua Sokolic, 8. 88 Tyler Henry
Heat 3 (10-laps): 1. 37 Jesse Bearup, 2. 01 Dalton Doyle, 3. 13 Russ Brown, 4. 22 Mike Bruce, 5. 1 Anthony Losurdo, 6. 8 Josh Kerr, 7 .94 Tim Glidden Jr.
Group Time Trials: 1. 74 Mike Bond – 18.535, 2. 13 Russ Brown – 18.587, 3. 77 Cameron Rowe – 18.637, 4. 50 Dave Cliff – 18.714, 5. 1 Anthony Losurdo – 18.731, 6. 54 Camden Proud – 18.734, 7. 67 Tyler Shullick – 18.771, 8. 37 Jesse Bearup – 18.794, 9. 00M Dan Kapuscinski – 18.797, 10. 90 Greg O’Connor – 18.846, 11. 01 Dalton Doyle – 18.879, 12. 9 Jack Patrick – 18.956, 13. 15 James Babcock – 19.069, 14. 22 Mike Bruce – 19.113, 15. 27 Dave LaTulp – 19.122, 16. 91 Barry Kingsley – 19.259, 17. 8 Josh Kerr – 19.385, 18. 23 Cameron Black – 19.398, 19. 26 Joshua Sokolic – 19.469, 20. Dennis Richmond – 19.509, 21. 94 Tim Glidden Jr. – 20.248, 22. 32 Steve Flack – 20.567, 23. 88 Tyler Henry – 20.603
