Story By: CAMDEN PROUD / OSWEGO SPEEDWAY – OSWEGO, NY – One of the most anticipated events on Oswego Speedway’s 2018 schedule will commence this Saturday, July 21 as Best Western Plus Captain’s Quarters and Quality Inn & Suites Riverfront of Oswego will present race fans with the 32nd running of Mr. Novelis Supermodified and the 27th running of Mr. Pathfinder Bank SBS.
A full field of Supermodified racing’s biggest stars is assembling in search of the $10,000 top prize on Saturday night with over 25 cars expected for the historic main event, which has notably returned to a distance of 75 laps this season.
Joining Novelis Supermodified championship hopefuls Otto Sitterly, Keith Shampine, Michael Barnes, and Dave Shullick Jr. in the fray will be track regulars Dave Danzer, Aric Iosue, Brandon Bellinger, Dan Connors Jr, Dave Gruel, Joe Gosek, and Jeff Abold, who will all be searching for their first victory of the 2018 season come Saturday night.
In addition, Mr. Supermodified has always brought out a few different faces to the pit area and this year’s edition will be no exception as Oswego Speedway Hall of Famer Doug Didero will return to the track this Saturday night in a brand new car built by John Colloca.
Didero, the 1995 Mr. Supermodified champion, will go head to head with another former IndyCar campaigner, Davey Hamilton, who will again pilot the Nicotra Racing No. 6 this weekend.
Hamilton last competed in the Independence Weekend ‘Grand Prix’ back on June 30, while Saturday will mark Didero’s first race since the 2009 International Classic.
Other drivers expected in the field for Saturday night that have competed at the speedway part time this season include Canadian campaigner and 2017 Supermodified Rookie of the Year Logan Rayvals.
Joining Rayvals and coming in all the way from Chicago is Shaun Gosselin, who proved that his reworked No. 77 Hawk Chassis has a ton of speed in this past Saturday night’s ‘Summer Championship’ when the former Oswego feature winner clocked off 16.3 second laps in practice.
Jeff West made his comeback to the speedway last season for the first time in well over a decade piloting a proven Hawk Chassis formerly part of the Muldoon Racing stable that has since been entirely reworked by Supermodified veteran Jerry Curran.
This past winter, Curran sold his familiar No. 24 and purchased the former Jeff Holbrook No. 35 built by Brian Alegresso.
The car was most recently driven by Bob Magner in 2016, but Curran hopes to test with it on Friday and compete with his teammate West come Saturday.
Also returning Saturday night behind the wheel of the familiar No. 0 is the ‘Zero Hero,’ Tim Snyder, who has been absent thus far in 2018 while moving his family back to Central New York. Rookie Brent Murray has done a fantastic job filling in for the 2001 International Classic champion, but Snyder will be back at the controls this weekend.
Throw Supermodified veterans Bill Sharkey, Hal LaTulip, Lou LeVea Sr, Lou LeVea Jr and Roger Clark into the mix plus impressive rookies Nathan Schultzkie and Tyler Thompson and Saturday night’s action will surely provide all the thrills and spills ‘Mr. Supermodified’ has become known to offer.
Race night presenting sponsors Best Western Plus Captain’s Quarters and Quality Inn & Suites Riverfront of Oswego are located on East 1st Street on the beautiful Oswego River and offer breathtaking views of the Oswego Harbor and Lake Ontario. Within walking distance from local shopping, fishing, parks, Fort Ontario, and the Marine Museum, Best Western/Quality Inn is your riverfront home away from home.
The host location of the Oswego Speedway banquet open with seating for up to 600 people is the Lake Ontario Event and Conference Center. Located within the Best Western Plus Captain’s Quarters, the conference center offers an expansive menu, breakout meeting rooms, and of course its adjoining lakeview restaurant and bar ‘Alex’s on the Water.’
To find more information on either the Best Western or Quality Inn, be sure to visit online at BayshoreGrove.com/LOCC.
For Saturday’s can’t miss event, pit gates will open at 3pm, grandstands will open with the start of hot laps at 4:30pm, time trials will hit the track at 6:15pm, and racing is set to take the green at 6:45pm.
