Story By: CAMDEN PROUD / OSWEGO SPEEDWAY – OSWEGO, NY – Motorsports veteran Ken Moody Jr. has purchased the former Ray Sand Jr. No. 71 Small Block Supermodified and is now the first rookie registered on the 2019 Pathfinder Bank SBS Series roster.
Moody, who is originally from Oswego and currently resides in New Jersey, says it has been a lifelong dream of his to compete at the Oswego Speedway. He will finally be able to live out that dream on a full-time basis in 2019.
“Growing up in Oswego was special as a kid,” Moody recalled. “Having the Oswego Speedway in my backyard and hearing the cars go around the track was exciting. I raced gigs with my friends almost everyday and dreamt of racing at Oswego Speedway after seeing my heroes Jim Shampine, Fred Graves and Doug Heveron achieve so much success.”
Despite attending Oswego events regularly throughout his childhood, Moody’s first racing experience instead came in the state of Florida and later in New Jersey, where he wound up racing several different types of cars on both the dirt and pavement.
“After moving to Florida, I raced many different types of cars. Everything from Karts at Volusia Speedway Park to Super Late Models, Sprint Cars and Mini Cup Cars at New Smyrna Speedway with great success,” Moody explained. “Then I moved to New Jersey and raced an Xcel 600 Modified on the dirt.”
Moody did have one shot to race at Oswego for the 2009 Bud Light Classic 75, but decided not to attempt qualification for the event due to lack of comfortability behind the wheel of the car. He is looking forward to a new opportunity in 2019 behind the wheel of a very capable Ray Hedger built machine.
“Today I have a resurgence of faith, eagerness and desire to achieve my childhood fantasy as becoming a 50 year old rookie at Oswego Speedway,” he said. With the technical experience from my crew chief Eric Howell and the total support of my loving wife Lydia, we hope to climb to the top of the greatness of which these drivers have and take our car to victory lane in 2019.”
Oswego To Attend Finger Lakes Speed World, Syracuse Motorsports Expo In March
Oswego Speedway will have a booth at two area race shows set to take place on March 2 and 3 and then again the following weekend on March 9 and 10.
Representatives from the speedway will first head to the Finger Lakes Mall in Auburn, NY this weekend for the annual Finger Lakes Speed World show before setting up shop at the New York State Fairgrounds for the 33rd Syracuse Motorsports Expo the following Saturday and Sunday.
At both shows, track employees will be passing out 2019 season schedules, information regarding new rules packages, and selling official merchandise amongst other activities.
Driver autograph sessions and interactive interviews are planned as part of the Syracuse Motorsports Expo plus merchandise giveaways along with the opportunity for fans to go home with a pair of passes to a 2019 Oswego Speedway event.
Merchandise will be on sale at both shows including the remaining Bentley Warren Hall of Fame Legend Series t-shirts. A video recap from the 2018 season will be played at the Oswego Speedway booth throughout each event.
This weekend’s two day show in Auburn will be held from 10am to 9pm on Saturday and 10am to 6pm on Sunday. Admission is free to mall patrons.
The 33rd Syracuse Motorsports Expo, which will be held in conjunction with the Syracuse edition of the Indoor Auto Racing Championship, will run from Saturday, March 9 to Sunday, March 10.
Admission to this year’s Motorsports Expo will be $13 for adults, $5 for kids 6-12 years of age, and FREE for children under the age of 5. A two day pass is available for $20. Expo hours will be 10am to 8pm on Saturday and 11am to 4pm on Sunday.
Joey Payne and Tyler Thompson, two current drivers in the Novelis Supermodified ranks, are signed up to partake in TQ Midget action inside the Fairgrounds’ all new Exposition Center. Former Oswego feature winner Lou Cicconi has also filed an entry for the event.
Track management is offering incentives to teams who are able bring a race ready car to either show. The car must appear updated with 2019 rules, have the new Supermodified wing mounted, etc. Any team that is able to attend either show is asked to contact Paul Conzone at oswegospeedway@gmail.com.
Continued details regarding the autograph sessions and giveaways planned for the Syracuse show will be announced in the coming days.
Oswego Speedway’s 69th season of racing gets underway on Saturday, May 25 with Jim Shampine Memorial Twin 50 features for the Novelis Supermodifieds plus full programs for the Pathfinder Bank Small Block Supers and the 350 Supermodifieds.
An Open Practice session for all 2019 divisions will commence one week earlier on Saturday, May 18.