Story By: CAMDEN PROUD / OSWEGO SPEEDWAY – OSWEGO, NY – Defending Speedway champion Dave Shullick Jr. broke a continuous string of bad luck to score the first victory of 2022 for the Osetek Racing Technologies team, and the 16th Oswego Supermodified checkered flag of his career on Saturday night.
Shullick, who had yet to finish in the top five this season prior to the win, started in third, and after Tim Snyder led the opening lap, ‘The Shoe 2’ made his move for the lead, taking command of the 75-lap Independence Grand Prix in a dominant performance the No. 95 team.
“The car was really good early, but we blistered a right front tire, which is really a new one for me,” mentioned Shullick. “The car got pretty tight towards the end and I was worried they were going to get me. I felt like a sitting duck in traffic, but out front by myself I was alright. On that last restart, I spun the tires down the back stretch, and then spun them again out of four. I couldn’t drive in real deep because the car wouldn’t turn so I had to back the corner up, jump on the throttle to get it to turn and then stand on the gas to get it off the turn. We’ll have to get it figured out and come back here in a couple weeks, but we’re fortunate to be here and after the start of the season we’ve had this feels good for sure.”
Finishing runner-up in her second appearance of the season was Alison Sload, driving John Nicotra Racing’s ‘Black Betty,’ which has now been re-numbered the 39. Sload recovered from mechanical issues earlier in the evening for a hard charge from tenth to second in the main event.
“After the start we had earlier today, I did not know what it would be like for the feature, but the guys got it back together for me,” Sload said. “We had a power steering hose come undone, but we made it all work. I have to thank Otto (Sitterly), for sure, because even though he’s not here, he worked his ass off on this car, along with Danny, Chris, Big Dan, Jason, my husband Buddy, and the rest of the team.”
Completing the podium was second generation Canadian campaigner Logan Rayvals, who earned the first top three finish of his career at the Speedway. Rayvals has returned to full-time competition at Oswego this season.
“We had some issues with the car tonight, but I think we are on a good track now,” stated Rayvals. “It is a long race, we only had a couple cautions, but everything worked out. I have to thank my parents, the crew, Larry, Frank, my girlfriend, Connor, and everybody that helps with this car.”
The ‘Zero Hero,’ Snyder, and Rayvals, brought the field to the green flag for the 75-lap Grand Prix with Snyder inching out in front down the back straight.
Rayvals tried to battle back on the outside, but quickly had to surrender second to Shullick, who next dove underneath Snyder for the lead on lap 2.
Early on, the running order was Shullick, Snyder, Rayvals, fifth starting Jeff Abold, and sixth starting Tyler Thompson in the top five.
With Rayvals jammed behind Snyder, Abold took advantage in the high road to steal third, and next dove low under Snyder to move into second on lap 6 with Thompson making the very same one lap later to take over third.
Pinned to the outside, Snyder was then freight trained to the back of the pack with Gosek, Brandon Bellinger, Sload, Dave Danzer, and Lou LeVea Jr. all going underneath him for positions five through nine, respectively.
With 50 laps to go, Gosek had to surrender the five spot to Sload and then to Danzer; two cars who had come from the rear of the field; dropping the No. 00 to seventh, and Bellinger back to eighth.
Now in the top five, Sload quickly reeled in Rayvals to take over fourth, next looking to pursue third running Thompson.
In heavy lapped traffic with 20 laps remaining, both Abold and Thompson had closed significantly on Shullick, who had lost what was nearly a straight away lead.
Shullick was finally able to clear traffic with a dozen laps remaining, but the field was slowed one lap later for a spin by fifth running Danzer out of turn four.
In clean air for the restart, Shullick was able to open back up a half straightaway lead over Abold, who slowed out of second, moving Thompson into the runner-up spot, Sload third, Rayvals fourth, and Gosek in fifth.
The 05 stopped down the back stretch, and this brought out another yellow flag, with Abold needing to be towed pitside with a flat left front tire.
When the green flag was put back in the air, Thompson was doing his best to keep pace with race leader Shullick, but a mechanical failure on the No. 98 sent Tyler for a nasty ride first nose first into the outside wall, and then backwards into the turn three foam.
Thompson was unhurt in the hard crash, but the car was heavily damaged.
After a cleanup, the field would re-stack one more time, and while Sload; who assumed second, had taken a peak to the inside on the restart, Shullick eventually walked away in the remaining 8 circuits for the comfortable win.
Sload, Rayvals, Gosek, and Bellinger finished top five, with Danzer, Abold, Thompson, LeVea Jr, and Russ Wood were credited with top ten finishes.
The Novelis Supermodified division will have the week off for this Saturday, July 9th’s Winged Super Challenge before resuming their 2022 season in the July 16 ‘Summer Championship’ alongside J&S Paving 350 Supers and Pathfinder Bank SBS.
Kapuscinski Comes from Tenth to Win Fourth of the Season in SBS Grand Prix 35
Defending Speedway champion Dan Kapuscinski drove the Flack Racing No. 23 from the outside of the fifth row to the front for his eighth career Oswego Speedway victory and fourth win in five races during this past Saturday night’s Grand Prix 35.
Starting in the tenth position, Kapuscinski had to pass the best of the best; including Noah Ratcliff, Andrew Schartner, Jesse Bearup, Greg O’Connor, Griffin Miller and more to get the checkered, but made it look relatively easy, eventually going underneath O’Connor to take the top spot on lap 22.
“This car handles so well. Mike O’Connor, Steve Flack, and all the guys that put the work into this do a great job,” Kapuscinski said. “We are able to get back to the throttle two or three car lengths before some of these guys coming out of the second turn and that’s been making all of the difference. This was a great race to come from tenth. There are a lot of good guys out there. Greg (O’Connor) drove a great race and we had our work cut out for us. I need to thank all of my sponsors Burger Masonry, Premiere Landscaping, the Virgo Brothers, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux, Burger Construction, Hedger Fabrication, Mohawk Northeast, Infinit Technology Solutions, and I want to say hi to my wife Liz, and Michael, and Maryn who are watching at home.”
Miller and O’Connor brought the field to the green with O’Connor inching out in front from the outside lane in his No. 90.
Settling in for second was Miller with rookie Ryan Gunther riding third in the early going.
Fourth starting DJ Shuman, fifth starting Robbie Wirth, and sixth starting Jude Parker; also rookies starting up front for the first time, would each lose position to Bearup, Schartner, Kapuscinski, and Ratcliff in the opening laps
With ten complete, it was O’Connor building a healthy lead out front, Miller second, Kapuscinski in third, Bearup fourth, and Gunther fifth.
On lap 12, Kapuscinski got underneath Miller for the runner-up spot, with Griffin now left to fight off challenges from Bearup.
Hunting down O’Connor in no time, Danny K made his winning move on lap 20, diving underneath the race leader going into turn three.
The remaining 15 laps did not come easy, however, as O’Connor stayed hot on Kapuscinski’s heels through heavy lapped traffic.
This traffic allowed separation for Kapuscinski and O’Connor between themselves and third place Miller, fourth place Bearup, and fifth place Schartner.
With 8 laps to go, Miller, now stuck in the same lapped traffic that the top two had just cleared, lost third going into turn three, with Bearup and Schartner diving to the inside to send Griffin back to the five spot.
For the double file ‘choose’ restart, the new running order was now Kapuscinski, O’Connor, Bearup, Schartner, and Ratcliff.
At the drop of the green, O’Connor, who had elected to re-fire from third, nearly lost the handle down the front stretch, and gave up three positions to Bearup, Schartner, and Ratcliff.
One lap later, Ratcliff moved into a podium position to the inside of Schartner down the front stretch.
Back out in front, Kapuscinski had checked out for the win on Independence Day Weekend followed by Bearup, Ratcliff, Schartner, and O’Connor in the top five.
Gunther had a fine run bringing the No. 22 home in sixth, with Shuman seventh, Pascuzzi in eighth, Tony DeStevens in ninth, and Darrick Hilton rounded out the top ten.
The Pathfinder Bank SBS division will have the week off this Saturday, July 9 before resuming their 2022 season in the July 16 ‘Summer Championship’ alongside Novelis Supermodifieds and the J&S Paving 350 Supers.
Sobus Awarded Second Career J&S Paving 350 Super Checkers
Driving the Top Quality Motorsports No. 45, veteran driver Brian Sobus was awarded his second career J&S Paving 350 Supermodified win in the Independence Grand Prix 30-lapper this past Saturday night.
Sobus, who also earned a victory on June 4, crossed the finish line in second place, but was later awarded first place position and points after winner Mike Bruce failed tech. It was the fourth win in the last five races for car owner Mike Barbera.
Bruce and Vern LaFave brought the field to green for the initial start, with Bruce grabbing the lead from the high side right away and checking out to a comfortable advantage.
Sixth starting Sobus quickly moved up to the fourth position, going around the outside of his dancing partner Dave Cliff, as well as fourth starting Kyle Perry.
Next up were third starting Dalton Doyle, and LaFave, who had held onto second in the early going, but by lap 7 Sobus had managed to go around both cars and into the number two spot.
Meanwhile, seventh starting Chase Locke was the other car on the move. A winner in the first Twin 25 two weeks ago, Locke, wasted little time working the outside of Cliff, Perry, and LaFave.
Locke next went to work on a podium spot, and set up another high side pass around Doyle to move into third.
Back out in front, Bruce had built a straightaway lead by the halfway point, but the remaining 15 laps were all Sobus needed to close in on the double deuce.
However, Sobus was not quite able to get close enough to Bruce to make a move for the win, and it was Bruce taking the checkered flag over Sobus, Locke, Doyle, and Thompson at the line.
Following the finish, Bruce took a hard ride into the turn 2 foam after contact with a slower car. The No. 22 car was towed into victory lane on the hook.
After post-race tech inspection, the official finish gave Sobus the win, Locke second, Doyle third, LaFave fourth, Perry fifth, Cliff sixth, and rookies Nathan Byrd, Mike Fowler, Nick Barzee, and Josh Sokolic completed the top ten.
The J&S Paving 350 Supermodified season continues this Saturday, July 9 with another 30-lap special held alongside the second Oswego Super Challenge for the Winged Supermodifieds.
QUICK RESULTS
Best Western PLUS and Clarion Hotel & Suites Riverfront Night
Novelis Supermodified Grand Prix 75
Saturday, July 2, 2022
Oswego Speedway
Oswego, NY
Feature (75-laps): 1. 95 DAVE SHULLICK JR, 2. 39 Alison Sload, 3. 94 Logan Rayvals, 4. 00 Joe Gosek, 5. 02 Brandon Bellinger, 6. 52 Dave Danzer, 7. 05 Jeff Abold, 8. 98T Tyler Thompson, 9. 83 Lou LeVea Jr, 10. 41 Russ Wood, 11. 54 Camden Proud, 12. 0 Tim Snyder DNS 90 Jack Patrick, 37 Ryan Locke, 15 ® Nathan Byrd, 01 Dan Connors Jr.
Heat 1 (12-laps): 1. 95 Dave Shullick Jr, 2. 54 Camden Proud, 3. 98T Tyler Thompson, 4. 05 Jeff Abold, 5. 00 Joe Gosek, 6. 0 Tim Snyder, 7. 83 Lou LeVea Jr. DNS 15 ® Nathan Byrd
Heat 2 (12-laps): 1. 02 Brandon Bellinger, 2. 41 Russ Wood, 3. 94 Logan Rayvals, 4. 52 Dave Danzer, 5. 90 Jack Patrick, 6. 39 Alison Sload, 7. 37 ® Ryan Locke DNS 01 Dan Connors Jr.
D&S Landscaping Hard Charger: #39 Alison Sload
Lighthouse Lanes Up & Comer: #94 Logan Rayvals
Pathfinder Bank SBS Grand Prix 35
Saturday, July 2, 2022
Oswego Speedway
Oswego, NY ®
Feature (35-laps): 1. 23 DAN KAPUSCINSKI, 2. 37 Jesse Bearup, 3. 73 Noah Ratcliff, 4. 18 Andrew Schartner, 5. 90 Greg O’Connor, 6. 22 ® Ryan Gunther, 7. 62 ® DJ Shuman, 8. 72 Drew Pascuzzi, 9. 24 ® Tony DeStevens, 10. 66 Darrick Hilton, 11. 49 Josh Wallace, 12. 89 Tony Pisa, 13. 00 ® Jude Parker, 14. 01 ® Greg Richardson, 15. 2 ® Jordan Sullivan, 16. 04 ® Rob Wirth, 17. 9 Griffin Miller, 18. 14 Mark Denny Jr, 19. 27 ® Jon Carson, 20. 77 Cameron Rowe
Heat 1 (10-laps): 1. 90 Greg O’Connor, 2. 9 Griffin Miller, 3. 73 Noah Ratcliff, 4. 04 ® Rob Wirth, 5. 89 Tony Pisa, 6. 14 Mark Denny Jr, DNS 35 AJ Larkin
Heat 2 (10-laps): 1. 37 Jesse Bearup, 2. 62 ® DJ Shuman, 3. 72 ® Drew Pascuzzi, 4. 22 ® Ryan Gunther, 5. 66 Darrick Hilton, 6. 49 Josh Wallace, 7. 27 ® Jon Carson
Heat 3 (10-laps): 1. 23 Dan Kapuscinski, 2. 77 Cameron Rowe, 3. 18 Andrew Schartner, 4. 00 ® Jude Parker, 5. 24 ® Tony DeStevens, 6. 01 ® Greg Richardson, 7. 2 ® Jordan Sullivan
D&S Landscaping Hard Charger: #23 Dan Kapuscinski
Lighthouse Lanes Up & Comer: #73 Noah Ratcliff
White’s Car Care 4th Place Finisher: #18 Andrew Schartner
J&S Paving 350 Super Grand Prix 30
Saturday, July 2, 2022
Oswego Speedway
Oswego, NY
Feature (30-laps): 1. 45 BRIAN SOBUS, 2. 88 Chase Locke, 3. 08 Dalton Doyle, 4. 97 Vern LaFave, 5. 20 Kyle Perry, 6. 50 Dave Cliff, 7. 15 ® Nathan Byrd, 8. 23 ® Mike Fowler, 9. 31 ® Nick Barzee, 10. 26 ® Josh Sokolic, 11. 5 Roger Clark DQ – 22 Mike Bruce, 75 Tyler Thompson
Heat 1 (10-laps): 1. 20 Kyle Perry, 2. 50 Dave Cliff, 3. 45 Brian Sobus, 4. 97 Vern LaFave, 5. 75 Tyler Thompson, 6. 31 ® Nick Barzee
Heat 2 (10-laps): 1. 22 Mike Bruce, 2. 88 Chase Locke, 3. 08 Dalton Doyle, 4. 15 ® Nathan Byrd, 5. 23 ® Mike Fowler, 6. 26 ® Josh Sokolic, 7. 5 ® Roger Clark
D&S Landscaping Hard Charger: #45 Brian Sobus
Lighthouse Lanes Up & Comer: #97 Vern LaFave
