Story By: CAMDEN PROUD / OSWEGO SPEEDWAY – OSWEGO, NY – Supermodified veteran Shaun Gosselin made history by winning his first ever SBS feature in the 33rd annual Bud Light SBS Classic 60, driving the No. 29 G.O. Racing machine for Andrew O’Connor.
Gosselin, who previously captured back-to-back Supermodified feature wins in 2013, had been called to drive the No. 29 in the Classic each of the last two seasons. This year, after winning the Burger Masonry and JP Jewelers Fastest Qualifier Awards, earning $200 each, Gosselin dominated the SBS Classic from halfway on.
The field was brought to the green by the JP Jewelers front row, featuring Brad Haynes and Tony DeStevens. However, DeStevens’ Classic was short-lived, as he suffered mechanical failure on the original start, dropping out immediately. On the same start, DJ Shuman and Drew Pascuzzi came together, with Shuman sustaining heavy right-front damage, forcing him out of the race as well.
On the restart, former Classic champion Cameron Rowe moved up to Haynes’ outside, but Haynes maintained the lead as Rowe, Greg O’Connor, and Noah Ratcliff fell in line behind him. Haynes could only hold the lead for seven laps before O’Connor took over, with Ratcliff making moves as well, first getting under Rowe for third and then passing Haynes for second between turns three and four. Haynes’ day ended prematurely on lap 9 due to mechanical issues, making him the second front-row starter to bow out early.
By lap 10, the top five had reshuffled to O’Connor leading, followed by Ratcliff, Gosselin, who had moved up from sixth to third, Alex Hoag in fourth from tenth, and Dan Kapuscinski in fifth from twelfth. After stalking Ratcliff in lapped traffic, Gosselin made his move, passing the former SBS champion for second on lap 19. Two laps later, Kapuscinski was on the charge, diving underneath Hoag and Ratcliff to secure fourth and third, respectively. Shortly thereafter, Ratcliff’s No. 73 began to falter, dropping out of the top five as the new running order became O’Connor, Gosselin, Kapuscinski, Hoag, and Rowe, with the G.O. Racing cars leading the way.
The next caution came on lap 26 when Pascuzzi’s No. 72 slowed with issues, and Ratcliff’s day also came to an end as he pitted under yellow. On the next choose restart, O’Connor was the polesitter, but Gosselin stole the lead in the high road with 26 laps complete. The order at the halfway mark was now Gosselin, O’Connor, Kapuscinski, Hoag, Rowe, Matt Magner, Ryan Gunther, AJ Larkin, Matt Matteson, and Tessa Crawford.
Rowe, who had started fourth, initially got off to a slow start but came alive as the race progressed. He passed track champion Hoag for fourth on lap 36. Then, on lap 45, Kapuscinski got into the back of O’Connor, spinning the No. 90 out of second. Kapuscinski was penalized for the contact, and the new running order with 15 laps to go was Gosselin, Rowe, Hoag, Magner, and Larkin in the top five, with Gunther now up to sixth. Unfortunately, Gunther spun on the ensuing restart, bringing out the race’s final caution.
With the field restacked, Gosselin brought them back to green and was able to cruise from there, pulling away from Rowe by a full straightaway enroute to the win. With five laps remaining, Magner made a late charge, climbing from eleventh to a podium position, passing Hoag for third. Meanwhile, Kapuscinski recovered from his penalty, charging back through the field to claim fourth from Hoag in the closing laps.
Out in front, it was all Fox Lake, IL’s Shaun Gosselin as he captured the win over Rowe, Magner, Kapuscinski, and Hoag in the top five. Larkin, Carter Gates, Crawford, Darrick Hilton, and Matteson rounded out the top 10.
In victory lane, Gosselin shared, “This is unbelievable. I have always dreamed of winning a race on Classic Weekend, and it’s a dream come true. I’m extremely blessed to be here. I was really struggling on what to do on the restart when Greg was in front. I figured if I started on the outside of him, one of us would get to turn 1 first and be in the lead, so I just put the hammer down and drove as hard as I could every single lap, and here we are. I’d like to thank AO Auto Supply, Munski Automotive, PFG Design, Dana Lawncare, and Ultimate QM, and I just can’t say enough about the O’Connor family and this team. They gave me a really good car and have made it easy. Ever since we brought this thing out, I don’t think we’ve had to touch it one more time. I’m extremely blessed to be able to drive it and be surrounded by all of these people. Classic Weekend brings a lot of memories of people who aren’t here anymore as well, and this one is for all of them too.”
Jeffrey Battle Secures Third Straight 350 Super Classic Win, Fifth Overall
Dunstable, Massachusetts’ Jeffrey Battle secured his third consecutive J&S Paving 350 Supermodified Classic win and fifth overall in the 7th Annual J&S Paving 350 Supermodified Classic this past Sunday at Oswego Speedway. It was a dominant one-two finish for the Battle brothers, with Jeffrey taking the victory and his brother, Ryan Battle, the defending Star Speedway Classic champion, finishing second. Jim Storace rounded out the podium, making it an all-New England top three.
The race began with Ryan Battle and Storace leading the field to the green flag. Battle got a strong jump from the inside, while third-starting Talen Hawksby quickly moved into the runner-up spot, overtaking Storace in the early laps. Starting from sixth, Jeffrey Battle quickly worked his way through the field, passing Storace, Nick Barzee, and Griffin Miller to climb into third by lap 3.
A yellow flag on lap 2 ended the day for Dawson Hawksby, Brendan Young, and Tyler Thompson after a spin by Hawksby resulted in heavy damage to all three cars. On the ensuing restart, Ryan Battle maintained his lead, with Jeffrey Battle moving up to second and Josh Sokolic, who had started eighth, now advancing to third. Sokolic, restarting in fifth, maneuvered past Storace and Hawksby to steal third. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Battle cleared Hawksby for second place and set his sights on his brother leading the pack.
By lap 10, Ryan Battle was navigating lapped traffic, with Jeffrey Battle, Sokolic, Hawksby, and Storace in pursuit. Seizing the opportunity, Jeffrey took the lead from his younger brother on lap 11. A yellow flag on lap 13 for a spinning Noah Ratcliff bunched up the field, and another caution on lap 14 for a spin by Kyle Perry would again keep the competition tight. Despite the restarts, Jeffrey Battle retained the lead over Ryan Battle and Sokolic.
Sokolic eventually managed to get his nose under Ryan Battle, taking over second place on lap 15. However, yet another yellow flag on lap 16 for a spin by Bailey Groves brought the field together once more. On the restart, Jeffrey Battle led with Sokolic now to his outside, Ryan Battle in third, Hawksby fourth, and Storace in fifth. Miller and Barzee, who had started fourth and fifth, respectively, had fallen to sixth and seventh early in the race.
As the green flag waved again, Jeffrey Battle began to build a significant lead over Sokolic and Ryan Battle, lapping all the way up to 11th place just past the halfway mark. Unfortunately for track champion Sokolic, his pursuit of a Classic victory came to a disappointing end on lap 35 when mechanical issues slowed his No. 6 car, dropping him out of second place. This reshuffled the top five, with Jeffrey Battle now leading Ryan Battle, Hawksby, Storace, and Miller.
Following the restart, Ryan Battle briefly regained the lead from Jeffrey, but a spin by Hawksby, who was running third, brought out another caution, leading to a single-file restart with 16 laps remaining. Jeffrey Battle now led Ryan Battle, Storace, Miller, and Barzee, who had fought his way back into the top five. Dave Cliff, starting 13th in his first 350 Supermodified race of the year after recovering from injuries sustained in a May crash, had worked his way up to sixth.
In the final 15 laps, the race ran clean and green, allowing Jeffrey Battle to put on a clinic as he cruised to victory, taking home the $2,500 prize. Ryan Battle completed the first one-two finish for the brothers at Oswego Speedway, with Storace finishing third. Miller, Barzee, Cliff, John Leonard, Ratcliff, Joey Scanlon, and Perry rounded out the top 10.
“The car was a little free at first. I honestly was expecting Sokolic to show me a wheel, especially on the restarts,” mentioned Battle in victory lane. “I thought it would be a really good fight. I’m not sure what happened to him, but he’s had a great year here. I’ve got to thank my uncle Rich for the opportunity to do this—it’s a lot of fun. As a driver, you can only go as far as the car can take you these days, and this car was phenomenal. I also want to thank my whole family and crew for their help this weekend. It was a fun one. Thanks to Witkum Crane, Lacombe Septic, West Auto, and the entire West family.”
RESULTS
Budweiser Classic Weekend 68
Super Sunday
33rd Annual Bud Light SBS Classic 60
Sunday, September 1, 2024
Oswego Speedway
Oswego, NY
A Feature 1 (60 Laps): 1. 29-Shaun Gosselin[6]; 2. 77-Cameron Rowe[3]; 3. 31-Matt Magner[11]; 4. 23-Dan Kapuscinski[12]; 5. 41-Alex Hoag[10]; 6. 35-Anthony Larkin[13]; 7. 55-Carter Gates[14]; 8. 20-Tessa Crawford[15]; 9. 66-Darrick Hilton[20]; 10. 47-Matt Matteson[17]; 11. 88-Brad Haynes[1]; 12. 22-Ryan Gunther[16]; 13. 90-Greg O’Connor[4]; 14. 73-Noah Ratcliff[5]; 15. O4-Rob Wirth[9]; 16. 72-Drew Pascuzzi[8]; 17. 27-Steven Bradshaw[18]; 18. 15-James Babcock[22]; 19. 10-Mike Fowler[21]; 20. 24-Tony DeStevens[2]; 21. 62-DJ Shuman[7]; 22. 87-Cameron Rowe Jr[19]
Hot Laps 1: 1. 41-Alex Hoag, 00:18.859[11]; 2. 23-Dan Kapuscinski, 00:18.964[12]; 3. 77-Cameron Rowe, 00:18.967[19]; 4. 73-Noah Ratcliff, 00:19.006[18]; 5. 24-Tony DeStevens, 00:19.030[4]; 6. 62-DJ Shuman, 00:19.043[21]; 7. 29-Shaun Gosselin, 00:19.053[7]; 8. 72-Drew Pascuzzi, 00:19.063[17]; 9. 88-Brad Haynes, 00:19.078[9]; 10. 90-Greg O’Connor, 00:19.112[16]; 11. 31-Matt Magner, 00:19.116[14]; 12. 55-Carter Gates, 00:19.134[6]; 13. O4-Rob Wirth, 00:19.206[22]; 14. 35-Anthony Larkin, 00:19.247[13]; 15. 47-Matt Matteson, 00:19.379[15]; 16. 20-Tessa Crawford, 00:19.417[3]; 17. 87-Cameron Rowe Jr, 00:19.476[20]; 18. 66-Darrick Hilton, 00:19.561[10]; 19. 22-Ryan Gunther, 00:19.664[8]; 20. 15-James Babcock, 00:19.838[1]; 21. 27-Steven Bradshaw, 00:20.055[2]; 22. (DNS) 10-Mike Fowler
7th Annual J&S Paving 350 Super Classic 50
Sunday, September 1, 2024
Oswego Speedway
Oswego, NY
A Feature 1 (50 Laps): 1. 14-Jeffrey Battle[6]; 2. 21-Ryan Battle[1]; 3. 47-Jim Storace[2]; 4. 9-Griffin Miller[4]; 5. 31-Nick Barzee[5]; 6. 50-Dave Cliff[13]; 7. 12-John Leonard[17]; 8. 73-Noah Ratcliff[14]; 9. 5-Joey Scanlon[16]; 10. 20-Kyle Perry[11]; 11. 91-Barry Kingsley[19]; 12. 79-Talen Hawksby[3]; 13. 6-Josh Sokolic[8]; 14. 87-Matt Demyan[21]; 15. 97-Vern LaFave[12]; 16. 40-Sawyer Stout[18]; 17. 19-Bailey Groves[20]; 18. 32-Dan Kapuscinski[15]; 19. 69-AJ Miller[22]; 20. 45-Dawson Hawksby[7]; 21. 75-Brendan Young[9]; 22. 98T-Tyler Thompson[10]
Hot Laps 1: 1. 6-Josh Sokolic, 00:18.159[18]; 2. 14-Jeffrey Battle, 00:16.909[2]; 3. 31-Nick Barzee, 00:17.111[1]; 4. 9-Griffin Miller, 00:17.153[14]; 5. 75-Brendan Young, 00:17.203[23]; 6. 79-Talen Hawksby, 00:17.213[8]; 7. 98T-Tyler Thompson, 00:17.222[22]; 8. 20-Kyle Perry, 00:17.346[15]; 9. 32-Dan Kapuscinski, 00:17.351[9]; 10. 45-Dawson Hawksby, 00:17.390[7]; 11. 12-John Leonard, 00:17.417[12]; 12. 73-Noah Ratcliff, 00:17.441[16]; 13. 97-Vern LaFave, 00:17.477[11]; 14. 50-Dave Cliff, 00:17.516[4]; 15. 91-Barry Kingsley, 00:17.579[10]; 16. 47-Jim Storace, 00:17.668[20]; 17. 5-Joey Scanlon, 00:17.726[17]; 18. 21-Ryan Battle, 00:17.914[3]; 19. 23-Jason Spaulding, 00:18.038[19]; 20. 19-Bailey Groves, 00:18.159[6]; 21. (DNS) 87-Matt Demyan; 22. (DNS) 69-AJ Miller; 23. (DNS) 40-Sawyer Stout
