OSWEGO, NY (July 21, 2019) - David LaTulip made a daring three wide move to take the lead on lap 1 of last night’s Mr. Pathfinder Bank SBS main event and never looked back, scoring his first career ‘Mr. SBS’ title in a victory he dedicated to late grandfather Cecil Barlow.
“This is a big win. It was a risky move on the start, but I had a good run coming off of two and it stuck. I think we finally hit the setup. I want to dedicate this win to my grandfather. We lost him right before the season started and he has been my biggest fan since I’ve started racing.”
LaTulip went under the front row of Greg O’Connor and Cameron Rowe both heading down the back straightaway to inherit the race lead. He brought fifth starting Mike Bruce and sixth starting Dave Cliff under Rowe with him.
Early on, LaTulip, O’Connor, Bruce, Cliff, and eventually Anthony Losurdo were early leaders, but all of that changed very quickly when Bruce got sideways on the fifth circuit exiting turn four, collecting Losurdo and damaging the No. 1 beyond repair.
Under caution, Cliff, along with RBI Racing teammates Bruce and Rowe, all went to the pits with damage. Bruce and Cliff were able to return while Rowe’s evening came to an early end with apparent mechanical issues on the No. 77.
For the restart, the new top five was LaTulip, O’Connor, Joshua Sokolic, Travis Bartlett, and Steve Flack, and it was apparent right away that LaTulip was the dominant force in this 35-lap main event.
With LaTulip pulling away, the race long battle between O’Connor and Sokolic began to shape up for second. This evenly matched duo raced nose to tail, until another caution flag came out for Bruce who suffered a second flat tire on lap 10. This ended his day as well.
In the remaining 25-laps, it was a show between O’Connor and Sokolic, who finally was able to drive around the outside of the No. 90 in turns three and four with just five laps remaining. This move brought the impressive teenaged racer into second, but it was too little, too late.
Back up front, LaTulip was long gone as he picked up the win and a cool $1,500 for Mark Castiglia and Missile Motorsports. Sokolic secured his second runner-up effort in as many weeks with O’Connor, Bartlett, and Flack rounding out the top five.
Tony Pisa, Cliff, Bruce, Ken Moody Jr, Losurdo, and Rowe completed the finishing order.
Earning his first career Small Block Super top five finish at Oswego, Bartlett was awarded with the D&S Landscaping Hard Charger and White’s Car Care 4th Place contingency prizes while Sokolic was again the Lighthouse Lanes Up & Comer.
Oswego Speedway is off next week to accommodate Harborfest and Sandusky Speedway’s Hy-Miler, but will return to action with the ‘Retro Night’ 45 for Novelis Supermodifieds plus a 30-lap main event for Pathfinder Bank SBS on Saturday, August 3.
For more information on Oswego Speedway, be sure to visit online at OswegoSpeedway.com. You can also FOLLOW on Twitter @OswegoSpeedway or LIKE on Facebook at Facebook.com/OswegoSpeedway.
About Oswego Speedway: Oswego Speedway is a 5/8 mile semi-banked pavement racing oval located off the shores of Lake Ontario in scenic Oswego, NY. The speedway has been a continuously run weekly racing venue since August 1951. The premier open-wheel pavement short track cars in the world, Supermodifieds, run weekly at the Oswego Speedway making it the only weekly Supermodified racing venue in the world. The Small Block Supermodifieds and 350 Supermodifieds accompany the full blown Supers on a weekly Saturday night schedule which runs from May through September. Oswego Speedway is mentioned in racing circles as the “Indy of the East,” as no fewer than a dozen past and present competitors have competed at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway including Mario Andretti, two-time Indy 500 champion Gordon Johncock, and former International Classic Champions Bentley Warren, Joe Gosek, and Davey Hamilton.
BOX SCORE
Best Western PLUS Quality Inn & Suites Riverfront Mr. Pathfinder Bank SBS
Oswego Speedway
Oswego, NY
Saturday, July 20, 2019
Pathfinder Bank SBS
Feature (35-laps): 1. 27 DAVID LATULIP, 2. 26 Joshua Sokolic, 3. 90 Greg O’Connor, 4. 03 ® Travis Bartlett, 5. 32 Steve Flack, 6. 89 Tony Pisa, 7. 50 Dave Cliff, 8. 04 Mike Bruce, 9. 01 ® Ken Moody Jr, 10. 1 Anthony Losurdo, 11. 77 Cameron Rowe
Heat 1 (10-laps): 1. 1 Anthony Losurdo, 2. 04 Mike Bruce, 3. 26 Joshua Sokolic, 4. 77 Cameron Rowe, 5. 32 Steve Flack, 6. 89 Tony Pisa
Heat 2 (10-laps): 1. 27 David LaTulip, 2. 90 Greg O’Connor, 3. 50 Dave Cliff, 4. 01 ® Ken Moody Jr, 5. 03 ® Travis Bartlett
Group Time Trials: 1. 1 Anthony Losurdo - 18.661, 2. 50 Dave Cliff - 18.866, 3. 04 Mike Bruce - 18.996, 4. 27 David LaTulip - 19.034, 5. 26 Joshua Sokolic - 19.127, 6. 90 Greg O’Connor - 19.258, 7. 77 Cameron Rowe - 19.263, 8. 03 ® Travis Bartlett - 19.682, 9. 32 Steve Flack - 19.891, 10. 01 ® Ken Moody Jr. - 21.052, 11. 89 Tony PIsa - 23.655
D&S Landscaping Hard Charger: #03 ® Travis Bartlett
Lighthouse Lanes Up and Comer: #26 Joshua Sokolic
White’s Car Care 4th Place Award: #03 ® Travis Bartlett
- CAMDEN PROUD on Jul 29, 2019
- Article Date: 7/29/2019