OSWEGO, NY (August 12, 2019) - With a guaranteed starting position in Star Speedway’s coveted Randy Witkum Memorial on the line, Stephen Duphily showed up at Oswego Speedway for the third time this season and made it three wins in three starts at the Big O.
For picking up the victory, Duphily, the highest New England finisher, earned the starting spot in the 60-lap Witkum Memorial on Star’s Classic Weekend along with a free tire courtesy of Little Webb’s Fuel and Tire Sales, a free pit pass, and a $25 fuel credit from Bobby Webber Racing.
“The car was pretty good again tonight,” Duphily said in victory lane. “We left it pretty similar to what we had last time we ran Oswego. We had a bad night at Lee yesterday, getting in a jam early in the race, so it is nice to be able to come here and get another win.”
Finishing on the podium were fellow New England Mike Netishen, and current 350 Super points leader Anthony Losurdo. Losurdo also walked away with a Witkum Memorial starting spot and bonus package as the highest Oswego finisher in the 20-lap main.
The feature event was lead to green by Oswego regulars Barry Kingsley and Dalton Doyle, with Doyle prevailing from the outside with the Syrell Racing No. 08. On lap 1, it was Doyle bringing Netishen, Losurdo, and Kingsley across the line behind him.
Netishen, a regular at the Star Speedway, looked sporty in his first Oswego appearance of the 2019 season. In a half lap, the sixth starter drove around Duphily, Mike Bruce, Kingsley, and eventually Losurdo to sit runner up with just one complete.
Early, Doyle held onto the lead with Netishen and Losurdo in toe, but before long, Duphily made his presence felt. Wheeling the famed Vic Miller No. 11, Duphily made a daring three wide move under Bruce and Kingsley to move into fourth on lap 2.
On the same circuit, Netishen made a high side bid for the lead in turns three and four, but washed out; opening the door for Losurdo. When Losurdo tried to capitalize on the bottom, this left a lane for Duphily on the outside as he charged around the No. 1 car and into third.
When Duphily moved in behind Netishen for second, the driver of the No. 55 car knew it was time to go as Netishen wasted little time driving to the outside of Doyle to inherit the race lead on lap 6.
One lap later, the yellow flag came out for Kingsley, who lost a left rear tire on the No. 06 and experienced a heavy impact into the foam between turns one and two. This set up a double file restart between the two New England invaders.
It turned out that the outside lane was the preferred one on the restart, and it was Duphily who inherited the lead heading into turn one. Netishen was able to take a look back inside down the back stretch, but could not retake the number one position.
The final caution flag of the event came out on lap 10, when the bad luck continued for Lakeside Property Services Racing as Mike Bruce came to a halt with a blown power plant on the No. 72 machine.
Despite the ensuing restart providing one final opportunity for Netishen, Duphily ran away to pick up the checkered flag ahead of Netishen in a one-two New England finish. Losurdo got by Doyle for third, while Bruce and Kingsley completed the field.
Oswego Speedway’s regular season will conclude this Saturday, August 17 with $5 Admission Track Championship Night for the Novelis Supermodifieds, Pathfinder Bank SBS, and the 350 Supermodified division.
For more information on Oswego Speedway, be sure to visit online at OswegoSpeedway.com. You can also FOLLOW on Twitter @OswegoSpeedway, Instagram @OfficialOswegoSpeedway 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
U-Pull U-Save Family Night
Oswego Speedway
Oswego, NY
Saturday, August 10, 2019
350 Supermodifieds
Feature (25-laps): 1. 11 STEPHEN DUPHILY, 2. 55 Mike Netishen, 3. 1 Anthony Losurdo, 4. 08 Dalton Doyle, 5. 72 Mike Bruce, 6. 06 Barry Kingsley, DNS - 81 ® Tom MacLeod
Heat (8-laps): 1. 55 Mike Netishen, 2. 1 Anthony Losurdo, 3. 11 Stephen Duphily, 4. 06 Barry Kingsley, 5. 08 Dalton Doyle, 6. 72 Mike Bruce, 7. 81 ® Tom MacLeod
D&S Landscaping Hard Charger: #11 Stephen Duphily
Lighthouse Lanes Up and Comer: #55 Mike Netishen
- CAMDEN PROUD on Aug 13, 2019
- Article Date: 8/13/2019