OSWEGO, NY (August 18, 2019) - Keith Shampine got by race-long leader Dan Connors Jr. with twenty laps to go and won the Skip’s Fish Fry Novelis Supermodified 50-lapper at Oswego Speedway this past Saturday, becoming the eleventh different winner in twelve races this year.
For Shampine, it was a very rewarding victory, his first since earning back to back feature wins in June of 2017. The CNY native, now a resident of Concord, NC, broke his finger in a heavy heat race crash a week earlier, but was able to rebound in victory lane on August 17.
“I didn’t even know if I could run tonight,” Shampine explained. “I was going to take the car out and practice it and see how my finger felt. I didn’t know if I’d do it, but I said we’re racing tonight and the car was really good. I’m so happy to get this victory for Chris Osetek and the team.”
Connors, who has been trying for ten years to win his first Supermodified feature event, appeared well on his way after setting sail off the outside of the front row to take the early race lead from pole sitter Aric Iosue.
When Iosue got out of shape on the start, this allowed third starting Shampine to get by with fourth starting Alison Sload and fifth starting Dave Danzer quickly mixing things up just behind them.
Sixth starting Dave Shullick Jr. wasted little time mounting his charge towards the front. Coming off a fifteenth to second drive a week earlier, Shullick darted to the outside of Sload and Danzer to move into fourth by lap 3.
On lap 5, rookie Camden Proud looped his No. 54 down the back stretch, bringing out the first yellow flag of the feature event. With five in the books, Connors lead Shampine, Iosue, Shullick, Danzer and Sload in a tight battle for positions one through six.
When the green flag was put back in the air, Shullick immediately went around Iosue for third, with Danzer following suit a lap later. The two cars split the No. 11 to take over the third and fourth spots, with Iosue now dropping back to fifth ahead of Jeff Abold and Tyler Thompson.
For the first fifteen laps, Connors, Shampine, and Shullick ran away out front, with Shampine trying a different lane just about every lap to get by the No. 01. When Shampine dropped low, Osetek Racing teammate Shullick looked high, but for the time being, no one was able to pass.
By lap 20, the remainder of the top seven, now made up of Abold, Thompson, and Sload, had all caught the lead trio in what eventually wound up being a nose to tail battle for positions one through seven.
On lap 23, Shullick looked to the outside of Shampine coming out of turn four and that proved to be a costly move for the No. 95. The two cars touched, and this wound up dropping Shullick back to fifth with Danzer and Abold both taking advantage.
With twenty one laps remaining, Shampine decided he was done waiting behind Connors and made a great move to take over the race lead in lapped traffic going into turn three. It was now Shampine out front over Connors, Danzer, Abold, Shullick, and Thompson a close sixth.
Two circuits later, Abold really took off in the No. 05, coming from tenth to go to the outside of Danzer and then to the inside of Connors in back to back laps. Looking for his third straight podium finish, Abold moved into second on lap 39.
On lap 40, Sload’s day came to an end with a rare mechanical failure on the No. 39. This set up a ten lap shoot out for the victory between Shampine, Connors, and Abold with Danzer, Shullick, Thompson, Gosek, and Otto Sitterly trailing.
For the remaining ten laps, Shampine simply dominated as he ran away from Abold and the rest of the field for his third Oswego Speedway checkered flag. Abold, Danzer, Shullick, Thompson, Gosek, Michael Barnes, Sitterly, Brandon Bellinger, and Dave Gruel completed the top ten.
Sitterly, who had a disappointing run in eighth place, was still able to secure his record breaking ninth track title by a healthy margin over Abold and Gruel. In doing so, Sitterly surpassed Nolan Swift for owning the most Oswego Speedway track championships in history.
Piloting the backup No. 08 car, which was originally set to be driven by Dan Kapuscinski, Barnes charged from twenty second to a fine seventh place run after encountering engine problems in the primary car. ‘The Hustler’ was awarded the D&S Landscaping Hard Charger.
After a tremendous run, Connors encountered issues in the closing laps to fall all the way back to eleventh. Despite the disappointment, the driver of the No. 01 machine was still awarded with the Lighthouse Lanes ‘Up & Comer’ contingency.
With Oswego Speedway’s regular events now in the books, the 2019 season will conclude with the 63rd edition of Budweiser International Classic Weekend scheduled for August 30 through September 1.
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
Skip’s Fish Fry Track Championship Night
Oswego Speedway
Oswego, NY
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Novelis Supermodifieds
Feature (50-laps): 1. 55 KEITH SHAMPINE, 2. 05 Jeff Abold, 3. 52 Dave Danzer, 4. 95 Dave Shullick Jr, 5. 98T Tyler Thompson, 6. 00 Joe Gosek, 7. 08 Michael Barnes, 8. 7 Otto Sitterly, 9. 02 Brandon Bellinger, 10. 50 Dave Gruel, 11. 01 Dan Connors Jr, 12. 0 Tim Snyder, 13. 25 ® Dan Bowes, 14. 90 ® Jack Patrick, 15. 94 Logan Rayvals, 16. 27 Jamie Timmons, 17. 83 Lou LeVea Jr, 18. 56 Hal LaTulip, 19. 54 ® Camden Proud, 20. 39 ® Alison Sload, 21. 11 Aric Iosue, 22. 78 Guard Nearbin
Heat 1 (12-laps): 1. 98T Tyler Thompson, 2. 11 Aric Iosue, 3. 05 Jeff Abold, 4. 55 Keith Shampine, 5. 94 Logan Rayvals, 6. 83 Lou LeVea Jr, 7. 90 ® Jack Patrick, 8. 78 Guard Nearbin
Heat 2 (12-laps): 1. 39 ® Alison Sload, 2. 50 Dave Gruel, 3. 95 Dave Shullick Jr, 4. 01 Dan Connors Jr, 5. 25 ® Dan Bowes, 6. 27 Jamie Timmons, 7. 68 Michael Barnes
Heat 3 (12-laps): 1. 00 Joe Gosek, 2. 02 Brandon Bellinger, 3. 52 Dave Danzer, 4. 7 Otto Sitterly, 5. 0 Tim Snyder, 6. 54 ® Camden Proud, 7. 56 Hal LaTulip
Group Time Trials: 1. 7 Otto Sitterly - 15.850, 2. 50 Dave Gruel - 15.862, 3. 05 Jeff Abold - 15.902, 4. 00 Joe Gosek - 15.903, 5. 39 ® Alison Sload - 15.937, 6. 98T Tyler Thompson - 16.021, 7. 02 Brandon Bellinger - 16.037, 8. 95 Dave Shullick Jr. - 16.044, 9. 11 Aric Iosue - 16.058, 10. 94 Logan Rayvals - 16.126, 11. 68 Michael Barnes - 16.134, 12. 52 Dave Danzer - 16.149, 13. 55 Keith Shampine - 16.159, 14. 25 ® Dan Bowes - 16.163, 15. 0 Tim Snyder - 16.238, 16. 83 Lou LeVea Jr. - 16.258, 17. 01 Dan Connors Jr. - 16.330, 18. 54 ® Camden Proud - 16.367, 19. 90 ® Jack Patrick - 16.431, 20. 27 Jamie Timmons - 16.737, 21. 56 Hal LaTulip - 16.979
2019 Novelis Supermodified Track Champion: #7 Otto Sitterly
D&S Landscaping Hard Charger: #08 Michael Barnes
Lighthouse Lanes Up and Comer: #01 Dan Connors Jr.
- CAMDEN PROUD on Aug 18, 2019
- Article Date: 8/18/2019