OSWEGO, NY (September 2, 2019) - Young New England talent Jeffrey Battle had quite a successful first weekend at the Oswego Speedway. The 18 year-old set the track record on Friday, and later passed Stephen Duphily to dominate Sunday’s 350 Super Busch Classic 35.
Battle, from Essex, M.A., is already a 350 Supermodified veteran at his young age with several wins under his belt. Early in the season, he made his first start in the Sandusky Hy-Miler for Howie Lane. This weekend, the young gun will take his first swing at the Star Classic.
“It has been an exciting season,” Battle said in victory lane. “It is awesome to come to Oswego for the first time and win. It’s such a cool track. I knew Stevie (Duphily) would be tough, but we got it done. This place is packed and I can’t thank the fans enough for coming out.”
Battle started the 35-lap Classic midway through the field in eighth place while Bill Fiske and John Burke brought the winged small blocks to the green flag. It was Burke who rode out to the initial advantage using the high side of the speedway.
Immediately, fourth starter Mike Netishen shot around dancing partner Stephen Duphily and pole sitter Fiske down the back stretch to take second. Exiting turn four, Netishen moved in behind Burke and got a run to grab the lead away with one lap complete.
It took all of two laps for Duphily to get the Vic Miller No. 11 tuned in, as he went around Fiske and Burke to move into the second position by lap 3. Duphily, who already won four Oswego features this season, now had only Netishen between him and yet another win early on.
When Netishen got high off turn four on the next circuit; Duphily capitalized. The pair battled side by side for almost a full lap before Duphily wrestled the top spot away on lap 4.
Just as Duphily completed lap six, third running Burke got out of shape behind him, spinning and collecting fourth place Matt Seavey. This ended the day for both of these race cars. The top five now consisted of Duphily, Netishen, Fiske, Battle, and Bobby Timmons III.
On the restart, Battle shot inside of Fiske without hesitation. He was able to pull the same move on Netishen in the next corner. Battle was now up to second and chasing Duphily. It seemed a ‘Classic’ battle between the two young guns was taking shape.
For eight laps, Battle patiently worked Duphily over before finally taking the lead going down the back stretch. Battle was able to complete the pass heading into turn three and from there, drove away from Duphily and the field in a dominating performance.
Behind the leaders, fifth starting Timmons was beginning to get racey as he found his way under the Netishen No. 55 to move into fourth. He then began his chase towards the Fiske No. 57 ride in third.
Despite dealing with a twisted wing on the No. 31, Timmons was able to dive inside of Fiske in the midst of lapped traffic with four to go. This moved him into third. Meanwhile, sixth starting Rich Eaton was also on the move as he followed Timmons under Fiske for fourth.
WIth a half lap remaining, it appeared Timmons had a podium finish locked up, but he broke sideways exiting turn four and handed that spot to Eaton. Timmons finished fourth while Fiske held on to round out the top five.
Back out front, Battle would wind up beating Duphily by over five seconds for a dominant first trip to Oswego Speedway victory lane. Completing the top ten finishers were Eaton, Timmons, Fiske, Mike Bruce, Netishen, Mike Keddy, Jim Storace, and Tom MacLeod.
Storace, a former regular on the RoC Modified Tour, was awarded a $100 bonus from the Oswego Classic Can-Am Camping Group as the Last Car Running in the 2nd annual Bush Classic 35.
For further results, photos, and more from Oswego Speedway’s 63rd Budweiser International Classic Weekend, please visit 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
Oswego Speedway
Oswego, NY
September 1, 2019
350 Supermodifieds
Busch 350 Super Classic (35-laps): 1. 14 JEFFREY BATTLE, 2. 11 Stephen Duphily, 3. 4 Rich Eaton, 4. 31 Bobby Timmons III, 5. 57 Bill Fiske, 6. 72 Michael Bruce, 7. 55 Mike Netishen, 8. 77 Mike Keddy, 9. 47 Jim Storace, 10. 81 Tom MacLeod, 11. 08 Dalton Doyle, 12. 1 Anthony Losurdo, 13. 01 John Burke, 14. 91 Matt Seavey, 15. 24 Dave Sanborn, 16. 06 Barry Kingsley
2nd Busch Classic 35 Time Trials: 1. 14. Jeffrey Battle - 16.956, 2. 91 Matt Seavey - 17.231, 3. 4 Rich Eaton - 17.323, 4. 31 Bobby Timmons III - 17.336, 5. 55 MIke Netishen - 17.389, 6. 11 Stephen Duphily - 17.391, 7. 01 John Burke - 17.432, 8. 57 Bill Fiske - 17.434, 9. 24 Dave Sanborn - 17.454, 10. 1 Anthony Losurdo - 17.468, 11. 08 Dalton Doyle - 17.504, 12. 77 Mike Keddy - 17.581, 13. 47 Jim Storace - 17.786, 14. 06 Barry Kingsley - 17.821, 15. 72 Michael Bruce - 18.513, 16. 81 Tom MacLeod - 18.626
Oswego Classic Can-Am Camping Group Last Car Running ($100): #47 Jim Storace
- CAMDEN PROUD on Sep 02, 2019
- Article Date: 9/2/2019