5/30/10
Otto Sitterly, Steve Abt and Chuck Hossfeld Memorial Weekend Oswego Winners
By Dan Johnson
Otto Sitterly, Steve Abt and Chuck Hossfeld Memorial Weekend Oswego Winners
By Dan Johnson
Veteran drivers Otto Sitterly, Steve Abt, and Chuck Hossfeld were last men standing in
Memorial Day Weekend action at Oswego Speedway, as they picked up feature wins at the
lakeside oval Saturday night. Sitterly recorded his third consecutive win to start the year,
matching only Kenny Andrews, Jimmy Shampine, Doug Heveron and Bentley Warren in winning
a trio of features to start the year at Oswego. Abt made it two wins in three weeks in the SBS
class, while Hossfeld dominated the Riche Evans 75 lapper in the Race of Champion modified
division.
Local drivers Lou Levea and Daniel Connors started the extra distance 75 lapper ahead of the
17 car field. The inside lane get the quicker jump, with Levea grabbing the early lead. Ray
Graham was hooked up on the outside early, while Tim Snyder shot by on the lowside, and took
the lead by the end of lap 2.
A multi car chain reaction accident on lap two brought out the red flag, with four Oswego
feature winners night ending after two laps. Craig Rayvals, Doug Didero, Joey Payne, Jeff
Holbrook and Daniel Connors night were all terminated after the back stretch accident, as all five
cars were extensively damaged in the early lap melee. A lengthy clean up ensued, leaving a
rundown of Snyder, Graham, Levea, Dave McKnight, Keith Shampine, Pat Lavery, Otto Sitterly,
Dave Gruel, Joe Gosek, Gary Morton, Shaun Gosselin, and Larry Muroski as the field went back
to green.
Graham shot by Snyder on the take off, and began to distance himself from the pack.
McKnight was next to move up, as he placed the 08 machine to second, by Snyder on lap 6, 1.08
seconds behind the high flying 90 car. Shampine, Lavery and Sitterly freight trained the 0, as
they tried to stay in contact with the lead duo.
Graham circled the track at 17.3 clips, as he quickly built a ten length gap over McKnight. At
the tail of the top five, Sitterly chased by Lavery on lap 17 for fourth, then three laps later moved
into the show spot by Shampine’s 88 on the front straightaway. The two time winner on the year
was 6.58 second behind the leaders at lap 20, and needed a caution flag to be able to go back to
back to back.
Back up front, Graham extended his lead to 1.84 seconds with 17.48 and .44 laps, as the field
began to cover the entire length of the speedway during this lengthy green flag period. Graham
came into single car traffic on lap 32, which he handled with ease on the outside. Sitterly began
chopping into McKnight’s advantage, and by the half way point, was bumper to bumper with the
08. As they raced off turn four, Sitterly went to the inside of McKnight’s 08. The pair raced side
by side into turn one, with McKnight’s 08 breaking traction in turn one, and spinning around.
Graham’s full straightaway lead was gone, but he had two lapped cars between himself and
Sitterly, who was now in second place. A quick caution two laps later for Shaun Gosselin spin,
and Joe Gosek’s flat tire and crumpled nose wing in turn four, was the break Sitterly needed.
That yellow flag put the 7 on the tail section of the 90 on the next restart.
Two cars races broke out as Graham and Sitterly battled for the lead, while Shampine and
McKnight went at it for third. Lap 52 Sitterly looked to the outside to wheel by the 90, but backed
out. Lap 54, the 90 and 7 cars brushed as they exited turn four, both using every bit of
experience they had to keep the cars straight.
Next time by, Sitterly got the 7 sideways, and gathered it back up. Lap 58, Graham drifted up
just enough in turn four, with Sitterly sliding by, taking the lead. Sitterly quickened the race
pace, as he stopped the clocks at 17.17 laps, and went out by two lengths immediately. The 7
seemed to get quicker, as the 90 fell off a bit. as with 10laps to go, the lead was up to 4.65
seconds. Sitterly continued to put his foot into it, with Graham holding on. As the checkered
flag flew, Sitterly crossed under it, almost 8 seconds ahead of the 90. Shampine held off
McKnight for third, with Pat Lavery rounding out the top five.
“This was a tough one for us tonight,” the three time winner of 2010 stated after the win. “I
need that caution, or I don’t think I could have gotten Ray. We lost a crew member this week. Al
was like a third father to us, and we lost him Thursday. It was a tough week and a tough night
for us.”
Memorial Day Weekend action at Oswego Speedway, as they picked up feature wins at the
lakeside oval Saturday night. Sitterly recorded his third consecutive win to start the year,
matching only Kenny Andrews, Jimmy Shampine, Doug Heveron and Bentley Warren in winning
a trio of features to start the year at Oswego. Abt made it two wins in three weeks in the SBS
class, while Hossfeld dominated the Riche Evans 75 lapper in the Race of Champion modified
division.
Local drivers Lou Levea and Daniel Connors started the extra distance 75 lapper ahead of the
17 car field. The inside lane get the quicker jump, with Levea grabbing the early lead. Ray
Graham was hooked up on the outside early, while Tim Snyder shot by on the lowside, and took
the lead by the end of lap 2.
A multi car chain reaction accident on lap two brought out the red flag, with four Oswego
feature winners night ending after two laps. Craig Rayvals, Doug Didero, Joey Payne, Jeff
Holbrook and Daniel Connors night were all terminated after the back stretch accident, as all five
cars were extensively damaged in the early lap melee. A lengthy clean up ensued, leaving a
rundown of Snyder, Graham, Levea, Dave McKnight, Keith Shampine, Pat Lavery, Otto Sitterly,
Dave Gruel, Joe Gosek, Gary Morton, Shaun Gosselin, and Larry Muroski as the field went back
to green.
Graham shot by Snyder on the take off, and began to distance himself from the pack.
McKnight was next to move up, as he placed the 08 machine to second, by Snyder on lap 6, 1.08
seconds behind the high flying 90 car. Shampine, Lavery and Sitterly freight trained the 0, as
they tried to stay in contact with the lead duo.
Graham circled the track at 17.3 clips, as he quickly built a ten length gap over McKnight. At
the tail of the top five, Sitterly chased by Lavery on lap 17 for fourth, then three laps later moved
into the show spot by Shampine’s 88 on the front straightaway. The two time winner on the year
was 6.58 second behind the leaders at lap 20, and needed a caution flag to be able to go back to
back to back.
Back up front, Graham extended his lead to 1.84 seconds with 17.48 and .44 laps, as the field
began to cover the entire length of the speedway during this lengthy green flag period. Graham
came into single car traffic on lap 32, which he handled with ease on the outside. Sitterly began
chopping into McKnight’s advantage, and by the half way point, was bumper to bumper with the
08. As they raced off turn four, Sitterly went to the inside of McKnight’s 08. The pair raced side
by side into turn one, with McKnight’s 08 breaking traction in turn one, and spinning around.
Graham’s full straightaway lead was gone, but he had two lapped cars between himself and
Sitterly, who was now in second place. A quick caution two laps later for Shaun Gosselin spin,
and Joe Gosek’s flat tire and crumpled nose wing in turn four, was the break Sitterly needed.
That yellow flag put the 7 on the tail section of the 90 on the next restart.
Two cars races broke out as Graham and Sitterly battled for the lead, while Shampine and
McKnight went at it for third. Lap 52 Sitterly looked to the outside to wheel by the 90, but backed
out. Lap 54, the 90 and 7 cars brushed as they exited turn four, both using every bit of
experience they had to keep the cars straight.
Next time by, Sitterly got the 7 sideways, and gathered it back up. Lap 58, Graham drifted up
just enough in turn four, with Sitterly sliding by, taking the lead. Sitterly quickened the race
pace, as he stopped the clocks at 17.17 laps, and went out by two lengths immediately. The 7
seemed to get quicker, as the 90 fell off a bit. as with 10laps to go, the lead was up to 4.65
seconds. Sitterly continued to put his foot into it, with Graham holding on. As the checkered
flag flew, Sitterly crossed under it, almost 8 seconds ahead of the 90. Shampine held off
McKnight for third, with Pat Lavery rounding out the top five.
“This was a tough one for us tonight,” the three time winner of 2010 stated after the win. “I
need that caution, or I don’t think I could have gotten Ray. We lost a crew member this week. Al
was like a third father to us, and we lost him Thursday. It was a tough week and a tough night
for us.”
Heat race winners Krieg Heroth and Tim Barbeau led the 20 car SBS field to the green flag, with
Barbeau getting the jump at the take off for the lead. As the field scattered behind, Mike Bond
and Dave Cliff went low, while Brian Sobus went to the outer reached of the speedway looking
to race their way to the front.
Barbeau drove away by a few lengths early on, with Heroth, Jason Simmons, Chris Proud,
Andrew Schartner, Abt, Stan Gates, Bond, Cliff and Dave Danzer following. After a pair of minor
spins early, the field gathered it up, with Abt catching fans attention. He slung the 85 to the low
side, first shooting by Proud and Schartner, then wheeling by Heroth on a restart, bringing Bond
with him.
By lap 10, Barbeau was cruising at 19.39 and 19.42 laps, five lengths ahead of Abt, Bond and
Cliff, with Proud ten lengths behind the three car race for second. Barbeau came into slower
cars on alp13 for the first time, cruising around on the high side without issue.
A pair of quick cautions flew near halfway, first a front straight away tangle on lap 14 with
Guard Nearbin and Schartner, then a Brian Osetek first turn loop gathered the pack again. On
the lap 17 restart, Abt went to work on the low side of Barbeau, and grabbed the lead with an
inside front straightaway pass.
Barbeau’s 58 fell off the pace quickly, shuffling to the tail of the field, while Abt, Bond and Cliff
showed this was going to be decided between them. 19.33 and .39 laps kept the red 85 in front
by a couple of lengths, while the field spanned out along the speedway.
It was a three way dash to the checkered, as Bond and Cliff looked to shoot by the Abt 85, but
it was not to be, as the 85 remained in control of the race, and picked up his second win in three
weeks at Oswego.
“This race means a lot, as Tony (White), was the first guy I met when I came to the track,” an
emotional Steve Abt said after the win. “It was a good race for us tonight, as the car was good.
We put a lot of hours in the garage, looking to have a better week this week than last. I really
have to thank the guys, as it was a busy week for us.”
Barbeau getting the jump at the take off for the lead. As the field scattered behind, Mike Bond
and Dave Cliff went low, while Brian Sobus went to the outer reached of the speedway looking
to race their way to the front.
Barbeau drove away by a few lengths early on, with Heroth, Jason Simmons, Chris Proud,
Andrew Schartner, Abt, Stan Gates, Bond, Cliff and Dave Danzer following. After a pair of minor
spins early, the field gathered it up, with Abt catching fans attention. He slung the 85 to the low
side, first shooting by Proud and Schartner, then wheeling by Heroth on a restart, bringing Bond
with him.
By lap 10, Barbeau was cruising at 19.39 and 19.42 laps, five lengths ahead of Abt, Bond and
Cliff, with Proud ten lengths behind the three car race for second. Barbeau came into slower
cars on alp13 for the first time, cruising around on the high side without issue.
A pair of quick cautions flew near halfway, first a front straight away tangle on lap 14 with
Guard Nearbin and Schartner, then a Brian Osetek first turn loop gathered the pack again. On
the lap 17 restart, Abt went to work on the low side of Barbeau, and grabbed the lead with an
inside front straightaway pass.
Barbeau’s 58 fell off the pace quickly, shuffling to the tail of the field, while Abt, Bond and Cliff
showed this was going to be decided between them. 19.33 and .39 laps kept the red 85 in front
by a couple of lengths, while the field spanned out along the speedway.
It was a three way dash to the checkered, as Bond and Cliff looked to shoot by the Abt 85, but
it was not to be, as the 85 remained in control of the race, and picked up his second win in three
weeks at Oswego.
“This race means a lot, as Tony (White), was the first guy I met when I came to the track,” an
emotional Steve Abt said after the win. “It was a good race for us tonight, as the car was good.
We put a lot of hours in the garage, looking to have a better week this week than last. I really
have to thank the guys, as it was a busy week for us.”
By the luck of the draw, Tony Hanbury and Doug Reaume started the Riche Evans 75 up front
for the RoC 75. Hanbury put his foot into it early, and drove into the early lead. A quick red flag
stopped the race early on, for Reaume’s 14 car, which spewed oil in the first handful of laps.
Hanbury, Bryan Chew, Hossfeld, Mike Leaty and Andy Walko paced the field in the early stages,
as Hossfeld came from outside row four to fourth in the first few laps.
As laps clicked off, fans caught Bill Hebing’s 51., as he worked the outer groove of the
speedway, moving up from his 13th starting spot. By lap 10, Hebing was up to 7th spot,
continuing his outside march to the front.
Hossfeld moved by Chew at this juncture as well, immediately working on Hanbury for the
point. Hossfeld cooled his tires, running in the tire tracks of the 04 car, waiting for a mistake by
Hanbury, as the 04 and 22 ran away and hid from the pack behind.
Lap 27, Hossfeld found the outside groove to his liking, and shot by the 04. Hanbury quickly
fell off the pace, with Bryan Chew taking the runner up spot on lap 22. Numerous caution flags
plagued the event, with separate hard accidents in turn three taking out the Terry Cheetham and
Billy Putney cars.
With Hossfeld comfortable out front, Hebing continued forward taking the outside line by Erick
Rudolph and Mike Leaty on the lap 44 restart, then by Chew on the lap 45 restart. Hossfeld and
Hebing had a two car breakaway, while the rest of the field was left to fend for third place.
Hossfeld comfortably held Hebing at bay, while Matt Hirschman made a late race dash to
wheel the 60 up to third. With Hossfeld crossing under the checkered flag, Hebing and
Hirschman raced hard for second. Contact ensued at the line, with Hebing crashing into the turn
one foam. He was uninjured, holding on for the runner up spot, with Hirschman in third.
“I have always loved coming to Oswego,” Hossfeld said in Victory Lane. “This has always
been one of my favorite tracks, and we had a really good car tonight. Its always great to win, but
even better when you can do it with a field of cars like this, and at a place like Oswego.”
News and Notes,….31 RoC modifieds, 21 SBS cars and 17 supermodifieds were pitside. Bryan
Chew, Tony Hanbury, Pete Brittain, and Erick Rudolph won modified heat races, while Chris
Proud, Kreig Heroth, and Tim Barbeau win SBS heats. Ray Graham and Jeff Holbrook took
supermodified qualifiers. Matt Hirschman won the modified consolation race. In pre race
ceremonies, the SBS #4 was retired from competition, in memory of Tony White. This week is a
regular week of racing, with a supermodified 45 and SBS 30 culminating the night. Gates open
at 4:30 with racing at 6:30pm.
Supermodified finish 75
1)Otto Sitterly 7, 2)Ray Graham 90, 3)Keith Shampine 88, 4)Dave McKnight 08, 5)Pat Lavery 22, 6)
Joe Gosek 00, 7)Tim Snyder 0, 8)Dave Gruel 50, 9)Gary Morton 70.10)Larry Muroski 38, 11)Shaun
Gosselin 36, 12)Lou Levea 61, 13)Craig Rayvals 94, 14)Jeff Holbrook 35, 15)Doug Didero 3, 16)
Daniel Connors 01, 17)Joey Payne 99
SBS finish 35
1)Steve Abt 85, 2)Mike Bond 26, 3)Dave Cliff 06, 4)Chris Proud 50, 5)Stan Gates 60, 6)Dave
Danzer 52, 7)Brian Sobus 79, 8)Andrew Schartner 18, 9)Krieg Heroth 44, 10)Mike Bruce 2, 11)
Vern Lafave 05, 12)Barry Kingsley 23, 13)Guard Nearbin 78, 14)Jason Simmons 25, 15)Dennis
Richmond 7, 16)Brad Haynes 43, 17)Tim Barbeau 58, 18)Chris Tedd 37, 19)Brian Osetek 00, 20)
Bob Henry 93
for the RoC 75. Hanbury put his foot into it early, and drove into the early lead. A quick red flag
stopped the race early on, for Reaume’s 14 car, which spewed oil in the first handful of laps.
Hanbury, Bryan Chew, Hossfeld, Mike Leaty and Andy Walko paced the field in the early stages,
as Hossfeld came from outside row four to fourth in the first few laps.
As laps clicked off, fans caught Bill Hebing’s 51., as he worked the outer groove of the
speedway, moving up from his 13th starting spot. By lap 10, Hebing was up to 7th spot,
continuing his outside march to the front.
Hossfeld moved by Chew at this juncture as well, immediately working on Hanbury for the
point. Hossfeld cooled his tires, running in the tire tracks of the 04 car, waiting for a mistake by
Hanbury, as the 04 and 22 ran away and hid from the pack behind.
Lap 27, Hossfeld found the outside groove to his liking, and shot by the 04. Hanbury quickly
fell off the pace, with Bryan Chew taking the runner up spot on lap 22. Numerous caution flags
plagued the event, with separate hard accidents in turn three taking out the Terry Cheetham and
Billy Putney cars.
With Hossfeld comfortable out front, Hebing continued forward taking the outside line by Erick
Rudolph and Mike Leaty on the lap 44 restart, then by Chew on the lap 45 restart. Hossfeld and
Hebing had a two car breakaway, while the rest of the field was left to fend for third place.
Hossfeld comfortably held Hebing at bay, while Matt Hirschman made a late race dash to
wheel the 60 up to third. With Hossfeld crossing under the checkered flag, Hebing and
Hirschman raced hard for second. Contact ensued at the line, with Hebing crashing into the turn
one foam. He was uninjured, holding on for the runner up spot, with Hirschman in third.
“I have always loved coming to Oswego,” Hossfeld said in Victory Lane. “This has always
been one of my favorite tracks, and we had a really good car tonight. Its always great to win, but
even better when you can do it with a field of cars like this, and at a place like Oswego.”
News and Notes,….31 RoC modifieds, 21 SBS cars and 17 supermodifieds were pitside. Bryan
Chew, Tony Hanbury, Pete Brittain, and Erick Rudolph won modified heat races, while Chris
Proud, Kreig Heroth, and Tim Barbeau win SBS heats. Ray Graham and Jeff Holbrook took
supermodified qualifiers. Matt Hirschman won the modified consolation race. In pre race
ceremonies, the SBS #4 was retired from competition, in memory of Tony White. This week is a
regular week of racing, with a supermodified 45 and SBS 30 culminating the night. Gates open
at 4:30 with racing at 6:30pm.
Supermodified finish 75
1)Otto Sitterly 7, 2)Ray Graham 90, 3)Keith Shampine 88, 4)Dave McKnight 08, 5)Pat Lavery 22, 6)
Joe Gosek 00, 7)Tim Snyder 0, 8)Dave Gruel 50, 9)Gary Morton 70.10)Larry Muroski 38, 11)Shaun
Gosselin 36, 12)Lou Levea 61, 13)Craig Rayvals 94, 14)Jeff Holbrook 35, 15)Doug Didero 3, 16)
Daniel Connors 01, 17)Joey Payne 99
SBS finish 35
1)Steve Abt 85, 2)Mike Bond 26, 3)Dave Cliff 06, 4)Chris Proud 50, 5)Stan Gates 60, 6)Dave
Danzer 52, 7)Brian Sobus 79, 8)Andrew Schartner 18, 9)Krieg Heroth 44, 10)Mike Bruce 2, 11)
Vern Lafave 05, 12)Barry Kingsley 23, 13)Guard Nearbin 78, 14)Jason Simmons 25, 15)Dennis
Richmond 7, 16)Brad Haynes 43, 17)Tim Barbeau 58, 18)Chris Tedd 37, 19)Brian Osetek 00, 20)
Bob Henry 93