9/5/11
Otto Sitterly Collects 2011 Classic Checkers With Dramatic Last Lap Pass
by Dan Johnson
In one of the most exciting finishes in speedway history, Otto Sitterly shot his way by teammate
Mike Lichty in between turns three and four on the last lap for the win in the International Classic
200 race Sunday afternoon. Sitterly took the white flag in the back bumper of the Lichty 6 car, then
pulled alongside then by the 6 as they exited turn four coming down for the checkered flag at the
end of the race.
It was Sitterly’s second career Classic win, and his 20th career Oswego victory. Lichty hung on for
second, with early leader randy Ritskes in third. It was also the first time in the 55 year history of
the Classic that team cars finished first and second.
Ritskes and Lichty led the 34 car parade to Donnie Forbes green flag shortly after 1pm, with
Ritskes racing his way to the lead in the Darratt Farms 88 once racing. The field shifted high and
low early on, as everyone looked for racing room. Lap 6, the first yellow flag of the Classic came
out, as Gary Morton spun his yellow 70in turn one.
After a quick restart, the yellow then red flags were displayed for a nine car accident along the back
straightaway, as Dave Gruel, Pat Lavery, Morton, Kelly Miller, Joey Scanlon, Jeff Abold, Johnny
Benson and Dave McKnight were involved. Scanlon and Abold were done, while the rest of the
field restarted.
The order on the restart was Ritskes, Joey Payne, Lichty, Sitterly, Ray Graham, Tim Snyder, Bobby
Haynes, Joe Gosek, Dave Danzer, DJ Shullick, Chris Perley, Michael Barnes, Craig Rayvals, Shawn
Muldoon and Stephen Gioia.
Ritskes and Payne pulled away, making it a two car breakaway early in this one. Lap 22 Sitterly
tested team mate Lichty, taking third away on lap 22. Graham followed the 7 through, showing the
90 was a force to deal with early on. Graham then dealed his way by Sitterly a few laps later for
third place.
Ritskes turned in laps at 18.22 and .33 with a full fuel load, as the 88 and 99 opened up a eight car
length gap over Graham, Sitterly and Lichty. Yellow flashed over the track on lap 45, again for a
Gary Morton spin, this time as he exited turn four. Graham joined the lead dup, making it a three car
breakaway at the restart, as Ritskes, Payne and Graham put a few car lengths between the team
cars of Sitterly and Lichty. Snyder, Haynes, Gosek, Danzer and Perley rounded out the top ten at
lap 50.
At this point, racing was single file, as they were making laps, not letting anyone get out of sight,
while not using up their equipment to early as well. Lap 70 saw one of the contenders pull pitside
as DJ Shullick went to the pits with sheet metal damage to the 15 car.
Lap 76 saw Craig Rayvals race end with a back straightaway wall banger in the 94. Graham used
this restart to wheel by Payne for second on lap 84. Payne continued to fade two laps later, as
Sitterly’s 7 worked his way by for third.
Back up front, Ritskes turned in 18.35 and 18.22 laps, as he led the 90, 7, 99 and 6 cars. As the race
reached the halfway point, Ritskes was still in control, leading all 100 laps so far with Graham a few
lengths behind. Sitterly and Lichty ran third and fourth, with Payne, Snyder, Haynes, Danzer,
Perley, and Gosek still all in contention halfway through.
Six laps later, another slowdown came, as Stephen Gioia and Mike Bond each piled their mounts
into the third turn foam, both cars out for the remainder of the race. Payne and Benson pitted with
ill handling cars at this point in the 200.
Another four car breakaway set the stage on this restart as Ritskes, Graham Sitterly and Lichty set
sail, as the race pace quickened under the 18 second bracket. Lap 130, Graham cranked his 90
under the Ritskes 88 along the front straightaway, and wrestled the lead away from the 88 for the
first time in the event.
“It was easier on my car to lead, instead of using up my breaks running behind, Graham said of his
pass at that point. :”Running behind, I was hitting my breaks to hard, using them up. Up front, I
could just run my pace and roll into the corner, staying off by breaks.”
Graham turned the wic up to a 17.83 lap, putting a quick ten car lengths between himself and the
88, 7 and 6 cars. Graham then came into the lapped cars, having to deal with traffic for the firs time
with the race in his command.
Lichty grabbed third from Sitterly in traffic on 139, with Perley moving the third Nictora car into
sixth, still looking for the win. Further back, Dave Danzer figured it was “go time” as he passed
Haynes for seventh and charging.
After a few laps of settling in up front, the caution again flew for two different accidents. Johnny
Benson spun the 74 on the front stretch, while the two Muldoon team cars driven by Michael
Muldoon and Bobby Bind each were wadded up in turn three, out of the race.
Graham led Ritskes, Lichty, Sitterly, Snyder, Perley, Danzer, Payne, Haynes and Gosek with 50 to
go. Graham looked fast and smooth up front, turning in laps at 17.90 and 19.97. Lichty moved by
Ritskes for second on the front stretch on lap 166, .78 seconds behind the 90. Lap 169, Sitterly
followed Lichty by Ritskes, as the 90, 6, and 7 pulled away from the Ritskes 88. Danzer showed he
wasn’t done yet, as he placed the 52 by Perley on 173 for sixth, and charging.
Graham, Lichty, and Sitterly led Ritskes by 20 lengths as he in turn held Snyder, Danzer and Payne
back another ten lengths. with 20 to go, Sitterly shot by Lichty, and set sail to Graham. Danzer
continued his march forward, wheeling by Snyder’s 0 car for fifth.
It was a two car race here, as the 90 and the 7 were the class of the field, as they raced their way
into slower cars. Sitterly pulled the 7 to the inside of Graham’s 90 on lap 182, putting the Nictora 7
up front for the first time in the day.
Lap 187, the complextion of the race changed, as the leaders came into traffic. There was a jam up
in front of the leaders, with Graham getting collected and being sent into the outside wall, with
heavy contact with the retaining barrier. Graham’s fine run just ended against the outside wall in
turn four, with about 15 laps to go.
As the accident happened, it was deemed that Lichty had gotten by Sitterly, with Lichty now
leading the race with less than 10 laps left after the restart.,
Lichty led, Sitterly, Ritskes and Danzer as laps clicked closer to 200. Lichty and Sitterly pulled out,
and it was evident this was going to be settled between the two Nicotra team cars. Sitterly tried his
low move on the restart, but didn’t get the bite he needed for the pass. Sitterly settled behind the
leader as laps clicked down, waiting for his opportunity.
The white flag came out, with Lichty in front, and Sitterly on his back bumper. They raced out of
turn two, with Lichty pulling down to the inside, and Sitterly powering out on the high side. The
Lichty 6 car seemed to not get the full bite off the corner, and Sitterly got a good run on the back
straightaway, heading into turn three. As they raced between three and four, the cars raced side by
side, with Sitterly’s 7 inching out, under full power coming off the corner. As they exited three and
into four, the Sitterly 7 nosed ahead, and powered off four with the lead, coming to the checkered.
With his fist in the air, Sitterly crossed under the checkered flags first, for his second career Classic
win. Just a lap before, he was in second, and a last lap, last corner pass gave Sitterly his second
career Classic win.
I saw Mike start to pull down coming out of two,” Sitterly said of the pass for the win. “ It was out
of turn two, and the car just didn’t go, it didn’t take off. I filled the whole, and here we are, It was a
good run, a good team race, I have to thank everyone, we had guys from all over New York State
work on this car, and it was a team effort. What a race.”
“This was a good run, but man, one lap before,” Mike Lichty said after his second place finish. “I
have to thank John Nicotra, Craig Reed and everyone involved in getting me this ride, but second
is tough when we were this close. Everyone wants to win the Classic, and everyone tells me this is
the hardest one to get, and to be so close, is tough. But, second is a good run, and thanks to the
guys for giving me such a good car.”
“We’re happy,” third place randy Ritskes said trackside. “the car was a handful and we did the bet
we could with what we had. We finished second in points, and third in the Classic, that’s a good
year for us. We’re happy.”
“We had a good year, we won a race, came in fourth in the Classic and all in all we’re thrilled with
this season,” fourth place Dave Danzer added.
Finish International Classic 200
1)Otto Sitterly 7, 2)Mike Lichty 6, , 3)Randy Ritskes 88, 4)Dave Danzer 52, 5)Tim Snyder 0, 6)Chris
Perley 5, 7)Bobby Haynes 44, 8)Joe Gosek 00, 9)Brian Sobus 79, 10)Moe Lilje 2, 11)Jerry Curran 24,
12)Brandon Bellinger 02, 13)Johnny Benson Jr 74, 14)Joey Payne 99, 15)Ray Graham 90, 16)Shaun
Gosselin 26, 17)Pat Lavery 22, 18)Dave McKnight 08, 19)Michael Muldoon 20, 20)Bobby Bond 05,
21)Kelly Miller 81, 22)Stephen Gioia 9, 23)Mike Bond 25, 24)Gary Morton 70, 25)Craig Rayvals 94, 26)
Michael Barnes 98, 27)Dave Shullick Jr 15, 28)Shaun Muldoon 1, 29)David Gruel 50, 30)Timmy
Jedrzejek 32, 31)Jeff Abold 05, 32)Joey Scanlon 86, 33)Hal Latulip 56, 34)Kody Graham 21
Otto Sitterly Collects 2011 Classic Checkers With Dramatic Last Lap Pass
by Dan Johnson
In one of the most exciting finishes in speedway history, Otto Sitterly shot his way by teammate
Mike Lichty in between turns three and four on the last lap for the win in the International Classic
200 race Sunday afternoon. Sitterly took the white flag in the back bumper of the Lichty 6 car, then
pulled alongside then by the 6 as they exited turn four coming down for the checkered flag at the
end of the race.
It was Sitterly’s second career Classic win, and his 20th career Oswego victory. Lichty hung on for
second, with early leader randy Ritskes in third. It was also the first time in the 55 year history of
the Classic that team cars finished first and second.
Ritskes and Lichty led the 34 car parade to Donnie Forbes green flag shortly after 1pm, with
Ritskes racing his way to the lead in the Darratt Farms 88 once racing. The field shifted high and
low early on, as everyone looked for racing room. Lap 6, the first yellow flag of the Classic came
out, as Gary Morton spun his yellow 70in turn one.
After a quick restart, the yellow then red flags were displayed for a nine car accident along the back
straightaway, as Dave Gruel, Pat Lavery, Morton, Kelly Miller, Joey Scanlon, Jeff Abold, Johnny
Benson and Dave McKnight were involved. Scanlon and Abold were done, while the rest of the
field restarted.
The order on the restart was Ritskes, Joey Payne, Lichty, Sitterly, Ray Graham, Tim Snyder, Bobby
Haynes, Joe Gosek, Dave Danzer, DJ Shullick, Chris Perley, Michael Barnes, Craig Rayvals, Shawn
Muldoon and Stephen Gioia.
Ritskes and Payne pulled away, making it a two car breakaway early in this one. Lap 22 Sitterly
tested team mate Lichty, taking third away on lap 22. Graham followed the 7 through, showing the
90 was a force to deal with early on. Graham then dealed his way by Sitterly a few laps later for
third place.
Ritskes turned in laps at 18.22 and .33 with a full fuel load, as the 88 and 99 opened up a eight car
length gap over Graham, Sitterly and Lichty. Yellow flashed over the track on lap 45, again for a
Gary Morton spin, this time as he exited turn four. Graham joined the lead dup, making it a three car
breakaway at the restart, as Ritskes, Payne and Graham put a few car lengths between the team
cars of Sitterly and Lichty. Snyder, Haynes, Gosek, Danzer and Perley rounded out the top ten at
lap 50.
At this point, racing was single file, as they were making laps, not letting anyone get out of sight,
while not using up their equipment to early as well. Lap 70 saw one of the contenders pull pitside
as DJ Shullick went to the pits with sheet metal damage to the 15 car.
Lap 76 saw Craig Rayvals race end with a back straightaway wall banger in the 94. Graham used
this restart to wheel by Payne for second on lap 84. Payne continued to fade two laps later, as
Sitterly’s 7 worked his way by for third.
Back up front, Ritskes turned in 18.35 and 18.22 laps, as he led the 90, 7, 99 and 6 cars. As the race
reached the halfway point, Ritskes was still in control, leading all 100 laps so far with Graham a few
lengths behind. Sitterly and Lichty ran third and fourth, with Payne, Snyder, Haynes, Danzer,
Perley, and Gosek still all in contention halfway through.
Six laps later, another slowdown came, as Stephen Gioia and Mike Bond each piled their mounts
into the third turn foam, both cars out for the remainder of the race. Payne and Benson pitted with
ill handling cars at this point in the 200.
Another four car breakaway set the stage on this restart as Ritskes, Graham Sitterly and Lichty set
sail, as the race pace quickened under the 18 second bracket. Lap 130, Graham cranked his 90
under the Ritskes 88 along the front straightaway, and wrestled the lead away from the 88 for the
first time in the event.
“It was easier on my car to lead, instead of using up my breaks running behind, Graham said of his
pass at that point. :”Running behind, I was hitting my breaks to hard, using them up. Up front, I
could just run my pace and roll into the corner, staying off by breaks.”
Graham turned the wic up to a 17.83 lap, putting a quick ten car lengths between himself and the
88, 7 and 6 cars. Graham then came into the lapped cars, having to deal with traffic for the firs time
with the race in his command.
Lichty grabbed third from Sitterly in traffic on 139, with Perley moving the third Nictora car into
sixth, still looking for the win. Further back, Dave Danzer figured it was “go time” as he passed
Haynes for seventh and charging.
After a few laps of settling in up front, the caution again flew for two different accidents. Johnny
Benson spun the 74 on the front stretch, while the two Muldoon team cars driven by Michael
Muldoon and Bobby Bind each were wadded up in turn three, out of the race.
Graham led Ritskes, Lichty, Sitterly, Snyder, Perley, Danzer, Payne, Haynes and Gosek with 50 to
go. Graham looked fast and smooth up front, turning in laps at 17.90 and 19.97. Lichty moved by
Ritskes for second on the front stretch on lap 166, .78 seconds behind the 90. Lap 169, Sitterly
followed Lichty by Ritskes, as the 90, 6, and 7 pulled away from the Ritskes 88. Danzer showed he
wasn’t done yet, as he placed the 52 by Perley on 173 for sixth, and charging.
Graham, Lichty, and Sitterly led Ritskes by 20 lengths as he in turn held Snyder, Danzer and Payne
back another ten lengths. with 20 to go, Sitterly shot by Lichty, and set sail to Graham. Danzer
continued his march forward, wheeling by Snyder’s 0 car for fifth.
It was a two car race here, as the 90 and the 7 were the class of the field, as they raced their way
into slower cars. Sitterly pulled the 7 to the inside of Graham’s 90 on lap 182, putting the Nictora 7
up front for the first time in the day.
Lap 187, the complextion of the race changed, as the leaders came into traffic. There was a jam up
in front of the leaders, with Graham getting collected and being sent into the outside wall, with
heavy contact with the retaining barrier. Graham’s fine run just ended against the outside wall in
turn four, with about 15 laps to go.
As the accident happened, it was deemed that Lichty had gotten by Sitterly, with Lichty now
leading the race with less than 10 laps left after the restart.,
Lichty led, Sitterly, Ritskes and Danzer as laps clicked closer to 200. Lichty and Sitterly pulled out,
and it was evident this was going to be settled between the two Nicotra team cars. Sitterly tried his
low move on the restart, but didn’t get the bite he needed for the pass. Sitterly settled behind the
leader as laps clicked down, waiting for his opportunity.
The white flag came out, with Lichty in front, and Sitterly on his back bumper. They raced out of
turn two, with Lichty pulling down to the inside, and Sitterly powering out on the high side. The
Lichty 6 car seemed to not get the full bite off the corner, and Sitterly got a good run on the back
straightaway, heading into turn three. As they raced between three and four, the cars raced side by
side, with Sitterly’s 7 inching out, under full power coming off the corner. As they exited three and
into four, the Sitterly 7 nosed ahead, and powered off four with the lead, coming to the checkered.
With his fist in the air, Sitterly crossed under the checkered flags first, for his second career Classic
win. Just a lap before, he was in second, and a last lap, last corner pass gave Sitterly his second
career Classic win.
I saw Mike start to pull down coming out of two,” Sitterly said of the pass for the win. “ It was out
of turn two, and the car just didn’t go, it didn’t take off. I filled the whole, and here we are, It was a
good run, a good team race, I have to thank everyone, we had guys from all over New York State
work on this car, and it was a team effort. What a race.”
“This was a good run, but man, one lap before,” Mike Lichty said after his second place finish. “I
have to thank John Nicotra, Craig Reed and everyone involved in getting me this ride, but second
is tough when we were this close. Everyone wants to win the Classic, and everyone tells me this is
the hardest one to get, and to be so close, is tough. But, second is a good run, and thanks to the
guys for giving me such a good car.”
“We’re happy,” third place randy Ritskes said trackside. “the car was a handful and we did the bet
we could with what we had. We finished second in points, and third in the Classic, that’s a good
year for us. We’re happy.”
“We had a good year, we won a race, came in fourth in the Classic and all in all we’re thrilled with
this season,” fourth place Dave Danzer added.
Finish International Classic 200
1)Otto Sitterly 7, 2)Mike Lichty 6, , 3)Randy Ritskes 88, 4)Dave Danzer 52, 5)Tim Snyder 0, 6)Chris
Perley 5, 7)Bobby Haynes 44, 8)Joe Gosek 00, 9)Brian Sobus 79, 10)Moe Lilje 2, 11)Jerry Curran 24,
12)Brandon Bellinger 02, 13)Johnny Benson Jr 74, 14)Joey Payne 99, 15)Ray Graham 90, 16)Shaun
Gosselin 26, 17)Pat Lavery 22, 18)Dave McKnight 08, 19)Michael Muldoon 20, 20)Bobby Bond 05,
21)Kelly Miller 81, 22)Stephen Gioia 9, 23)Mike Bond 25, 24)Gary Morton 70, 25)Craig Rayvals 94, 26)
Michael Barnes 98, 27)Dave Shullick Jr 15, 28)Shaun Muldoon 1, 29)David Gruel 50, 30)Timmy
Jedrzejek 32, 31)Jeff Abold 05, 32)Joey Scanlon 86, 33)Hal Latulip 56, 34)Kody Graham 21
