4/26/10
Craig Rayvals Ready For His Return To Oswego
By Dan Johnson
Craig Rayvals Ready For His Return To Oswego
By Dan Johnson
Ever since “The Eagle” class, now the supermodifieds, were named as Oswego
Speedway’s headline division, Canadians have played a very integral part in the history
of the lakeside oval. Early on, drivers like “Stormin” Normin’ Mackereth, Howie Scannell,
and Warren Coniam crossed the border weekly to run Oswego, while Jack Greedy,
Kenny Andrews, Gary Witter, and “Big John” Clapham carried the tradition on.
Currently, Gary Morton and Dave McKnight make Oswego home on Saturday’s, while
Doug Didero commuted for years from Ontario.
Carrying on that proud tradition once again in 2010 is Brockville, Ontario’s Craig
Rayvals. This year marks Craig’s tenth year in the supermodifieds, and he returns to the
Big O after a year on the ISMA circuit. “I have always liked Oswego,” Craig said as
opening day got closer by the hour. “It’s close to home, you have to have a different
driving style, and we have a lot of friends there. We’ve been coming there for a while
now, and we’ve made a lot of friends in Oswego. You race with the guys for a while, and
you get to know them. There are a lot of good people we’ve met in racing.” “It’s a
good track, the atmosphere is good, and you cant beat the safety crew,” Craig
continued. “Oswego sets the bar, that’s for sure. The feeling you get in a
supermodified, with the way the cars and the big motors, it gets your attention in a hurry,
that’s for sure. It just takes your breath away!”
Craig doesn’t just make the haul to Oswego and cruise around the track, he’s here to
win. He ranks solidly in the top 75 in all time driver points, while chalking up a pair of
victories, as he entered the famed $1000 club on the Jim Shampine Memorial in 2004,
and followed that up with a 45 lap feature win in August of ’08. Add to that, 13 other top
five’s, and Craig has a solid resume at Oswego.
Speedway’s headline division, Canadians have played a very integral part in the history
of the lakeside oval. Early on, drivers like “Stormin” Normin’ Mackereth, Howie Scannell,
and Warren Coniam crossed the border weekly to run Oswego, while Jack Greedy,
Kenny Andrews, Gary Witter, and “Big John” Clapham carried the tradition on.
Currently, Gary Morton and Dave McKnight make Oswego home on Saturday’s, while
Doug Didero commuted for years from Ontario.
Carrying on that proud tradition once again in 2010 is Brockville, Ontario’s Craig
Rayvals. This year marks Craig’s tenth year in the supermodifieds, and he returns to the
Big O after a year on the ISMA circuit. “I have always liked Oswego,” Craig said as
opening day got closer by the hour. “It’s close to home, you have to have a different
driving style, and we have a lot of friends there. We’ve been coming there for a while
now, and we’ve made a lot of friends in Oswego. You race with the guys for a while, and
you get to know them. There are a lot of good people we’ve met in racing.” “It’s a
good track, the atmosphere is good, and you cant beat the safety crew,” Craig
continued. “Oswego sets the bar, that’s for sure. The feeling you get in a
supermodified, with the way the cars and the big motors, it gets your attention in a hurry,
that’s for sure. It just takes your breath away!”
Craig doesn’t just make the haul to Oswego and cruise around the track, he’s here to
win. He ranks solidly in the top 75 in all time driver points, while chalking up a pair of
victories, as he entered the famed $1000 club on the Jim Shampine Memorial in 2004,
and followed that up with a 45 lap feature win in August of ’08. Add to that, 13 other top
five’s, and Craig has a solid resume at Oswego.
Last summer, the #94 suffered a stuck throttle at Lee Speedway and slammed into the wall
with great force. Craig was injured, and his racing year was over. “It was a stuck throttle,
and after that accident, we’ve added some more safety components on the car. Once you
take a ride or two like I have, your perspective changes. Once you break stuff and go to
the hospital, you learn a bit. These cars are safe though. Once you hit at 120, 130 mph, you
are doing something right with the cars. We’re healing up well though, all set to go this
year, and looking forward to it.”
“Anyone that’s not a little fearful in a super, they’re crazy,” Craig philosophized. “But,
once the race starts, you focus on the job at hand, that goes away. It’s a healthy respect
for the machine, and the sport. If nothing else this year, if the car isn’t ready, I’m not going
out there. Do not rush it. It’s not safe to run around, go crazy, and thrash it together. If its
not 100% ready, I’m not going out there. That’s my advice to anyone, more than anything,
make sure the car is buttoned up, and the car is on the money. Don’t rush it.”
Turning ahead to 2010, Craig looks to make the weekly haul from Brockville to Oswego.
“That’s our main deal, we’re looking at making Oswego home. I don’t have any idea how
many wing shows we’ll do. I do want to get back to Lee though, and finish what we
started. Pat and Jeffrey have the other car, in Phoenix. I haven’t talked to them much, but I
think they’re running a lot of midget stuff. I think you’ll see them though. Look for them to
maybe run a little at Oswego, maybe a little ISMA.”
His philosophy is changing a bit as well this year, as Craig is taking a step away from the
crew stuff, and focusing on driving aspect of the sport. “I’m going to try and let the crew
guys do their work, and concentrate on driving,” he said. “We’ll see how it goes, but that’s
the plan as of now.”
While Craig returns to Oswego, he isn’t the only Rayvals to race at Oswego this year. He
explains, “My son Logan is going to start running at the go cart track in the back this
year,” beamed the proud dad. “He’s excited, and we’ll see how it goes. My guess is he’ll
be better than I am!”
Racing is a sport for the entire Rayvals family, as Theresa, Morgan, Lucas and Logan are
very familiar faces around the speedway. Mike Silliman, Murray Bradley, and Tim will make
sure the #94 is in tip top form week in and week out, while Stingray Transportation, Four
Seasons Truck Brokers, Cooseman’s Fruits & Vegetables, Big R Express, Nishan
Transport,and Tony Deodato and Sons are the valuable sponsors for the team.
with great force. Craig was injured, and his racing year was over. “It was a stuck throttle,
and after that accident, we’ve added some more safety components on the car. Once you
take a ride or two like I have, your perspective changes. Once you break stuff and go to
the hospital, you learn a bit. These cars are safe though. Once you hit at 120, 130 mph, you
are doing something right with the cars. We’re healing up well though, all set to go this
year, and looking forward to it.”
“Anyone that’s not a little fearful in a super, they’re crazy,” Craig philosophized. “But,
once the race starts, you focus on the job at hand, that goes away. It’s a healthy respect
for the machine, and the sport. If nothing else this year, if the car isn’t ready, I’m not going
out there. Do not rush it. It’s not safe to run around, go crazy, and thrash it together. If its
not 100% ready, I’m not going out there. That’s my advice to anyone, more than anything,
make sure the car is buttoned up, and the car is on the money. Don’t rush it.”
Turning ahead to 2010, Craig looks to make the weekly haul from Brockville to Oswego.
“That’s our main deal, we’re looking at making Oswego home. I don’t have any idea how
many wing shows we’ll do. I do want to get back to Lee though, and finish what we
started. Pat and Jeffrey have the other car, in Phoenix. I haven’t talked to them much, but I
think they’re running a lot of midget stuff. I think you’ll see them though. Look for them to
maybe run a little at Oswego, maybe a little ISMA.”
His philosophy is changing a bit as well this year, as Craig is taking a step away from the
crew stuff, and focusing on driving aspect of the sport. “I’m going to try and let the crew
guys do their work, and concentrate on driving,” he said. “We’ll see how it goes, but that’s
the plan as of now.”
While Craig returns to Oswego, he isn’t the only Rayvals to race at Oswego this year. He
explains, “My son Logan is going to start running at the go cart track in the back this
year,” beamed the proud dad. “He’s excited, and we’ll see how it goes. My guess is he’ll
be better than I am!”
Racing is a sport for the entire Rayvals family, as Theresa, Morgan, Lucas and Logan are
very familiar faces around the speedway. Mike Silliman, Murray Bradley, and Tim will make
sure the #94 is in tip top form week in and week out, while Stingray Transportation, Four
Seasons Truck Brokers, Cooseman’s Fruits & Vegetables, Big R Express, Nishan
Transport,and Tony Deodato and Sons are the valuable sponsors for the team.
Craig, his family and team carry on the proud Canadian tradition at Oswego as they
return in 2010. “We only got to race 6 times in 2009, so we’re ready to go,” Craig said as
opening day approached. He’s all healed up from his accident last summer, and looks
forward to yet another successful year behind the wheel of the #94 supermodified at
Oswego Speedway.
return in 2010. “We only got to race 6 times in 2009, so we’re ready to go,” Craig said as
opening day approached. He’s all healed up from his accident last summer, and looks
forward to yet another successful year behind the wheel of the #94 supermodified at
Oswego Speedway.
