Oswego Speedway’s 2015 Commitment Rosters Revealed
OSWEGO, NY (February 10, 2015) – As Oswego Speedway’s 65th anniversary season inches ever closer, over 40 teams have so far committed to the 2015 season at the Steel Palace, set to take the green flag on Saturday, May 9th presented by Planet Fitness of Oswego and Mitchell’s Speedway Press.
By signing on to the Oswego Speedway commitment program teams are agreeing to enter each week of the regular racing season. Oswego Speedway agrees to pay an increased and guaranteed purse to start the feature every Saturday night to those teams. However, if for any reason a team misses more than one night of racing the commitment goes away, and the team is no longer in the program. At that point teams also have to give up any commitment dollars gained on top of a normal Saturday night purse.
A total of 25 Novelis Supermodified teams have committed to the weekly field in 2015, including 2014 championship combatants Otto Sitterly, Dave Gruel, David Danzer, Pat Lavery, and Joey Payne.
Sitterly’s feats have been well chronicled in recent months after claiming his historic seventh Novelis Supermodified Oswego Speedway track title in 2014 over Gruel. With a total of 30 career Supermodified main event wins now at Oswego, including his fourth Budweiser International Classic crown, Sitterly no doubt reigns as the man to beat heading into 2015.
Hawk chassis companions Gruel, Danzer, and Lavery will all return with their same mounts in 2015, nipping at Sitterly’s heels. However, odds makers may believe that Danzer, and his family owned No. 52 machine, may have the best chance of the three to knock Sitterly off.
Danzer rattled off three main events wins in 2014, with two coming in his brand new Hawk chassis later in the year. A victory in the $10,000 to win Mr. Novelis Supermodified and a triumph during the Race of Champions Fall Championship finale in a direct battle with Sitterly, points to the No. 52 as a direct opponent to Sittery’s run at a record-breaking eighth Supermodified championship.
Former teammates Gruel and Lavery each fell short of victory lane in 2014, but no doubt share the same team effort and driving pedigree to threaten the Nicotra team for the title.
Arguably the hottest driver, other than Danzer, at the end of 2014 was the driver of the Graham Racing, Xtreme Chassis No. 99 – the ‘Jersey Jet’ Joey Payne.
Payne will return full-time in 2015 behind the wheel of his track record shattering machine, which sat on the pole for the 58th annual Budweiser International Classic 200, and with feature winning teammate Kody Graham the duo looks to end the recent championship stranglehold held by Sitterly and Hawk chassis.
After debuting the Graham machine later in the season last year, Payne wasted little time in finding the machine comfortable, driving to a main event win in August before dominating the early portions of the International Classic and finishing the championship schedule with three consecutive top five finishes on his way to sixth in the final standings.
Payne fell just 124 points shy of the title, even though he missed one event during the year rehabbing a non-racing related injury.
Like Payne, Kody Graham also picked up one main event win in 2014 and shared the front row with Payne for the International Classic.
Other drivers finishing in the top ten of last year’s drivers’ championship that will return as commitment members in 2015 are Joe Gosek, Michael Barnes, Tim Devendorf, and Michael Muldoon.
While no official word has come out from Gosek as to which option he will select for 2015, most reports seem to show that the Gosek team will make the front end adjustments necessary to their championship winning No. 00 from 2011 to better compete this coming season. Gosek won the 75-lap Grand Prix event at the Speedway in 2014, his 43rd career main event win at Oswego.
Despite missing one event in 2014, Barnes drove the new Syrell Racing Hawk chassis to two main event wins last season and eighth in the drivers’ championship. Barnes adds his name to a stellar list of championship hopefuls during the 2015 campaign.
Devendorf will debut a brand new Hawk chassis into action in 2015. The machine was completed very late in 2014, and never hit the track for competition. Finishing ninth in points in 2014, Devendorf was declared the most improved driver one year ago and looks to continue to climb in 2015.
Finishing the top ten in points one year ago was Muldoon, who will again return to the track with a re-worked No. 51 roadster. Still eyeing his first career main event win, the young Muldoon will surely be a threat for victory in 2015.
Others entering the program from one year ago include Brandon Bellinger, Keith Shampine, Stephen Gioia III, Dan Connors Jr., Lou LeVea Sr., Lou LeVea Jr., Tim Snyder, Hal LaTulip, Shaun Gosselin, Jeff Abold, and Ray Graham.
New drivers in the program this season include 2014 Rookie of the Year Mike Barbera, 2015 Rookie of the Year candidate Logan Rayvals, and returning supermodified veteran Brian Sobus.
While the teams listed above are those displaying the early commitment to be at the track each week in 2015, a host of other drivers and teams are hoping to make the Steel Palace home in 2015.
Dave Cliff, Bob Bogwicz, Dave Shullick Jr., Brian Sweeney, Davey Hamilton, Jerry Curran, Jeff Locke, Bob Bond, Joey Moriarty, and Tim Jedrzejek have also all registered for action at the “Home of Supermodifieds” this season.
On the Pathfinder Bank Small Block Super side of the pit area, 17 teams have so far entered into the commitment program including last year’s championship contestants Andrew Schartner, Kreig Heroth, Anthony Losurdo, and Jack Patrick.
Others returning to the program this season from one year ago include 2014 feature winner Alex Hoag, Dalton Doyle, 2014 Rookie of the Year Camden Proud, David LaTulip, Greg O’Connor, and Dennis Rupert.
New to the program this season will be Bruce Racing teammate Matt Magner as well as 2015 Rookie of the Year candidate and Oswego Kartway graduate Alex McRae.
McRae is the grandson of longtime Speedway Supermodified veteran Joe Hawksby Sr. and the nephew to Hawk chassis creator Joe Hawksby Jr. A many time feature winner at the Friday night Oswego Kartway facility, McRae will drive No. 14 in 2015.
Other drivers registered that are not in the commitment program include Jesse Bearup, Rob Pullen, James Babcock, Cameron Black, AJ Bernys, Dennis Richmond, and Ray Sand Jr.
For more information on Oswego Speedway visit online at www.oswegospeedway.com or call (315) 342-0646. Visit the Speedway on social media @OswegoSpeedway or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OswegoSpeedway.
2015 Novelis Supermodified Commitment Roster
- 00 – Joe Gosek
- 01 – Dan Connors Jr.
- 02 – Brandon Bellinger
- 05 – Jeff Abold
- 0 – Tim Snyder
- 5 – Tim Devendorf
- 7 – Otto Sitterly
- 9 – Stephen Gioia III
- 11 – Graham Racing
- 21 – Kody Graham
- 22 – Pat Lavery
- 26 – Shaun Gosselin
- 45 – Mike Barbera
- 50 – Dave Gruel
- 51 – Michael Muldoon
- 52 – David Danzer
- 55 – Keith Shampine
- 56 – Hal LaTulip
- 66 – Lou LeVea Sr.
- 68 – Michael Barnes
- 79 – Brian Sobus
- 83 – Lou LeVea Jr.
- 90 – Ray Graham
- 94 – Logan Rayvals ®
- 99 – Joey Payne
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That’s a pretty good size for a committed field at any short tracks. The short tracks around here would be ecstatic with those numbers.
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Agree with that statement Bill, especially in this day and age. I think Oswego averaged around 22 cars a show last year and while that’s short of a full 24 car feature starting field, it was by far the strongest average of any sanction or track running the supermodifieds. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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