OSWEGO, NY (August 6, 2013) – The countdown to Budweiser International Classic Week continues on Saturday as JP Jewelers of Oswego presents Ovarian Cancer Awareness Night at Oswego Speedway along with the second Entergy Driver Autograph Session of the season.
Oswego Speedway will aim to paint the ‘Steel Palace’ teal on Saturday, helping to drive awareness toward ovarian cancer.
Ovarian cancer is one of the most deadly of women’s cancers. Each year approximately 22,880 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer, with many women not seeking help until the disease has begun to spread. However, if detected at an early stage, the five year survival rate is more than 93%.
For more information online please visit www.ovariancancerawareness.org.
Saturday also marks the second Entergy Driver Autograph session of the season, which will take place at 5:15pm directly on the Speedway’s main straightaway. The season’s first autograph session was a hit, and a large turnout is once again expected this Saturday as fans young and old have a chance to meet their favorite racecar driver.
Those looking to attend the races Saturday night can visit www.livingsocial.com and search Oswego Speedway for buy one – get one free tickets. Two adult tickets will be available through the Living Social deal for only $15, and can be used only one time on either August 10 or August 17.
Kids 16 & under are once again free on Saturday as long as they attend with a paid adult.
Looking at the ‘Road to the Championship’ standings sees defending Novelis Supermodified track champion Otto Sitterly continue to extend his championship lead. Sitterly added another $10,000 Mr. Novelis Supermodified title to his resume last Saturday and now holds a 32-point edge on Joe Gosek. With only three point races remaining in 2013, Sitterly is in the driver’s seat as he looks to collect his sixth career Speedway championship.
Gosek has been a picture of consistency in 2013, but has had his share of bad breaks, and has yet to reach Turning Stone Resort Casino Victory lane this season. While Gosek has finished in the top ten in every Novelis Supermodified event this year at the ‘Steel Palace,’ Sitterly’s three victories are making the difference right now in the battle for the title.
With one main event win on the year, Dave Gruel now rides third in the Speedway’s Supermodified championship. For two consecutive weeks Gruel has had to deal with another racecar landing on top of him in a feature mishap, but last Saturday night Gruel was able to rebound with his badly wounded No. 50 for a ninth place finish.
Gruel’s teammate Pat Lavery has risen to fourth in the standings after picking up his first career feature win earlier this season. Lavery has four top ten finishes in 2013 including a sixth in last week’s Mr. Novelis Supermodified main.
Falling to fifth in the standings last week is Shaun Gosselin, driver of the No. 26. Gosselin blew an engine in warm-ups on Saturday, and did not compete in a single points paying event on August 3.
Dave Danzer, Michael Barnes, Dan Connors Jr., Michael Muldoon, and Brandon Bellinger complete the top ten in the current driver’s championship for the Novelis Supermodifieds.
On the Pathfinder Bank SBS side of the championship, Russ Brown continues to lead the standings despite dropping out of the Mr. SBS event with a 16th place finish. Brown holds a 42-point edge in the championship hunt on the strength of seven top five finishes this season, three more than any other driver.
Moving to second in the championship is the driver of the No. 98, Jason Simmons. Simmons went to victory lane back on May 25 and was able to leap over Mike Bond to the runner-up spot with a sixth place finish one week ago.
Bond has had a rough couple of weeks in the No. 74 and as a result has dropped to third in the series standings, with one victory on the year. After having to qualify through the consi one week ago, Bond managed a 12th place finish in the Mr. Pathfinder Bank SBS main.
Feature winner in 2013 and teammate to Simmons, JJ Andrews is fourth in the championship, 16-points behind Bond. With a victory during this season’s running of the King of Wings, Andrews has four top five finishes this season and has been a threat week in and week out during the year.
Rounding out the top five is the defending series champion, Kreig Heroth. Heroth, like Brown, has not visited victory lane in 2013 but has an amazing nine top ten finishes through this point of the season. Consistency has been the motto of the Won4Racing team, but if they are going to make a run for the championship they need to turn it up this weekend and get to victory lane.
Andrew Schartner, Rob Pullen, Dalton Doyle, Jon Tesoriero, and rookie Jeremy Pitcher fill the top ten positions in the year-long battle for the title.
Saturday night’s racing will see pit gates open at 2pm with hot laps beginning and grandstands opening at 4pm. The night’s first green flag will wave at 6:30pm.
For more information on Oswego Speedway visit online at www.oswegospeedway.com, FOLLOW on Twitter @OswegoSpeedway, or LIKE on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OswegoSpeedway.
PHOTO CREDIT: Bill Taylor