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Ray Grela Photo
OSWEGO, NY (June 30, 2022) – Darren Shuman of Oswego leads a record breaking total of ten Pathfinder Bank SBS rookies into the month of July as the coveted Rookie of the Year battle has ramped up heading into the remaining two months of the season.
With three events in July plus two more in August still on the schedule, Shuman; at 332 points, has a 36 point lead over Jude Parker and Greg Richardson, who are now tied in second, each with a total of 296.
Shuman, Parker, and Richardson lead the way ahead of Robbie Wirth in fourth with 294 points, and Jon Carson in fifth with 288 points.
Remaining in the hunt are Drew Pascuzzi in sixth with 266 points, Ryan Gunther in seventh with 250 points, and Tony DeStevens in eighth with 239 points.
Through four features, the No. 62 of Shuman; who is a go-karting and Micro Sprint veteran, has adjusted well to the Oswego asphalt with three top ten and two top five finishes, which includes a fifth in the Tony White Memorial, as well as in Twin 20 competition two weeks ago.
Parker, driving Greg O’Connor’s 00, is continuing to log his first ever experience in a full-sized race car, and has shown speed through the first month of the season. Parker has kept his nose clean for an impressive seventh on Opening Night, followed by efforts of 14th, 12th, and 11th in the last three weeks.
Richardson; a veteran of TQ Midget racing, is another driver who earned his first career top five finish on June 4, when he managed a fourth place run in the Doug Heveron tribute No. 01, good enough to keep him tied with Parker for second.
The 16 year-old son of 350 Super car owner Rich Wirth, Robbie ‘The Wrench’ Wirth and his 04 have also shown immense improvement. Wirth ran only a partial schedule last year and is now returning to compete for Rookie of the Year honors this season, earning a pair of top 10 finishes with a ninth and a sixth thus far.
Finally, Carson; a raw-rookie to racing, has enjoyed a comfortable kickoff to Small Block Super racing, avoiding the June 4th carnage en-route to a podium finish in just his second career start; before following that up with a tenth place run on June 18.
Pascuzzi, Gunther, and Sullivan; all karting graduates, and DeStevens; a former quarter midget racer, are still in striking distance. Gunther (1) and DeStevens (3) have all finished top ten in the opening weeks. Notably, both Gunther and DeStevens have only competed in three out of four features.
These eight drivers will continue their tight battle for perhaps the most rewarding Rookie of the Year honors in Speedway history in this weekend’s 35-lap Independence Weekend Grand Prix for Pathfinder Bank SBS on Saturday, July 2.
For more information, please visit OswegoSpeedway.com, or you can connect with the track on social media by clicking LIKE on Facebook at Facebook.com/OswegoSpeedway, or FOLLOW on Twitter @OswegoSpeedway or Instagram @OfficialOswegoSpeedway.
About Oswego Speedway: Oswego Speedway is a 5/8 mile semi-banked pavement racing oval located off the shores of Lake Ontario in scenic Oswego, NY. The speedway has been a continuously run weekly racing venue since August 1951. The premier open-wheel pavement short track cars in the world, Supermodifieds, run weekly at the Oswego Speedway making it the only weekly Supermodified racing venue in the world. The Small Block Supermodifieds and 350 Supermodifieds accompany the full blown Supers on a weekly Saturday night schedule which runs from May through September. Oswego Speedway is mentioned in racing circles as the “Indy of the East,” as no fewer than a dozen past and present competitors have competed at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway including Mario Andretti, two-time Indy 500 champion Gordon Johncock, and former International Classic Champions Bentley Warren, Joe Gosek, and Davey Hamilton.
2022 PATHFINDER BANK SBS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR STANDINGS (As of June 30):
- #62 DJ Shuman – 332
- #00 Jude Parker – 296
- #01 Greg Richardson – 296
- #04 Robbie Wirth – 294
- #27 Jon Carson – 288
- #72 Drew Pascuzzi – 266
- #22 Ryan Gunther – 250
- #24 Tony DeStevens – 239
- #2 Jordan Sullivan – 127
- #93 Jake Brown – 40
