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OSWEGO, NY (March 6, 2023) – The Oswego Speedway is deeply saddened to share news of the passing of Oswego Speedway Hall of Fame Class of 2013 inductee – former Limited Super track champion and many-time feature winner, Dean Hoag, last Wednesday, March 2nd. Hoag was 70 years old.
Son of the legendary Dutch Hoag, Dean of Rock Stream, N.Y, had burst onto the Supermodified scene in 1979, securing a fourth-place finish in June of his debut season, and later taking home Rookie of the Year honors with the Johnson Logging No. 2.
Hoag would stick with a full Supermodified schedule for over a decade and during that time, he piloted a host of unique race cars including the Maynard Troyer built No. 2, a Show Car, a Dates Chassis, and more, before finishing his big block career with Steve Miller’s Sweet 16 in the early 1990’s.
Dean became a frequent top 5 contender through the 1980’s, with his most memorable moment coming on July 14, 1984, when he bested a top five of Brian Herb, Joe Gosek, John Torrese Jr, and Eddie Bellinger, to win the second Twin 35 event of the evening, and forever etch his name into the Speedway record books as a Supermodified feature winner.
It was late 1993 when Hoag, who had since stepped away from Supermodified racing, teamed with car owner Jim Paternoster, and the duo would soon put together one of the most dominant periods in Small Block Supermodified history.
In their first full season in 1994, Hoag secured his first two feature wins with the Paternoster No. 41 and finished the year in fifth place in the point standings behind Scott Landers, Tim Gareau, Mark Eaves, and Frank Ferguson.
During the 1995 campaign, Dean continued to emerge as one of the top competitors in the still growing Limited Super division, now dueling with the likes of brothers Tom & Andy Jodway, Bob Goutermout, Darryl Nichols, Todd Gordon, and Greg Furlong, among others, adding three more feature wins to his growing total.
By 1996, Paternoster and Hoag were a virtually dominant force. Dean took the checkers in five main events; including a stretch of three in a row on July 6, 13, and 20, plus the 50-lap Limited Supernationals on August 31st.
Using those five wins, Hoag clinched his first track title in ‘96, beating runner-up Billy Izyk by a healthy 72 points.
One year later, Hoag would repeat the same feat, again winning five features and another three in a row in the month of August, this time fending off an ever-consistent Bob Bond, who he beat by just 21 points to earn his second straight track championship.
Dean’s driving career at Oswego came to a close in 1998 when he competed in his final Limited Super season with Paternoster. He would bag one more feature win in ‘98, and finished second to track champion Ray Graham in the season standings, after one of the closest points battles in history between Hoag, Russ Brown, Mike Bond, and Keith Gilliam in the top five.
All in all, Hoag tallied a total of 17 main event wins at Oswego Speedway. His 16 Limited Super or SBS, feature victories is still fifth on the all-time win list behind only Bond, Brown, Dave Cliff, and Dave Gruel and fittingly; his (41) top fives are tied for ninth place.
Although Dean’s driving days were over in the late 90’s, his involvement in local racing certainly was not.
Hoag later became the owner / operator of Black Rock (now Outlaw) Speedway in Dundee, NY, and spent his time helping son Alex foster his own racing career.
Alex, a third generation driver, was a force in the Speedway’s SBS division in the mid 2010’s, particularly in 2014, when he won his first feature over Jon Tesoriero, Anthony Losurdo, Dan Abt, and Andrew Schartner.
Hoag had two additional podium finishes that season, one behind Losurdo in June, and again in the 75-lap Bud Light Classic on August 30, when he finished runner-up to Classic champion Jay Andrews, ahead of a stout top five that included Kreig Heroth, Mike Bruce, and Jack Patrick.
Dean was heavily involved in Alex’s racing, and with none other than lifelong friend and car owner Jim Paternoster, helped to wrench on Alex’s recent acquisition of the former Wallace Racing No. 49 as recently as last Fall. The 49, has of course now been re-numbered to 41.
The staff and management of the Oswego Speedway extend our heartfelt condolences to the Hoag Family.
Information on Dean’s services can be found here: https://fagansfuneralhome.com/tribute/details/2565/Dean-Hoag/obituary.html
