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Bob Clark Photo
OSWEGO, NY (August 17, 2024) – Michael Barnes made a popular return to victory lane during last weekend’s Track Championship Night Novelis Supermodified feature, presented by Best Western Plus, Clarion Hotel & Suites Riverfront and Splash Indoor Waterpark Resort of Oswego. Barnes took the lead from Camden Proud at halfway, and one week after his Mr. Supermodified heartbreak, where he blew an engine while leading with seven laps to go, he achieved his 16th career Speedway win and first since the Jim Shampine Memorial in July 2021.
Logan Rayvals and Proud brought the field to green, with Proud getting a great jump, and Joe Gosek quickly dropping into 3rd around the 83 of Lou LeVea Jr. An early yellow flag flew on lap 4 for Jerry Curran and Junior Farrelly. Early on, Tyler Thompson, who started in 8th, already cleared Mike Bruce, Brandon Bellinger, and LeVea Jr. to get up into 5th. Barnes, starting 6th, made quick work of Bellinger, LeVea and eventually Gosek as well, sliding underneath the 00 and into 3rd on lap 4, behind Proud and Rayvals. The yellow then flew again on lap 5 for a spin by Aric Iosue.
On the restart, Barnes shot to the outside of Rayvals and took 2nd, now giving chase to race leader Proud. Just as Proud and Barnes were dueling in lapped traffic, the engine expired on 2024 Rookie of the Year Nick Snyder’s No. 20 on lap 16, slowing things down. By now, championship contenders Jeff Abold, Otto Sitterly, and Dave Shullick Jr. were up to 6th, 7th, and 8th from their 10th, 11th, and 12th place starting positions.
With 34 laps to go, Proud was able to keep the lead on the restart, ahead of Barnes, Rayvals, Gosek, and Thompson until halfway. The next lap, Barnes was able to roll the outside of Proud and finally take the lead on lap 26. A battle was also heating up between title contenders Sitterly and Abold for 6th, and just as Sitterly had gotten underneath Abold for the position, he lost the handle on the 7, spinning out of 6th place and hitting the wall on lap 31 to end his night and title hopes.
After Sitterly went off on the hook, Abold knew he had to keep Shullick behind him if he wanted to win his first track championship, and he immediately got around Thompson for 5th when the green flag flew on the restart. Less than a lap later, he made the same move on Gosek, getting into 4th on lap 32. As the laps wound down, though, Shullick had continued his march forward as well and was up to 6th with 5 laps to go, but the top 5 of Barnes, Proud, Rayvals, Abold, and Gosek were long gone. However, a spin by Bruce on lap 45 restacked the field again. Shullick was then able to get by Gosek for 5th on the restart and then went right under Abold for position and the championship, coming to 4 to go. Rayvals was the next car to fall victim to Shullick’s late-race charge as the 95 moved up to a podium position with 2 to go.
As the field headed into turn 1 after the white flag flew, Iosue wrecked hard on the backstretch to bring out one more yellow. Under yellow, Gosek broke out of 6th place, moving Thompson up a spot, and he would eventually take 5th from Abold after issues with the 05 in the later stages.
Now, with the title in his hands, this also gave Shullick another shot at a win as he went high, then back low, to steal second from Proud on the green-white-checkered restart. Barnes was gone for the win, though, and it was Shullick who got second and the title, Proud third, Rayvals fourth, Thompson fifth, and rounding out the top 10 were Abold, Dan Connors Jr, LeVea Jr, Jack Patrick, and Brandon Bellinger.
In victory lane, Barnes reflected on the win, saying, “The car was pretty good. For a while, I thought maybe I’d wait for lapped traffic, but the car fired really good on the restarts—even at the end, the car was still so good even when the tires cooled off, so I really wasn’t worried. It almost helped me out a little bit. Just a good night. We’ve had a lot of bad luck the last few years. It feels good to get one with my little guy here. We’ve lost a lot of good people since the last time I won—Joey Witkum—last time I won, he was in victory lane with me; Terry Strong, Mike Murphy, two people that I wouldn’t be standing here for if it wasn’t for them. They gave me all the opportunities, and they are the reason I’m a Supermodified driver, so this is for Terry, Mike, Joey, my nephew Evan—he just had a heart transplant this week, so this is for you too, buddy. And I’ll say hi to my sister Becki and Mike at home and thank them for their support too. I’d like to thank John Cornell Heating, Good Times of Oswego, Joe’s Jerky, Bentley’s Studio, Jimmy D for all the horsepower, Joey Hawksby for building great race cars, the crew—Gary, Eric, Dan, and my Dad. They have really had this thing rolling well these last two weeks. Both cars are going phenomenal. My team has been great.”
That’s it for the regular season, and Classic Weekend is up next Friday, August 30 to Sunday, September 1, featuring the 68th annual Budweiser International Classic 200 for Supermodifieds on Sunday, September 1. Tickets are on sale at OswegoSpeedway.com. Just click “Buy Tickets.”
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.
RESULTS
Best Western PLUS, Clarion Hotel & Suites Riverfront and Splash Indoor Waterpark Resort of Oswego
TEAL Palace Track Championship Night
Novelis Supermodifieds
Saturday, August 17, 2024
Oswego Speedway
Oswego, NY
Feature (50-laps): 1. 68 MICHAEL BARNES, 2. 95 Dave Shullick Jr, 3. 54 Camden Proud, 4. 94 Logan Rayvals, 5. 98T Tyler Thompson, 6. 05 Jeff Abold, 7. 01 Dan Connors Jr, 8. 83 Lou LeVea Jr, 9. 90 Jack Patrick. 10. 02. Brandon Bellinger, 11. 22 Mike Bruce, 12. 0 Tim Snyder, 13. 75 Brian Osetek, 14. 66 Lou LeVea Sr, 15. 00 Joe Gosek, 16. 27 Aric Iosue, 17. 52 Dave Danzer, 18. 7 Otto Sitterly, 19. 41 Russ Wood, 20. 99 Jerry CUrran, 21. 20 ® Nick Snyder, 22. 72JR ® Junior Farrelly
Heat 1 (12-laps): 1. 54 Camden Proud, 2. 68 Michael Barnes, 3. 98T Tyler Thompson, 4. 95 Dave Shullick Jr, 5. 01 Dan Connors Jr, 6. 75 Brian Osetek, 7 72JR ® Junior Farrelly, 8. 41 Russ Wood
Heat 2 (12-laps): 1. 94 Logan Rayvals, 2. 05 Jeff Abold, 3. 83 Lou LeVea Jr, 4. 02 Brandon Bellinger, 5. 90 Jack Patrick, 6. 27 Aric Iosue, 7. 99 Jerry Curran
Heat 3 (12-laps): 1. 22 Mike Bruce, 2. 7 Otto Sitterly, 3. 00 Joe Gosek, 4. 52 Dave Danzer, 5. 0 Tim Snyder, 6. 66 Lou LeVea Sr, 7. 20 ® Nick Snyder
Lighthouse Lanes Up & Comer ($100 bonus to the highest finishing driver who has never won a feature at Oswego Speedway): #94 Logan Rayvals
D&S Landscaping Hard Charger ($25 bonus to the driver advancing the most positions): #95 Dave Shullick Jr.
