May 25, 2002

MIKE ORDWAY AND SCOTT MARTEL TAKE OSWEGO AND ISMA SUPER EVENTS AT OSWEGO'S SHAMPINE MEMORIAL

Oswego, NY - Over 100 cars filled the pits Saturday night for the A&P Auto Parts-WIX- sponsored Jim Shampine Memorial for the doubleheader that brings in the best of the best in the supermodified world. And, despite some delays due to rain and two severe accidents, the night was a memorable one for many. The winged ISMA supers were up first with Scott Martel taking his first-ever Oswego Speedway feature win, a dream come true for the Bradford, Mass. man, who held off Russ Wood and Joe Gosek right to the checkered. Mike Ordway continued his winning ways in the non-winged supers, for his second straight dominating performance in the Clyde Booth 61. Bill Moore easily won the super stock event over Joe Miller while Mark Regan closed the night's events with his first win of the season with Mike Bond and Bobby Rundell chasing him the line. It has been 20 years since the legendary Jim Shampine has left us and the racing held in his memory did him justice once more.

MARTEL MAKES IT TO VICTORY LANE AT OSWEGO
Scott Martel's previous ISMA victory was in 1995 at Cayuga Speedway, but Saturday night's win at Oswego Speedway was awaited much longer than those past seven years. "I have to admit this is like a dream come true," said the 10-year supermodified veteran." I've been coming to Oswego Speedway my entire life. It's truly an honor to come to a track like this and to win the Jim Shampine Memorial race. This is what dreams are made of. I want to thank God, my parents and my family. And, of course, all the guys who help me out and all my sponsors. They are a big part of this too. Thank you!

"I was ready for Russ and Joe when I knew they were there. I've been working hard this winter. All the guys have. We've put in so much time. I wanted to prove to everyone out there that you don't need a lot of dollars to go out there and win. You have to work real hard. Use your heart . That's what this family team is all about. It's a bunch of guys who work hard and it pays off. I wanted to win this for my two little girls here Jaime and Brooke. I love you guys!"

It was definitely Scott Martel's night at Oswego. A most horrific crash occurred just as the green unfurled for the start. The front row of Joey Hawksby and Ken Bell touched as the pedals met the metal off turn four. Hawksby's car crossed up, caught a wheel and was sent very hard into the fourth turn wall leaving a huge hole. After the impact, Hawksby's car, still flying, went upside down and landed down the speedway. Outside pole sitter Bell, in the meantime, slide across the track into the inner hub rail as the rest of the pack scattered around the two. Miraculously, Hawksby was a bit shaken, but not injured. Bell had a minor hand injury and none of the other cars in the field hit anything. Martel, who started fifth, had dodged bullet number one.

On second attempt at the race start, Jamie Timmons, now second place starter, bobbled, tried to correct, bobbled again and finally ended up in the foam in between one and two. Again, everyone got by. Martel, starting third, could have easily been caught up in that one. Luck was riding with the 14 this night. Scott said later, "Actually, I had a close call on both the bad incidents during this race. I tried to be patient, but more than anything, it's a lot of luck. I'm glad to hear those guys are all right. It's a testament to the way these cars are built, to the safety rules that ISMA has and enforces. This whole organization is a great one. I'm honored to be a part of it, to race at Oswego Speedway and to win with ISMA"

When the race finally got started, Martel was the leader from the get go. Chris Perley, who had rocketed to a heat win, applied the immediate pressure. Russ Wood, Joe Gosek and Joey Payne all closed fast with Dave McKnight and Lou Cicconi working their way up quickly.
While Martel put the 14 flawless through traffic as the winged warriors sped over the 5/8th's mile, a great battle ensued between Perley, Russ Wood and Joe Gosek, for second.

By lap 20, Wood had moved into second, as Perley appeared to be losing ground. Gosek moved into third on lap 22 and the chase began. On lap 28, Perley slowed dramatically with a tire going down and the Rowley Rocket's hopes were dashed once again at Oswego.

As Martel dove in and out of traffic, Wood stayed right with him. Gosek, Joey Payne, Dave McKnight and Lou Cicconi ran in the top five as many of the boys behind were put down to the flying Martel machine. Martel was lapping cars that were of top ten caliber and it wasn't an easy task. But, while the traffic proved beneficial to Martel, it didn't help Wood.

Russ said after the checkered had fallen on the top three of Martel, Wood and Gosek, ""My car was good. I thought I had Scott a few times. I might have been able to stick it in there but there was a chance of wrecking too, so I didn't. Scott was running well. I was waiting for him to make a mistake. I just never had quite enough to get him. The traffic was there. It didn't help much tonight. Sometimes it does, but we did the best we could."

Martel was simply ecstatic in victory lane. It was definitely his night and there were many happy people in attendance that had waited along with Scott for this special moment. Third place finisher, Joe Gosek was as happy for Scott as he was with his third place. "It was a good race. We had a good car - not quite as good as the front two - but a win last night and a third tonight - we'll take it. It's a good two-three finish for Dunigan Racing tonight. Congratulations to Scotty. It's a good win for him here."

Running in the last spot in the lead lap, Dave McKnight commented, "We're going forward and backwards. The car ran okay tonight. We still have some motor problems. The motor was missing all night - stuttering like it's running on seven. Hey, seven cylinders and a fourth place here. That speaks well of the car. The team did a good job. We got in the show. We finished and we'll go on to the next race."

Lou Cicconi, Jon Gambuti, Dave Shullick Jr., Howard Page, Pat Shullick and Howie Lane rounded out the top ten.

ORDWAY ROCKETS TO SECOND STRAIGHT IN OSWEGO SUPERMODIFIED EVENTS AT SHAMPINE MEMORIAL
If you count heat races, Mike Ordway is four-for-four on the season at Oswego Speedway driving the Clyde Booth machine to wins in all events he's run in. Mike proved to be a formidable opponent once again Saturday night as he easily took home the Jim Shampine Memorial 50 laurels. Mike stalked through the pack until he reached leader Brian Sweeney on lap 17 and was by on the restart after a yellow flew on that lap for the 56 of Hal LaTulip.

The Fremont, NH driver said simply in victory lane, "I feel good. The car is just awesome right now. It's hard to hold it back. I slowed down there in the traffic but I felt I had the horses to take back off if I needed to. Vern caught me on that restart. I was kind of sleeping. I picked the pace up after that. It was a good night. I'm not sure when we'll be back again. We've been talking about it. The book is still open on that."
And, nothing against the likeable Ordway, but there aren't many Oswego regulars that would miss Ordway if he missed a couple week's events.

After Ordway took over the lead on lap 17, Vern LaFave, snuck up on Mike who was already threading into traffic. But, Mike just speeded up a tad and pulled into oblivion. Howard Page put a move on LaFave, taking second on lap 20, as Dave Trytek, Bob Goutermout, Ray Graham Jr. and Otto Sitterly were the main contenders behind.

With 20 to go, Ordway was out of sight moving through traffic while Howie Page and Otto Sitterly rain several car lengths apart in second and third. The battle for fourth intensified as LaFave fought off Goutermout and Graham. Jamie Moore also pulled into the mix.

The race flew to conclusion until lap 43 when a stop occurred for the 89 of Todd Stowell who suddenly slowed off turn four. Stowell was able to pit and restart, but the race didn't. On the next green flag, a four-car pileup that blocked the track brought out the red. Joe Gosek, Brian Sweeney, Dave Lair, Jerry Curran, Jeff Holbrook, and Bob Bond were either affected by the accident or in the pits for other reasons. Only Gosek was hooked. Moore in the meantime was overheating and left a top run.

Three laps were in the books before another stop blocked the track with Timmy Jedrzejek, Shawn Muldoon, Curran, Sweeney and Tim Snyder the victims this time. Jedrzejek, one of the few crossover drivers from winged to non-wing, was hooked in this one.

Ordway only had one more yellow to contend with on his flight to victory and it came on lap 49 and it was a quick one. Ordway soared to victory on lap 50 as Howie Page and Otto Sitterly crossed closely together in second and third. Ray Graham, Jr., who has moved to Iowa since the 2001 season, made his long trip worthwhile with a fourth while Vern LaFave earned his first-ever top five.

Howie Page, who finished best overall for both races and earned the WIX Best Overall Bonus said, "As I told Clyde last week, he's making me go home and do my homework. I really need to do some so we can catch up to Mike. We're really off the pace compared to him. Other than that second is great tonight as we were running both shows. We took home some extra WIX bonus money so it's a good night."

Otto Sitterly, who had moved up on Page at race end said, "Too many cautions. We were fast at the end. We needed green flag racing. I had nothing for the 61, but I think we had something for Howard. We had a good run. It's in one piece and we'll work on it for two weeks."

"It's nice to be back," said fourth place finisher Ray Graham after the race. "The car was running good for the first time out this year. It's not bad. It's a long way to go to catch Mike Ordway but fourth place for the first time out is good and the car is in one piece. We'll be back in a couple weeks. Then most of July and once or twice in August and then Classic. I'm fifteen hours away now, but the car stays in Fulton, so the flying is not too bad."

Vern LaFave was ecstatic with fifth. "Finally. We can't get over it. Our first top five. I want to thank Jreck Subs and Aaction Freightways. That's the only reason I'm racing this year. We didn't have enough money and they stepped up the program to pay for my money and things. And, finally, a top five. This is my old car. We built a new one then brought this one back out. This is my old workhorse. She's a good car!"

OSWEGO SUPERMODIFIED HEAT #1
1. Jamie Moore (44) 2. Howard Page (18) 3. Ray Graham Jr (90) 4. Brian Sweeney (3) 5. Jerry Curran (24) 6. Keith Gilliam (87) 7. Tim Gareau Jr (5) 8. Bob Bond (25) 9. Robert Parrow (21) 10. Jeff Carson (27)

OSWEGO SUPERMODIFIED HEAT #2
1. Jeff Holbrook (35) 2. Vern LaFave (97) 3. Otto Sitterly (79) 4. Bob Goutermout (77) 5. Joe Gosek (00) 6. Tim Jedrzejek (7) 7. Hal LaTulip (56) 8. Dave Lair (88) 9. Tom Gonczi (01)

OSWEGO SUPERMODIFIED HEAT #3
1. Mike Ordway (61) 2. Dave Trytek (70) 3. Todd Stowell (89) 4. Pat Lavery (99) 5. Tim Snyder (0) 6. Craig Rayvals (94) 7. Bill Peri (14) 8. Shawn Muldoon (1) 9. Tim Proud (04)

OSWEGO SUPERMODIFIED CONSI
1. Shawn Muldoon (1) 2. Tim Gareau Jr (5) 3. Hal LaTulip (56) 4. Bob Bond (25) 5. Bill Peri (14) 6. Dave Lair (88) 7. Tom Gonczi (01) 8. Robert Parrow (21) 9. Jeff Carson (27) DNS

OSWEGO SUPERMODIFIED FEATURE (50)
1. Mike Ordway (61) 2. Howard Page (18) 3. Otto Sitterly (79) 4. Ray Graham Jr (90) 5. Vern LaFave (97) 6. Dave Trytek (70) 7. Bob Goutermout (77) 8. Tim Gareau Jr (5) 9. Keith Gilliam (87) 10. Todd Stowell (89) 11. Pat Lavery (99) 12. Jerry Curran (24) 13. Brian Sweeney (3) 14. Shawn Muldoon (1) 15. Tim Snyder (0) 16. Dave Lair (88) 17. Jeff Holbrook (35) 18. Jamie Moore (44) 19. Tim Jedrzejek (7) 20. Bob Bond (25) 21. Joe Gosek (00) 22. Craig Rayvals (94) 23. Hal LaTulip (56) 24. Bill Peri (14)

ISMA SUPERMODIFIED HEAT #1
1. Kenny Bell (32) 2. Russ Wood (29) 3. Dave McKnight (94) 4. Joey Payne (9) 5. Jack Smith (09) 6. Jon Gambuti (88) 7. Randy Ritskes (16) 8. Mark Sammut (78) 9. Bobby Smith (67)

ISMA SUPERMODIFIED HEAT #2
1. Joe Hawksby Jr (2) 2. Jamie Timmons (27) 3. Scott Martel (14) 4. Joe Gosek (26) 5. Eric Shirey (72) 6. Tim Jedrzejek (7) 7. Pat Shullick (49) 8. Brad Lichty (84) 9. Scott Eldred (15)

ISMA SUPERMODIFIED HEAT #3
1. Chris Perley (11) 2. Lou Cicconi (75) 3. DJ Shullick (83) 4. Howard Page (18) 5. Howie Lane (97) 6. Jamie Letcher (58) 7. Jennifer Chesbro (33) 8. Jerry Curran (24) 9. Doug Kells (38)

ISMA CONSI
1. Jerry Curran (24) 2. Pat Shullick (49) 3. Jennifer Chesbro (33) 4. Tim Jedrzejek (77) 5. Brad Lichty (84) 6. Bobby Smith (67) 7. Randy Ritskes (16) 8. Mark Sammut (78) 9. Doug Kells (38)

ISMA SUPERMODIFIED FEATURE (50)
1. Scott Martel (14) 2. Russ Wood (29) 3. Joe Gosek (26) 4. Dave McKnight (94) 5. Lou Cicconi (75) 6. Jon Gambuti (88) 7. DJ Shullick (83) 8. Howard Page (18) 9. Pat Shullick (49) 10. Howie Lane (97) 11. Jack Smith (09) 12. Eric Shirey (72) 13. Jerry Curran (24) 14. Tim Jedrzejek (77) 15. Randy Ritskes (16) 16. Jennifer Chesbro (33) 17. Jamie Letcher (58) 18. Joey Payne (9) 19. Chris Perley (11) 20. Brad Lichty (84) 21. Jamie Timmons (27) 22. Bobby Smith (67) 23. Joe Hawksby Jr (2) 24. Kenny Bell (32)