July 2, 2005

In The Groove With Danny Johnson

Oswego, NY - There weren't too many people that went away from the Oswego Speedway last weekend disappointed. The pits were full of race cars, it was a beautiful day, there weren't too many wrecks, there were a couple of good features, and fireworks are always a good time. There were 27 supermodifieds on hand. You had to race your way into the 100 lap supermodified feature. The feature itself was a good show. The headlines read that Greg Furlong's 5 race winning streak was over. There were many more storylines though.

Victory Lane was about as emotional as you'll see. Doug Didero picked up his first Oswego feature win in eight years. Doug took over the driving chores in the Syrell 08 a couple of years ago. Gary, Davey, Doug and the guys did a lot of work to the 08, as they did a pretty much retooling of the entire car. The 08 has been fast each time it has been here. The only problem they have had, has been motor related. Classic last year, he qualified second, and ran strong, only to fall out with motor problems. Same thing this Shampine Memorial show. Doug was running a strong second, then the mag went on the car. This past weekend, Doug came from deep in the starting field, and raced up to the front of the pack By lap 5, he was up from 14th to 5th He continued to blast his way forward, and began to chase down Mike Ordway in the 61, without the caution flag. During the red flag after the 61 went dry, smoke came from the motor area of the 08. Could this be happening again? Before they were pushed away, I was told it was insulation that was smoldering. The smoke went away under speed, and Doug wasn't challenged for the win.

Even though Doug lives in North Carolina, it was a good old hometown win. The Syrell's have about as much time at the speedway as any one family in Oswego does. They grew up within a stones throw of the track. The Syrell boys have been around the speedway for as long as anyone can remember. It was a touching moment when Doug dedicated the win to Petey Syrell, Gary and Davey's brother, that had been tragically taken from us a few years ago. There were hugs and tears all around. This was one of those moments that show just how special an Oswego Speedway feature win is, and how much it means to those involved.

Mike Ordway had the heartbreak of the night. Mike took the lead on lap 2, saying it was better to lead on worn tires, than to try and pass someone with worn rubber. It looked as though Mike was toying with the field, picking how hard he wanted to run. Lap 93, that ended, when the 61 quit, as the fuel tank was dry. They figured in their prerace calculation they didn't need the side cell. If only for another 3 gallons, we may have had quite a shootout for the win. The 61 is getting there Mike said, but they still have a little tinkering to do. The Mr. Supermodified race is coming soon, and Mike and Clyde always have their A game ready for that one.

Greg Furlong was never a factor. He didn't have time to be. It's only ifs and buts, but I don't know if he would have won that one. It didn't appear that the outside groove was there last week. Not that the 72 can't pass on the inside, but its best on the outside. When you have the 08, and 61 running as well as they were Saturday, I think they would have given the 72 a run for its money. I guess we won't know though. Greg looks to start another win string tonight, when he leads the field to the green in the rained out 30 rescheduled show. Otto Sitterly continues to impress in the Peri 14. Otto struggled his way into the field, after oiling down the track in his heat race when the plug came out. Even how he got in was wild. Joe Gosek withdrew his heat race qualifying spot, and had to requalify through the consi. Now, to have a 24 car field, they took 7 from the consi. Otto finished seventh, the last spot to qualify for the show. He patiently worked his way through the field, and was one of the fastest cars on the track at the end of the race.

It was nice to have Bobby Magner back in the pits. I'm keeping my fingers crossed Bobby comes back, and brings Jeff with him soon. Mike Hooper was back for his first time since Memorial Day. Mike has the Classic winning Snyder car under him now. Shawn Muldoon also made his return. The cars were there this past weekend, showing car counts are ok. Hopefully, car counts continue to stay high. There wasn't too much carnage last weekend. Maybe we can get most of them back this weekend.

Speaking of this weekend, we have another full night ahead. We start the night with the rain delayed 30 lap feature from about a month ago. Greg Furlong leads the field down for the rest of the 30 lapper. The supers will run a regular show, as will the stockers. For the first time ever, the limiteds will run twin 20 lap features. It should be interesting with double features. USAC returns to Oswego Speedway this weekend as the Ford Focus cars make their second trip to the Big O this year. Opening night, Ryan Smith picked up the win. Fans remember that race as Kyle Bonsignore took a wild ride into the outside front straightaway wall.

The Focus cars last raced at Seekonk, with local driver Brit Andersen taking the win. Stephanie Stevens backed up her fourth at Oswego with a second at Seekonk. Mike Sboro, a former New Yorker now living in Mooresville, has a pair of thirds. Jeff Abold had a good run as he knocked down a fourth in Seekonk. This will be the third race of the year for the Focus cars. They were scheduled to run at Adirondack in June, but were rained out. I start to think whenever USAC comes to town, if someday soon, we could have a national USAC race, or even weekend. Just think of how cool it would be to have the midgets, sprints or even Silver Crown cars here at Oswego. The local flavor would be there for it, between Bobby Santos, the Matczak-Mucci car, maybe even Bentley. It would be something to have drivers like Bobby East, Josh Wise, Teddy Beach, Jay Drake, or Dave Steele run here. Within the past couple of years, I have been to national USAC events at South Boston (VA.) and Gas City (In.) Speedway's. There is no doubt in my mind Oswego could do a USAC event, and do it right. I think the fans would come out for it, and something like this could be good for both Oswego and USAC. USAC could use a bigger presence in the east, and Oswego would have the blessing of the most powerful open wheeled sanctioning body in the country. Having the national open wheel spot light on Oswego Speedway wouldn't hurt one bit. It would be nice to show the speedway off to a national audience. I hope a national event or weekend is something that both parties will look at seriously. The stock in both USAC and Oswego Speedway are on the rise again, and an event like this could be something really special.

See you at the races.