THE VALLEY NEWS - July 1, 1995
Didero tops Muldoon at Oswego Speedway
Oswego, NY - Doug Didero showed that patience pays
off in long-distance supermodified races at
Oswego Speedway as he slowly worked his
way to the front, saving his tires in the
process, en route to his win Saturday night.
Didero took over the lead from Mike Muldoon with a lap-55 front straightaway
pass and pulled away in the 75-lap holiday
feature, breaking Muldoon's four-race winning streak.
Cliff Graves and Joe Hawksby started
on the front row for the feature event, with
Graves taking the lead when the race
started. Steve Gioia, Russ Wood, Mike
Muldoon, and Doug Didero all chose the
outside groove to work their way to the
front, Danny Soule took over the top spot
in the fourth turn pn lap three and clocked a
17.35 his first lap, gaining a quick eight-car
length lead.
On lap eight, the top ten were Soule, Graves, Steve Gioia, Eddie Bellinger,
Randy Ritskes, Russ Wood, Todd Stowell, Jeff West, Joe Hawksby, and Howard
Page. Back in the pack, Muldoon and Didero raced for 11th spot with Muldoon
making the pass on the front straightaway. Muldoon then put on a charge in which
he passed Dave McKnight and Hawksby on lap 15, went by Stowell on the inside the
next lap, then by West and Ritskes two laps later as he moved from 12th to sixth in five
laps. Muldoon went to the outside of Wood on lap 20 for fifth. On lap 23, he went to the
outside to pass Gioia in the fourth turn, then past Graves on the inside of the back
straightaway the same lap to move to second place 3.78 seconds behind Soule.
As Muldoon worked his way to the front, Soule continued to clock laps in the
17.40 range, but he was coming up on lapped traffic. On lap 30, the top ten read
Soule, Muldoon, Wood, Graves, Bellinger, Gioia, West, McKnight, Ritskes, and Didero.
Soule's big lead was gone as he struggled to get by the slower car of Willie Stutzman.
The two leaders raced bumper to bumper for two laps at 17.66 and 17.59, a full straightaway ahead
of third-place Wood. On lap 33, with the race still caution free, Muldoon pulled the 50 to the inside of
Soule in the second turn and took over the lead. Muldoon's first lap in the lead was
timed at 17.42, giving him a three car-length lead.
Traffic came into play on lap 38 with the
leaders having no problem clearing it.
The first caution flag of the race came out
on lap 39 with Tim Snyder in the second
turn wall and Stowell stopped on the inside.
Before the restart, the top ten were
Muldoon, Soule, Wood, Graves, Bellinger,
Didero, West, McKnight, Gioia, and Ritskes. Once racing, Soule apparently got
into the back end of the 50, sending his 32 sideways and letting Wood go by on the
outside for second place. Didero used the restart to go to the inside of Bellinger and
Graves for fourth place and the cars of Muldoon, Wood, Soule, and Didero broke
away from the rest of the field.
On lap 41, Wood turned the Shea Concrete 27 to the inside of Muldoon and
took over the lead on the front straightaway and immediately quickened the pace with a
lap of 17.19. Didero took over third place as he went by Soule two laps later on the
inside of the second corner. Wood's next two laps were timed at 17.24 and 17.22 as he
began to pull away.
At lap 50, Wood held a 2.28 second lead
over the bumper to bumper race for second
between Muldoon and Didero, who were 20
car lengths ahead of the race for fourth
between Soule, Graves, West, McKnight,
Gioia, Bellinger, and Ritskes, West made
his first appearance in the top five as he
went to the inside of Graves on lap 52.
Wood was in command of the race until
lap 53, when he entered the first turn and a
front suspension part broke, sending the
leader hard, front end first, into the
first-turn wall. Wood was uninjured, but
his car suffered extensive front-end damage. This put Muldoon and Didero
back in the front two spots with Soule, West, McKnight, Graves, Gioia, Bellinger,
Jamie Moore, and Ritskes rounding out the top ten.
Muldoon and Didero pulled away on the
restart and made it a two-car race for the
lead. Didero, who finished second to
Muldoon three of the past four weeks,
pulled the 3 to the inside of Muldoon as
they raced down the front straightaway on
lap 55 and took over the lead. Didero
wasted no time in pulling away as he
clocked in laps of 17.25 and 17.28 to gain a
15 car-length lead in just two laps.
With 10 laps left, Didero held a commanding lead with Muldoon, Soule,
McKnight, and West in the top five. Laps of 17.33 and 17.23 kept Didero unchallenged
3.44 seconds ahead of Muldoon. Traffic came into play with five laps left, but the
leader raced to both the inside and outside lanes to get past the slower cars. Didero
took his time in the traffic as he had a comfortable lead, and raced under the
checkered flag with his right arm in the air 1.88 seconds ahead of Muldoon. Soule,
McKnight, and West rounded out the top five.
"This feels good," Didero commented about his win. "We've been knocking on
the door for several weeks trying to get the right set up. The longer we ran, the better
the car was. We have a pretty good set up now."
News and Notes: 38 limiteds and
31 supermodifieds were in the pits. Limited
heat race wins went to Powell, Churchill,
and Bond, while supermod heat wins went
to West, Soule, and Wood. Tom Jodway
and Tim Gareau won the consolation races,
Pat Abold withdrew the 05 for the night
after experiencing magneto problems, and
stepped into the backup West 01. Abold
entered the car in the consolation race, but
slammed the third turn wall hard at the start
of the race, damaging the West car. Didero
won $5,000 for the feature win.
Muldoon is on top of supermodified
points, while Higgins' win vaulted him
from seventh to the lead in limited points.