Nearly three years to the day of earning his first Novelis supermodified feature win, Pat Lavery captured win No. 2 on Saturday night at the Oswego Speedway. In just his fourth week of driving for new car owner, Ray Graham, Jr., Lavery would nab the lead from Dan Connors at the drop of the green flag and lead all 50 laps, holding off multiple bids by Keith Shampine. It was a welcomed result following a bone-jarring meeting with the inside steel retaining wall his last time out.
Listen to – Pat Lavery
With the first three feature winners having come from the front row, Lavery’s dash to the first turn on the opening lap was all the more important. Starting behind Lavery‘s No. 12, Shampine would muscle his No. 55 around Connors at the start as well, following Lavery into second. Jeff Abold and Michael Muldoon filled out the top five behind Connors to complete lap No. 1.
The caution-filled event saw its first yellow flag just a handful of laps into the race, after Tim Snyder looped his No. 0 in the third turn. Lavery would be solid on the restart, while Kody Graham’s No. 21 would enter the top five, bettering Muldoon for fifth.
Abold would press Connors hard as Lavery and Shampine eased away from the rest of the field. Leading by a full 10 lengths over their chasers, Shampine would begin searching for racing room under Lavery’s No. 12. However, a first-turn jingle between Aric Iosue, Joe Gosek and Tim Devendorf slowed the action for the second time.
Gosek and Devendorf would exit the raceway via the hook – both done for the night, while Iosue would only need to be pushed away. With 10 trips in the books, Lavery would lead Shampine, Connors, Abold and Kody Graham back to racing. Muldoon, Brandon Bellinger, Dave Gruel, Otto Sitterly and Michael Barnes filled out the top 10.
Once again, Lavery and Shampine would slip away, leaving Connors to fend off the field. On the 19th lap, Abold would finally inch ahead of Connors to take over third. He would trail the leaders by a full straightaway, but begin reeling them in ever-so slowly.
However, not finding enough room while weaving his way through lapped traffic, Abold would tag the inside hub rail in turn No. 3, spin and complete a full revolution before coming to a stop. The caution lights would flash and Abold’s No. 05 would head to the pits for repairs.
One lap shy of the halfway point, Lavery brought Shampine, Connors, Graham and Muldoon back to green flag racing. However, another spin by Iosue set up a re-do.
Again, Lavery was solid on the restart. Again, Graham would take the opportunity to move forward, slipping underneath Connors for third. The front threesome would pull away from the field.
By the 35th lap, Lavery and Shampine had put some breathing room on Graham, who in turn, commanded a full stretch over Connors, Muldoon and sixth-place running Sitterly.
On the 37th lap, Shampine saw an opportunity between turns one and two in lapped traffic. Dipping under Lavery, the bid was cut short after Iosue suddenly cut to the left to pull his No. 11 pit-side. That closed the challenger’s door and Lavery escaped with the lead in tact.
A lap later, the caution flag would rear its ugly head again. Running fifth, sixth and eighth, Muldoon, Sitterly and Bellinger would make contact in turn No. 2. Bellinger would retire for the evening with extensive front-end damage. Muldoon and Sitterly would return, but would no longer be in contention. While under caution, refueling was allowed as teams were pushing their lap limit.
The ensuing restart would see Barnes and his No. 68 come to life. Running sixth, he would sail around Gruel’s No 50 for fifth. Staying on the high side, he would better himself one more position, taking fourth away from Connors. With five laps to go, he would shoot past Graham to earn third.
Up front, Lavery did what he could to avoid having to wait another 15 years to taste victory lane. Running out of laps, Barnes would close in on the lead duo with two rounds to go. Shampine would give it a last go on Lavery’s left side, but to no avail. The challenger would see his runner-up spot nearly taken over by Barnes on the final lap, but he would hold on to finish in second.
Listen to – Keith Shampine
With a strong late run, Barnes would reclaim his points lead, landing the Syrell Racing No. 68 in third.
Listen to – Michael Barnes
Finally landing a solid finish with his own No. 21, Graham would earn fourth.
Listen to – Kody Graham
Having been struggling with the car through the first quarter of the season, Connors was able to put a top-five effort together, finishing fifth.
Listen to – Dan Connors, Jr.
Novelis supermodified heat wins were pocketed by Muldoon, Lavery and Shampine.
Fulton’s Dalton Doyle dominated the 30-lap Pathfinder Bank small block supermodified feature, leading every lap of the way. Driving his self-designed, self-built No. 01, Doyle would not see a wheel of a single challenger the entire race. It was the fifth win of his career.
Listen to – Dalton Doyle
All three feature winners this season had led from the opening lap. With that in mind, taking the lead away from co-front row starter, Jesse Bearup would be critical. At the drop of the green flag, Doyle would win the drag race to the first turn and never look back.
Bearup, Rob Pullen, Camden Proud and Michael Bruce chased the No. 01 across the stripe to complete the race’s maiden lap. With Doyle already flexing a 10-car length advantage, the caution flag would initially fly on the eighth lap for Greg O’Connor’s spinning No. 90. However at the opposite end of the track, Kreig Heroth and Mike Bond had come together as well. Opening night race winner and current points leader, Bond, suffered race-ending damage. Heroth would return, but not be competitive.
As Doyle took flight on the restart, Bruce took to fourth away from Proud. He would then hound third-place running Pullen for much of the race. Further ahead, Bearup could only watch as Doyle continued to glide away. He would have nothing for the No. 01, but would hold his own in second for nearly the remainder of the race.
A lap after maneuvering his way around Andrew Schartner, Dave Cliff bounced Proud out of the top five on the 21st lap. He would chase Bruce until the two would make contact on the 29th lap. Both cars would end up skating backwards, ending top-five runs.
Up front, Doyle was on cruise control. He would lead by a full straightaway with just five to go. That lead would only cease to increase by the waving of the checkered flag. Bearup’s only mistake would come on the final lap, allowing Pullen to pounce at the opportunity and steal second place away.
Listen to – Rob Pullen
Bearup’s third-place finish was the first of his young career.
Listen to – Jesse Bearup
With his fourth-place finish, Losurdo ends up taking over the SBS points lead.
Listen to – Anthony Losurdo
Schartner landed his No. 18 in fifth.
SBS heats were won by Bond, Losurdo and Cliff.
C’s Beverage Center/Century 21 Galloway Realty Spring Championship Super 50: 1. Pat Lavery (12), 2. Keith Shampine (55), 3. Michael Barnes (68), 4. Kody Graham (21), 5. Dan Connors, Jr. (01), 6. Dave Gruel (50), 7. Ray Graham, Jr. (90). 8. Dave Danzer (52), 9. Tim Snyder (0). 10. Michael Muldoon (15), 11. Aric Iosue (11), 12. Otto Sitterly (7), 13. Hal LaTulip (56), 14. Brandon Bellinger (02), 15. Jeff Abold (05), 16. Lou LeVea, Jr. (83), 17. Joe Gosek (00), 18. Tim Devendorf (5), 19. Kreig Heroth (14), 20. Bill Sharkey (71) – DNS
C’s Beverage Center/Century 21 Galloway Realty Spring Championship SBS 30: 1. Dalton Doyle (01), 2. Rob Pullen (2). 3. Jesse Bearup (37), 4. Anthony Losurdo (1), 5. Andrew Schartner (18), 6. Camden Proud (54), 7. Dave Cliff (50), 8. Mike Bruce (22), 9. Jack Patrick (9), 10. Scott Schafer (76), 11. Barry Kingsley (91), 12. Dennis Rupert (99), 13. Cameron Rowe (77), 14. Kreig Heroth (04), 15. Alex McRea (14), 16. Mark Castiglia (69), 17. Greg O’Connor (90), 18. Cameron Black (23), 19. Mike Bond (74), 20. James Babcock
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