by Carol D Haynes
An excellent field of twenty-three winged supermodifieds from the Midwest Supermodified Series (MSS) and ISMA, showed up at Oswego Speedway’s Winged Challenge #1 to vie for the $6,000 winners purse sponsored by Billy Whittaker’s Cars and Trux and NBT Bank. A mix of some of the best winged supermodified were ready to meet the challenge. A beautiful day, weather wise provided the back drop for one heck of a day of fast racing.
When the dust finally settled on the rapid winged 50 lapper, the top three finishers were Trent Stephens, Michael McVetta and Kyle Edwards, all from the MSS contingent.
Said Trent after his $6,000 win: “That was an awesome race. Glad to end up here that’s for sure. The car was pretty good from the start and I hoped I could stay consistent and those guys may fall off a little bit. I think Mike had that one won but that last caution helped us. I think I just had a better restart than he did. I don’t know if I was any faster but I think we were both pretty equal but I think he was a little better in traffic than I was. But man it was just an awesome race. It feels good to win here again. It’s been probably six years since the King of Wings win. The guys on the crew gave me a good car all day. We made some adjustments and got it better. We kept talking ‘we need a good race car, we need a good race car’. We didn’t need to qualify fast, and I think we showed we had a good race car tonight. I was actually kind of surprised about passing two guys starting in the front row. I knew it was going to be tough but some things played our way. And it did”.
McVetta, who has had less than good luck at Oswego appearances, was happy with his finish: “It was about time I did well here. This car was fast all day. We came and practiced last night and it went well. I never thought we’d see our name on the top of the leader board. In qualifying we just missed it a tick for the record. We were close and we’ll try it again. The race…wow. I just kind of bided my time with the leader there at the beginning. When I got to lap traffic I was able to pick him off with a lap car. Then I kind of set sail for a while and then that dreaded caution just stung me but, you know what? Just standing on the front straight at Oswego Speedway is a dream come true. That’s for sure.”
The race moved fast and furious with Edwards, McVetta and Trent Stephens keeping the pace out front of Otto Sitterly, Mike Lichty, Johnny Benson, Michael Barnes, Danny Connors, Russ Wood and more for an exciting quest for the lead and the win.
Eventually It was two well known Ohio runners battling up front. McVetta looked to be on his way to a first Oswego win. Trent Stephens, however was still right behind with the 19, and was able to grab the lead from McVetta late in the going when a yellow flew with less than 10 to go for the 74 of Johnny Benson who came to a stop with apparent motor problems.
When the action resumed after Benson’s demise, with the checkered flag soon to fly, Trent Stephens gave it his all and got by leader McVetta in the waning laps with Edwards still fighting right behind.
Following the top three finishers across the line were Michael Barnes, Mike Lichty, Dan Connors, Russ Wood, Aric Iosue and Otto Sitterly finishing 50 laps.
Summary:
Heat 1: Otto Sitterly 7, Trent Stephens 19, AJ Lesiecki 88, Dan Connors 01, Joe Gosek 00, Anthony Nocella 97, Mike Ordway Jr. 61, Jonathan Lesiecki 8.
Heat 2: Johnny Benson 774, Kyle Edwards 11E, Russ Wood 41, Michael Barnes 11, Mark Sammut 78, Lou LeVea Jr. 83, Dan Bowes 25, Tim Snyder 0.
Heat 3: Michael Muldoon 15, Mike McVetta 22, Aric Iosue 27, Mike Lichty 84, Rick Reid 55, Talon Stephens 30, Moe Lilje 32.
FEATURE 50 Laps: 1. Trent Stephens 19, 2. Mike McVetta 22, 3 Kyle Edwards 11E, 4. Michael Barnes 11, 5. Mike Lichty 84, 6. Dan Connors 01, 7. Russ Wood 41, 8. Aric Iosue 27, 9. Otto Sitterly 7, 10. Moe Lilje 32, 11. Dan Bowes 25, 12. Mark Sammut 78, 13. Anthony Nocella 97, 14. Johnny Benson 74, 15. Talon Stephens 30, 16. Mike Ordway Jr. 61, 17. Rich Reid 55, 18. AJ Lesiecki 88, 19. Michael Muldoon 15, 20. Tim Snyder 0, 21 Lou LeVea Jr. 83, 22. Jonathan Lesiecki 8. Joe Gosek 00.
The Hard Charger bonus award consisting of a Hoosier RR Tire and $100, sponsored by NY Racing Mom, went to Michael Barnes, driving the Shea 11 and the Last Car Running ($100), sponsored by Baker Steel Detailing went to Anthony Nocella driving the Lane 97. The Fast Qualifier Award of $200 sponsored by Billy Whittaker Cars and Trucks went to Mike McVetta 22.
The Oswego/MSS/ISMA Winged Challenge #2 is scheduled for July 9 and the Oswego/MSS/ISMA Winged Challenge #3 finishes up the series on August 13.
