Talen Hawksby Holds Off Mike Bruce for Second Victory of the Season

OSWEGO – Nineteen-year-old Oswego native Talen Hawksby continued his impressive rise through the Oswego County Tourism 350 Supermodified ranks Saturday night, holding off a late charge from Mike Bruce to score his second victory of the 2026 season and the fifth Oswego Speedway feature win of his young career.

A rookie in the division just three years ago in 2023, Hawksby once again proved to be the class of the field, leading from the opening green flag to the checkered aboard the No. 79.

Hawksby and 15-year-old Savannah Simmons brought the 25-lap feature to the green from the front row after Simmons earlier became the first female driver in Oswego Speedway history to win a winged 350 Supermodified heat race, capturing her first career victory and making history as the first female to win a winged 350 Super race of any kind at the Steel Palace.

Hawksby barely edged ahead entering turn one as the pair raced side-by-side into the corner, making slight contact that damaged the nose wing on the Ohsweken Speedway Glenn Styres Racing No. 0 of Simmons. Simmons then drifted slightly wide exiting turn two, allowing New England veteran Jim Storace to move into second.

Kyle Perry quickly followed Storace underneath Simmons to claim third, dropping the young rookie to fourth with Dawson Hawksby settling into fifth.

Meanwhile, last week’s feature winner Mike Bruce had already begun an unbelievable charge through the field.

Starting tenth, Bruce immediately found speed around the outside, making a thrilling three-wide move around both Joey Scanlon and Robbie Wirth before rocketing around the outside of Dave Cliff. That moved the No. 22 to sixth, but Bruce was far from finished.

Within two laps, Bruce had also driven past Dawson Hawksby and Simmons to reach fourth, advancing six positions in only two circuits.

Perry was next. Bruce powered around the outside of the No. 20 to move into third before immediately turning his attention toward second-running Storace and race leader Hawksby.

Behind the leaders, the action remained intense throughout the field. Cliff and Dawson Hawksby battled side-by-side with Wirth as all three worked to get around Simmons. At one point, Cliff and Dawson Hawksby nearly split Simmons three-wide down the backstretch.

Cliff completed the move to take over fifth, but Dawson Hawksby was forced to lift while running the outside groove. Looking back underneath Simmons entering the next corner, contact was made between the two drivers.

Both Simmons and Dawson Hawksby spun, with Simmons making contact with the inside hub rail. Robbie Wirth had nowhere to go and was collected in the incident, sustaining heavy damage after making contact with the outside wall. Joey Scanlon and Barry Kingsley also spun while attempting to avoid the wreck as the caution flew with eight laps complete.

Simmons and Wirth were both finished for the evening, while the remaining involved drivers were able to continue.

The double-file restart lined up Hawksby and Storace on the front row, with Bruce and Perry in row two and Cliff alongside Scanlon in row three.

Hawksby maintained the lead at the restart while Storace held second, but Bruce immediately went to work on the outside. Bruce and Storace brushed wheels entering turns three and four, but Bruce never lifted, carrying the momentum around the outside before completing the pass through turns one and two to move into second, dropping Storace back to third.

Behind them, Cliff slipped underneath Perry to take over fourth while Perry fell to fifth ahead of Scanlon, Dawson Hawksby, Brendan Young, and Kingsley.

Bruce had now cleared everyone except one driver.

The veteran quickly erased the gap to Hawksby, pulling directly onto the rear bumper of the No. 79 as the two leaders separated themselves from the rest of the field. Bruce threw everything he had at Hawksby approaching the halfway point, but Hawksby remained flawless out front, refusing to leave a lane open.

With the front two beginning to pull away, Storace and Cliff settled into a battle for third as the race entered its final stages.

With 10 laps remaining, Hawksby had actually begun pulling away from Bruce slightly while Storace and Cliff continued their duel for the final podium spot.

Just as Hawksby appeared to have the race firmly under control, another caution changed everything.

Running fifth, defending track champion Kyle Perry suddenly erupted in flames entering turn two after suffering an engine failure in the No. 20. Perry quickly climbed from the car as soon as he brought it to a stop while the Oswego Speedway safety crew immediately extinguished the fire, keeping the damage contained to the engine compartment.

The caution set up one final restart and a little bit of late-race drama.

While circulating under yellow, race leader Hawksby stopped on the frontstretch after experiencing a radio issue in the No. 79. Because it was determined to be a safety issue, Hawksby was not penalized, allowing father Joe Hawksby Jr. to quickly install a replacement radio before the field prepared for the restart.

With fewer than five laps remaining, the race would restart single file.

Bruce gave Hawksby everything he had over the closing laps, throwing one final challenge at the leader, but the No. 22 simply could not find a way around the smooth-running Hawksby.

Hawksby remained perfect over the closing circuits, crossing the finish line to score his second Oswego County Tourism 350 Supermodified victory of the season and the fifth Oswego Speedway feature win of his young career.

Bruce completed an outstanding drive from the tenth starting position to finish second, while Storace recorded a strong podium finish in third. Cliff came home fourth, and Dawson Hawksby rebounded from his earlier spin to round out the top five.

Young finished sixth ahead of Scanlon in seventh and Kingsley in eighth.

Following the race, Hawksby credited his crew for turning the car around after an uncertain start to the day.

“We had a really great car all night for the feature. It was a little questionable earlier in the day, but we ended up really tuning it in well. At the end the car was a little tight, but still good enough to maneuver and good enough to get the job done. Thanks to Top Quality Construction, Acrofab, Hawk Jr. Chassis of course, Shark Scapes, and Furdis.”

The Oswego County Tourism 350 Supermodifieds return to action Saturday, July 18 as part of Bike Giveaway, Autograph, and Mascot Night presented by JP Jewelers and Rupert’s Party Rentals. The division will once again be part of another exciting night of racing with a 25-lap feature event.

RESULTS

Burke’s Do It Best Home Centers of Oswego & Fulton

Independence Day Spectacular

Oswego County Tourism 350 Supers

Saturday, July 4, 2026

Oswego Speedway

Oswego, NY

Feature (25-laps): 1. 79 – TALEN HAWKSBY, 2. 22 – Mike Bruce, 3. 47 – Jim Storace, 4. 50 – Dave Cliff, 5. 68 – Dawson Hawksby, 6. 7 – Brendan Young, 7. 5 – Joey Scanlon, 8. 91 – Barry Kingsley, 9. 20 – Kyle Perry, 10. 0 ® – Savannah Simmons, 11. 4 – Rob Wirth

Heat 1 (8-laps): 1. 7 – Brendan Young, 2. 22 – Mike Bruce, 3. 50 – Dave Cliff, 4. 68 – Dawson Hawksby, 5. 5 – Joey Scanlon, 6. 91 – Barry Kingsley

Heat 2 (8-laps): 1. 0 ® – Savannah Simmons, 2. 20 – Kyle Perry, 3. 79 – Talen Hawksby, 4. 4 – Rob Wirth, 5. 47 – Jim Storace

JP Jewelers Halfway Leader ($100 bonus to the leader of Lap 13): #79 Talen Hawksby

Lighthouse Lanes Up & Comer ($50 bonus to the highest finishing driver who has never won a feature at Oswego Speedway): #5 Joey Scanlon

D&S Landscaping Hard Charger ($25 bonus to the driver advancing the most positions): #22 Mike Bruce