Big Money, Points On The Line In Oswego’s Mr. Supermodified TCCS Showdown
Story By: DAN KAPUSCINSKI / TRIPLE CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES – OSWEGO, NY – As the first “major” of the Shea Concrete Triple Crown Championship Series presented by ASI Racewear prepares to take the green at Oswego Speedway this Saturday, we take an in-depth look at the TCCS players set to take on the $10,000 to win Mr. Novelis Supermodified – worth double TCCS points.
Dave Shullick Jr.: Shoe 2 has been the man to beat at Oswego Speedway this season with four wins on the year, including both of the TCCS point paying events on May 13 and June 10. Shullick leads the TCCS Driver of the Year standings, crossing over between the John Nicotra Racing non-wing No. 2 and the Bodnar Motorsports winged No. 95, but has only scored one top five finish in the Mr. Super event during his career with a fourth-place finish in 2016. Most would say Shullick is the odds-on favorite to become the first Ohio driver to win the Mr. Supermodified title event since Gene Lee Gibson won the inaugural race in 1987, especially with Shullick driving from 12th to the win at Oswego on July 15.
Otto Sitterly: Seven-time is a three-time winner of the Mr. Supermodified event at Oswego, with his most recent win coming in the 2015 running – a barn burner between himself, Ray Graham, and Michael Barnes. Like Shullick, Sitterly has shared time this year in the TCCS ranks between Nicotra Racing and Bodnar Motorsports, making him only eligible for Driver of the Year, where he currently ranks second. Still seeking his first Oswego win since September of 2015, Sitterly has been fast all year at the Big O, but more often than not, plagued with issues. A $10,000 win on Saturday would be a welcome triumph for Sitterly, and put him right back on the heels of Shullick in the Driver of the Year category.
Joe Gosek: ‘Double 0’ Joe is the only driver in the TCCS lineup that has won both an Oswego Speedway and ISMA championship during his Hall of Fame tenure. Gosek is cut from the old school cloth of Super racing, which would see drivers travel anywhere and everything to compete, and he has done that again this season. While Gosek’s ISMA trips have been trying, his Top5 finishes in Oswego’s TCCS races have him in the thick of the TCCS battle as he currently rides third in the Driver of the Year standings and leads the Supermodified of the Year same car championship. While Gosek has received nearly every accolade possible at Oswego, he has yet to win the Mr. Supermodified title despite finishing second no fewer than eight times since 1987. With $10,000 on the line Saturday and up to $12,000 in TCCS point fund money in his sight, a win this Saturday would go a long way for the Gosek team.
Michael Muldoon: An Oswego Speedway regular season winner this year, Muldoon joins Gosek as a driver that has run every TCCS event so far in 2017 behind the wheel of the same race car, having travelled to both Lancaster Speedway and Stafford Speedway for ISMA action. Muldoon sits fourth in the driver standings and third in the same car standings, thanks to a terrific top ten run at Stafford in June. While the points do not yet add up, Muldoon and team have so far been the most successful cross over candidates this season with their No. 15 Supermodified. While young Muldoon has never won the Mr. Supermodified, his father won the race twice, and a third family win in the $10,000 special is a very real possibility.
Dave Danzer: The driver of the family owned No. 52, Danzer joins Gosek and Muldoon as teams that have competed in all of the TCCS events this year, as Danzer is chasing ISMA full-time in 2017. Running fifth in the driver standings and second in the Supermodified standings, Danzer is a two-time winner of the Mr. Supermodified and the defending champion. While Danzer only has one Top5 at Oswego this season, he will certainly be a threat in an event he has made his own in recent seasons.
Tim Snyder: The ‘Zero Hero’ has missed only one TCCS event this season as he rides sixth in the driver championship and fourth in the Supermodified championship. Snyder has been the model of consistency this season with Oswego and the TCCS and is one of the front runners for a big night this weekend at Oswego. With five Top5 finishes in the Mr. Supermodified, Snyder is no doubt a veteran of the event, and is eyeing his first win in the high stakes championship.
Joey Payne: The ‘Jersey Jet’ joined forces with California based car owner Don Penix this year and has only missed the Lancaster show on the TCCS calendar. Payne has come alive at Oswego in recent weeks in non-wing action, showing the speed necessary to be a contender this weekend with $10,000 for the taking. With drops not yet factored in, Payne sits seventh in the driver championship and fifth in the Supermodified championship heading into the weekend. A Mr. Supermodified win for Payne would be a first, and it would be memorable for sure.
Dave Gruel: Dave Gruel nearly won the Oswego track championship a year ago, but has not gotten off to as good of a start in 2017. A third-place finish in the Independence Grand Prix, coupled with a trip to Lancaster Speedway, has kept Gruel in contention so far in the TCCS campaign. With the double-point season going into effect on Saturday, anyone of the TCCS registrants stands a chance at the TCCS championship, and Gruel will definitely be a factor. Since joining the division in 2010, Gruel has three Top5 finishes in the Mr. Supermodified, but has yet to score a victory. Saturday could be the day.
Dave McKnight: Canadians Dave McKnight and Gary Morton have been in the thick of the TCCS hunt all season, despite missing Oswego’s Independence Grand Prix due to an engine failure. Thanks to drops, McKnight is still in the hunt but will need a stout showing this Saturday in the Mr. Supermodified championship to get back on track. A veteran of the Mr. Supermodified, McKnight has four Top5 finishes in the $10,000 to win event, including a second in 1996 behind Pat Abold.
Jeff Abold: Abold is the defending winner of another big money event at Oswego, known as the Budweiser International Classic 200. Abold’s father is a two-time winner of the Mr. Super and Jeff would love to join the list this Saturday. While Abold has yet to run a wing event this season, his mandatory three wing events will begin with the Hy-Miler Nationals at Sandusky Speedway next weekend, making Abold a sleeping contender in the TCCS format.
Tim Jedrzejek: ‘Timmy J’ returns to Oswego this weekend with Danzer Racing to continue his quest for the TCCS driver’s crown, while also eyeing a Mr. Supermodified championship. Like Shullick and Sitterly, Jedrzejek has shared time this season between two teams, as he continues to barnstorm the ISMA circuit in the Lane Racing No. 97. While the points are not yet in Jedrzejek’s favor, the Classic portion of the schedule will make him a legitimate title contender especially with his favorable track record in Sandusky Speedway’s Hy-Miler Nationals.
Keith Shampine: Now a two-time winner at Oswego Speedway, Shampine joins Abold as an Oswego racer that must compete at both nights of the Hy-Miler Nationals to remain eligible in the TCCS. Shampine went to victory lane in one of the TCCS Twin 35 events at Oswego in June and as a result could show strong in the TCCS driver standings with a good run on Saturday in the Mr. Supermodified. It will all be for not however, if Shampine is not in action in the Friday night 40-lapper at Sandusky. A Supermodified competitor since 2005, Shampine has one top five finish in the Mr. Super, coming in 2007.
Howard Page: Page returned to the sport this season to tackle the TCCS and has so far run the races he has needed to leading to this weekend’s Mr. Supermodified. Another veteran campaigner that is used to the days of crossover Supermodified action, Page finished 12th in both legs of the Twin 35’s at Oswego and ran 18th at Lancaster. While he has never won the Mr. Supermodified, Page has finished third twice in 1998 and 2000.
