Otto Sitterly, the 2006 supermodified track champion, won Saturday’s 45-lap main event for the Novelis Supermodifieds at Oswego Speedway.

It was his first win since that 2006 campaign.

Oswego’s Greg Furlong finished second, but did not seriously challenge Sitterly in the race. Sitterly took the lead from pole-sitter Stephen Gioia III just after an opening-lap restart and kept the point the rest of the way.

Completing the top five were Pat Lavery, Gioia, and Shawn Muldoon, all from Oswego.
Only 11 cars started the supermodified feature.

In the 30-lap feature for the Pathfinder Bank SBS Series, Oswego’s Dave Cliff Jr. won easily over Stan Gates, Kevin Knopp, Mike Bond, and Tim Barbeau. Eighteen cars started the feature.

The night’s program was sponsored by Lighthouse Lanes and Oswego Sub Shop.

Here are recaps of both features.

Supermodifieds

Gioia and Sitterly started in the front row. Gioia took the early lead along the inside, but a spin involving Jason Spaulding and Shawn Muldoon on the takeoff lap forced a complete restart.

Again, Gioia had the early advantage, but Sitterly’s #7 car passed him with an outside move coming out of turn 4.

Furlong, who started fourth in the same #72 car which was repaired after heavy damage from a wreck last Sunday, motored up to second place by lap 5, followed by Gioia, Pat Lavery, and Bob Reis.

Sitterly maintained a comfortable advantage and extended it with laps timed in the 17.5-second range. He slowed only when he had to negotiate lapped traffic.

With about 15 laps left, Muldoon passed Reis to take over fifth place.

Through 40 laps, the top five were Sitterly, Furlong, Lavery, Gioia, and Muldoon. They stayed in that order to the finish.

Sitterly was happy to return to victory lane, but said he still believes there’s room for improvement on the car.

“This car seems to be OK. The Hawk cars were dominant a couple of years ago, and they seem to have fallen off a little bit,” Sitterly said.

Adjustments made prior to the feature made the car better, Sitterly said. He thanked car owner John Nicotra, and Doug Holmes for the new motor.

Furlong, the defending track champion, said he’s waiting for Joe Hawksby to finish the new #72 car.

After the top five, completing the feature finish were Reis, Keith Gilliam, Bob Magner, Spaulding, Lou LeVea, and Jerry Curran.

Small-block supers

Starting third, Cliff quickly took charge of the Pathfinder Bank SBS Series feature. After a spin by Rick Zeigler on lap 2, Cliff used the restart to charge under pole-sitter Bill Moore for the lead out of turn 4.

Gates, who started sixth, zipped under Larry Muroski for second place on lap 4.
Through five laps, the top five were Cliff, Gates, Muroski, Shawn Walker, and Tim Barbeau.

By lap 10, the top two cars were well ahead of the rest of the field. Cliff remained comfortably in front. Through 20 laps, the top five were Cliff, Gates, Muroski, Barbeau, and Kevin Knopp.

Knopp and Mike Bond, last week’s winner, were among the fastest cars on the track, but they were running out of laps. Both got under Barbeau into the top five by lap 26.

A spin on lap 27 by Muroski brought the pack together for a final restart, but Cliff could not be caught. He thanked his crew for their work on his old #06 car after the new one was damaged in a wreck last Sunday.

“We decided to put the old car back together and picked up right where we left off, winning the (2007 SBS Classic),” Cliff said.

For Gates, it was his best career finish. Knopp wound up an impressive third after starting 12th.

Completing the top 10 were Bond, Barbeau, Brian Sobus, Walker, Rob Pullen, Josh LaRochelle, and David Gruel.

Speedway notes

• Winning supermodified heats were Gioia and Lavery. Placing first in SBS heats were Barbeau, Cliff, and Moore.

• Supermodified competitor Ray Graham Jr. made the trip from Iowa, but apparently forgot his helmet. He could not find an approved helmet which fit, so he left before the heats.

• The next scheduled racing action at Oswego Speedway is the May 24 Memorial Day Weekend program. Races will be the Jim Shampine Memorial 50 for supermodifieds, the Tony White Memorial 35 for the SBS cars, and the Richie Evans Memorial 100 for the Race of Champions Modifieds. Action is set to begin at 4 p.m. Fans who bring their May 10 rain stub will receive $5 off grandstand admission on May 24.