Oswego, NY – For the eighth straight year in a row, ISMA will travel to Toledo Speedway for its annual show at the high-banked half mile – this time on Friday, June 13th. And, once again this season the winged supermodifieds will continue their speed match with the open wheelers of the Auto Value Sprint group. Time trials between the two groups have become a playful grudge match between the two groups and the fans love it!

For more than a few years, Chris Perley clocked some torrid times only to have the sprinters pull out the big guns and tick off some faster times. Last year, however, it was Perley’s year as he set a new track record of 13.116, which held after the dust from the Auto Value sprints had settled. Perley also, almost unbelievably, picked up his first-career Toledo win after years of being fast but not finishing.

ISMA made a trek to Toledo in 1995 prior to the take over of the track by the new ownership with Bentley Warren taking the 50-lapper that Friday in early June. Five years elapsed before ISMA was back on the Toledo schedule and it was “Liquid” Lou Cicconi in victory lane in 2001 for the first ISMA race there in the new millennium. Lou’s victory came in a 75-lapper and Dave McKnight, Joe Gosek, Perley and Timmy Jedrzejek trailed him. Ironically, it was Perley and Dave Shullick Jr. sharing the supermodified fast time of 13.60 that day. Shullick’s day went downhill from there, however, when his 38 blew a motor and he got into his dad’s 33 only to have a scary crash in his heat.

Russ Wood mastered the half-mile for the next two years taking 50-lap mains in 2002 and 2003 with Perley once again setting a new track record in 2002, but still not gaining a win. In 2003, Pat Abold was back in action after a short hiatus from racing, and he never skipped a beat. By Toledo he was in victory lane in the Dunigan 26. Dave McKnight was the main man in the event as Abold pursued. But on lap 42, McKnight’s motor failed him and the race now was Abold’s to lose. Mike Ordway Sr., Johnny Payne, Timmy Jedrzejek, and Mike Lichty rounded out the top five that year. Chris Perley had his only dnf of the year when he came together with Nokie Fornoro in the first half of the race, with both wrecking hard into the wall.

In 2005, Abold was back in victory lane for his second straight with Ordway back in second. Lou Cicconi, Perley and Russ Wood were in the top five as Perley had once again set a fast time with a 13.266 mark. In 2006, Perley did NOT set fast time, only second fast as Ray Graham Jr. earned the honors this year with a 13.519 mark. Once again Perley had his night fall apart in the feature when while in the lead he tangled with some lap cars in front of him, breaking a radius rod and ending once again without a checkered.

2007 was definitely the year of the “Rowley Rocket” at Toledo as he finally put it all together taking both the new track record and the win after seven years of trying. And, he even beat the Auto Value sprint times.

This season, a fan, Gene Steele has added a little incentive to the time trials putting $100 from his own pocket for the second quick time trialer and adding $100 to the check of the last feature finisher. Steele, from Pemberville, Ohio, says he “is just an avid fan who loves supermodified racing”.

Sandusky Speedway hosts a Burke’s MSA-Oswego wing series event on Saturday, June 14 giving fans and competitors a double dose of speed for their money
(and gas). Log onto www.sanduskyspeedway.com or www.oswegospeedway.com
for more info on that event.

Toledo Speedway is located within the city limits of the city of Toledo at 5639 Benore Road. Grandstands open at 4 pm with time trials at 5:30. Go to www.arcaracing.com and click on the Toledo Speedway icon for further information.
 

PRESTIGIOUS OSWEGO & STAR EVENTS UP NEXT FOR ISMA

Oswego, NY – As has been the tradition, supermodified’s three big events – or longer distance events – come at Sandusky’s Hy-Miler 100, at Oswego’s Int'l Classic 200 and at the Star Classic which this year returns to an old format 150 laps in two 75-lap segments. While the Oswego Int’l Classic is a non-winged event, ISMA-Wirtgen competitors also have the Super Nationals 50 as part of the big weekend. And, this
year a big bonus goes to the driver of $25,000 extra dollars.

OSWEGO SPEEDWAY
Tobacco Free Network is sponsoring the Oswego Classic Challenge which states that it will pay a $25,000 bonus to the one driver who can pick up the $5,000 first place money in the 14th annual Bud Light ISMA Super Nationals on Friday night Aug. 31 and who follows that up by collecting the $20,000 first place money in the 51st Budweiser International Classic 200 on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 2. This bonus will be paid
directly to the driver and does not require them to drive the same car in both races.

In the past thirteen years that both the Super Nationals and Classic have been run, only Bentley Warren and Greg Furlong have ever won both races, but neither did it the same year. The closest finishes came in 2004 when Bobby Santos III and Greg Furlong finished 1-2 in the Super Nationals and then swapped the spots for the Classic. Russ Wood has been the only driver to get as close as the aforementioned when he registered top three spots in both races. That was in 1997. He’s had an amazing 10-top fives in winged super events at Oswego

Venerable Bentley Warren is the defending champion of the ISMA Super Nationals while Greg Furlong is going for his fourth straight Classic win and his sixth overall. Add to the mix Warren’s teammate, the Rowley Roller Chris Perley who has rolled to nine wins in 2007 to add to his ten wins in 2006. Can the dominant Perley possibly take home the $50,000? His Classic record has been less than auspicious, never finishing in the top five, although he had twice been running in the top five in the latter portions of the race when a pileup took him out of a possible good finish. How about Bentley? He’s certainly no stranger to winning at Oswego. He proved that last year. He also won the first Super Nationals in 1994 with Perley going on to capture the next three
straight. Dave McKnight? He’s had a couple wins in the ISMA Super Nationals and four straight Oswego wins counting the May races in 2000 and 2001. He’s also had a couple top fives in the Classic. Timmy J has won the Super Nationals and has a guaranteed starter’s spot in the Classic this year.

Pits open at 2:30 pm on Friday, August 31 for the Bud Light ISMA Super Nationals. Open practice for SBS, RoC Mods, ISMA and Oswego supers begins at 4:30 pm. ISMA time trials are at 7:00 pm with heats consi and the 50-lap feature to follow.

Saturday, the RoC Mods take over with SBS Time Trials and qualifying and Oswego Time Trials (round one) taking place during the afternoon before the RoC Mod 125 ends the evening.

Oswego Budweiser Int’l Classic 200 and SBS Classic 100 activities take place on Sunday. Pits open at 7:30 am, grandstand 9:30 am and warm-ups begin at 9:30 am. Supermodified Time Trials (round 2) begin at 11:30 am.

For more info www.oswegospeedway.com

ALL-STAR SPEEDWAY
It’s on to the annual Star (now All-Star) Classic which this year changes format. The race will consist of 150 laps, divided into 2 75-lap segments. The top 16 will be locked in from time trials and the rest of the field comes from the consi, or last chance race. The first 75 lapper will be flagged to a halt, with cars going back to the pits and another division(s) racing in between before the second 75-lap segment takes
place lining up from the end of the first 75-lapper.

There is general practice at All-Star Speedway with gates opening at 4 pm and practice beginning at 7 pm. Saturday, Sept. 8, the pits will open at 10 am, practice runs from 1-5 pm and racing begins at 6 pm. Go to all-starspeedway.com for more info.

At All-Star “Liquid” Lou Cicconi was the winner of his second prestigious All- Star Classic with Nokie Fornoro, Mike Ordway, Chris Perley and Mike Lichty chasing. With Cicconi not competing his car on a regular basis this season, there might be a good chance at a different winner unless Cicconi should be driving a car not his own.

With a tremendous amount of history surrounding all three of the big supermodified events, one thing is for certain and that is that nothing is for certain. Longer races produce surprises and anything can happen. In the storied history of the Triple Crown events, only four drivers have managed to win all three events – Bentley Warren, Doug Heveron, Joe Gosek and Mike Ordway and only Bentley won all three in the same year!

You’ll just have to be there and see what happens this year!