OSWEGO, NY (July 18) - The field is set for the Classic Weekend Ride with the Legends at the Oswego Speedway. All five of the drivers are either already in the Oswego Speedway Hall of Fame, or are sure to be in the Hall of Fame at some future date. Eddie Bellinger, Joe Gosek, Davey Hamilton, Dave McKnight and Otto Sitterly will be giving 5-lap rides in the Canale Insurance 2-seat Supermodified Saturday morning of Classic Weekend. “Riders will each get 5 green flag laps with their favorite driver, with a portion of the money going to charity,” said Roy Sova, coordinator or the program.
Ride with the Legends started three years ago, and in addition to this year’s drivers has seen the likes of Pat Abold, Doug Heveron, Jamie Moore, and Bentley Warren behind the wheel of the 2-seat Supermodified. Bentley Warren did just one ride, which was auctioned off for a total of $1,300.
“The program works like this,” said Sova. “We sell a total of three rides with each of the drivers for $275.00 per ride with a portion of the proceeds going to charity. Thursday, August 30, at the Party in the Pits we will auction off one additional ride with each of the drivers. The bidding will start at $250.”
As in years past, the three rides for sale are expected to go quickly. In fact, said Sova, “The rides with Dave McKnight are already sold out. He’s the only Canadian driver in the field, and his fellow countrymen were on the phone quickly to schedule their ride with the popular McKnight. Of course one more ride will McKnight will be auctioned off at the p[arty in the pits.
Sova said it is possible one more driver could be added to the field. “Our time Saturday morning is fairly limited, but we have done 6 drivers in the past, including last year,” according to Sova. “We schedule the rides with the drivers in a tight schedule so people don’t have to hang around in the pits all morning. The four rides with each driver are done in about 20-25 minutes,” said Sova.
When asked if he would take part in the ride-along program this year Bellinger said,” I’ve already scheduled my time to be there. This is a great program that’s fun for the driver, good for the fans, and it benefits a good charity.” Davey Hamilton, who had to miss the 2-seat Supermodified rides last season because of a last minute change of plans, said he was ready to go. Hamilton, who had the 2-seat Supermodified built and ran it in the Midwest for a couple years, said “This is the best ride-along program there is, the most realistic to what a driver really does. I love doing it, and even better that it’s for charity.”
This year proceeds from the Ride with the Legends program will go to The Ataxia Foundation Ataxia is a muscle debilitating disease for which there is currently no cure. Long time Oswego Speedway sponsor Jim Ciecierski, who worked for Nestle, Lost botgh his wife JoAnn and his brother in law to Ataxia. “It’s a terrible disease,” said Ciecierski, and one that is still pretty much a death sentence. We had hopes as Joann was going through it, but the cure did not come in time. The cure is close, we know it is, but we just need to continue to pour in research dollars to make sure we can some day put a stop to Ataxia.” The Bob Allison Ataxia Research Center at the University of Minnesota will be the direct recipient of the proceeds from the Ride with the Legends.
About Oswego Speedway: Oswego Speedway, a sports entertainment company, is a 5/8 mile semi-banked pavement racing oval located off the shores of Lake Ontario in scenic Oswego, NY. Oswego Speedway has been a continuously run weekly racing venue since August, 1951. The premier open-wheel pavement short track cars in the world, Supermodifieds, run weekly at Oswego Speedway making Oswego the only weekly Supermodified racing venue in the world. The Small Block Supermodifieds accompany the full blown Supers on a weekly Saturday night schedule which runs from May through September. Oswego Speedway is mentioned in racing circles as the “Indy of the East,” as no fewer than a dozen past and present competitors have competed at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway including Mario Andretti, arguably the greatest driver of all time, two-time Indy 500 champion Gordon Johncock, along with former International Classic Champions Bentley Warren, Joe Gosek, and Davey Hamilton.
Oswego Speedway is honored to recognize several sponsors and corporate partners that help to bring the racing action to you each Saturday night (listed alphabetically): All Seasons Inn, Alliance Bank, Bacc Off, Best Western/Quality Inn, Blue Bowl Sanitation, Bonded Motor Sales, Bosco & Geers, Bracy’s Transmission Services, Bridge Street Jewelers, Brioschi Pharmaceuticals International LLC, Burke’s Home Centers, Burritt Motors, Butler Disposal, Canales Restaurant, Canales Insurance, Century 21 Galloway Realty, Chris Nelson Insurance, Cleaning for a Reason, City Electric, CNY CPR, Coca-Cola, Compass Federal Credit Union, Constellation Energy, Corr-Pak, CPS Electric, C’s Beverage Center, Davis Bros. Meats, Days Inn/Travelodge, Dufore’s Jewelers, Dunkin Donuts, Eagle Beverage, Ellsworth Heating and Cooling, Entergy Northeast, Ferris Industries, Gater Racing News, Green & Seifter CPA, G&I Homes, H. Lee White Marine Museum, Hofmann’s, GMAC Insurance, Gioia Signs, Hoosier Racing Tire, Hudson Dairy, Jerome Fire Equipment, Johnston’s Propane, John Costello & Associates, K&G Lodge, Lighthouse Lanes, Longley Dodge, Marollo Racing Engines, May’s Country Store, McCaffrey Chiropractic, Mickey’s Magical Vacation, Munski’s Auto and Marine, Novelis, Ontario Orchards, Oswego County Federal Credit Union, Oswego Health, Oswego Inn, OTB/Western Region, Oswego Quality Carpet, The Palladium-Times, Par-K Enterprises, Pathfinder Bank, Outdoor Power West, Performance Harley Davidson, Pizza Villa, Ponderosa, The Post-Standard, Precision Balancing, Press Box, Price Chopper, Pullen’s Plumbing, RE Davis and Son, RJ Caruso Tax & Accounting, Rudy’s Lakeside, S&S Tractor, Scriba Electric, Scriba Meats, Shapiro Motor Sales, Sharon’s Hair Gallery, Speedway Press, Steve Abt Auto, Stop DWI – Oswego County, Sunset RV Park, Supercuts, Terrell’s Potato Chips, Thunder Road Bar and Grill, Turning Stone Casino and Resort, Universal Metal Works, Vashaw’s Collision Service, Yogi Bear’s Jelly Stone Park
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