“I thought back to our first day, when we showed up with a limited supermodified, and an old broken down Ford truck parked between two big rigs, and thought “here we are”. One of the guys I was with said, “Is anyone else intimidated? Yeah, we all were,” is how defending Classic champ Otto Sitterly described the first night he pulled a race car through the hallowed gates of Oswego Speedway. “But, we’re a race team, and we try to succeed, we want to succeed.,” Nobody puts pressure on Otto Sitterly, like Otto Sitterly.”
Fast forward to Classic 2009.
Classic 2009 was setting up as a “Black and Blue” shoot out between the black #3 Xtreme car of Doug Didero and the blue #7 Hawk Jr. supermodified car of Otto Sitterly. Sure there black and blue cars that were challengers from Dave McKnight, Davey Hamilton and Bobby Santos, but the center of focus was on the 3 and 7 cars.
Anticipation for the 200 only grew on qualifying Saturday, as Didero and Sitterly set the fastest two times, thus making up the front row for Classic 09. Didero turned in a 16.212, while Sitterly clocked a 16.443 to make up the front row.
“I was a little surprised that we qualified second,” Sitterly admitted. “Tom put aside a good set of tires, they were pretty good quality. I got two good laps in. The second lap, I got into three and four a little heavy and wiggled a little bit. I was definitely in the edge, and didn’t think I could get another ounce out of it. I pulled it the pits, and the guys held up a four, so we were ecstatic thinking we qualified 4th. I didn’t immediately know he leant we turned a 17.4.”
The Nictora team pulled away from the track Saturday night, with the game plan intact for Sunday. “We knew what we wanted for tires, and adjustments,” Otto reflected. “We made some minor adjustments, some small wing adjustments, and just minimal changes.. This was the third year we’ve run the car, we know what we have. The first year we learned a lot about it, the last two years have been minimal changes. I knew we would have a good car.”
Sunday morning there is a lot of down time, time for drivers to think. Thoughts then turned to how he thought the race would play out. “Guys around you, you think about what they're going to do. Guys like Doug Didero, Dave McKnight and Joe Gosek can be aggressive early for a 200-lap race. I wasnt sure what they were going to do.”
“Doug was the guy to beat in my mind,” he added. “Especially when he started on the pole. Doug took off, and we just followed him. He set the pace. I didn’t have to lead, I was just as happy to sit there behind. I didn’t want to get too far behind, and didn’t want to gas it up and spin the tires to catch back up to him.”
Sitterly continued to let the race come to him. “I wanted to stay close, but not use my car up. I saw Paul Colloca showing Doug 17.6, and didn’t think we were going that fast. I just kicked it back and hung onto Doug.”
“I could see Doug’s car starting to go away, as early as before halfway. It was really loose, and somewhere around the 60 to 80 lap mark, he really washed up over in two. I backed off and lost momentum. Davey got a wheel under me, and it was like, Uh Oh.”
“I looked at the race backwards,” said Otto replaying the race. “It wasn’t lap 130, it was there are 70 to go. About 140, his car wasn’t doing what he wanted it to. I could have waited, possibly until 180. I didn’t have to push it to stay with him. Between traffic and yellows, we were staying close too.”
It was at this point it was time to go. “Coming out of two, I got a good run,” he remembered. “He pushed up in three and I thought ‘this is it’ I made the pass, and wanted to do it smooth. I only wanted to have to do it once. The car was smooth and solid, and it didn’t shake at all before that point.”
He took the lead, and it was on to the checkers. “Once by Doug it was like, ‘this is my race, don’t mess it up’. Joey Payne motioned to me to use my head, and he helped me a lot. I really appreciate all the help me gave me and also someone else I had giving me signals. That helped me not to have to use my car up, and let me take my time to get by the lapped cars smooth.”
“I could focus on hitting my marks, and using my head around the lapped cars.” Laps wound towards 200, but he was focused on the task at hand. “The checkered flag came out, and I was so zoned in, it didn’t really sink it. I thought of all the sacrifices, all the things we’ve sacrificed as a family, and it got emotional. I gathered it up, and enjoyed the moment.”
“John is a very loyal and dedicated person, it was nice to win with a guy that loves Oswego as much as he does. We have the same goals. We like to have nice, shiny, sparkling equipment, and we like to win. When John gets something in his mind, there’s no two ways around it, he’s going to be successful.”
“It’s hard to explain, I was so focused on the job at hand, it took a while for it all to sink in,” is how 2009 International Classic winner Otto Sitterly reacted to the biggest win in his career to date. “I didn’t hoot and holler, I didn’t immediately absorb it. Once it hit me, I really did enjoy the moment. It was the first one I have ever won, and it was really cool. I hope it’s not the last one I win though.”
He then put his win in perspective. “That’s what it was all about,” he philosophized. “To start at the very bottom, with that old broken down truck, and a limited supermodified, to now winning the Classic. Starting at the bottom and getting to the top. And, having my family as dedicated to this as we are, that was a road. We started when Nick was born, and now, this year, he’s been to two races. Nate has only been once this year, and it was a rained out night. It started with me and a couple of guys, and then it grew from there, Phoebe and the boys have been there with me every step of the way, and it’s been a heck of a ride. Just having the support from my family is special.”
He continued his praise, this time towards his car owner and friend. “John, I can’t say enough about John. This deal started out as a one race deal, and look where we are now. He’s a very loyal, and dedicated person. He’s obsessed. When he gets something in his mind, whether it be the racecar, beans, or putting windows in his house, he’s going to do what it takes to be successful. We have the same goals.”
As with any good race team, the past is the past, and focus is on the job at hand, not only defending his Classic Championship, but also getting three cars ready for 2010 Classic. “I will be in the 7, Davey in the Hawk #6, and Bobby Santos in the Xtreme , probably #79. All three cars are good cars, and all three can win the race. We have to make sure they’re ready to go.”
Tom, Doug, Devin, Weid, Dave, Andy, Eddy, Nate, Nick, Jonesy, Tim, Fish, John Nicotra Sr., Joe Peri and Ron Peri are the crew guys that keep the cars race ready. The team has raced with a heavy heart this year as longtime crewman Albert Castrucci passed away this summer. G&I Homes, Ritz Craft Corp, John Nicotra Sr., Joe Desousa, George Suarez, Five Brothers Produce, S&L Beans, First Flavor Produce, and Beaver River Trucking help sponsor the Nicotra Team.
Usually, week before Classic has brought a sense of drama to John and Otto. Whether it is buying another car, finding a driver, or just getting ready for the race, usually race week is busy for John and Otto. Looking to settle into the race a little easier this year, John told Otto, “Hey, maybe we’ll take a trip or something, this year, we should go away the week before Classic so we don’t get into anything.”
Otto knows he’s in trouble whenever John starts out a conversation with, “Hey, I’ve been thinking….”
The dedication and sacrifices made by Otto Sitterly, John Nicotra and everyone involved with the 6, 7 and 79 team is something special. Their record on track since becoming a team four years ago is one that stacks up to any of the legends of Oswego Speedway, and they added to that legend by winning Classic 2009. They’ve come a long way since driving that old Ford truck through the gates. They aren’t intimidated anymore.