Volney’s Lou LeVea, Sr. became the fifth different winner in as many races in the limited supermodified division at the Oswego Speedway Saturday night, dominating the Empire Federal Credit Union/Inkspot 35-lap feature event. Having had his No. 96 get caught up in racing mishaps in its last few outings, LeVea was able to grab the lead early on Saturday night, keeping his car out of harm’s way. It was LeVea’s third career limited supermodified win, the first with his brand new car.
“This win really means a lot,” LeVea said. “We built this car at my house this year. Everything was experimental. We think we should’ve put it in victory lane sooner than this, but we got caught up in some jingles the last few weeks. The car has been really awesome. It was basically a real good run tonight and things just fell my way.”
Mexico’s JJ Andrews and Fulton native Jack Patrick led the field to the green to start the 35-lap main. Andrews nabbed the early lead from Patrick but Doug Reaume pulled along side Andrews as the two crossed the stripe to complete the first lap. Reaume powered his way into the top spot as the duo reached the first turn. Reaume quickly put distance on the field, but the heavily smoking No. 18 of Dave Gruel brought out the first caution of the race, slowing the action. Reaume went back to work on the restart, easing away from Andrews. LeVea, Patrick, and Mike Bond rounded out the top five. After a few laps under green, LeVea cleared Andrews and set his sights on Reaume’s No. 14. By the seventh circuit, LeVea had caught the leader as the two began to duel 10 lengths ahead of the now third-place running Patrick No. 9. LeVea wasted no time on looking for a way around the No. 14, taking peeks high and low until he found a hole on the 13th lap.
The leaders positioned themselves to put the No. 01 of Shannon Jones a lap down. “When Doug moved up on the 01 car he slowed down a bit,” LeVea said. “He was trying to figure out which way he was gonna go. He went to the outside. That allowed me the opening I needed underneath to get him down the front stretch.” The two went high and low around Jones, making it three abreast heading into the first turn. Reaume refused to let up as he tried to carry his speed on the outside. It proved too much for his No. 14 as it spun around just shy of turn two. That brought out the second caution of the race and put LeVea atop the field for its remainder.
LeVea kissed the field goodbye on the restart, leaping out to a five-car advantage by the 15th lap and a 10-car advantage by the 20th. Defending Track Champion Russ Brown continued his 2006 struggles. On the 14th lap, Brown made a bid for a top five spot, putting his No. 13 to the outside of Mike Barnes. Barnes bit back, relegating Brown back to seventh as Brian Sobus slipped underneath the No. 13. Brown ended his day in seventh. He remained winless on the season but managed to retain his slim point lead. “Everybody that’s won has come from the first two rows,” Brown said. “It’s tough. There’s no outside groove. I went a few times up high in turn three and it’s a four-wheel slide for me. It’s too hot and too slippery. We’ve got to do something. We’re gonna change four shocks, four springs…We’re going to have a whole new car or something because this isn’t fun for me anyone.”
LeVea went unchallenged the rest of the way. The field behind him remained virtually unchanged. It was to be his night as LeVea was the only driver to record laps in the 19.3 and 19.4 second range - two to three 10ths of a second faster than his competitors. His No. 96 machine cruised under the checkered flag 15 lengths ahead of the field. “It was a real good run tonight,” LeVea said. “Things just fell my way. This car has been quick right out of the box. Back in the first week we had some engine trouble. The second week, we got a top five. We’ve been getting crashed out ever since. It’s just so easy to drive. I don’t hardly have to move my hands on the wheel at all. It’s unreal. There are still a lot of things I want to try, but I don’t dare do it now.”
Like LeVea, Patrick was able to impress the field with a new car as well. He brought his No. 9 Hedger chassis home in second. “It was a great race tonight,” Patrick said. “It’s about time we got the Longley Dodge running good. We’ve been struggling with it all year long, but it’s been a great car. I know it’s got a lot more in it. We’ve just got to keep tweaking it and gaining a little bit at a time. It was a big night for us. Loui’s been pretty good all year long...we’ve struggled. This is as good as a win is to me because I haven’t been up this high in five years. This is definitely as good as a win for me.”
Bond drove his No. 90 to a third-place finish. “We ran half-way decent,” Bond said. “At least we didn’t go backwards this week. We still have a bit of fine tuning to do on the chassis. The motor’s still not right. We’re getting closer. We tried a different setup but ended up putting the old setup back in it. It’s never disappointing when you can roll it back on the trailer in one piece. We’re getting there.”
Tim Barbeau continued his frequent visits to the top five with a fourth-place run. “This is the best start to a year I’ve ever had,” Barbeau said. The car is working really well. We’re limiting our warm-up time and saving our tires for the heat races and features. It just seems to work. Whatever we do to it, it reacts the right way. I’ve got to thank my crew, Steve Reynolds and Lori Goodway. They’re making the right changes. I’m comfortable in the car. I just basically have to worry about the driving.”
Barnes rounded out the top five. “We really haven’t been that fast all year,” Barnes said. “We’ve tried a bunch of different things and haven’t quite made it work yet. I don’t know if we’re going the right way but we’re trying to. We actually got the car the best it’s been. It’s still not right. Hopefully, we can get back to as fast as we were running last year. Another thing is that the track hasn’t been too good this year. A lot of guys in this division are just as fast as everybody else now. So, the days of coming from behind - guys like Brown, Gruel, Proud, and myself, are over. That’s not gonna happen this year. I don’t care how fast you’re going. A lot of guys have gotten faster and the track has gotten slower. That’s helped a lot of the slower guys keep up too.”
Empire Federal Credit Union/Inkspot 35:
1. Lou LeVea (96), 2. Jack Patrick (9), 3. Mike Bond (90), 4. Tim Barbeau (50), 5. Mike Barnes (25), 6. Brian Sobus (79), 7. Russ Brown (13), 8. Josh LaRochelle (10), 9. Dave Gruel (18), 10. Mark Regan (4), 11. Rob Pullen (2), 12. Alan Barker (60), 13. Doug Reaume (14), 14. Kevin Knopp (94), 15. JJ Andrews (93), 16. John Ketcham (11), 17. Shawn Walker (68), 18. Guard Nearbin (78), 19. Barry Kingsley (23), 20. Ray Smith (22), 21. Cameron Rowe (85), 22. Chris Prous (3), 23. Star Matteson (82), 24. Shannon Jones (01), 25. Mike Farrow (70), 26. Larry Muroski (38).
Limited Super recap by Chris Porter, contributing writer to Oswego Daily News.