12/20/2025
Oswego Speedway
Bob Reis Returns To Oswego Full-Time In 2026 With Former Joe Gosek No. 00
OSWEGO, NY (December 20, 2026) – Bob Reis will return to Oswego Speedway full-time in 2026, competing weekly in the Novelis Supermodified division for the first time in nearly two decades after purchasing the complete Joe Gosek Supermodified operation. The move follows Gosek’s unprecedented 46th consecutive International Classic start last fall and marks the first time in more than 40 years that the iconic No. 00 Supermodified will not reside in Gosek’s Oswego shop. Reis now takes over the No. 00 program.
While Gosek has not ruled out a part-time or one-off return, the transition represents the end of an era. Reis, the veteran driver from Elma, NY, returns after a long absence from regular Supermodified competition. Following an injury at Oswego in 2014, Reis shifted his focus to other racing ventures, including ownership and promotion of Freedom Motorsports Park in Delevan, NY. The 2026 season will mark his 12th year at the helm of Freedom, which will again host major events including an All Star Circuit of Champions race on August 28, a June 12 ESS sprint car show, and the July 17 Pete Loretto Memorial Super Late Model event.
Now 57, Reis still resides in Elma but previously lived in Cicero for a decade, attending high school there before beginning what will now be a two-and-a-half-hour weekly commute to Oswego. While living in Central New York, he became a devoted fan of Jim Shampine, even winning a childhood model-car contest judged by Shampine himself. Along with Maynard Troyer, Shampine became one of Reis’ early heroes.
Reis was introduced to racing at age 10 by his father, racing go-karts at Batavia while also working on Billy Colton’s Modified. The pair regularly attended races at Lancaster and Oswego, where Reis watched from the grandstands. His first International Classic came in 1979. “After that, I didn’t miss for 20-something years,” Reis said. “I told my dad I was gonna race there someday, and eventually I did.”
Oswego quickly became Reis’ favorite track. Over the years, he has competed at numerous venues across the United States and Canada, but the Steel Palace always stood apart. “I’ve raced all over the place, but Oswego Speedway holds a special spot for me as it is my favorite race track out of all of them,” Reis said. “My first race there was in the mid-1990s in a Modified, and I’ve run four Race of Champions 200-lap races, two International Classic Supermodified races, one Super Nationals, a couple of ISMA races, ran weekly in the Supers for two years, and even tested a USAC Silver Crown car there.”
Reis’ first Supermodified appearance came in 1997, when he drove Ralph Wissing’s winged Supermodified at Cayuga, Holland, and Lancaster before being invited to compete in the ISMA Super Nationals at Oswego during Classic Weekend. He narrowly missed the feature after spinning in oil during the consolation race. Though long associated with the No. 10 throughout much of his career, Reis will carry No. 4 in 2026 – the number tied to his first Supermodified opportunity with Wissing. When Reis returned to Oswego in 2007, he could not run No. 10, which had been retired in honor of Nolan Swift.
The 1997 appearance proved to be a one-off, but Reis’ passion for Supermodified racing never faded. He began his career racing TQ midgets throughout Canada, competing at tracks such as Niagara Falls, Peterborough, Sunset, and Barrie in the early 1990s, and later transitioned to Sport Mod racing at Lancaster before beginning a lengthy Modified career that included weekly seasons in 1993, 1994, and 1995, dipped his toes into Super racing briefly, several years of part-time action, a fifth-place points finish in 2006 in the final year of the division at Lancaster, and continued part-time competition leading up to his Oswego return in 2007.
Reis made his full-time Oswego Supermodified return in 2007 with his black and red independent-front-suspension Jeff West chassis previously owned by Scott Eldred and Vern LaFave. In his rookie season, he posted a sixth-place finish in just his second start, along with seventh-place finishes in the Mr. Supermodified event and on Track Championship Night. He also recorded an impressive sixth-place finish in the 52nd Budweiser International Classic, charging from 26th to sixth in his first Classic appearance.
In 2008, after independent front suspension was outlawed, Reis purchased a straight-axle Supermodified from the Stout’s ACME Racing team– a former Johnny Torrese Graves car. He won two heat races early in the season before an engine failure sidelined the team mid-summer. Later that year, Reis led his first feature laps before being caught in an incident, ultimately recording three sixth-place feature finishes and showing consistent speed. After qualifying 11th for the International Classic, mechanical issues ended his race early. The Stout family later reacquired the car for the 2009 season.
Reis continued to make select Supermodified starts in 2009, including winged and non-wing events for Randy Darratt in the No. 88, while also competing at Sandusky with the tail section on, as teammate to Trent Stephens. After focusing on other ventures in 2010 and 2011, Reis returned to Supermodified competition in 2012 with the Stouts, competing in MSA events at Flat Rock, Sandusky, and Midvale, where he earned a career-best fifth-place Supermodified finish. His final start in the Graves chassis came at the 2013 ISMA season opener at Oswego, where he finished tenth in what remains his most recent winged Supermodified appearance.
Reis attempted a full-time return to Oswego in 2014 with a newer Muldoon chassis previously driven by Michael Muldoon and Bobby Santos, but the season was cut short by misfortune. A stuck throttle on opening night resulted in a violent crash, and after the car was rebuilt, a second accident in turn two caused significant damage and left Reis with a wrist injury, ending his season.
Later in 2014, Reis competed in the NYS Fairgrounds Sportsman event, raced at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park and finished fifth in the Sportsman feature, and also won a Sportsman feature at Fulton. He went on to race at Outlaw, Brewerton, and Canandaigua in various rides, including a brief stint in a 360 Sprint Car.
“It seems to be a never-ending racing tour for me,” Reis said. “I was actually kind of winding it down in ’07 to go run at Oswego as a bucket list item for a couple years, but I’m still going somehow. I’ve tried a sprint car, a big-block, a Sportsman, owned a track, ran a NASCAR Modified, and a TQ, and now back to Supers, so I’m still going strong.”
So what brings him back to Oswego now after nearly 20 years away, aside from one NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour start on Classic Weekend in 2024?
“I’m coming back now because I’ve given 12 years to Freedom and I still want to race more. I’m not getting any younger, and when this car came available I couldn’t resist. I miss driving,” Reis said. “I ran a few NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races in 2024 but didn’t run at all in 2025 because I was too busy with work and family. I have several jobs that keep me busy, but having this piece will let me allocate time to racing. It’s a really good, proven car – probably the best I’ve had at Oswego. I just love the place. It’s competitive, there’s a solid group of committed cars, and I probably would have never left if not for the chance to get a new Modified at Lancaster. I decided it was time to find my way back.”
Looking ahead to 2026, Reis outlined his goals and schedule. “I’m planning on running every week in the Oswego tail-wing package and focusing on those races. I don’t think we’ll run wing shows because I have other commitments and want to use off weeks wisely,” he said. “With the Super, we want to narrow our focus and try to have a good Classic. Joe and some of his crew have mentioned hanging around to help out, and I’m good friends with Mike Ceterski and Joe Perri, so I have good people around me. That’s why I wanted to do it. I want to be competitive. If we keep it in one piece, get used to the competition, and get some top fives, maybe we can be in contention. If we start up front on the right night and get away, a feature win is possible. I’ve always said I just want to win one feature at Oswego. That $1,000 club is a very elite club. But, if we can be competitive and finish top ten in points or close to it, that’s a great year after being gone so long. It’s been a while and a lot has changed, so we’ll see what happens”
Taking inspiration from drivers of the early 1980s who competed in both the Classic and the Bud Mod 200, Reis plans double duty on Classic Weekend in 2026. He will race the No. 10 NASCAR Whelen Modified and No. 4 Supermodified on Saturday and Sunday of the 70th edition of Bud Classic Weekend, targeting a total of 350 feature laps. Reis still owns his NASCAR Modified and a second car – now powered by a new Robert Yates Racing spec motor – which he will also run at Oswego and select NASCAR events as time allows, along with a TQ midget and the former Gosek Supermodified now in his shop.
Reis will make his official return to the Steel Palace in the Novelis Supermodified season-opening Jim Shampine Memorial 60-lap event on Saturday, June 6, 2026.
For more information and continued offseason updates, visit OswegoSpeedway.com and follow Oswego Speedway on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
Submitted By: Oswego Admin