4/28/2026
Oswego Speedway
Aric Iosue Set for Full-Time Return to Oswego Speedway in 2026 in Former West No. 1
OSWEGO, NY (April 28, 2026) – Supermodified veteran Aric Iosue, who has not raced Oswego Speedway full-time since 2018, will make his full-time return in 2026 driving the former Jeff West-owned No. 1, one of the newest builds out of the Hawk Jr. Chassis stable, most recently driven as the No. 32 by Bobby Santos III in tribute to Mark Letcher during last year’s Budweiser International Classic weekend.
Iosue, a two-time Oswego feature winner in 2016 while driving for Graham Racing in the No. 11, raced part-time at Oswego in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 in the Bodnar chassis “Fire” No. 27, but primarily focused on ISMA/MSS competition.
When the opportunity to purchase a top-notch piece of equipment in the West No. 1 became available, Iosue said he couldn’t pass up the chance to return to Oswego.
“Clearly, with the Bodnar car, we had tons of trouble,” Iosue said. “We didn’t have many good runs. We just couldn’t figure it out for whatever reason. We thought every offseason we’d find the answer, and we just didn’t want to go through another season of frustration where you think you figure it out and you get to opening day and nothing changes. We talked to Joey Hawksby about getting a new car built and he talked to Jeff West, and then Jeff finally seemed to have an interest in selling it. He has been great to work with.”
Iosue explained West called them in the fall and a deal was worked out with Aric and his father, longtime crew chief Dave.
“I’m excited about this car. It’s in great shape, it’s hardly been raced, it’s the same suspension that’s on Otto (Sitterly’s) new car,” Iosue said of the former No. 1, which was driven to top five finishes in the Classic by Santos in 2023 and 2024. “The biggest difference is the frame just doesn’t come up quite as fast in the back, but whatever aero we might be losing there, we’re more than okay with. Jeff gave us a ton of spares and it’s just a really nice piece.”
The Bodnar car was sold and will be campaigned by another team on ISMA/MSS this season.
“Fortunately we were able to sell the Bodnar car but kept the top wing. We knew that car had potential, Jimmy (Bodnar) tried helping us out, and as much as we wanted to make it work, we just couldn’t get it going for whatever reason.”
Iosue said he kept the wing with hopes of competing in all five legs of the Oswego Super Challenge this year including ISMA/MSS on May 30, the Jim Shampine Memorial on June 6, ISMA/MSS on August 8, Mr. Supermodified on August 15 and the Budweiser International Classic 200 on September 6.
“I want to support the Challenge and this is a great car to do it with, to give us a shot in both trims,” Iosue said. “The other cars I drove were 10 years or so old. This is the newest one I’ve had, it deserves to be raced as much as we can, but it’s going to primarily be at Oswego. We’re definitely going to run the two ISMA/MSS shows there. I don’t see why we wouldn’t. The money is there and I think the car will work well in both trims. We will miss running ISMA/MSS more. We like the whole deal, but traveling is just hard. It’s just my Dad and I. I’d love to do it all if I didn’t have a job, but that’s just not really feasible anymore for either of us.”
“The focus is going to be on that every week,” said Iosue, winner of the 2016 Independence Weekend Grand Prix 75, when asked about getting back to victory lane at Oswego. “That’s of course on my mind. I’ve been excited. I don’t want to get too excited because I’ve thought we’d have a really good piece the last couple years and I haven’t been able to get out of my own way. I do think we have a chance to do really well, but it starts with testing and seeing what we’ve got and going from there. We’re putting in a bunch of work now, tweaking little things, a new seat, nose wing, making sure all our spares are in order. We want to get right after it at the jump here.”
Of getting back home at Oswego with his father, who is recovering from a hard-fought battle with cancer, Iosue added, “Oswego has always been home. I’ve always liked the non-wing or tail wing racing better. With him going through all that, it’s easier for us being close to home too. We both like it here. We’ve had our frustrations with things in the past, but that happens. I just hope things will go better this year, we’ll have a good run. We just have to see. One week at a time. We won’t get ahead of ourselves.”
Iosue’s best points run came with a fifth-place finish in 2018, the last year he ran full-time, and he hopes to build on that.
“We had a good season that year too with a couple of seconds. That’s really what I want, to get back to consistency and being competitive because we haven’t been, at all. It’s been frustrating. It feels like we’ve been so lost and I just want to have fun weekly again and run near the front, or at least even in the top 10, and we’ll go from there.”
The 2015 Rookie of the Year said being able to still do this with his father Dave, now 73 and still one of the smartest minds in the pits, remains the biggest reason they continue.
“That’s exactly why we are doing this. My Dad is desperate to get back to where we’re close and so am I. Then we can focus on fine tuning instead of feeling like we’re lost.”
Dave Iosue has guided four different drivers to their first Oswego feature wins as crew chief, including Tim Snyder, Ray Graham, Pat Lavery and Aric.
“Supermodified racing with my Dad is what has kept me in Oswego,” Aric said. “You don’t ever know how long people are going to be around or how long the racing is going to be around. When my Dad got sick a couple years ago, I realized I wouldn’t trade this for anything. This crystallized it all for me as far as this is the right thing I’m doing and I’m glad I’m here at Oswego and glad we’re still doing it. I’m getting super excited as the season gets closer and fortunate to have the support of my parents, AcroFab, Oswego Quality Carpet, and Miller Machine & Mechanical making it possible”
Oswego Speedway’s 75th Anniversary Season opens Saturday, May 30, featuring the 33-lap, $1,333-to-win Pathfinder Bank SBS Ray Hedger Memorial presented by Salmon River Maple Products and Maplewood Bar & Grill, the 30-lap, $2,000-to-win Oswego County Tourism 350 Supermodified feature, and the 50-lap, $6,000-to-win Oswego Super Challenge opener for the ISMA/MSS Winged Supermodifieds. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit OswegoSpeedway.com and click the “Buy Tickets” tab, or follow Oswego Speedway on social media.
Submitted By: Oswego Admin