OSWEGO, NY (September 2, 2019) - Despite missing the entire 2019 season, it was not a surprise when hall of famer Mike Bond returned to the controls of the No. 74 for an absolutely dominating performance in Oswego Speedway’s Bud Light SBS Classic 75 this past Sunday.
What may surprise some who haven’t kept track, however, is that Sunday marked Bond’s fourth Classic win in a row. Not only was it his fourth consecutive victory, it was also the seventh of his career. This means that no driver in any division has won more ‘Classics’ than Mike Bond.
“It feels really good to come out at the end of the year and get one,” Bond said in victory lane. “I can’t thank my guys enough for giving me such a good car to drive. There was a lot of work put in to get it out here and it all paid off.”
2012 SBS Classic champion Cameron Rowe and 2018 Rookie of the Year Joshua Sokolic made up the inverted front row for the 75-lap main event with Rowe shooting out to the early race lead over Sokolic, fourth starting Russ Bartlett, and sixth starting Tony Pisa.
Track champion Anthony Losurdo started right behind Pisa in eighth, and early the outside lane prevailed as Losurdo was able to get by Andrew Schartner, Brad Haynes, Greg O’Connor, and eventually Pisa to sit fourth in a matter of a lap and a half.
The first yellow flag of the event came on lap 4 for a spinning AJ Bernys off of turn four. Bernys, a former Mr. Pathfinder Bank SBS champion, was piloting one of three Classic entries for 2019 Small Block Super Rookie of the Year Travis Bartlett.
That spin by Bernys meant the first double file restart of the afternoon was on tap, bringing Rowe and Sokolic side by side in the front row once again. This time, it was Sokolic who jumped to the advantage from up high.
With Sokolic now up front, he had a bumper full of Losurdo, who was able to get around Rowe and Bartlett for second. Behind them, O’Connor, Schartner, and eleventh starting Bond were all in the mix trying to find a way by the No. 89 of Pisa.
By lap 5, O’Connor, Bond, and Schartner had all driven around Pisa to take over fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively, with Pisa falling back to eighth ahead of Dave Cliff and tenth running Brad Haynes.
Out front, Losurdo wasted little time with Sokolic. Searching for his first Classic win, the back to back track champ made his bid coming out of turn two. He took over the lead approaching what was only the sixth lap of the event.
On lap 9, several cars log jammed midway through the field, sending the Mike Bruce No. 04 around and into the water barrels down the back stretch. Bruce would have to tag the tail for the ensuing restart.
In a completely separate incident, David LaTulip’s Classic hopes also came to an end on the ninth lap with a fire on the No. 27 resulting in a DNF for the 2019 Mr. Pathfinder Bank SBS champion.
When Losurdo and Sokolic lead the field back to green, Pisa got way out of shape on the back stretch and spun out. In the process, he collected Bruce and the Jesse Bearup No. 37. Bruce and Pisa were both done for the day following this incident.
Losurdo again walked away from Sokolic on the restart, but this time Schartner ran into some problems as he broke way sideways while battling with Bond. He was able to make the save and lost just one spot to Cliff.
While Losurdo and Sokolic tried to run away, Bartlett held strong in third for fifteen laps before getting a little bit high off of turn two and surrendering that spot over to Bond. Bond, Bartlett, Rowe, Cliff, and Schartner were now nose to tail for third through seventh.
On lap 20, the leaders began to navigate through lapped traffic for the first time and that was when a mistake by the Rowe No. 77 brough both the Cliff No. 50 and the Schartner No. 18 by him for positions five and six.
Further out front, Losurdo, Sokolic, and Bond had begun to pull away from the field and that appeared to make Cliff and Schartner a bit nervous. Racing right tight together, the pair went around the outside of Bartlett in consecutive laps to now take over fourth and fifth.
With a quarter of the race in the books, it appeared it may be Losurdo’s Classic to lose, but slowly Bond had crept his way up the board from deep in the field and was challenging Sokolic for second by lap 25.
One lap later, Bond got the run he needed going down the back stretch and moved past Sokolic for second. Losurdo was over half a straightaway ahead, but with Bond now in second, that gap began to close very quickly.
The caution lights were displayed once again on lap 33, setting up the first in a series of very exciting side by side restarts between the Losurdo No. 1 and the Bond No. 74.
On this particular restart, Losurdo hung onto the lead from the inside row now pacing Bond, Sokolic, Schartner, Cliff, Brad Haynes, Rowe, Bartlett, Bryan Haynes, and O’Connor.
At halfway, Cliff was able to get back under the Schartner No. 18 for fourth while Losurdo and Bond again checked out in a battle of their own.
With Losurdo and Bond opening up some distance on the field on yet another occasion, Cliff was doing his best to keep pace. The former Classic winner next got under Sokolic’s No. 26 for third as laps began to wind down with only a regular Saturday night feature remaining.
On lap 45, the field was slowed again when O’Connor Bearup got locked together, sending the two cars into the turn three foam. This pair had been running in tenth and eleventh, but Bearup saw his day come to an end on the hook following this incident.
The next restart brought all kinds of bumping and banging between Losurdo and Bond, who swapped skin rails on several occasions first between turns one and two, and once again exiting turn four. For the time being, Losurdo was able to keep the race lead.
Three laps later, however, Losurdo slipped up ever so slightly coming out of turn two and that was all Bond needed to muscle around the bottom of the speedway for the ead on lap 48.
As soon as Bond took the race lead, he began to check out, but there were still several cars in a thick battle behind him including Losurdo, Cliff, and Cameron Rowe, who used this restart to get back by Haynes, Schartner, and eventually Sokolic for fourth.
Bond dominated the next twenty five laps for his seventh Classic win over Losurdo and Cliff on the podium. Rowe and Schartner completed the top five while brothers Brad and Bryan Haynes finished sixth and seventh. Sokolic faded to eighth, while O’Connor and James Babcock filled out the top ten.
Mike Kapuscinski Memorial ‘Rookie of the Race’ honors went to fifteenth place finisher Mark Denny Jr, who picked up a $125 bonus from Dan KapuscinskI Motorsports Promotions.
Lakeside Restaurant and Bear’s Sleepy Hollow Campground paid $200 to both the fourth and twentieth place finishers in memory of Danny Cliff. Rowe and Pisa were the recipients, and Rowe was also awarded a $50 bonus from White’s Car Care for his strong performance.
The Oswego Classic Can-Am Camping Group $200 ‘Last Car on Lead Lap’ bonus went to the No. 86 of Bryan Haynes while the Area Auto Racing News ‘Best Appearing Car & Crew’ prize was awarded to the Cliff No. 50 team.
Premiere Landscaping presented a total of $300 in extra cash to the front row with $200 awarded to polesitter Dave Cliff and additional $100 awarded to outside polesitter Mike Bond.
For further results, photos, and more from Oswego Speedway’s 63rd Budweiser International Classic Weekend, please visit OswegoSpeedway.com. You can also FOLLOW on Twitter @OswegoSpeedway or LIKE on Facebook at Facebook.com/OswegoSpeedway.
About Oswego Speedway: Oswego Speedway is a 5/8 mile semi-banked pavement racing oval located off the shores of Lake Ontario in scenic Oswego, NY. The 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 the Oswego Speedway making it the only weekly Supermodified racing venue in the world. The Small Block Supermodifieds and 350 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, two-time Indy 500 champion Gordon Johncock, and former International Classic Champions Bentley Warren, Joe Gosek, and Davey Hamilton.
BOX SCORE
Oswego Speedway
Oswego, NY
September 1, 2019
Pathfinder Bank SBS
28th Bud Light Classic (75-laps): 1. 74 MIKE BOND, 2. 1 Anthony Losurdo, 3. 50 Dave Cliff, 4. 77 Cameron Rowe, 5. 18 Andrew Schartner, 6. 88 Brad Haynes, 7. 86 Bryan Haynes, 8. 26 Joshua Sokolic, 9. 90 Greg O’Connor, 10. 15 James Babcock, 11. 03 Dennis Richmond, 12. 37 Jesse Bearup, 13. 02 Russ Bartlett, 14. 24 AJ Bernys, 15. 14 ® Mark Denny Jr, 16. 32 Stephen Flack, 17. 01 ® Ken Moody Jr, 18. 71 Ray Sand Jr, 19. 27 David LaTulip, 20. 89 Tony Pisa, 21. 04 Michael Bruce, 22. 93 Steve Wood
28th Bud Light Classic 75 Time Trials: 1. 50 Dave Cliff - 18.546, 2. 74 Mike Bond - 18.602, 3. 37 Jesse Bearup - 18.685, 4. 27 David LaTulip - 18.779, 5. 1 Anthony Losurdo - 18.803, 6. 18 Andrew Schartner - 18.832, 7. 02 Russell Bartlett - 18.860, 8. 90 Greg O’Connor - 18.905, 9. 26 Joshua Sokolic - 18.943, 10. 77 Cameron Rowe - 19.007, 11. 89 Tony Pisa - 19.014, 12. 88 Brad Haynes - 19.017, 13. 24 AJ Bernys - 19.045, 14. 04 Mchael Bruce - 19.157, 15. 03 Dennis Richmond - 19.212, 16. 86 Bryan Haynes - 19.331, 17. 15 James Babock - 19.783, 18. 14 ® Mark Denny Jr. - 19.931, 19. 01 ® Ken Moody Jr. - 20.080, 20. 32 Stephen Flack - 20.081, 21. 93 Steve Wood - 22.009
White’s Car Care Fourth Place Finisher In Memory of Tony White ($50): #77 Cameron Rowe
Mike Kapuscinski Memorial Rookie of the Race ($125): #14 Mark Denny Jr.
Lakeside Restaurant / Bear’s Sleepy Hollow Campground Fourth Place Finisher In Memory of Danny Cliff ($200): #77 Cameron Rowe
Lakeside Restaurant / Bear’s Sleepy Hollow Campground Twentieth Place Finisher In Memory of Danny Cliff ($200): #89 Tony Pisa
Oswego Classic Can-Am Camping Group Last Car On Lead Lap ($200): #86 Bryan Haynes
Premiere Landscaping Pole Award ($200): #50 Dave Cliff
Premiere Landscaping Outside Pole Award ($100): #74 Mike Bond
Area Auto Racing News Best Appearing Car & Crew Award: #50 Dave Cliff
- OSWEGO ADMIN on Sep 02, 2019
- Article Date: 9/2/2019