OSWEGO, NY (September 7, 2021) - North Ridgeville, Ohio’s Dave Shullick Jr. continued his unbelievable late summer stretch this past Sunday night at the Oswego Speedway, delivering with the second International Classic win of his career and first for car owner Chris Osetek.
It was the fourth consecutive Novelis Supermodified feature win and 18th career victory for the Buckeye State star who this season has claimed the track title, track record, a Classic win, and the Classic pole.
“This is super special for the guys. Chris and Brian (Osetek) and the team have tried so hard, but have really had no luck in this race. It means the world to me for them to get this,” Shullick said. “They grew up here and watched their Dad be a part of this for so long and I know what thats like. For them to get this race, the track championship, and the track record I don’t think it gets much better than this. I am super excited for them. Believe it or not, right before the feature when we went out for the full fuel load run, the car was banging off the ground really bad. I came in and told the guys something was broken on the car. We took the back cover off the car and found the torsion bar, where it mounts to the frame, was busted. They welded it together before the race, so hats off to the guys for getting it together and giving me this piece tonight. I wanted it really bad. I didn’t know how the pace of the race would go, but Otto (Sitterly) surprised me a bit in the beginning. I wanted to get in front of him and control him and not let him control me, so that’s why I tried to get out front as soon as I could. Honestly, this thing was a missile, so I just did what I needed to do. I was a little worried about fuel at the end of course because I have been there before, but this is an incredible night for us.”
Driving the throwback No. 79 for John Nicotra Racing, outside polesitter Otto Sitterly finished in the runner-up position for a second consecutive Classic.
“That was a long, grueling race,” Sitterly commented. “I was sliding all over the place. I want to obviously congratulate DJ and his whole gang for a stellar year. They did everything you want to do in a season, so good job to them. I don’t know. For now, I probably will just leave that alone (addressing retirement rumors). We are definitely going to race the ISMA car and stuff like that next year, and maybe just kick back and relax a little bit.”
Coming in strong for third was Dave Danzer, who started in seventh, and inherited the final podium position with 25 laps remaining.
“I have to apologize to Daniel (Connors). He came over and apologized to me, and I thought I took him out, but he said he had a transfer pump problem. It was good, hard racing,” stated Danzer. “Congrats to Otto (Sitterly) on a hell of a career here. He was one of my idols growing up when he first came out with the West car and is one of the greatest of all-time. He is a class act, and to share the podium with him and Dave Shullick, two of the all-time greats, is a real honor. Chris (Osetek) and those guys are the class of the field right now. I have to thank my crew. We had a great weekend. Nothing really went wrong. I need to thank Dalton Doyle for putting a front clip on this two weeks ago and Joey Hawksby Jr. for all his help and support. We’re going to have a good night now.”
Michael Barnes and Russ Wood, who started 13th, and 21st, respectively, would round out the top five.
At the start of the 65th annual 200-lapper, Sitterly used the outside lane to take the lead from Shullick with third starting Dan Connors Jr. falling in line for position ahead of fourth starting Tyler Thompson and sixth starting Doug Didero.
The front five pulled away from the field, remaining nose to tail until the first caution flag for a slowing Chris Perley on lap 20.
On lap 28, the initial restart saw Sitterly hold onto the lead with Shullick, Connors, Thompson, Didero and Danzer nose to tail behind him.
Once again, the top ten cars stayed in line for the next 22 green flag laps until a yellow flag at the lap 50 mark for Bob Bond and Michael Muldoon bunched the field back together again.
On this restart, Shullick kept much less space between him and Sitterly, and ended up storming underneath Sitterly and into the lead on lap 59.
From this point forward, Shullick never relinquished the number one spot.
The third caution flag of the race was thrown on lap 66 for Lou LeVea Jr, who had brushed the outside wall and slowed to a stop down the front stretch.
Green lights were again illuminated on lap 72 for Shullick, who on the restart was able to walk away from Sitterly and the rest of the top five.
It was short lived, however, as Jamie Timmons found himself backwards into the turn three foam on lap 75.
Now with 120 laps to go, Shullick’s No. 95 again passed under the green over Sitterly, Connors, Thompson, and Didero.
The top five remained unchanged until yellow flag number five came out on lap 91 for Keith Shampine, who had experienced a fuel leak in the No. 55.
It was also during this caution that fifth running Didero dropped out of the race with magneto issues on the No. 3.
The field took the green again on lap 101, with the halfway running order Shullick, Sitterly, Connors, Thompson, and Danzer in the top five over Jeff Abold, Joe Gosek, Barnes, Jerry Curran and Joey Payne in the top ten.
Just past halfway, Connors started to get a bit racy, going by Sitterly for second on lap 105.
Thompson tried the very same move on Sitterly, but Otto decided he was not ready to give up another spot, and drove back around both cars, re-taking the runner-up position on lap 110.
On lap 115, Rookie of the Year Mike Bruce slowed with issues, bringing out another caution flag.
The restart with 82 laps to go would see Sitterly take a shot at Shullick on the outside, but he was unable to muster the speed to get around as Shullick continued to hold onto the race lead in the No. 95.
Curran, who was solidly in the top ten, took the Nuclear Banana pitside and out of the action on lap 123, a disappointing ending to a strong run for the No. 99.
Two laps later, Muldoon’s Classic came to a screeching halt in the turn two foam with 75 laps remaining. This called for the seventh caution flag of the event.
After battling mechanical woes for the distance, this yellow was also when fifth starting Brandon Bellinger called it quits for the day with the No. 02.
The field went racing once again on lap 131, and it was the same story; Shullick walked away from Sitterly out in front, again rocketing to a healthy lead.
With 50 laps to go, Shullick and the leaders closed in on heavy traffic, with several cars in the top five having issues getting by a slower car.
At one point, Sitterly was able to close the gap on Shullick before the No. 95 was finally able to navigate the traffic and begin to expand his lead again.
Thompson had issues going around the slower car as well, and was sent up wide in turns three and four, which allowed Danzer to sneak into fourth.
Competing in his 42nd Classic, another solid run for Gosek came to an end with mechanical woes while running in seventh with just shy of 40 to go.
For the next 15 laps, the leaders remained in several heavy cycles of traffic, and this only allowed Shullick to build an even bigger lead on Sitterly.
By this point, the third through fifth place cars were a half track behind leader Shullick and a full straightaway behind second place Sitterly.
With just 25 laps remaining, third place Connors began to run out of fuel and slow, which caused Daniel’s No. 01 and Danzer’s No. 52 to come together down the front stretch.
Both drivers made a tremendous save, but Connors would have to pull the No. 01 pitside with 21 to go.
One lap prior, Abold, who was running in seventh at the time, took the No. 05 machine pitside with a cooked motor as attrition really began to factor into the outcome of the race.
An oil leak from the No. 05 brought out the yellow flag.
At lap 180, the top five was now Shullick, Sitterly, Danzer, Thompson, and Barnes, with Wood, Payne, Tim Snyder, Todd Stowell, and Camden Proud cracking the top ten.
Despite the field being brought back to Shullick’s rear bumper, he was again able to open up a big lead over Sitterly and Danzer on the restart.
Unfortunately, one more yellow flag would come out with 10 to go for a hard ride into the second turn steel for Thompson, who had lost his left rear tire.
He had been running in fourth.
The final restart of the race with five to go saw Shullick, Sitterly, Danzer, Barnes, and Wood in the top five.
And just like every other restart, Shullick pulled away from Sitterly and Danzer one more time with the $15,000 paycheck well within his sights.
The ‘Shoe 2’ picked up the dominant Classic victory over Sitterly in second, Danzer in third, Barnes fourth, Wood fifth, Payne sixth, Snyder seventh, Stowell eighth, Connors ninth, and Proud tenth.
Bruce was the final car to cross the start finish line, but finished in thirteenth with Thompson, Abold, Gosek, Bellinger, Muldoon, Curran, Alison Sload, Didero, Shampine, Timmons, Bond, Hal LaTulip, LeVea Jr, Jack Patrick, Perley, Aric Iosue, and Logan Rayvals all retiring early.
The full finish and rundown of Classic contingencies is below.
RESULTS
Budweiser Classic Week 65
Classic Sunday
65th Annual Budweiser International Classic 200
Novelis Supermodifieds
Sunday, September 5, 2021
Oswego Speedway
Oswego, NY
65th Annual Budweiser International Classic (200-laps): 1. 95 DAVE SHULLICK JR, 2. 79 Otto Sitterly, 3. 52 Dave Danzer, 4. 68 Michael Barnes, 5. 41 Russ Wood, 6. 14 Joey Payne, 7. 0 Tim Snyder, 8. 89 Todd Stowell, 9. 01 Dan Connors Jr, 10. 54 Camden Proud, 11. 98T Tyler Thompson, 12. 05 Jeff Abold, 13. 22 ® Mike Bruce, 14. 00 Joe Gosek, 15. 02 Brandon Bellinger, 16. 15 Michael Muldoon, 17. 99 Jerry Curran, 18. 39 Alison Sload, 19. 3 Doug Didero, 20. 55 Keith Shampine, 21. 27 Jamie Timmons, 22. 47 Bob Bond, 23. 56 Hal LaTulip, 24. 83 Lou LeVea Jr, 25. 90 Jack Patrick, 26. 44 Chris Perley, 27. 11 Aric Iosue, 28. 94 Logan Rayvals
Time Trials: 1. 95 Dave Shullick Jr. - 15.838, 2. 79 Otto Sitterly - 15.955, 3. 98T Tyler Thompson - 16.075, 4. 01 Dan Connors Jr. - 16.120, 5. 02 Brandon Bellinger - 16.145, 6. 3 Doug Didero - 16.158, 7. 52 Dave Danzer - 16.191, 8. 00 Joe Gosek - 16.200, 9. 55 Keith Shampine - 16.216, 10. 44 Chris Perley - 16.294, 11. 05 Jeff Abold - 16.327, 12. 15 Michael Muldoon - 16.329, 13. 68 Michael Barnes - 16.389, 14. 89 Todd Stowell - 16.445, 15. 83 Lou LeVea Jr. - 16.481, 16. 14 Joey Payne - 16.491, 17. 0 Tim Snyder - 16.528, 18. 22X Mike McVetta - 16.546, 19. 99 Jerry Curran - 16.570, 20. 39 Alison Sload - 16.582, 21. 66 Lou LeVea Sr. - 16.611, 22. 11 Aric Iosue - 16.619, 23. 41 Russ Wood - 16.683, 24. 47 Bob Bond - 16.708, 25. 90 Jack Patrick - 16.712, 26. 94 Logan Rayvals - 16.730, 27. 54 Camden Proud - 16.752, 28. 27 Jamie Timmons - 16.852, 29. 56 Hal LaTulip - 17.215
Insinger Performance Racing Fuel Halfway Leader ($750): #95 Dave Shullick Jr.
Halfway Leader in Memory of John Torrese Sr. ($500): #95 Dave Shullick Jr.
Tammy Ten Media Lap Leader In Memory of Russ Conway ($500): #95 Dave Shullick Jr.
11th Place in the Classic In Memory of Joe Kapuscinski ($500): #98T Tyler Thompson
Impact Racing Classic Champion Gift Certificate ($250): #95 Dave Shullick Jr.
Simpson Racing Productions Classic Champion Gift Certificate ($250): #95 Dave Shullick Jr.
Impact Racing Highest Finishing Car a Lap Down Gift Certificate ($250): #41 Russ Wood
D&S Landscaping Hard Charger ($50): #41 Russ Wood
Lighthouse Lanes Up & Comer ($50): #01 Dan Connors Jr.
Joe’s Jerky Polesitter ($1,000): #95 Dave Shullick Jr.
Joe’s Jerky Outside Polesitter ($500): #79 Otto Sitterly
Lakeside Property Services 20th Starter In Memory of Joe Paeno ($100): #39 Alison Sload
Jake’s Automotive 23rd Starter In Memory of Jake Ratcliff ($250): #41 Russ Wood
Area Auto Racing News Best Appearing Car & Crew: #89 Todd Stowell
- OSWEGO ADMIN on Sep 06, 2021
- Article Date: 9/6/2021