The 30th Annual $10,000-To-Win Mr. Supermodified race was a night of mixed emotions for John Nicotra Racing.
On the positive side, Ohio’s Dave Shullick Jr. came to town to drive the Independent Front Suspension Royal Purple / Nicotra Racing No. 2 and Shullick drove one of his best non-wing Novelis Supermodified races to date. DJ advanced several spots in his 12-lap heat race to finish P4 and get handicapped into the top-12 starting positions for the main event.
In the feature, Shullick made some great moves and clearly was one of the fastest cars on the track at race’s end. DJ started 12th would finish a strong P4 after a fierce late-race battle with Oswego points leader Michael Barnes. Shullick would pass Barnes for 4th on lap 41 before Barnes shot back past DJ to retake the spot on lap 46.
But Shullick wasn’t finished, challenging the points leader and making the pass on the final lap of the contest to claim the 4th position.
Great run for DJ and good luck to him in his regular ISMA ride at the Sandusky Speedway Hy-Miler this weekend July 29-30!
For Otto this was a race that got away. A good P6 starting position had Sitterly hungry to move to the front early. He quickly maneuvered the Royal Purple / G&I Homes / Riccelli Northern No. 7 to the 3rd position and right behind leaders Joe Gosek and Dave Danzer.
Otto began looking to the high side of Danzer’s No. 52 between turns 3 and 4 while working lap 4 when disaster struck. Otto’s LF tire made slight contact with Danzer’s RR, sending the Nicotra Hawk Jr chassis into the outside turn 4 wall. While the contact was not harsh, it bent enough to keep Sitterly pitside.
After some 11 green-flag laps in the pit area, the team was ready to have Sitterly return to action until a steering issue was discovered that could not be repaired. Otto would be credited with 21st position.
Sitterly is now 38.5 markers out of the points lead with three races remaining to decide the 2016 Novelis Supermodified championship.
Next up is the August 6 Retro Night at Oswego Speedway, which will kick off three straight weeks of races to determine the points race.
The August 6 show will feature a throwback to a pair of 15-lap “semi-finals,” which will join the regular trio of 12-lap heats and a 45-lap main event.
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