OSWEGO, N.Y. – Dave Shullick Jr. continued his hot streak in the Novelis Supermodified division at Oswego Speedway Saturday night and remained the hottest driver in non-wing supermodified competition. Shullick drove the Royal Purple / G&I Homes / Riccelli Northern / John Nicotra Racing No. 2 to his fourth win of the season in the 50-lap C’s Beverage “Summer Championship,” finishing a car-length ahead of Nicotra Racing teammate Otto Sitterly.
The win will pad Shullick’s point lead with only four points races remaining in the 2017 Oswego Supermodified season. The North Ridgeville, Ohio, driver entered the night 56.5 markers ahead of Sitterly in the race for the 2017 Oswego track championship.
“It was a tough race out there tonight, tough to pass, but you’ve got to take everything you can get with these things,” DJ said after the race. “I didn’t think there was any contact with the 02 but I definitely apologize if that was the case. Other than that it was a good race. I got a little excited at the end because I saw Otto right there on the jumbotron and I knew he was coming. Even though I was a little tight in the middle I was able to keep it up. It was a good race, to be able to come from 12th to the front, it was an absolute blast.”
After a 2016 Oswego season that did not include much passing and most races won from the front row, Shullick won Saturday’s race from the 12th-place starting position. He would break into the top five on lap 10 and inherit the lead from a strong-running Dan Connors Jr. on lap 40 when Connors’ engine quit under a late-race caution.
Meanwhile, Otto would start ninth and race hard with the likes of DJ, Michael Barnes and others throughout the exciting race. Following the lap 40 caution when Shullick took over the lead, Otto would hound DJ for the remaining 10 circuits, falling just short of his first victory of the season.
“We finally were able to have a bit better of a run tonight, and it’s fun running with DJ,” Otto commented. “Obviously, we have pretty even equipment and he’s a great driver. When the 00 came out in front of us, it just bottled us up enough that I tried to miss everyone, but I still got a piece of Michael (Barnes’) car with the left front and it knocked the toe so it wasn’t really the same car after that. At the same time though, the two cars (the 2 and 7) are so equal. Running with Dave is just like running with any other guy, I pretty much know how he races for the most part. He’s a fair, hard racer and I trust him. The cars are inches away from each other in the shop every week so they might as well be on the track, too.”
Next up for the Nicotra Racing team is one of the biggest races of the season. On Saturday, July 22, $10,000 will be on the line for the winner of the 31st Annual Novelis Mr. Supermodified 50-lap main event. Otto has won the race three times with his last win coming in 2015. Shullick will be looking for his first-ever Mr. Supermodified win in a season that already includes his first non-wing supermodified feature win.
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John Nicotra Racing is a Supermodified race team owned by John Nicotra and maintained by driver and chief mechanic Otto Sitterly. Nicotra Racing is based in Homestead, Fla., and Canajoharie, N.Y., and has won four International Classic 200s, six Oswego Supermodified track championships and currently 33 total Oswego feature races since their debut in 2007 – Otto Sitterly (28); DJ Shullick (4); Davey Hamilton (1).
Nicotra Racing is proud to be sponsored by G&I Homes, Riccelli Northern, Royal Purple Synthetic Oil, 5 Brothers Produce, Burnac Produce Limited, Provincial Fruit Co., Flavor First, Georgia Crate & Basket, Rite-Pak Produce, Quality First Produce, Sam Accursio Farms, Ritz-Craft Homes, Torbert Farms, Elite Harvesting, Green Bean Packers, Housby and Sunrise Growers.
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