Sitterly passes Didero coming to checkered in thrilling finish
Oswego, N.Y. – A fast, competitive field of 23 supermodifieds started the second-to-last points race of the 2018 season on Saturday, August 11, and once again Otto Sitterly proved that he and his G&I Homes / Riccelli Northern / CorrPak / Nicotra Racing No. 7 are at the top of the Oswego Speedway racing game.
Working toward his record-breaking eighth Oswego Speedway Novelis Supermodified track championship, Sitterly started 10th and used all 50 laps to get his Hawk Jr super to the front, passing Doug Didero in lap traffic on the final circuit to win by a mere 0.010 seconds at the finish stripe.
“Do I have to say anything about Doug Didero? He is an awesome driver,” Sitterly said after climbing from his car. “Those guys have only had their car here a couple times and obviously they’ve got it going good. Any time I’ve ever been behind that guy, he just wheels the shit out of a race car. If it weren’t for the traffic I wouldn’t have had a shot at him. I need to thank all my crew, John Nicotra and all our sponsors on this car. They are incredible.”
At the drop of the green flag Otto was on the move. He’d follow Didero, who started eighth, into the top five just past lap 5. While at first it looked like Otto would have his way with the field and get to the front in a hurry, the top half of the field was very fast on this night. Sitterly’s No. 7 would stay in the fifth position until just past lap 30 when he passed Aric Iosue for the fourth position.
Again, Otto would need to be patient as strong-running Didero and Dave Gruel were just ahead with Dave Danzer leading. As the race hit lap 45, both Didero and Otto would move past Gruel and Danzer to take away the first and second-place spots. With heavy lap traffic in front of Didero, both he and Sitterly would use every inch of the track to try to pass the lap cars of Tim Synder and Jerry Curran.
On the final circuit, Didero would move to the outside in turn three, giving Otto an opportunity to sneak to the inside. The pair would drag race down the front-stretch to the checkered flag. With Didero literally pushing the 0 of Snyder, Sitterly would beat the No. 3 to the finish line by inches in one of the closest finishes in Oswego Speedway history.
The win gives Otto three feature victories on the season after being shutout of victory lane in 2016 and 2017. It also has him in great position for a record-breaking eighth track championship. With one points race remaining, Sitterly now holds a 57-point lead over Michael Barnes.
Nicotra Racing driver Dave Shullick Jr. is fourth in the points, only three points back of Keith Shampine for third. Shullick finished ninth on Saturday night in his Futuri Media / Nicotra Racing No. 2; he has four wins and seven top-five finishes on the 2018 season.
Next up for Nicotra Racing is the final points race of 2018 – this Saturday, August 18 at Oswego. Otto will be looking to wrap up his eighth track championship while Shullick will be trying to overtake Shampine and move into third in the final standings.
John Nicotra Racing is a Supermodified race team owned by John Nicotra with drivers Otto Sitterly, Dave Shullick Jr. and Davey Hamilton. Since our team’s debut in 2007, Nicotra Racing and has won five Budweiser International Classic 200s, seven Oswego Supermodified track championships, three Mr. Supermodified races and currently 41 total Oswego feature races since their debut in 2007 – Otto Sitterly (31); DJ Shullick (9); Davey Hamilton (1).
Nicotra Racing is proud to be sponsored by G&I Homes, Riccelli Northern, CORR/PAK Merchandising, 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, Futuri Media and Sunrise Growers.
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