SLOAD NEARLY CAPTURES WIN NO. 2, SITTERLY RECOVERS FOR FIFTH IN GRAND PRIX 75

OSWEGO, N.Y. (JULY 6, 2019) – A wild ending to the Novelis Supermodified Grand Prix 75-lap feature Saturday, July 6, at Oswego Speedway saw Nicotra Racing driver Alison Sload nearly capture her second feature win of the season and teammate Otto Sitterly make an early race pit stop and drive back to a fifth-place finish.

Sload and her Riccelli Northern / CORR/PAK / Peaceful Living Home Sales No. 39 started sixth of 25 cars and had a terrific race going until the final few laps. She would work her way into the third spot around lap 20 and run in that position until the late stages of the extra-distance feature.

With just 15 laps left, Sload was running right behind second-place Joe Gosek who was struggling to get around a couple of lap cars. Gosek would slip high and Alison would shoot underneath him, taking second away from the veteran.

With less than 15 laps remaining, Sload appeared to be on the way to a fine second-place finish as Dave Shullick Jr. had a commanding lead from his fourth-place starting position.  But with a handful of laps remaining, Shullick began running out of fuel. Within a lap Sload had caught Shullick’s No. 95 and went to pass him on the backstretch when her 39 pushed up and made heavy contact with the outside wall. In a wild turn of events, Gosek then attempted to thread the needle between Shullick and Sload for the lead.

With two laps to go, three lead changes had now taken place between the exit of turn two and the halfway point of the back stretch, but it was clear the number one spot was not the place to be as Gosek was next to fall victim.

Entering the third turn, Gosek’s right rear was cut down due to contact with Sload, who bounced off the wall and come back across the track to touch wheels with the No. 00. The flat tire brought the car around in a big spin, collecting Shullick, and causing him to climb the turn three wall.

The wild incident saw Gosek nearly get his car stopped, but as he came sliding across the track, this left Shullick with nowhere to go. The No. 95 went up and over the No. 00 and landed on its side. Fortunately, both drivers were unharmed.

Sload would not complete the remaining two laps and be credited with a 15th-place finish.

Otto would persevere for a fifth-place result after making a pit stop early in the race to correct a fuel issue.

Next up for the Nicotra Racing team is the Summer Championship 50 on Saturday, July 13.

John Nicotra Racing is a Supermodified race team owned by John Nicotra with drivers Otto Sitterly, Alison Sload and Davey Hamilton. Since our team’s debut in 2007, Nicotra Racing and has won six Budweiser International Classic 200s, nine Oswego Supermodified track championships, three Mr. Supermodified races, nine Jim Shampine Memorials and currently 46 total Oswego feature races. – Otto Sitterly (35); Dave Shullick Jr. (9); Davey Hamilton (1); Alison Sload (1).

Nicotra Racing is proud to be sponsored by Riccelli Northern, CORR/PAK Merchandising, Peaceful Living Home Sales, 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 and Sunrise Growers.