2004 Oswego Speedway Banquet report

Oswego Speedway Awards and Hall of Fame Banquet Held Recently To Culminate First Year of New Ownership

Oswego, NY - The new Oswego Speedway owners ended their first year of operation with a well-attended banquet gala at the Holiday Inn in Liverpool on October 30. In addition to honoring the new track champions and top 20 car owners and drivers in all divisions, Pat Furlong Sr. and Steve Gioia Jr. used the event to thank the many people that helped them through their initial season as track owners. Six more inductions into the Oswego Speedway Hall of Fame were also made. Added to the already prestigious list of inductees were Gary Allbritain, Mike Muldoon, Skip Matczak, the late Pete Trenca, the Turner Brothers and Gary Reichert and former pace car driver Floyd Wallace.

Master of ceremonies Roy Sova began the evening honoring the top drivers in all three divisions. Supermodified champion Tim Gareau earned his first-ever Oswego Speedway title, something he had been working hard on for some time and he graciously thanked all involved who helped him along the way. The second through tenth drivers in the supermodified Coca-Cola point fund standings were, in order, Tim Snyder, Greg Furlong, Bob Goutermout, Otto Sitterly, Shawn Muldoon, Craig Rayvals, Bob Bond, Bob Magner and Pat Lavery. Almost $30,000 was given away to the top 20 in the standings.

A hard fought battle for the limited supermodified ended with Mike Bond taking the championship for the second straight year. Doug Cliff, Chris Proud, Lou LeVea, Gregg Davis, Kris Meyn, JJ Andrews, Shawn Walker, Steve Austin and Kevin Knopp rounded out the top ten in that division. And, in the super stock class, Bruce Stanton walked away with the title by an even closer margin - 2 points - over runner-up Joe Miller. Carl Crawford, Chris Smiedy, Dwayne LeMay, Dave Bock, Jason Spaulding and Dave Fetterly completed the top ten in points. Many of the drivers in all three divisions also earned extra monies from the Lucas Oil Challenge.

The Eagles Fan Club, the official fan club of Oswego Speedway, raised a whopping $21,000 to be shared by the car owners of all three divisions in a separate point fund which allowed the cash to be spread in some different directions. The Eagles top prize stayed with Tim Gareau, but the limited super number one man was car owner and driver Chris Proud and in the super stocks, car owner-driver Joe Miller took home the top prize.

In all almost $75,000 in prize money was handed out in the Coca-Cola-PowerAde/MNR, Lucas Oil/Eagles Fan Club awards.

Race Director Chuck Handley took time to recognize all the officials and workers that contributed to the success of the new Oswego Speedway's first year. He thanked many, many people - and just to name a few - the Furlong and Gioia families, Steve Pryor, the security, Jim Grey, the new tech inspector; the track safety crew, the cornermen, the scoring staff, office workers etc. A lot of people made the year possible right from the volunteers who came in the spring to paint and clean-up the grounds. Lee Furlong and Sue Gioia made a special presentation to the "chief of organization" Steve Pryor who they both insisted kept the office on an even keel during those hectic first months.

On the Hall of Fame side, drivers Gary Allbritain and Mike Muldoon were present to accept their honors as was car owner Skip Matczak. Pete Trenca, the famed program seller and one of the first Eagles Fan Club presidents, was represented by his family, with sons Mike and Larry speaking on their behalf. The famous Turner Brothers and Gary Reichert were honored for their achievements with the versatile number 18 modified car that was transformed into a supermodified by changing the body. Reichert became the only man in Oswego Speedway history to win in both divisions with the same car. Don and Ray Turner and Reichert were on hand to accept their award.

Until the end of 2003, only two pace car drivers had ever led the fields at Oswego Speedway and the first was Floyd Wallace who assumed the role durin gthe middle of the 1952 season. He handed over the keys to the pace car in 1995. Floyd, in ill health, was represented at the ceremonies by his children Gary, Floyd and Jean (Wallace) Kerfein. Each Hall of Fame inductee had a video and verbal presentation assembled by Doug Caruso and Mike Gibson of County Video.

Table sponsors were B.A.M.S. (Bob Andrews Motor Sales) who is also the 2004 Official Foam Block sponsor; Burke's Home Centers (Tom Handley) - the official home center of the Oswego Speedway; Coca-Cola Bottling Company (the official soft drink and point fund sponsor); Empire Federal Credit Union who also sponsored the Empire Classic bonus award and finally Oswego Quality Carpets, the official floor store of Oswego Speedway.

The new owners announced that many new programs are already being instituted for 2005 including a snowmobile race in January, collaboration with the USAC Ford Focus program, additional appearances by the modifieds and much more.

-www.oswegospeedway.com