Whelen Modified Tour Returning to Oswego for Third Consecutive Season

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NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Returning to Oswego for Third Consecutive Season

Story By: Camden Proud/Oswego Speedway

Photos By: Dick Ayers/RacersGuide.com

OSWEGO, NY (November 25, 2017) – For the third time in as many years, NASCAR will return to Oswego Speedway as part of the 62nd running of Budweiser International Classic Weekend when the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour ‘Classic’ 150 will commence on Saturday, September 1.

Since making its return to the speedway in 2016 after a nearly thirty year absence, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has seen two 150-lap events at the Steel Palace presented by Toyota and McDonald’s with defending series champion Doug Coby as well as pavement specialist and rising NASCAR Xfinity Series star Ryan Preece each going to victory lane.

September 2018 will mark only the 11th appearance by the tour in speedway history as the Mighty Modifieds will be joined by the International Supermodified Association ‘Supernationals’ 60 for the Winged Warriors as this newly formed Saturday night tradition will again take place on Classic Weekend.

“For the past two seasons, we’ve been lucky enough to kick off our Classic Weekend feature events with a headliner between the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the ISMA Supermodifieds,” said track owner John Torrese. “This is a re-established tradition we’ve received great feedback on and hope to continue for many years to come. Its encouraging to see some of the best Modified drivers in the country come here to compete for the right to be called Classic champion. The tour provides a great addition to one of the biggest weekends in pavement racing and a fantastic show for our fans.”

In the past two events, Coby and Preece have each etched their names into Oswego’s storied history books as first time winners, while Preece received the honors of being the 50th different Modified winner in track history last September while piloting the Maynard Troyer tribute No. 6 car.

Notably, Matt Hirschman also set the tour record for time, grabbing the pole position with a blistering quick lap of 17.460 seconds in his Pee Dee Motorsports No. 60 machine on September 2nd of 2017.

The tour has visited Upstate New York on only a mere ten occasions in the past two decades, making stops at Watkins Glen International, Holland International, Chemung Speedrome, Spencer Speedway, Adirondack International Speedway, and of course at Oswego, with the only other stop in New York State taking place at Riverhead Raceway on Long Island.

Oswego’s Budweiser International Classic Weekend will officially kick-off on Friday, August 31 with ‘Fast Friday’ pole-day qualifications for the Supermodifieds and Small Block Supers plus preliminary action for the SBS division along with the return of the Party in the Pits.

Saturday, September 1 will feature the NWMT ‘Classic’ 150 alongside the Bud Light ISMA Super Nationals making for over 200-laps of main event action on ‘Super Saturday.’

As done for the past six decades, the 62nd running of the Budweiser International Classic 200 for the Supermodifieds will cap off this action-packed weekend on Sunday, September 2, with the Bud Light SBS Classic 75 yet again set to join the International Classic on the same day for only the fourth time since 2008.

Individual ticket pricing as well as weekend pass information for the 62nd annual Budweiser International Classic Weekend will be made available next month.

The full 2018 event schedule for Oswego Speedway has now been made available under the ‘Schedule’ tab on the track’s website.

For more information on Oswego Speedway, be sure to visit online at www.oswegospeedway.com. You can also FOLLOW on Twitter @OswegoSpeedway or LIKE on Facebook at Facebook.com/OswegoSpeedway.

About Oswego Speedway: Oswego Speedway, a sports entertainment company, is a 5/8 mile semi-banked pavement racing oval located off the shores of Lake Ontario in scenic Oswego, NY. Oswego Speedway has been a continuously run weekly racing venue since August, 1951. The premier open-wheel pavement short track cars in the world, Supermodifieds, run weekly at Oswego Speedway making Oswego the only weekly Supermodified racing venue in the world. The Small Block Supermodifieds accompany the full blown Supers on a weekly Saturday night schedule which runs from May through September. Oswego Speedway is mentioned in racing circles as the “Indy of the East,” as no fewer than a dozen past and present competitors have competed at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway including Mario Andretti, arguably the greatest driver of all time, two-time Indy 500 champion Gordon Johncock, along with former International Classic Champions Bentley Warren, Joe Gosek, and Davey Hamilton.

2017 62nd annual Budweiser International Classic Weekend at Oswego Speedway:

FRIDAY, August 31: Oswego Supermodified and SBS Open Practice, International Classic 200 and SBS Classic 75 ‘Fast Friday’ Time Trials, ‘Party in the Pits’

SATURDAY, September 1: NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour 150, ISMA Supermodified ‘Supernationals’ 60

SUNDAY, September 2: Budweiser International Classic 200 for Supermodifieds, Bud Light Classic 75 for Small Block Supers

MONDAY, September 3: Weekend Rain Date

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour History at Oswego Speedway (Race by Race):

May 27, 1988: Reggie Ruggiero (Pole Position), Brian Ross (Winner)

July 2, 1988: Tony Hirschman (Pole Position), Brian Ross (Winner)

August 6, 1988: Mike McLaughlin (Pole Position), Mike McLaughlin (Winner)

September 3, 1988: Mike McLaughlin (Pole Position), George Kent (Winner)

May 28, 1989: Jan Leaty (Pole Position), Tony Hirschman (Winner)

July 1, 1989: Mike McLaughlin (Pole Position), Tony Hirschman (Winner)

August 5, 1989: Mike McLaughlin (Pole Position), Mike Stefanik (Winner)

September 2, 1989: Mike Stefanik (Pole Position), Tony Hirschman (Winner)