Story By: CAMDEN PROUD / OSWEGO SPEEDWAY – OSWEGO, NY – Points leader Alex Hoag captured his third Pathfinder Bank SBS win at Oswego Speedway, and his second of the season, in an exciting race that earned him $1,000 courtesy of Ron Pratt at Syracuse Wealth Management.
The race began with Robbie Wirth and Tony DeStevens on the front row. DeStevens took the lead from the outside, while Wirth held onto second, and fourth-starting Hoag slotted into third, moving past DJ Shuman. On the second lap, Hoag passed Wirth on the outside for second.
A yellow flag on lap 9 for Greg O’Connor bunched the field back up. On the restart, DeStevens led with Hoag to his outside. Hoag prevailed in the outside lane, taking the lead and leaving DeStevens in second. Shuman, who had restarted fourth, also got around Wirth to take over third. The field then strung out until another yellow with four laps to go as Drew Pascuzzi spun out of fifth place.
The single-file restart saw Hoag manage his position with ease, taking the win over DeStevens, Shuman, Wirth, and Brad Haynes, who impressively charged from 14th to 5th. The rest of the top ten were rounded out by Cameron Rowe (6th), Matt Magner (7th), Carter Gates (8th), Tessa Crawford (9th), and Darrick Hilton (10th).
In victory lane, Hoag expressed his satisfaction, saying, “Jim Paternoster was the key. I just told him it’s the most perfect race car I’ve ever driven in a feature. High, low, it didn’t matter. I could go wherever I wanted to and the thing was really good. I passed a couple of cars on the outside, which isn’t real easy to do with these tires right now and stuff, but I have to give Robbie Wirth and Tony DeStevens some credit. They ran me hard and clean, and I think we put on a pretty good show, so thanks to those guys. Thanks to Rock Stream Retreat, Racemaster Engineering, U-Haul of Oswego, U-Haul of Watkins Glen, my wife, my daughter Madison, my son Tanner, my cousin Terry, Joe, and Brian. My mom’s here tonight. Thanks to Ron Pratt for putting up some extra money for us; we can always use that. Thanks to everybody for coming out.”
The SBS return to action this Saturday, August 3rd with just two point events remaining before the Classic, featuring the 35-lap, $1,000-to-win Mr. Pathfinder Bank SBS feature.
RESULTS
JP Jewelers Retro Night
Pathfinder Bank SBS 30
Saturday, August 3, 2024
Oswego Speedway
Oswego, NY
Feature (30-laps): 1. 41 ALEX HOAG, 2. 24 Tony DeStevens, 3. 62 DJ Shuman, 4. 04 Robbie Wirth, 5. 88 Brad Haynes, 6. 77 Cameron Rowe, 7. 31 Matt Magner, 8. 55 Carter Gates, 9. 20 ® Tessa Crawford, 10. 66 Darrick Hilton, 11. 72 Drew Pascuzzi, 12. 90 Greg O’Connor, 13. 35 AJ Larkin, 14. 67 Ken Pierce, 15. 47 ® Matt Matteson DNS 27 Steven Bradshaw
Heat 1 (10-laps): 1. 41 Alex Hoag, 2. 04 Robbie Wirth, 3. 67 Ken Pierce, 4. 20 ® Tessa Crawford, 5. 35 AJ Larkin, 6. 55 Carter Gates, 7. 47 ® Matt Matteson, 8. 27 Steven Bradshaw
Heat 2 (10-laps): 1. 31 Matt Magner, 2. 62 DJ Shuman, 3. 77 Cameron Rowe, 4. 72 Drew Pascuzzi, 5. 24 Tony DeStevens, 6. 90 Greg O’Connor, 7. 66 Darrick Hilton, 8. 88 Brad Haynes
Lighthouse Lanes Up & Comer ($100 bonus to the highest finishing driver who has never won a feature at Oswego Speedway): #62 DJ Shuman
D&S Landscaping Hard Charger ($25 bonus to the driver advancing the most positions): #88 Brad Haynes