This is the time when new names and new deals start popping up, about who’s driving what for Classic Weekend. I’ll update this blog all week about what I hear, and hopefully you, the “JayMates”, will keep me posted with what you’re hearing and seeing. Go ahead and click the “comments” button below to share news, ask questions, or make a comment. Or if you want to fly under the radar, e-mail me at JJcqracing@aol.com.

First order of business: a small block supermodified driver will make his debut in a supermodified this weekend. It’s Brian Sobus, and he’ll be running both divisions this weekend! While the engine has been changed in the small block car and everything is almost ready to go as of Monday morning, I’m sure it will be a busy week prepping the super.

My prediction is that Brian will adapt very quickly to the supermodified, and won’t have much trouble making the show. If there are no problems, I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes the show through time trials. He’s that good. You watch.
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Pictures have been released of the new Mike Muldoon supermodified, which will be piloted in the Classic by the talented Bobby Santos III. Classic will be the first race on this brand new car, which sounds risky. But Mike Muldoon was known for his ability to have a car one hundred percent ready out of the box, and Santos is the type of driver who can jump in anything and be fast immediately. If anyone can pull off the near impossible, these are the guys.

Watch for Mike Muldoon to be the first driver behind the wheel of the new car at a Wednesday track rental. Santos will sit in the car on Friday for the first time. The beautiful car is number 50, which is also Dave Gruel’s number, so I’m not sure how that will work out. To see some shots of the beauty go to Pinner’s BNG Message Board at www.gosupers.com.

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Next: An addition to the ISMA field for Saturday night is JOEY PAYNE, in the Stout Racing #49. Payne will be teammates with Trent Stephens out of the Stout stables, and will surely give it a hell of a ride. It will be a busy week for Payne, as he will also compete in the Alan Mollot #51 TQ midget race on Saturday. Go JET!

It’s THREE weeks before Classic Weekend at Oswego Speedway, and I’m already getting cranked up for it. But I’m not the only one. I’ve had several conversations already with people about Classic, and I’ve seen a lot already on the internet message boards. Is there more buzz this year, or is it just me?

I’m thinking 40 plus supers. Yes, last year was a down year. But I think this year is different. Some of the questions / rumors / stories:

Mike Muldoon’s new super is or will be ready. Who’s behind the wheel? Muldoon’s son? Bobby Santos III? Mike himself?

Randy Ritskes is back behind the wheel of a super, the Daratt Farms #88 that Keith Shampine is out of. He’s running Classic, the ISMA Classic, and this week’s twin 30’s.

What’s Shampine driving? I’m hearing a few things. Think he’ll be back in another ride?

I understand that Russ Wood will be behind the wheel of Jeff Holbrook’s crazy looking Allegresso car for Classic. He will be a formidable force in that fast car. But I like watching Jeff drive, especially in Classic. Which of the fleet will he drive, or will a guy that owns four supermodifieds watch from the pits?

Of course Bobby Bond will change his Xtreme car over for the Classic. Will he be running the winged Classic AND the 200 on Sunday?

What will happen with John Nicotra’s Xtreme Chassis car? Is it true that D.J. Shullick will be driving it, for a new owner?

If so, will Nicotra still field a third car, in addition to the Sitterly and Hamilton Hawk rides? For who?

And who will drive or buy the Torrese Hawk car that has been for sale all summer? It’s an almost new car, that is race ready, less motor.

Will Bentley Warren finally look respectable in the Ed LaPrade car? How about Mikey Barnes?

Will Shawn Muldoon really be back this weekend with his car after a whole season of rebuilding from a horrible wreck last year?

Will Craig Rayvals be back, after running a good part of the season before becoming “Craig Houdini” a few weeks ago? Just like Bobby Magner. What’s his deal?

Whassup with Kelly Miller, who I recently reported as the purchaser of the former Tim Gareau car from Tim Dewine?

Which ISMA / MSA drivers will take a stab at Classic? Chris Perley? Mike Lichty? Lou Cicconi? Stephens? Schultz? Sammut? Gibson? Anybody named Ordway?

Please click “comments” below, and answer as many of these questions as you can…
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Lee ISMA “Classic” News

Entered this year for the September 11th Twin 50’s are some pretty big names.

Biggest news is that Bobby Santos III will be behind the wheel of the Clyde Booth #61.

Chris Perley, Justin Belfiore, Ray Graham, and many others have been announced as entries for the ISMA sanctioned event.

SOLD! That’s the story on the Barbeau #50 FFB car, previously driven this year by Chris Proud and Vern LaFave, and to the championship in 2009 by Dave Gruel.

“I was going to sell it at the end of the year”, explained Barbeau, “but when Chris quit driving it, it was kind of getting to be too much of a headache maintaining that car, also”. Barbeau currently sits 5th in points as the driver of the Steve Abt #58, but 4th in owner points for the #50 car. “Jim was kind of going to buy it anyway at the end of the year, but somebody else made me an offer on it, so I gave him first shot. It’ll be a good car for him to learn with”, added Barbeau.

Vern LaFave was tabbed to drive the car after Chris Proud decided to jump out of the ride, citing financial reasons. “Vern was having a good time driving it”, said Barbeau, and the guys split on good terms. “He said he’d like to drive for us in the future.” Barbeau’s plans for 2011 are to continue to pilot one of the two small block supers that Steve Abt owns. “Steve may get a super for next year, but he’s still going to keep both small blocks. That was the deal”, added Barbeau.

The new owner is Jim Bernys, who bought the car for his 15 year-old son A.J. Bernys to pilot. A.J. has extensive experience in quarter midgets and go-carts, and has been jonesing for awhile to get in a small block super. “Maybe I should be shot in the head”, Bernys joked. “I wasn’t really ready to buy it financially until the end of the year, but there were a few people looking at it. I’ve got a lot to do to get ready. We still have to get a new seat, Hans device, and some other stuff.”

The plan is to get him out a couple times this season, do some warm-ups, maybe a practice session. “We’re taking very small steps. He still has to learn how to use a clutch. The easy part is done - the car is ready. I’m happy to start with a great car”, said Bernys. But you won’t see a lot of hard racing from A.J. this year. “Our goal is to make Classic this year, then run for rookie of the year in 2011.” The car will definitely not be at the track this week (July 31st), but possibly after that. Jim’s on vacation next week, so he’ll have plenty of time to tinker and fuss with the car. “But we do both have season pit passes, so the only expense to take the car to the track (for rookie warm-ups) is fuel.”

As many people find out, buying a car is the easiest part of going racing. You still need a ton of other stuff like crew, tools, shop, hauler, knowledge, etc. Bernys is aware of this, and knows that he has a lot of work ahead of him building a team. The car is currently stored in Jim Losurdo’s garage.

“I’m happy to give my kid the opportunity to live his dream. But even though he’s the driver, I’m still the owner”, finished Bernys. “If he screws up, I can put somebody else in it.”

 
 So yes, that’s the word on the street this morning!  On Wednesday, August 4th, Kyle Busch - yes THE Kyle Busch - and Ryan Newman are expected to be at the USAC race at Oswego Speedway, possibly in competition.  The USAC race has been hanging in the balance since Kasey Kahne decided that he would not be the promoter of the event, as he was in 2009.
 
 “Without the draw of the name drivers, I’m not sure if the show would be successful”, track owner Steve Gioia told me recently.  But last year’s show, which featured Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman, was one of the better attended races that I have ever seen at the track.  During that conversation, Steve made it clear that this event was not a definite, unless he could get some commitments.
 
 The addition of Busch and Newman should make this event a huge success!  It hasn’t been announced yet which - or if - a second division of cars will be for this show, but the stars of the evening will obviously be the USAC Silver Crown cars. 
 
 Kyle Busch is definitely one of the more exciting drivers on the Sprint Cup circuit.  I think it will be a really exciting day to have Busch at the speedway.  You will notice that his driving style is very similar to small block super driver Steve Abt, so the track may want to stock up on some foam blocks.  I believe it was Kyle Busch that gave Steve the statement that I heard him make while watching video of last Saturday’s feature, “when did everyone turn into such a whinea$$?”.  Good stuff.

UPDATE on July 27th - One week before the schedule date, and still no official announcement either way, or publicity about the event. There is no way in hell that the track would bite off such a large purse with ZERO time to promote it. It would be crazy - almost as crazy as announcing a race, then floating some name drivers, then going silent on it. Dudes?

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE - July 28th - the “crawler” on the Oswego Speedway website today states that “USAC expected to announce the cancellation of “Steel Palace Classic". I guess that’s as official as we’re going to get. Maybe next year!

Two first time winners, in real close races made things very exciting for the fans this week. Congratulations to Bob Henry and Kreig Heroth! And so did a DQ and an on-track scuffle.

STEVE ABT DQ’d AGAIN - Steve Abt finished 3rd in both features, but an extended, closed door stay in the tech shed after a protest from another team may prove to be a change in the order of finish. I spoke with Steve on Sunday, and he confirmed that he was deemed illegal due to an illegally modified crankshaft. But he’s not cool with it.

“Sobus better bring a lot of tools this week! I’m protesting his engine. He’s pulling a piston out, and we’re checking the ring size”, promised Abt. Sobus’ sponsor is who put up the cash to protest the engine, and Steve’s not happy. “He’s mad because I beat him in the heat”, said Abt, who felt the protest was not done within the guidelines of the rules, which dictate that a protest must be filed previous to the qualifying heat, not after it. So he’s ready for some retribution this week. “We’re definitely protesting one car a week, every week, for the rest of the season. Sobus is first, and a lot of other people will follow”, said Abt. Steve told me that at press time he hadn’t been informed what the penalty will be for the transgression, but I’m sure it will be announced soon. Abt now has a new Morrison Engine being built for his car. The speedway’s website shows that Abt was moved to 24th position in the second feature, but was allowed to keep the third place finish from the first feature of the evening, prior to the protest.

BOB HENRY VS. CHRIS PROUD VS. TRACK SAFETY - Although I’ve covered this extensively (maybe too extensively) in my Gater News column, I’ll give you a thumbnail sketch of what happened.

Running hard in the heat, Henry and Chris Proud came together on the front stretch. I saw the video, and talked to Chris about it. “We came together when I tried to get under him, and we brushed wheels. You know what happens sometimes when these cars hit wheels”, he said. The cars came together when Chris drifted into him coming off of turn four, and around they went. The 93 went hard into the front straight wall, wrecking the body on the left rear, bending a spindle, heims, rim, etc. The full extent of the damage will be assessed this week, but it looked a lot worse than it actually was. Bobby and Proud talked calmly about the incident later in the evening, but it wasn’t so calm at the time.

Some gesturing from Proud, jawing from Henry, and an 8 man show of force from track safety workers ignited the situation, which resulted in some pushing and shoving, before Henry was paraded across the front of the grandstands and removed from the premises. It got pretty intense.

“When I got out of the car, I saw dollar signs!”, said Henry, explaining his anger. Our deal is that Bobby is responsible for the car - not just the labor, but also replacing parts and repairing whatever happens. They’ve put a lot more money into that car than I have this year, and they are also competing Sundays at Utica-Rome Speedway with their dirt modified.

So was Bobby wrong to be angry? No. He’s an old school racer, and from the time I’ve spent around him and his Dad, they’re not the type of guys to take any crap. But you can’t return shove track safety workers, even if you feel that they shoved you first. Maybe he’d take that back. I didn’t see the whole exchange myself, but I wonder if maybe the scene could have been diffused with a little hug around the neck and calm talk. Yelling in someone’s face to calm down is not how you get someone to calm down. Adrenaline makes everything tricky in these instances, and a lot could be gained by just a couple of deep breaths, or maybe a count to ten. That didn’t happen. I wish it had, for the sake of everyone involved. And I don’t want any of these words to be taken negatively by the speedway officials. I still think Oswego has the best safety / security crew of any track, and I’m sure the same guys that flexed on Bobby will be the first ones there to help him if he’s injured in an accident.

Bobby came back after the races were over to get the car, and we hung out the rest of the night. I’m expecting that this thing will all blow over soon, and I assume that the one race suspension that he served that evening, and the ensuing loss of points will serve as his penalty, so hopefully he will be back this week. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen an incident that seems like a huge deal at the time calm down real soon, and I imagine this will too. I wish it hadn’t turned into such a big public scene. “He was really angry and upset, but that’s to be expected in a situation like this”, said track official Craig Tyrell. “He apologized after he got calmed down”. I’m sure some things were said that he wished he wouldn’t have said. “I just didn‘t think they had to treat me like that”, said Henry.

Bottom line, and this will be a controversial statement: incidents like these are not necessarily bad for the sport. It’s a very emotional sport, and you would never want to take that out of it. Fans want to see passionate drivers. Have you ever seen a guy win the feature, then be dragged out by his ear like the angry lunch lady in middle school? It’s a first for me. This drama gave people something to talk about all week. You can’t judge how you would react in this situation unless you had as much on the line as Bobby, or any driver does. Please don’t judge our guy until you’re in the same spot. And to the people on the message boards that are saying that Henry “punched” or “attacked” a safety official, please don’t spread that. No punches were thrown by either side, and nobody attacked anyone. Using those words makes it sound a lot worse than it was.