This page is devoted to Supermodifieds from 1963 thru 1982.
Page Two continues with Oswego supermodified images up to 2010 and includes a section for Oswego's support divisions.
Page Three features asphalt modifieds, dirt mods, sprints and midgets, and odds and ends... racing images that don't fit any of the above catagories.

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I will be adding more historical facts for each image as time goes on... and much thanks to Mike Thornton, Tom Bliss and many others in that department. My large stack of Oswego programs and Gators are also very useful!
If you notice description errors or can provide more information concerning any of these images, PLEASE and I will update accordingly.

Most of the images in this "gallery" section are my own photos (mine have JakesSite.com watermarks) and contributed images have been duly credited.
There are a few "un-credited" images (author unknown)... so,
If you are the copyright holder of any photo on these pages and would like to be credited or would like it removed, contact . Otherwise, thank you for your contribution to these racing history archives.
Do you have old photos?.. Please feel free to to this site. Credit will be given for all submissions... and please include a text history if possible.
All images are meant for personal use... however, if you wish to use my images for other purposes, feel free to do so. If you link to my page or first, that would be nice too :-)
If you enjoy these images, you can find many more of a similar sort by checking out my racing LINKS page!

Supermodifieds

These images are arranged by date... oldest first.

Like it says above, "oldest first", that's me alright, I'm the same age as Oswego Speedway! With brother Tom Bliss's Howard Page built super. (7-17-04)
What follows from here are "real racers in days before 3 stage wings, Aero packages and fancy shocks. The safety products were horrible and the tires weren't that good! Learning from trial and error... The day's before everyone was an engineer. Where the guy who drove the hardest or hit the setup that night would win, Not the guy with the best motor package, but the guy with the biggest Kahuna's.." (Justin Belfiore)
Oswego Speedway's first event was on August 10th, 1951. It was originally a 3/8 mile dirt track.
This is Oswego Speedway. Most of the images you will see here are from that legendary racetrack.
Here is a 1975 article written by John Hill chronicling the history of the track from it's beginning.
You may also want to visit the Oswego Speedway official website.
In 1951, Oswego began as a dirt track. It was paved mid-season of 1952.
1951 newspaper article about a young up and coming race driver named Nolan Swift.
Johnny Torrese Sr., probably 1952, there at the beginning at Oswego.
Doug Kanar, on the newly paved oval.
The track was improved upon each year.
Pace lap for the 1960 Classic.
Nolan Swift was also there in the beginning and would be the man to beat at Oswego for many years to come.
An add featuring Billy Blum in the November, 1961 issue of HotRod magazine
Fred Schulz poses with the #14 Smiley Special car, a "cut-down" that he put in victory lane many times. He competed at the Norwood Arena, a 1/4 mile track in Massachusetts which closed in 1972. Photo: April 10, 1960, Courtesy of the Bob Sprague Collection.
Reino Tulonen shown here in another cut-down at Norwood Arena. These cars raced at the Mass. track in the late 50's... the first supermodifieds! Both of these Norwood photos are from Don Thomas, of Norwood Arena .com... Thanks Don!
1961, Swift's brand new "frame rail" modified was banned from weekly competition during that season but was allowed to compete in special shows. Nolan finished second to Art Bennett in that year's Classic. This car, later known as the "Flying Boxcar" would be campaigned regularly by Nolan through 1967. His last race behind the wheel of this car was a victory in the '67 Classic.
Nolan Swift heavily influenced the transition from coupes to "Eagle Class" supermodifieds.
Restored 10 pins, taken during the July 10th 2004 "retro event", a beautiful piece!. I understand this car was restored by Dan Dennie. Swifty had a 3 window coupe body and the current owner, Jim Henry wasn't able to find one of those, but it still looks great! Nolan had great success with this car, you can see more about it here.

Jim Shampine's first Oswego Checkers (1963).
Jack Nichols, Nolan Johncock and Art Bennett (top to bottom)... this is 1963 or '64. from Rich Edwards Racing Photos.
1964.. Jack Nichols 41, Roger Boas 53, Leon Weiske in the 551, Shampine's 8ball and the C-47 is Bobby Baker
Supers jam up during the 1964 Classic.
Herman Wise - # 77 from Georgia, at Oswego Classic 1965, finished 19th, but went on to win the Little 500 in 1971. from Rich Edwards racing photos.
Gordon Johncock, a weekly competitor at Oswego, goes to Indy!
Art Bennett at the wheel of Pete Webster's Bingo 151. Pete is behind Jack Nichols # 41, giving him a little push. Sammy Sessions also drove this car but I think this is Art Bennett. from Rich Edwards racing photos.
Baker C-47 - Rich Edwards says, "Years ago the garage of Sam Virgo was one of my favorite places to go when I was a kid. Bobby Baker is at the wheel of Sam Virgo's C-47".
Restored super - Rich Edwards took this picture at the Tony Bettenhausen 100 in Springfield, Il. and was told this supermodified was driven years ago by Chuck Faulkner from Indiana.
Another Restored super at the Bettenhausen 100, driver unknown.
And here are a few more we are looking for a little history on:
who-when1 - don't know... sorta looks like a Jack Conely car though :-)
Dick Jerrett, Jr. - 1964 or 65
Leo Caldwell - # 99, Leo was 25th fastest in 1963 Classic time trials.
who-when4 - # 61 Paul Clark maybe ?
Harold Schill - 1965.
Todd Gibson and the original "Flintstone Flyer", also from Rich Edwards.
Mike Johnson's #86 at the 1965 Oswego Classic. And here he is again with the #62 of Baldy Baker.
Billy Foster from British Columbia in his supermodified. He was the first Canadian to drive in the Indy 500 - 1965, and again in 1966. At the USAC sprint car race at Oswego Speedway, NY on 28 August 1966, Billy Foster drove the # 38 sprinter. Billy died in a fatal crash two years later while practicing at Riverside, California for a NASCAR race - he was 29 years old.
Ron Lux won 12 of the 17 Saturday night features in 1965 in the famed Purdy Deuce.
Gordon dukes - 1965?
Jim Gresley in the Knoof Bros. #21, 1965. (photographer unknown)
Dick Debold's # 125 at the '65 Classic, he ran as #125 because Joe Martincic was #25. Martincic finished 25th in the Classic, Debold was 18th.
Joe Martincic - #25.
Bentley Warren, most improved driver, 1966.
Barry Cann's first super at Star around 1967. This was the former Don McClaren #30... Barry told me that Don claimed this car won 30 features in a row! Barry went from drag racing to this.
A very young looking Warren Coniam after winning a feature in his #46 "Rutledge Rocket" at Flamboro Speedway in 1967. (submitted by Mark Floyd)
Jimmy Howard was the guy that everyone in the Ontario Racing scene figured would make a rear-engine supermodified work. Jimmy was a Chrysler fanatic and a mechanical genius. In the early '60's he was building cars for both Gary Witter and himself. When I say building - I really mean building - his fuel injection, his dry sump oil system, his quick change rear-ends and even the wheels on his cars where homemade! Jimmy's racing career had started in the early '50's and was in its twilight when he his rear-engine super made its debut at Oswego in 1968.
The car was painted yellow, numbered 38, had Chrysler power and could be considered a moderate success. Howard became the first driver to ever win a race at Oswego driving a rear engine machine. In fact on the night Jimmy had his car running its strongest he won BOTH his heat and semi. Unfortunately he had used his good fortune prior to the feature. Like so many before, Jimmy pretty much destroyed his machine up against the unforgiving inside hub rail at Oswego. Jimmy was named Oswego's Rookie of the Year in 1968. How many rookies have you ever heard of that wore bifocals?
Jimmy returned with the car but after 1968 gave up the driver's seat. He campaigned the car with Andy Brown steering as late as 1973, but with no real success. My understanding is that the car now sits buried in weeds, rotting in someone's yard. Apparently the current owner refuses to sell it and has made no effort to restore the car or even preserve what is left of it.. . . written by Pete Turford
See Jim Howard's tribute page here.
1968 program - Todd Gibson wins 7th straight.. articles.. photo page... photo page.. Gary Witter perspective page.
1968 Classic Lineup - ..the only year they did this as it used to much time and fuel to get things going.
1968 Classic start - image from the '69 Classic yearbook.
63 cars took time for the '68 Classic, here are a few hotrods that missed the show.
Billy Vess roadster on the day that Andy Susco bought it in 1969. He and his dad rebuilt this car and put Joe Orso behind the wheel.
update... Andy Susco sent me this in '07): "Here are some photos of my old super,the former Bettenhausen Kurtis Kraft Roadster that I bought from Billy Vess, and ran at Oswego in the early seventies. These were photos taken at Steve Millers body shop the day it was leaving for PA to have the body mounted. Steve has restored the frame back to the way it was in 1956, and when it returns with the body in place,he will finish it to it's original beauty". photo 1 photo 2
Supermodifieds competed at the brand new Pocono Raceway in 1969. See more here.
1969, Doug Duncan's sleek new rear engined supermodified, piloted by John Spencer.

Gordon Dukes unveiled this new machine late in 1969. It was rumored to be 4 wheel drive. A practice crash eliminated him from competition in the '69 Classic.
Harvev Lennox rides rapidly into the sunset. this is a sketch I did in 1970. I thought it was Jack Greedy... but I stand corrected. It seems Jack never used the "bubble" face shield and Lennox did. Harvey apparently bought this car from Greedy and renumbered it from 01 to 10. Wish I still had the original photo that I used for the illustration... can't figure out why I put "Jack Greedy" on the car. Visit a nice page dedicated to Jack (jackgreedylimited.com), and see also the Jack Greedy tribute page at this site.
Famous photo, (enhanced) from the lens of Don Kranz. This was September 6th, 1969. Bobby Stelter won his first feature that same evening.
Warren Coniam made noise in the Purdy Deuce in 1970 and '71, pictured here with John Casey.
Barry Cann at Star Speedway, 1970. This is an Eddie Perkins chassis. Barry ran the '70 Classic with this car. Photo by Dick Berggren/LLoyd
For 1970, The Solvay team helped build a new super for Lou Dabrowski, they used the cage from '67 Jack Murphy car which had been Todd Gibson's '65-'66 ride.
A bad day for the Solvay 04. This is at Lancaster, 1970. Bob Stelter left the ballpark. The track's outside retaining wall can be seen in the background.
same incident from a different angle... he landed in the parking lot! ...MT had this to add (February 3, 2010): "The accident at Lancaster was in 1970, kind of a preview of the year to come. Bobby was charging real hard in 1970 and wrecked the car a few times-but most of the time it was not his fault, like at Lancaster when a sprint car forced him into the 2nd turn wall, and the June 27th Oswego crash, when his brakes failed. The new woodshed was fabricated and tacked together at Solvay Automotive, then Ed Thompson stick welded the whole frame in one night as I remember. I do remember John Pallotta giving him $100.00 in 1970 money for the job. Jim Delucia told me at the oldtimers meet two years ago that Kenny Bartholowmew bought the new woodshed when the first 04 roadster was finished and took it back to Ohio".
Here is a little history - about the Solvay 04 in the early days, provided by Mike Thornton
This is the Solvay Automotive drag car, with a young Mike Thornton at the wheel. The engine would end up in the Woodshed super.
Bobby Stelter left us on November 27, 2007.
"Storm'n Norman" Mackereth sure was fast in the re-vamped "Flintstone Flyer". He won the season opener in 1970 with this car. This car is one of Iver's top six Oswego supermodifieds!
The Solvay Automotive team crammed a big MOPAR hemi between the rails! I believe this was 1971. Here is a larger image... and another.
Nolan Swift roadster sketch, from a photo (that I lost) taken at at Fulton speedway.
Swift guided this car to his 5th Classic win in 71 after coming back from two laps down.
Another early 70s incarnation of Swifty's 10 Pins.
Red Barnhart Got the ride in the Fly'n 5 in 1971.
Red Barnhart passed away July 31, 2005... soon after, Oswego Speedway announcer Roy Sova had this to say about Red: "Red started racing at Oswego in the Colt 45. He got a couple feature wins and almost won the Classic in, maybe, '68. He was leading with about a dozen laps to go and ran out of fuel. He always blamed running out of fuel on how the race was started that year when a whole bunch of extra laps were run before the green ever came out. (Ask George Caruso about it!)
Although Red was a great driver, and very personable, the one thing many people will remember him for is an act of heroism on the track. Tommy York had crashed in turn one, the car caught fire, and Tommy was knocked out. Red jumped out of his car, ran to Tommy, pulled him out of the car and carried him to the infield. Given the size of Tommy, and the size of Red, it was quite an amazing feat. Tommy credited Red with saving his life... RIP Red."
Here is another image of Red from a 1967 program. Also, see Red's Tribute page.
Nick Rowe - qualified his always spotless machine 5th for the 71 Classic, and finished 6th. That's Ron Gamble's 00 in the background (the former 8ball).

Barry Brush, from Canada, 1971
another view of the Barry Brush Lola.
The Purdy deuce - sketch. This car is one of Iver's top six Oswego supermodifieds!
the deuce - again!
the deuce - again, with a story...
The first Solvay Automotive roadster, built by John Pallotta and Jim Delucia, 1972
A red flag occurred on lap 145 of the 1972 Classic when Chuck Portello's car erupted in flames after a 4th turn tangle. Paul Richardson's racer can be seen straddling the hub rail, it too became involved in the fire. I am told fuel cells became mandatory soon thereafter.
another view of the same incident.
Kenny Andrews and Swifty discuss strategy at the drivers meeting prior to the 72 Classic.
Some of the grid before the start of the 72 Classic.
The 72 Classic winner - Nolan Swift, opens his door to greet the cheering fans... that's right, I said door!
Warren Coniam prepares for the '72 Oswego Classic in John Pallotta's Solvay Automotive 04. IMO, Warren was the most versatile driver Oswego has ever seen, proving his mettle in every kind of chassis that was ever thrown at him.
a young Freddy Graves also prepares for the '72 Oswego Classic.
Mike Stone of Toronto passed away on Saturday, February, 25, 2005. Dave Humeniuk said, "Mike would be remembered by many as the owner-driver of the black number 511 and 51 supers and one of the early Canadian drivers to make the weekly trek to the big 'O' before it became the popular thing to do". (image from 1972) Dave also said, " I had the pleasure of designing a lot of that car as well as building much of it and co-owning it with Mike. That same car was later reconfigured and renumbered and was the first supermodified Brad Lichty ever drove." ...Also,visit Mikes Tribute Page
The Hagan Howard 01 was the "hot wheels" team car with the Norm mackereth 40, and if memory serves me, Brian Herb had the ride. Another 72 classic shot.
Eddie Bellenger looks for more speed during a very hot 73 Classic weekend.
update.. Roy Murphy - had one of the sharpest machines in 1972. Jack Murphy drove the car in it's first race, and won the consolation race. Pictured in the photo are Roy Murphy in the left foreground and crewman Mike McGine. The car was powered by an iron 427 Ford block over bored with a 428 Crankshaft resulting in a 461 CU. IN. capacity.
Bill Roynan timed in 22nd for the 73 Classic with this machine, he finished 17th in the race. The chassis layout and independent front suspension was unique for an early 70s super. Mike gave me this additional info: "This is the Midwest Saftey/Speed Equipment car. It was built by Bill Hite. Bill Port is standing on the right in the picture. Unconventional but very light. The engine was on center (kind of) but the driver was offset to the left. It was driven by Bill Roynan who is leaning over the car, and Phil Wendt-both skinny 5 foot guys (update 6-28-05: Bill Roynan's daughter has informed me that Bill was 6'4' tall!). Rat Lane also spent some time behind the wheel. Hite used to cut off all the bolts in his cars so they didn't go any farther than the end of the nut... no extra weight at all... as a matter of fact, it was rumored to weigh just 1200 lbs! The car won at Lorain County and Sandusky but not at the "O". Gene Lee Gibson has informed me that his dad, Todd Gibson also drove this car a couple of times.
Jim Shampine with the early Classic lead in 1972, This car is one of Iver's top six Oswego supermodifieds!. Head over to the Tribute page for many more Shampine images.
The Dates machine as it appeared in... I believe 1972.
Jim Cheney, aboard the Holynski roadster, finished a close second to Swift in the '72 Classic.
John Spencer got a 4th place finish in the 72 classic with his immaculately prepared rear engine Doug Duncan owned 07.
this is a page I threw up with many of the rear engine supers that have competed across the country.
a very cool looking race car, driven by Ron Matteson in '72 and '73. My contributing editor, Mike T says: "this was a Florida car driven by Jimmy Riddle, Frank's brother. I remember seeing the car in the infield at Oswego at the last race of '71, I think They brought it up to sell it as supers in Florida were dying out. It was beautiful with it's roadster tail. I believe this was the first Tobin-Deitrick car ".
Nulls roadster - Always wondered what happened to this car. Sure looks like the end to me. The Nulls Brothers always had super clean stuff. This is from the Sprint Car Pictoral-72 season. Bob Smith won two in a row in late '66 at Oswego with this car. Tom York had great success with the Nulls roadster. Ronnie Wallace drove it. Warren Coniam drove it also. If memory serves, Bentley drove it at Sandusky in, I think the '68 Sandusky Classic. Qualified outside pole(to Todd Gibson) but broke. By all means correct me if I'm wrong! Looks like they added a sprint car tail to it, probably to run with some sprint car clubs. (MT)
Warren Coniam poses with the Solvay Automotive roadster in 1973. The crewman in the background is the Late Joe Bianchi. This is 1974.
... and if you are wondering where this car is now, I recently came across this on SuperDave's message board
Nick Rowe again, this time in 73, he qualified 7th and finished 3rd!.
Todd Gibson, Not sure, but I think this is 1973...
Paul Strasser finished 29th with this car in the 73 Classic.
Ron MacLeod drove the Jim Soule upright #32 in '73.
New Englander Ollie Silva always had kinda ratty looking cars, and was always fast!
Kenny Andrews Won the 73 Classic with this machine.
Ed Bowley's Fly'n 5 qualified 12th for the 73 classic with Ron Wallace aboard.
Norm Mackereth finished 9th in 73 in the beautiful colonial House Hagan Howard machine.
Guy Chartrand in 1973, with his radical side-engine machine.(submitted by Rich Chartrand, thanks rich)
Steve Newman campaigned this rear engine car in '73.
Red Barnhart was aboard the Tobin #21 for the '73 Classic.
Chuck Ciprich had the ride in the #90 for the '73 Classic and timed in 19th.
Jim Gray's ride in the '73 Classic.
Mark Letcher timed in 8th quickest and finished 5th in the '73 Classic.
John Logan timed in 18th in '73.
Dom Miuccio - 1973
Rex Kenney - 1973
Russ Gray's ride in '73.
Doug Syer, third quickest in '73.
John Theodorou at the '73 Classic.
Denny Wheeler was 13th fastest in '73.
Leon Wieske timed in 21st in '73.
Jim Winks was second quickest with the famous Purdy Deuce in '73.
Lou Moll had the ride in the steve Lenhert machine in '73.
Mike Rizzo and Cos Ciciriello from Oswego, 1973. (courtesy of Mike Sessler)
Bob Stelter was 9th quickest and finished second with the Buckner 36 in the 1974 Classic.
Butt ugly supermod - But wait... it's Gary Reichert's Turner Brothers modified, complete with a 4 barrel carb, daring to qualify for the 73 Classic (finished 35th).The same car and driver won the Modified 200 event three weeks later! In 1974, Reichert won the modified portion of the inaugural Port City 150 AND got a 4th place finish in the supermodified portion with this same car!
the Turner Brothers then came up with this wild creation which didn't go as well as the previous car.
A variety of designs in 1974.
Scott Wilson timed in 15th in '74.
Fly'n Brian Osgood's #09, a sketch I did long ago.
This is the same car '73 or '74... Darrell Peckham campaigned the car he affectionately called "The Sopwith Roadster" for about 5 seasons and then sold it to his then young prot�g�, Jamie Moore. Skip Matczak says "The car was originally driven in the usac sprint series by Lennie Waldo. It was powered by a small block ford about 1968-1970. we raced against this car with Bentley Warren driving." I Always thought it was a pretty cool car with that sprinter look and independent front suspension. 8fan adds this: I think Geoff Bodine tried to qualify it for the classic one year. 1972 or 1973. Didn't make it. I think it had engine problems. This was before it was sold to Peckham, I think.
Jimmy Winks Got the last Oswego win for both himself and the Purdy Deuce in 1974.
Mike Rizzo in 1974. Although it doesn't look like it, this car used to be the colt 45 upright that Red Barnhardt drove in the 60s. Mike ended up driving this car at Weedsport and Rolling Wheels with the URC sprinters in 1975.
The 1974 Classic hosted a diverse field of machinery.
Stock Car Racing magazine article about the 1974 Classic.

Chuck Ciprich was the pilot of the Herm Graf C-15 in 1975.
The Buckner 36 in 1975. Bob Stelter was Ron's hired gun that year.
Mike and crew loading up both cars for the spring race at Thompson Conn. 1975. Lew Miller drove the #41 which was Mike's old upright. (courtesy of Mike Sessler)
Kemp Dates rockets through the first turn at dusk in '75.
Freddy Graves ran this quick, but not so reliable car in '75.
Graves 4wd super, fast and fragile- 1976
A happy Mike Rizzo ready to tackle the '76 season with the former Solvay 04 machine.
Bentley in '76 cops a win in leaner years. Dave and Cindy Snyder owned this former '72 Swift/Wright machine.
Ben gives an interview after that feature victory.
John Spencer at the wheel of the Duncan 07 in 1976.
ISMA pileup at Cayuga Speedway
Nolan Swift near the end of his great driving career - 1977.
Jamie Moore on the inside with the #44 sopwith roadster, I thought that was Warren Coniam on the outside in the Mcknight #6, but Jim Licardi thinks it might be the Doug Duncan #07 with Jimmy Winks on board. This is from around 1977.
Six Kempton Dates - built supers posed with their drivers! This was 1977. from left to right are the #2 of Del Meeks, #6: Warren Conian, #52: Doug Syer, #28: Kemp Dates, #27 of Russ Gray, and the 85 of Dan Dennie.
Barry Cann, from Westford Mass, aboard the former '71 Swift Classic winning machine, 1977.
Baldy Baker - 1977 (I think)
Fast Eddie Bellinger - 1978
Nolan Swift's - last lap at Oswego (1978)
September 30th, 1978, Bentley Warren showed the world's best sprint car drivers the fast way around the NYS fairgrounds at the Syracuse Super Nationals with another former Swift supermodified. It would be that car's last win as it was destroyed later that evening at Oswego.
Bob Stelter, with an early lead at that same WoO show at NYS fairgrounds (1978). He finished 2nd overall in this twin feature event. (Bet you didn't know they sold seats in the horse barn rafters!)
Here is a page that provides much more info on this unique sprint vs super event.
This was Stelter's ride at another fairgrounds event in the Al-Wil automotive, Burst Machine car
Kempton Dates, a top runner in 1978.
Redcreek Rocket in the late afternoon sun (unfinished sketch of above photo).
Redcreek Rocket, Kemp Dates gets ready to attack the track.
Tom Leeson always had a clean machine.
Bentley Warren powers the new Snyder 77 (former Graves 38) under Jim Cheney's 04. This shot was taken on May 19th 1979.
Bentley again on the same day, runs to the outside down the front chute.
Dean, Kemp and Dutch might be discussing ways to make the Johnson Logging #2 go a little faster! Pretty sure this is '79.
Barry Cann in 1979 with his Show Car Engineering #66. And here is the same car later that season, re-skinned... or is that "de-skinned"!
I thought this was Warren Shoberlein firing up the kevin Reep rear-engined offset in 1979. I said the car was later destroyed in an Aug 18th '79 crash. I have since learned from one of my visitors that this picture is actually of Kemp Dates firing the rebuilt car on Classic Weekend after the big crash. He says you can tell by looking at the front end and the way the radiator is in the car.
Chet Fillip in another 4WD Bill Hite creation in 1979.
Chuck Ciprich prepares to celebrate his victory in the '79 classic. That's a young Mike Stelter rushing in from the right foreground.
The Jim Shampine rear-engine creation that almost won that '79 Classic...

Ken Reece built this unique 3-1 supermodified in 1979 and planned to run it at Oswego in '80 before rules changes prevented it. None other than Tim Richmond was the test driver... shown here at Sandusky. Contributor Don Wilcox, of Fulton New York said, "I was the one that did the story on the Ken Reece super 3 to 1 car. I had been a crew member on Mr. Reeces race cars in the 70's. When he was building this car he kept in touch with the officials at the Oswego Speedway about what he was building and they said as long as it was within the rule book there would not be a problem with them letting it run at their speedway. When the car was finished and ready for testing Reece was very surprised as to how good the car ran right out of the box. The testing found a few minor problems but all in all it went very well. The news about this car spread like wildfire and because they feared it would wipe out the field of cars that ran at the Oswego Speedway the management there banned the car even before it made one race run. Mr.Reece was very upset over this as all the other tracks followed the Oswego Speedways lead and they also banned it. There was a countless amount of hours put into this car plus about 50 grand to boot. Mr.Reece decided to cut the car up and take what parts he could and build a sprint car for his son to drive. This did not work out well so he got out of racing all together. The car was built and finished in 1979 and I tried for years to get him to let me put something in a magazine about him and the car. He finally agreed to it and I went ahead with doing the story on it. He is very sorry right to this day that he cut the car up." The magazine article can be seen here.
See also - The story of Ken Reece's foray into the Oswego scene in 1975.
Eddie Thompson and his Front Door Special #91, always a gentleman racer... I think this was 1979.
Mike Schoeberlein and Dean Hoag at speed. That's Hoags Troyer car, so I think this is 1980.
Kevin Reep and the Solvay Automotive team pioneered the modern ISMA wing in 1980. Bobby Stelter also won at Star in July of that year and the car proved to be quite successful without the wing as well.
Jamie Moore - This would be his last ride in the Sopwith roadster.
Sopwith roadster - AFTER! This was the same day that Jamie's new Tobin 21 was unveiled. Jamie may have set an altitude record on the front straight during his heat. He jumped in the #21 for the consi but it was unable to fire for it's maiden run. I think this was the Port City event in 1980.
Tobin 21, Jamie Moore's brand new ride!
Dean Hoag's new super, builder, Maynard Troyer took it out for a shakedown, and promptly took down a top 5 finish in it's first outing! July 5th 1980.
Hoag and his Troyer super on the cover of a '80 Eagle program.
here's another look at Hoag's Troyer car. Unique features were the radiator location and modified style independent front suspension. That's Dutch Hoag kneeling down near the engine.
Mike Rizzo and his Show Car engineering #34... Mike tells me this was 1980. Eric Kingsley and I crewed for Mike that season.
update (5/22/05)... Mike sent along a few more pics, this one from the flag stand, and this one from Thompson Conn. in 1980 or 81. this shot was taken prior to the '80 Classic. pictured left to right are Jim Neuser, Eric Kingsley, Jerry Szeczowak, Bill Rizzo, and "The Riz". update (11/11/10)... Howard Conkey poses with 13 of his Show Car chassis prior to the '80 Classic (Mike Rizzo and his banner toting crew to the far left!)
1980 Classic, Jim Shampine is the only man ever to lead all 200 laps.
1980 Classic story.
Steve Gioia and Chuck Ciprich battle through 3 and 4. (1981)
Chargin Charlie Ciprich in 1981. He was always fast in this Ron Buckner machine.
Chuck - Ciprich again. This is a sketch I did in 1981.
Chuck Ciprich is ready for his last Classic in 1981. He qualified 8th and finished 9th. I think this was the last run for the Buckner 36, and for Chuck Ciprich at the "big O". Tommy Leeson purchased and raced the car in '82.
Jamie Moore set to start the Tobin 21 3rd in the '81 Classic.
Jamie battles with polesitter and eventual winner, Doug Heveron in the '81 200 lapper.
Doug Heveron brings home the bacon by copping the '81 Oswego Classic. This car is one of Iver's top six Oswego supermodifieds!
Brian Herb - was a teacher, and his students helped him build this beautiful machine in shop class!.
Nolan Swift looked right at home in the Brian Herb super - 1981
Swifty really enjoyed his visit to the speedway on Classic weekend.
Kempton Dates putting the fire out himself! 1981?
Group photo - of a bunch of drivers at the '81 Cassic. (a little fuzzy!)
Jim Winks piloted this beautiful new Doug Duncan machine.
Jim Winks -again, shown here working with the team in an effort to get the #07 set up.
"The young one", Doug Heveron sits in the car after firing it up.)
Team Heveron -1982?
Mike Schoeberlein races under Tommy Leeson's ex-Buckner machine during the '82 Port City event.
July 17th, 1982 program story. Also, Mike Mclaughlin outstanding individual of the week story from the same week.
The "bugsweeper" has cleaned up many a mess at Oswego over the years... I just had to post a picture of it!

Jim Shampine section has moved...

to the Tribute index Page

Go to Page Two to continue your Supermodified tour.
Visit Page Three of this image gallery to see pictures of asphalt modifieds, dirt mods, sprints/midgets, and odds & ends.
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