9/8/09
Otto Sitterly Caps Off 2009 Oswego Season With Classic Win
By Dan Johnson
Otto Sitterly Caps Off 2009 Oswego Season With Classic Win
By Dan Johnson
Otto Sitterly put the exclamation point on his dream season Sunday at Oswego Speedway, as
he drove a textbook race enroute to winning his first ever International Classic. Sitterly qualified
second fast on Saturday, and rode behind leader Doug Didero for the first 159laps of the 200lap
event. On lap 160, he pulled his blue #7 to the inside of Didero along the front straightaway, and
made the pass for the lead, and eventual victory. Earlier in the year, Sitterly picked up his third
track championship in four years. It was the first Classic victory for car owner John Nicotra as
well.
Sunny skies greeted the 34 cars as they came to Donnie Forbes green flag to start the 53rd
annual International Classic The first 14 spots were filled on Saturday afternoon with Didero
setting a new track record with a lap of 16.212, with Sitterly, Davey Hamilton, Dave McKnight, Pat
Lavery, Tim Jedrzejek, Ray Graham, Bob Magner, Tim Snyder and Joey Payne rounding out the
top ten qualifiers.
Didero took immediate command of the race, as he out pulled the #7 when the endurance grind
began. The field fell in place quickly, as cars were soon spread over the majority of the
speedway. The first slowdown, then stoppage of the race occurred on lap 12, with a first turn
accident involving Jeffrey Abold and Stephen Gioia III. The cars came into contact, with the 05
hitting the 9 car on the side. The race was stopped so track safety officials could expertly
extricate Gioia from his car. Oswego city ambulance was called to the speedway, to transport
Gioia to the hospital, with possible leg injuries.
After the delay, racing resumed with Didero up front. The car of Joe Gosek was the only one on
the move, as he wheeled the 00 from his 15th starting spot to tenth by lap 17. Gosek’s car
suffered a cracked hub in Saturday practice, and was relegated to qualifying Sunday.
Caution flags plagued the event in the first half, with numerous spins and minor crashes,
keeping the field close in the early part of the race. The leaders came into traffic for the first time
on lap 51, which they handled with ease, as they circled the slower cars in the high side.
The top three cars of Didero, Sitterly, and Hamilton separated themselves from the pack on lap
60, as they began to test each other early on. Payne worked his way up to seventh place by
Magner that lap as well, looking to keep charging forward. Hamilton looked to the inside of
Sitterly in turn three lap 62, but before the pass could be complete, yellow was called for on the
speedway.
Lou Levea and Greg Furlong’s cars were sideways in turn one, resulting in the slowdown. This
marked the first time in 10 season’s, the #72 lost a lap during Classic racing.
A few laps later, Payne’s classic ended with the right front on the 99 breaking down. As the
crossed flags came for the halfway signal, Didero led Sitterly, Hamilton, McKnight, Lavery,
Jedrzejek, Magner, Graham, Gosek and Santos. Within a few laps, Didero’s #3 began pushing
up a little in the corners, a sure sign that tire wear was beginning on the Xtreme chassis, which
would play a major outcome later.
Running seventh, Magner went a lap down on lap 113, as the 22 looped as he exited turn four.
After the restart, Sitterly began consistently pressuring Didero, making him work the #3 harder
than he wanted too at this juncture of the race. Lap after lap, Sitterly would stay right on the
bumper of the #3 in the lower groove, as Didero’s car pushed a little higher each time up in the
corners. Another Magner spin, this time on lap 124, signaled the car’s handling went away.
After this restart, the defending classic champion(Didero),and current track champion(Sitterly)
broke away as it was evident this Classic was going to be decided between the two most recent
champs at the track.
After a pair of minor spins, the Didero and Sitterly train broke away with consistent 17,57 laps,
as they were out by 3.71 seconds ahead of Hamilton as the race neared the ¾ point.
Lap 160 saw the pass for the race take place, as Sitterly knew he had his chance for the lead. “I
only wanted to do it once, so when I saw the opening in the corner, I knew it was time to go,” he
said of the pass for the lead, and eventual win. As they exited turn four, the #7 pulled to the
inside, with the #3 running higher. As they drag raced tio turn one, Sitterly’s car nosed ahead, to
the delight of the crowd in the grandstand.
Sitterly turned up the wic, as his first lap in the lead he stopped clocks at 17.17, four tenths of a
second faster than the previous laps. Two laps later, he was in lapped traffic, which he handled
in the outer groove calmly.
As Didero quickly fell a full straightaway behind the high flying track titlist, Ray Graham moved
up to fourth on lap 165 as he went by the Lavery #2. Hamilton raced up to Didero, and looked to
take over the runner up spot on lap 171, but had to back out. Lap 172, two top ten cars were
eliminated, as Joe Gosek and Bobby Santos’ cars were stopped on the speedway. Gosek had
contact with the front straightaway wall, while the Santos #6 spin in turn one.
Sitterly wasted no time in getting the big lead back, as he quickly pulled out to a 3.28 second
gap, using 17.09 and 17.11 laps to gain the comfortable advantage. Hamilton again tried Didero,
this time with a three wide move in traffic, but Hamilton ran out of racing room and save disaster
by backing out again.
Ten laps to go, Sitterly’s gap was now 5.18 seconds, as the 3 and 79 battle really heated yup
for second place. One last Magner spin on lap 194,slowed things one more time, as fans settled
in for the finish.
As they raced under the white flag, Hamilton went to the inside, with Didero in the outside.
Coming into turn one, there was only room for one car, and the two vehicles touched, sending
Hamilton’s ride into the inside hubrail, while Didero’s 3 continued on. This ensured the race
would go beyond the 200 lap point.
After the track was cleared, Sitterly put the finishing touches on his masterpiece, as he cruised
the through the green-white-checkered finish seconds ahead of Didero. At lap 207, Canajoharie
resident Otto Sitterly cruised under the double checkered flag, realizing his dream of winning an
International Classic. All the hard work, dedication, days in the garage, all culminated in his first
Classic victory.
“I’ve been coming here since 1990, I can appreciate what this race mean,” the jubilant driver
said after the biggest win in his career. “My dad was a driver on dirt, and he brought me up with
the realization that hard work pays off. He’s the one that puts this stuff in my blood. He work
hard in the garage, hard at the track, and do our best.”
His thank you’s didn’t end there. ‘The thing that hits me the most, is, I have a wife and kids that
all love me ,and are absolutely the best. They are the ones that are home when I’m out in the
garage, they all dedicate themselves to this, and are 100% behind us. That’s the thing that really
hits me the most.”
“To my owner, John Nicotra, thank you for believing in someone that came from the
grassroots. There are times I think he’s crazy, but he knows what he’s doing. This is a big win
for John too. John really loves this place, and its great to give him his first Classic win. This is
going to take a while to sink in, that’s for sure.”
Second place finisher Doug Didero said after his run, “The tires just went away. The last 50
laps, we didn’t have anything left in the tires, Second is nice, but we all come here to Classic to
win. I knew Otto was back there, and he had a better car than us today.”
Ray Graham finished third. “The car was perfect,” he said with disappointment. “The footbox
fell into my laps with about 40 to go, just when it was time to go. The car was absolutely perfect.
If I didn’t have that problem, who knows. I don’t know why that happened. Third is nice, but, oh,
the car was just how we wanted it.”
Budweiser International Classic 200:
1. Otto Sitterly (7), 2. Doug Didero (3), 3. Ray Graham, Jr. (90), 4. Dave McKnight, Jr. (08), 5. Pat
Lavery (2), 6. Tim Jedrzejek (89), 7. Keith Shampine (88), 8. Randy Burch (52), 9. Tim Snyder (0),
10. Davey Hamilton (79), 11. Jack Smith (09), 12. Jason Spaulding (23), 13. Bob Magner (22), 14.
Bobby Santos (14), 15. Gary Morton (70), 16. Mike Lichty (16), 17. Joe Gosek (00), 18. Jerry Curran
(98), 19. Lou LeVea, Jr. (04), 20. Dan Connors, Jr. (01), 21. Dave Sanborn (12), 22. Lou LeVea (61),
23. Bobby Dawson (28), 24. Joey Payne (99), 25. Trent Stephens (19), 26. Greg Furlong (72), 27.
Bobby Haynes (07), 28. Hal LaTulip (56), 29. Bentley Warren (15), 30. Tim Gareau (5), 31. Gene Lee
Gibson (06), 32. Michael Barnes (66), 33. Stephen Gioia, III (9), 34. Jeff Abold (05).
he drove a textbook race enroute to winning his first ever International Classic. Sitterly qualified
second fast on Saturday, and rode behind leader Doug Didero for the first 159laps of the 200lap
event. On lap 160, he pulled his blue #7 to the inside of Didero along the front straightaway, and
made the pass for the lead, and eventual victory. Earlier in the year, Sitterly picked up his third
track championship in four years. It was the first Classic victory for car owner John Nicotra as
well.
Sunny skies greeted the 34 cars as they came to Donnie Forbes green flag to start the 53rd
annual International Classic The first 14 spots were filled on Saturday afternoon with Didero
setting a new track record with a lap of 16.212, with Sitterly, Davey Hamilton, Dave McKnight, Pat
Lavery, Tim Jedrzejek, Ray Graham, Bob Magner, Tim Snyder and Joey Payne rounding out the
top ten qualifiers.
Didero took immediate command of the race, as he out pulled the #7 when the endurance grind
began. The field fell in place quickly, as cars were soon spread over the majority of the
speedway. The first slowdown, then stoppage of the race occurred on lap 12, with a first turn
accident involving Jeffrey Abold and Stephen Gioia III. The cars came into contact, with the 05
hitting the 9 car on the side. The race was stopped so track safety officials could expertly
extricate Gioia from his car. Oswego city ambulance was called to the speedway, to transport
Gioia to the hospital, with possible leg injuries.
After the delay, racing resumed with Didero up front. The car of Joe Gosek was the only one on
the move, as he wheeled the 00 from his 15th starting spot to tenth by lap 17. Gosek’s car
suffered a cracked hub in Saturday practice, and was relegated to qualifying Sunday.
Caution flags plagued the event in the first half, with numerous spins and minor crashes,
keeping the field close in the early part of the race. The leaders came into traffic for the first time
on lap 51, which they handled with ease, as they circled the slower cars in the high side.
The top three cars of Didero, Sitterly, and Hamilton separated themselves from the pack on lap
60, as they began to test each other early on. Payne worked his way up to seventh place by
Magner that lap as well, looking to keep charging forward. Hamilton looked to the inside of
Sitterly in turn three lap 62, but before the pass could be complete, yellow was called for on the
speedway.
Lou Levea and Greg Furlong’s cars were sideways in turn one, resulting in the slowdown. This
marked the first time in 10 season’s, the #72 lost a lap during Classic racing.
A few laps later, Payne’s classic ended with the right front on the 99 breaking down. As the
crossed flags came for the halfway signal, Didero led Sitterly, Hamilton, McKnight, Lavery,
Jedrzejek, Magner, Graham, Gosek and Santos. Within a few laps, Didero’s #3 began pushing
up a little in the corners, a sure sign that tire wear was beginning on the Xtreme chassis, which
would play a major outcome later.
Running seventh, Magner went a lap down on lap 113, as the 22 looped as he exited turn four.
After the restart, Sitterly began consistently pressuring Didero, making him work the #3 harder
than he wanted too at this juncture of the race. Lap after lap, Sitterly would stay right on the
bumper of the #3 in the lower groove, as Didero’s car pushed a little higher each time up in the
corners. Another Magner spin, this time on lap 124, signaled the car’s handling went away.
After this restart, the defending classic champion(Didero),and current track champion(Sitterly)
broke away as it was evident this Classic was going to be decided between the two most recent
champs at the track.
After a pair of minor spins, the Didero and Sitterly train broke away with consistent 17,57 laps,
as they were out by 3.71 seconds ahead of Hamilton as the race neared the ¾ point.
Lap 160 saw the pass for the race take place, as Sitterly knew he had his chance for the lead. “I
only wanted to do it once, so when I saw the opening in the corner, I knew it was time to go,” he
said of the pass for the lead, and eventual win. As they exited turn four, the #7 pulled to the
inside, with the #3 running higher. As they drag raced tio turn one, Sitterly’s car nosed ahead, to
the delight of the crowd in the grandstand.
Sitterly turned up the wic, as his first lap in the lead he stopped clocks at 17.17, four tenths of a
second faster than the previous laps. Two laps later, he was in lapped traffic, which he handled
in the outer groove calmly.
As Didero quickly fell a full straightaway behind the high flying track titlist, Ray Graham moved
up to fourth on lap 165 as he went by the Lavery #2. Hamilton raced up to Didero, and looked to
take over the runner up spot on lap 171, but had to back out. Lap 172, two top ten cars were
eliminated, as Joe Gosek and Bobby Santos’ cars were stopped on the speedway. Gosek had
contact with the front straightaway wall, while the Santos #6 spin in turn one.
Sitterly wasted no time in getting the big lead back, as he quickly pulled out to a 3.28 second
gap, using 17.09 and 17.11 laps to gain the comfortable advantage. Hamilton again tried Didero,
this time with a three wide move in traffic, but Hamilton ran out of racing room and save disaster
by backing out again.
Ten laps to go, Sitterly’s gap was now 5.18 seconds, as the 3 and 79 battle really heated yup
for second place. One last Magner spin on lap 194,slowed things one more time, as fans settled
in for the finish.
As they raced under the white flag, Hamilton went to the inside, with Didero in the outside.
Coming into turn one, there was only room for one car, and the two vehicles touched, sending
Hamilton’s ride into the inside hubrail, while Didero’s 3 continued on. This ensured the race
would go beyond the 200 lap point.
After the track was cleared, Sitterly put the finishing touches on his masterpiece, as he cruised
the through the green-white-checkered finish seconds ahead of Didero. At lap 207, Canajoharie
resident Otto Sitterly cruised under the double checkered flag, realizing his dream of winning an
International Classic. All the hard work, dedication, days in the garage, all culminated in his first
Classic victory.
“I’ve been coming here since 1990, I can appreciate what this race mean,” the jubilant driver
said after the biggest win in his career. “My dad was a driver on dirt, and he brought me up with
the realization that hard work pays off. He’s the one that puts this stuff in my blood. He work
hard in the garage, hard at the track, and do our best.”
His thank you’s didn’t end there. ‘The thing that hits me the most, is, I have a wife and kids that
all love me ,and are absolutely the best. They are the ones that are home when I’m out in the
garage, they all dedicate themselves to this, and are 100% behind us. That’s the thing that really
hits me the most.”
“To my owner, John Nicotra, thank you for believing in someone that came from the
grassroots. There are times I think he’s crazy, but he knows what he’s doing. This is a big win
for John too. John really loves this place, and its great to give him his first Classic win. This is
going to take a while to sink in, that’s for sure.”
Second place finisher Doug Didero said after his run, “The tires just went away. The last 50
laps, we didn’t have anything left in the tires, Second is nice, but we all come here to Classic to
win. I knew Otto was back there, and he had a better car than us today.”
Ray Graham finished third. “The car was perfect,” he said with disappointment. “The footbox
fell into my laps with about 40 to go, just when it was time to go. The car was absolutely perfect.
If I didn’t have that problem, who knows. I don’t know why that happened. Third is nice, but, oh,
the car was just how we wanted it.”
Budweiser International Classic 200:
1. Otto Sitterly (7), 2. Doug Didero (3), 3. Ray Graham, Jr. (90), 4. Dave McKnight, Jr. (08), 5. Pat
Lavery (2), 6. Tim Jedrzejek (89), 7. Keith Shampine (88), 8. Randy Burch (52), 9. Tim Snyder (0),
10. Davey Hamilton (79), 11. Jack Smith (09), 12. Jason Spaulding (23), 13. Bob Magner (22), 14.
Bobby Santos (14), 15. Gary Morton (70), 16. Mike Lichty (16), 17. Joe Gosek (00), 18. Jerry Curran
(98), 19. Lou LeVea, Jr. (04), 20. Dan Connors, Jr. (01), 21. Dave Sanborn (12), 22. Lou LeVea (61),
23. Bobby Dawson (28), 24. Joey Payne (99), 25. Trent Stephens (19), 26. Greg Furlong (72), 27.
Bobby Haynes (07), 28. Hal LaTulip (56), 29. Bentley Warren (15), 30. Tim Gareau (5), 31. Gene Lee
Gibson (06), 32. Michael Barnes (66), 33. Stephen Gioia, III (9), 34. Jeff Abold (05).
