Keith Powell Opens Non-Wing Supermodified Season with Dominant Port City Kickoff Win
June 4 – Oswego, NY…Keith Powell got his 2019 Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), season off to a great start with a dominant win in the 50 lap Port City Kickoff feature for non-wing supermodifieds Tuesday night at Oswego Speedway. Bob Gangwer crossed the line in second place over three-quarters of a track behind, while Brad Keysor finished in third in his first non-wing supermodified start at Oswego.
Powell Joins Port City Multi-Time Winner Club
With his win, Keith Powell joins John Davidson, (2005, 2012), Myles Maxon, (2007, 2008), Ray Sand, Jr., (2010, 2015), and Rob Warren, (2011, 2018), in the Port City Kick-Off Multi-Time Winners Club. Powell’s first Port City win came in 2017. “I’m pretty excited about winning this one,” said the Ohio driver. “It’s the second time and it’s always good to win the first race of the year. At least I’m leading points for one week.”
Powell was quick to mention the fact that it was unfortunate that the driver he battled with throughout the recently completed wing championship season, Rob Warren, wasn’t a factor on opening night. “It’s unfortunate that Rob couldn’t make it to race with us tonight, ( Warren was present and started the race, but because of work commitments, was unable to be competitive), it had to drive him crazy just watching us,” Powell stated. “But being the standout guy that he is, he was here helping so kudos to him for helping out when he couldn’t race.”
“Thanks to Kevin Timmins for all the hard work he does to make us look good, and also Icings on Top,” said Powell. “I’m pretty excited about the first race of the year, we’ll see what happens next week, it’s going to be a tough one I think.”
Watch 15th Annual Port City Kick-Off from SUPRSonline on www.twitch.tv
Third Place for #3
Brad Keysor, driving the Southern Hills Storm Football Team #3, and making his first SUPRS non-wing supermodified start at Oswego, finished in third place. His finish, while commendable, wasn’t all that easy as he, like most of the field, struggled to hang on to his car.
The Liverpool, NY driver said, “I’m definitely worn out. It was a handful.” “Normally I get to run some laps prior to the race, but I really only ran a few laps before we raced tonight. I have to work on the stability of the car.”
Tired as he was, Keysor was quick to give credit to others for helping make the night possible. “Thanks to 1st to Finish Race servers, to Rob for handling things while he’s in Chicago, BreezeGraphics.com for all excellent work there, and Icings on Top. We really wouldn’t be here without everyone’s hard work,” he concluded.
Plenty of Action for Backus
The lone caution of the race came out on lap six when Derrick Backus spun on the backstretch. Backus was able to continue and came back to be a part of a spirited three car battle for second place that included Keysor and Bob Gangwer. However, with about 15 laps to go, Backus lost the handle on his IAFF, Disturbed Motorsports machine and spun into the water barrels on the front-stretch. The left front wheel of Backus’s car was ripped off as a result which was the end of his night.
NASCAR Heat 45 Lapper Next
The next race for SUPRS is a ‘regular’ 45 lap affair on June 11 at Oswego Speedway. Drivers will strap into their NASCAR Heat sim racing supermodifieds for the first of three SUPRS/HeatFinder.net Supermodified Summer Challenge events. As such, the race is open to the public to anyone that has registered to run at SUPRS.net by submitting the Join Form, and has taken advantage of the public downloads available to registered sim racers.
Watch, Listen, Chat, Enjoy
Supermodified and online sim racing fans can watch live video streaming, listen to the race call, chat with fellow fans, and enjoy timing, scoring, and track telemetry for race 2 of the 2019 15th Anniversary Gold Crest Non-Wing Supermodified Sim Racing Championship. Tune in at 9pm est. on race night to SUPRS LIVE! where you’ll have fun keeping up with your favorite SUPRS racer while making new friends when you visit www.SUPRS.net/site/live.
Get Social with SUPRS
Fans can learn more about the supermodified division and the original supermodified sim sanction, the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, by visiting www.SUPRS.net. Join SUPRS active and vibrant Social Media channels by “Liking” SUPRS on Facebook, Following @SUPRSOnline on Twitter, enjoying our Instagram account, and viewing SUPRS videos on YouTube. See us live and join our chat on Twitch.
SUPRS RACE RESULTS:
- SUPRS 15th Annual Port City Kickoff
- Race 1 of 13
- June 4, 2019
- SUPRS rFactor NW v1.3 mod
- SUPRS Oswego Speedway v1.4
Supermodified Heat Race 1 – 10 Laps (showing car number, driver name, hometown, sponsors-Top 4 eligible for feature invert)
- 61-Derrick Backus; Mexico, NY; IAFF, Disturbed Motorsports
- 41-Keith Powell; Carrollton, OH; Icings on Top, CPR Motorsports
- 25-Bob Gangwer; B&G Racing Photos, RW Woodworking
- 3-Brad Keysor; Liverpool, NY; Southern Hills Storm Football, Justice League
- 42-Carl Becker; Lansing, MI; Wholesale Diamond Exchange, Michigan Hill Gang
- 35-Rob Warren; Pulaski, NY; 1st to Finish Race Servers, Designs of Elegance (DNF)
Time of Race: 04:47.447
Feature 50 Laps (showing car number, driver name, starting place, bonus, fastest lap, distance behind winner)
- 41-Keith Powell; P4 | ** | * | 16.367
- 25-Bob Gangwer; P6 | 16.345 | +11.675
- 3-Brad Keysor; P4 | ! | 16.315 | +12.205
- 42-Carl Becker; P5 | ⇑ | 16.665 | +1 Lap
- 61-Derrick Backus; P3 | 16.405 | DNF (Accident)
- 35-Rob Warren; P6 |19.114 | DNF (Pulled Off)
Time of Race: 15:44.289
- * Denotes Lap Led
- ** Denotes Most Laps Led
- ! Denotes Fastest Lap of Race
- ⇑ Denotes SUPRSCharger
RACE NOTES:
- There was just one caution period for a total of three laps
- The race went green for 3 laps before the first caution
- Keith Powell, Brad Keysor, and Carl Becker all advanced two places from their starting spot. Becker started deepest in the field (P5) and received the SUPRSCharger Award
- Keith Powell had the lowest incident rating-0
- Derrick Backus lost a wheel after spinning on front stretch, contributing to his 12 incident rating.
- Rob Warren was out of town and attempting to race from his hotel room.
- Carl Becker had the best consistency of lap times at 73%.
- Bob Gangwer recorded the fastest speed during the race of 164.166 mph.
