Keysor’s Comes Up Short at SUPRSNationals, Cloonan Claims ESS Title

August 20, 2024 – Oswego, NY… While he won for a record setting third time at the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), SUPRSNationals 50, Brad keysor came up short and Ryan Cloonan claimed his first Empire State Super Series Regional Tour Monday night at Oswego Speedway. Cloonan, who finished second, led 18 laps and finished slightly more than 3/4 of a second behind Keysor. Anthony Corsoniti distant third some 10 seconds back.

2022 SUPRSNationals winner Bob Gangwer won the lone heat race and led the first 20 laps before contact with eventual winner Keysor took him out of the green to checker 50 lap thriller.

Keysor Has Most SUPRSNationals Wins

Until this race, nobody had won the final Empire State Super Series race more than twice. Brad Keysor can now lay claim to having the most SUPRSNationals wins, with his first coming in 2019, and second in 2021.

“First of all thanks to all of the sponsors,” he began. “Thanks to BreezeGraphics.com, BMK Logistics, 1st to Finish Race Servers, they do so much, and to Icings on Top who sponsor the Rookie of the Year Award. It’s good to have some rookies in here tonight.”

“I was probably  a little more aggressive than normal tonight and I have to apologize to Bob,” Keysor said. “I don’t know what happened, but maybe it was a little bit of net code and he just didn’t know I was there.” Keysor was referring to the lap 25 contact he made when he attempted an outside pass on Bob Gangwer as they neared the starting line. The two touched wheels and Gangwer was sent smashing into the hub rail where he lost one wheel, then slid across the track and clobbered the outside wall in turn one, losing his right front wheel before sliding to a stop in the middle of the west end of the track.

Gangwer had little to say other than, “It was an ambitious move. I gave him room. I’ll accept his apology.”

Keysor Tracks Down Cloonan

Once Gangwer was out of the picture, Keysor set out to track down race leader Ryan Cloonan. It was the very driver Keysor knew he had to beat to win his fourth ESS Championship, but also noted that it wasn’t an easy task getting to and around “Rapid” Ryan. “Ryan ran a great race tonight,” Keysor stated. “I got to him and I noticed his car started twitching a little and I thought I had him a couple of times. I tried the outside and just couldn’t get it.”

That outside move nearly cost both Cloonan and Keysor a win and a finish as they came close to disaster several times on the front stretch where Gangwer met his fate. Keysor finally put his BMK Logistics roadster to the outside of Cloonan on lap 38 and made the pass stick.  “It’s been a fun season,” said Keysor. “There’s been some great racing throughout and seeing some guys improve. Overall, there’s been some great races.”

Cloonan Comes Loses Battle but Wins War

While he lost the battle, Ryan Cloonan certainly won the war, albeit by the thinnest of margins. Cloonan’s second place finish was enough to give him a one point victory over Brad Keysor for the Empire State Super Series Regional Tour Championship, breaking Keysor’s three year strangle-hold on the ESS title. With Cloonan being from New York, the spoils of the ESS championship stay in the Empire State just as they have since the 2016-2017 season.

As he left the track on Monday after his second place finish, Cloonan thought that he had come so close, but was leaving oh so far away from having a shot at the SUPRS Gold Crest Non-Wing Championship XX. But after a late night checking of the ESS points, a mistake was found and when the calculations were done, Cloonan’s name was found at the top of ESS heap, and with 20 bonus points for being the overall champ of the regional tour. Those extra points for the accomplishment was enough to keep the wind in his sails as he heads into the 20th Annual Topless! 200 knowing that he still has a shot at becoming a SUPRS season champion.

It may have seemed like déjà vu for the third year in a row for when Keysor passed him with 12 laps to go. Cloonan had crashed two out of the last three years while leading SUPRSNationals, and ironically, last year it was on lap 38, the same lap he lost the lead to Keysor this year, that the hard charger from Oswego had seen his hopes of winning at his home track dashed. This year however, he finished all 50 laps, and while he may not have gotten that SUPRSNationals win, the driver of the Simibility.com number 13 can still smile knowing he beat Keysor for the Empire State Super Series crown.

Rookies Do Well

Two rookies helped make up the short eight car field and did a fine job of bringing their supermodifieds home in one piece. Brian Strickland, while no stranger to supermodified sim racing, finished in fourth place. Strickland is a rookie in technical terms only as he’s won a SUPRS co-sanctioned race, but never started his third feature back in 2015. So when he rejoined SUPRS, he was still eligible for rookie status and will easily win the Icings on Top Rookie of the Year Award for the non-wing season.

The other rookie slid behind the wheel of “The Ultimate Online Sim Race Car” for the first time on Monday. Chuck Mefford of Richmond, CA may have plenty of online racing experience, and has even been a drag racer and stock car competitor, but he’d never started a supermodified sim race prior to SUPRSNationals 2024. Mefford kept his nose clean and finished in sixth place then claimed he “had a blast” for his SUPRS debut.

Hammer Down into Tuesday for Topless! 200 Pole

The SUPRS racers keep the hammer down into Tuesday as they attempt to take the Pole Position for the 20^th Annual Topless! 200. Only two fastest drivers are locked into the season ending supermodified sim racing event. Excitement abounds as drivers seek to set another new track record for the fourth time in five years. Dave Ohh holds the current record of 15.550 set in 2022.

Missing in action all summer, Ohh hasn’t been off of the front row of the Topless! 200 since his first effort in the race back in 2019, when he claimed the first of a record four Topless! 200 Pole Positions, it’s unknown if Ohh will go for his fifth Topless! 200 pole.

If Ohh does show, the driver he’ll most likely have to contend with is the current point leader, former track record holder, and defending race winner Brad Keysor. It’s likely that without Ohh holding him at bay, Keysor will take his second Topless! pole and fifth front row start.

Also MIA this summer is 2023 SUPRS Gold Crest Non-Wing Supermodified Season Champion-Zach Sears. If Sears shows, fans may be in for a treat as he’s the only driver since 2018 besides the aforementioned Ohh and Keysor, to sit on the front row for the Topless! 200. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Ohio racer makes an effort to attend since after winning the Summit Classic 125 and the SUPRS All-Star Classic 200, he’s in line to win a Triple Crown of Supermodified Sim Racing presented by Icings on Top.

Don’t miss the high speed antics of the best supermodified sim racers on the planet when SUPRS 20^th Annual Topless! 200 Pole Night begins at 7:45pm with the Qualifying Order Draw followed by Hot Laps. Qualifications are expected to get underway by 9:00pm.

The previously scheduled Rising Star, a special invitation only event for drivers that have never won a feature in a non-wing supermodified at Oswego Speedway, and which was to precede time trials, has been cancelled due to a lack of entries.

Time to Go Topless! on Wednesday

On Wednesday, August 21 the running of the 20^th Annual Topless! 200 at Oswego Speedway will close out SUPRS historic 20th consecutive year of supermodified sim racing. New strategies are sure to come into play with new tire compounds and engine regulations having been implemented at the start of the season in June. Not only will the drivers have to be fast, but they’ll also have to be certain they have a car to finish the 200 lap grind.

Follow your favorite SUPRS driver through the 20^th Annual Topless! 200 week with live in-car video, track telemetry, scoring and timing, in a new limited and scaled back broadcast on www.Twitch.tv/SUPRSOnline and see it all on  www.SUPRS.net/site/live.

Fans can learn more about all of these races by visiting the schedule page at SUPRS.net.

SUPRS RACE RESULTS:

• SUPRSNationals
• Empire Super Series Regional Tour Race 7 of 7
• August 19, 2024
• SUPRS Oswego Speedway
• Oswego, NY
• Race 18a of 18
• SUPRS rF W v8 modification
• 50 Laps

Supermodified Heat Race – 10 Laps (showing result, car number, driver name, hometown, sponsors, top 4 eligible for feature invert)

1. 25-Bob Gangwer; Goshen, IN; B&G Racing Photos, RW Woodworking-DNF; Crash
2. 9-Brad Keysor; Liverpool, NY; BMK Logistics, Chasing Cameras
3. 12-Anthony Corsoniti; N. Syracuse, NY; TsForecast.com
4. 13-Ryan Cloonan; Oswego, NY; Simability
5. 7s-Brian Strickland^(R); Middleville, MI; Infinity Shocks, Strickland Motorsports
6. 14-Bobby Hayduk; Brook Park, OH; Gannon Auto Sales, Bronx Country
7. 08-Danny Ray; Goshen, IN; Smokie Bone’s Downhome Kitchen, White Lightening Transportation
8. 17-Chuch Mefford^(R); Richmond, CA; Sponsors Needed

Time of Race: 3:20.331

—–

SUPRSNationals Empire State Super Series Regional Tour Feature 50 Laps (showing car number, driver name, starting place, bonus, fastest lap, distance behind winner)

1. 9-Brad Keysor; P4 | * | ! | 16.029
2. 13-Ryan Cloonan; P3 |* | 16.203 | +0.770
3. 12-Anthony Corsoniti; P2 | 16.365 | +10.474
4. 7s-Brian Strickland^(R); P5 | 16.315 | +1 Lap
5. 14-Bobby Hayduk; P6 | 16.686 | +1 Lap
6. 17-Chuch Mefford^(R); P8 | 16.785 | +2 Laps
7. 08-Danny Ray; P7 | 16.933 | +2 Laps
8. 25-Bob Gangwer; P1 | * | ** | 16.320 | DNF; Accident-25 laps completed

Time of Race: 13:52.386

Key:

* Denotes Lap Led

** Denotes Most Laps Led

! Denotes Fastest Lap of Race

“Supermodified Sim Racing for the Right Reasons” since 2004