Ohh Feels No Shame, Scores on Blind Date Night

December 5, 2022 – Avon, NY..Sometimes you have to play coy to get the girl you want, in the case of Dave Ohh, he felt no shame in playing the system to stack the cards in his favor for a big score on Blind Date Night when the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), kicked off the 2022-23 Empire State Super Series at Route 20 Speedway.

Bob Gangwer came out on top of a torrid battle with Gary Waldron to finish second. Waldron eventually succumbed to fatigue, running wide coming out of turn two and banging the wall which allowed Brad Keysor to slide by for third. Waldron ended up fourth with Anthony Corsoniti claiming a hard-fought fifth.

Route 20 Speedway was one of three possible tracks that could have been run on Blind Date Night. It was the first time in SUPRS 19 year history that the fictional 1/4 mile built by Mike Jackson of DSES had been used for a sanctioned race. Most of the drivers had never heard of the track before, let alone compete on it.

Ohh Gains Advantage

Dave Ohh made no attempt to hide the fact that he played all the system to gain a distinct advantage. “It was one of the few weeks that I didn’t have to start tail because of the handicap,” he explained. “I read the rules and took advantage of everything I could to maximize the points.” The other drivers were left with a bad taste in their mouth as the reigning SUPRS champion ran in third gear for time trials and, while usually one of the three fastest qualifiers, was the slowest of the bunch.

Even with the field inverted in the qualifying heat races based on the Empire State Super Series Handicaps, Ohh knew with the low car count that there was a good chance to start up front and that he did, winning his heat and guaranteeing that he didn’t have to go too far or work too hard to start on the pole for the feature and bring home an easy win at the track he was glad to be on.

“Of the three, this is the track I was really hoping for,” he said. “It was definitely the track I wanted to run, so when it was drawn, I was happy.”

“Maybe ran on this track once before,” Ohh reminisced. “If I did, it probably had dirt on it and it was with our vintage modified series.” Ohh now has his eighth win of the season and his third Blind Date Night victory which puts him on top of the record book for this race as the driver who’s won it the most. Most importantly he leaves the race track with an 80 point lead in the season championship over Brad Keysor, and as the leader of the Empire State Super Series Regional Tour.

Hayduk Sets Track Record

Bob Hayduk’s Track Record setting lap in Time Trials may have been the surprise of the night had it not been for a rookie setting it first, but then having it taken away for improper pit procedures. Hayduk’s quick lap of 10.589 is the first, and to date, only track record the Gannon Auto Sales driver has ever set and he was tickled pink to have done it. “This makes my night,” exclaimed Hayduk. “It was just a perfect lap.”

“I just needed to focus and I knew that I was capable of putting a quick lap in and that’s’ just what I did. Plus a little luck played into it with the new kid going one extra lap.”

Nans Makes First SUPRS Start

Daniel Nans of Baldwinsville, NY made his first career SUPRS start on Blind Date Night, and the experienced iRacing driver that is a fan of the real supermodifieds, had a stellar night racing a game that is older than he is by three years. “I definitely had fun,” said the Baldwinsville, NY 19 year old. “It was pretty tough out there, I had a great battle with Anthony, (Corsoniti), and I could see there was no way I could have caught Dave with the distance he had on me, but I had fun racing and I’ll be back.”

But for a missing the pit entrance after his time trial run, Nans would be leaving Route 20 Speedway as the Track Record holder. His lap of 10.557 was the fastest of the night, but he lost it because of his infraction. Nans left little doubt in the minds of any of the drivers that he’s a quick learner and is someone to keep an eye on.

Two Distinct Battles

Two distinct tussles for position developed during the race that occupied each end of the track. On one end, Nans and Hayduk were involved in a fierce dogfight for supremacy with Anthony Corsoniti for a good portion of the race. The three traded nerf bar paint on more than one occasion with Hayduk getting the short end of the rubbing and eventually fading to eighth. Corsoniti got the best of the rookie Nans and pulled off a top five with Nans in sixth.

In front of those three, at the other end of the track, a fight for second amongst a trio of drivers that live around the Great Lakes occupied 37 of the 50 laps in the feature. Gary Waldron, who started outside row one, held second with Bob Gangwer hot on the rear nerf-bar of the Michigan Hill Gang #10. Gangwer didn’t have any opportunity to relish the greatness of his efforts to clear Waldron though, because Brad Keysor was hot on his headers looking for a way around both.

Waldron held his trusty low line as Gangwer worked the top, slid to the bottom, and made repeated runs at Waldron. Keysor hung tough ready to pounce waiting for just the right moment to slide past the two SUPRS veterans. Finally Waldron went into turn one a little deeper than planned, Gangwer slid under and grabbed second on lap 37. Keysor tried to follow through but Gangwer bogged down and Waldron blasted back by Gangwer on the next lap.

He held the spot for the next two go-arounds, when he again drove in deep to turn one. This time, Gangwer powered through and a lap later Waldron misjudged his exit off of the corner, scrubbed the wall and Keysor slid by as well.

Christmas Special Next

Next week, on December 15, the SUPRS racers head to Canada and the super fast, one mile, paved Sanair Super Speedway for the SUPRS Nineteenth Christmas Special. It’s the last race of the year before the annual Christmas Break, and the drivers are hoping to win the 25 lap feature and the Burgers’ Smokehouse Ham that goes along with it.

Hot Laps get underway at 8:00pm for this rFactor winged supermodified sim racing event. The Drivers’ Meeting takes place at 8:10pm and Time Trials follow at 8:20pm. The first race of the night is the Reindeer Dash for the SUPRS Six qualifiers at 8:30pm.

Fans can watch the Nineteenth SUPRS Christmas Special on SUPRS LIVE! Broadcast beginning at 8:30pm ET.

SUPRS is Social

Online sim racers, gamers, and supermodified racing fans can all learn more about the original supermodified sim racing sanction by visiting www.SUPRS.net, “Liking” SUPRS on Facebook, Following @SUPRSOnline on Twitter, and Viewing SUPRS videos on YouTube. We’re also on Instagram @suprs_online, and don’t forget to check out our live streaming video throughout the season via our SUPRS LIVE! page and Twitch.

“Supermodified Sim Racing for the Right Reasons” since 2004