OSWEGO, NY (April 4, 2014) – Oswego Speedway Novelis Supermodified veteran Pat Lavery returns to the ‘Steel Palace’ in 2014 with more confidence and swagger than ever, as he again prepares to climb aboard the Double Deuce Racing No. 22 with renewed championship aspirations.
After 15-years of action at the Speedway, Lavery finally realized his life-long dream of reaching Turning Stone Resort Casino Victory Lane at Oswego one year ago, becoming the 94th different Supermodified victor at the Speedway out dueling Kody Graham in lapped traffic on June 15 of last season.
Despite a lack luster beginning to 2013, a first career feature win and five Top 5 finishes ending the season, has Lavery chomping at the bit to take another run at the title that he narrowly missed back in 2012.
WATCH Oswego Speedway Shop Talk with Pat Lavery
“If I wasn’t thinking about the championship, then there’s something wrong with me,” said Lavery. “I’d like to win the first race and then the second race, and every race after that this year, like everybody else. Last year was a bit of a letdown. We kind of missed it the first race, then had our motor issue, crashed out of a race. I think out of the first five races we only finished two and we normally finish a lot of races. After the points were out of the picture last year, we just focused on getting the car better, and I think by the end of the year we had one of the best cars out there. I hope we can start off 2014 with that same car.”
That same car is the exact piece Lavery has had at his disposal the last several years driving for Bob Hoefer and Bill Samuels, the very car which took Lavery to the pole position of the Budweiser International Classic in 2010, 2012, and 2013.
While the AMB scoring system says Lavery and Double Deuce have been the fastest Novelis Supermodified team at the Speedway the last handful of years, Lavery acknowledges there are a slew of new racecars looking to debut this season with returning veteran drivers that look to make 2014 a year unlike any other.
“It is going to be very tough this season,” said Lavery. “Everyone knows how fast those new Hawk cars are. It will only be a matter of time until two, three, or four of those new cars start up front. You are going to have to work hard to get a Top 5 this year. It is going to be very tough.”
With that in mind Lavery and his team, comprised of the father/son set-up duo of Dave and Aric Iosue, realize they can only control what comes out of their shop.
“We try not to worry about what is going on with everybody else at the track,” said Lavery. “We try to concentrate on what we have to do to get our car as good as we can get it. I feel that this car we have is as good a car as any of the new ones. Dave and Aric (Iosue) set this car up for me every week, and I know exactly what I have every time I go on the race track.”
A fan of Oswego Speedway and Supermodified racing from an early age, Lavery could not be more excited for his 2014 campaign as he looks to continue to have fun with family and friends, contend for race wins, and do it all with team co-owners Hoefer and Samuels.
“I really have to thank Bob Hoefer and Billy & Linda Samuels. I could not be in a better place for me,” said Lavery. “When they kick me out, I’ll be done racing, but this is where I want to be racing with these guys. We are still competitive, still having fun, and that is what matters.”
Lavery went on to thank a long list of supporters of he and his Double Deuce Racing team.
“All of our sponsors have been great to us,” said Lavery. “Especially Lighthouse Lanes, Compass Credit Union, R.E. Davis & Son, Performance Harley Davidson, Vashaw’s Collision, The Big Dipper, John Bush Auto Sales, The Comic Shop, and Chris Nelson Insurance. I also have to be sure to thank my fiancée Kelly, who puts up with me being gone in the garage all the time.”
On track activity begins at Oswego Speedway on Saturday, April 26 with the annual open test session for all racing divisions. Testing will run from 1-5pm on April 26 and is free for spectators to sit in the main grandstand.
Racing action at the Speedway begins on Saturday, May 3 with the 64th annual Gater Racing News Opening Night featuring the Shea Concrete ‘Steel Palace’ ISMA Super Series ‘Irish’ Jack Murphy Memorial 56 and the opening round of the Pathfinder Bank SBS Road to the Championship.
The Speedway’s flagship non-wing Novelis Supermodified division will kick-off their 53rd consecutive season of racing at the Home of Supermodifieds on Saturday, May 10th presented by Mitchell’s Speedway Press and Planet Fitness of Oswego. Nearly 30 Novelis Supermodifieds are expected in be in action including defending champion Otto Sitterly and Indianapolis 500 veterans Joe Gosek and Davey Hamilton.
For more information on Oswego Speedway be sure to visit www.oswegospeedway.com. You can also FOLLOW on Twitter @OswegoSpeedway and LIKE on Facebook at www.facebook.com/
About Oswego Speedway: Oswego Speedway, a sports entertainment company, is a 5/8 mile semi-banked pavement racing oval located off the shores of Lake Ontario in scenic Oswego, NY. Oswego Speedway has been a continuously run weekly racing venue since August, 1951. The premier open-wheel pavement short track cars in the world, Supermodifieds, run weekly at Oswego Speedway making Oswego the only weekly Supermodified racing venue in the world. The Small Block Supermodifieds accompany the full blown Supers on a weekly Saturday night schedule which runs from May through September. Oswego Speedway is mentioned in racing circles as the “Indy of the East,” as no fewer than a dozen past and present competitors have competed at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway including Mario Andretti, arguably the greatest driver of all time, two-time Indy 500 champion Gordon Johncock, along with former International Classic Champions Bentley Warren, Joe Gosek, and Davey Hamilton.
