Port City Kick-Off Won by Ohh

Dave Ohh Off to Good Start as SUPRS Opens Summer Season

June 2 – Oswego, NY…Dave Ohh of Union, CT took the lead of the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), 50 lap Port City Kickoff feature on lap 11 and held on through multiple restarts to claim the win for non-wing supermodifieds Tuesday night at Oswego Speedway. 2-Time Port City Kick-Off winner, Rob Warren, finished second, while Brad Keysor finished in third for the second year in a row at this race.

Ohh Holds on Through Multiple Restarts

In a race that had plenty of starts and stops and not a lot of rhythm, Ohh, who took the lead on lap 11 from Bob Gangwer, was able to stave off challenges those behind him on multiple restarts.

Was the driver of the TMS Wolfpack #11 ever concerned? Only a little. “Restarts always tough here,” Ohh said. “You’ve got to keep an eye out for the 35, (Rob Warren), and the 3, (Brad Keysor), because the car is always very loose on the restarts, so you have to try to get as much as you can on the restarts here.”

Ohh certainly thrilled the fans of the live broadcast with his driving style, and amazed the other drivers with how he could hang onto the car when it seemed like it could go around any moment. To the winner though, it was just another day at the office. “I’d say there were maybe just two instances when I thought the car might get away,” explained Ohh when asked how he drove such a loose race car. ” I don’t recall anything spectacular where it was too loose so nothing really sticks out as really stressing to save it. It pretty uneventful from that side, which I’m always OK with.”

Better Shot at SUPRS Championship

After finishing second to Rob Warren in the SUPRS Gold Crest Non-Wing Supermodified Championship last year, Ohh feels like he may have a better shot at winning the big prize this season simply because he made the first show. “Unlike last year, I made the first race of championship, so I just have to give it a try and see how the season goes,” he said. “The 35, (Rob Warren), is tough, the 3, (Keysor), is tough, everyone is tough here.”

“Thanks to SUPRS, 1st to Finish Race Servers, Hairbag Studios, BreezeGraphics.com, and Icings on Top for all their support, and a special shout out to HeatFinder.net and the ModSquad.info they’re your source for all of your NASCAR Heat racing needs,” stated Ohh.

Defending Winner Goes for a Ride

The defending winner of SUPRS Port City Kick-Off, Keith Powell, had a decent run going until just before the half-way point of the race. Powell, who started in third place, was running comfortably in fourth place and had just started to mount a charge on third place running Bob Gangwer. As Gangwer and Powell crossed the start/finish line they came upon the lapped car of rookie Danny Ray who was heeding the lay-over flag and had moved up the track. Gangwer shot low and made turn one, Powell also cleared Ray but had too much momentum and slid up the track as Ray made his arc through the corner.

The resulting contact launched Powell’s car high into the air, giving the turn one fans a clear view of his colorful belly pan. He made contact with the wall just past the scoring tower, violently ripping the nose and nerf bars off, then pirouetted back onto the track before finally bouncing to a stop half-way through the corner. The game failed to throw a caution as Ray bounced along the inside wall as well. Fortunately, it’s just a game and all parties were a-OK.

First SUPRS Start for Several

Four rookies made their first SUPRS feature start at the 16^th Annual Port City Kick-Off. The highest finisher was Erich Becker who came home in sixth place, two laps down. Dick Schuler of Chisago City, MN claimed the SUPRSCharger award after moving up four places from where he started in last, but wasn’t able to finish the race. Danny Ray and Bobby Hayduk joined Schuler in the pits before the checkered flag flew. All of them however, claimed to have had a great time and were thankful for the help from other SUPRS members.

Becker was relieved to get his first SUPRS race under his belt, but wanted to make sure to say some thank yous first before talking about his night. “Off the bat, thanks to everyone from SUPRS making it so easy to join, and all the help,” said the driver of the Plante Moran Tax car. “As far as the race, I really had to loosen the car up after the heat, and I really went the wrong way. it was a handful the whole race. I learned a lot,  but I have to do a lot more  to understand how this car is going to change for the feature.”

Becker had a nerve wracking moment when he almost lost it right in front of the leaders. “I made a big mistake when I checked up big time behind a lapped car,” he explained. “I really didn’t want to make a big mistake in front of the leaders.”

NASCAR Heat 45 Lapper Next

The next race for SUPRS is a ‘regular’ 45 lap affair on June 9 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 2020 summer season. Tune in at 9pm ET 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 16^th Annual Port City Kickoff
• Race 1 of 12
• June 2, 2020
• SUPRS Oswego Speedway v1.4
• SUPRS rFactor NW v1.3 mod

Supermodified Heat Race 1 – 10 Laps (showing car number, driver name, hometown, sponsors-Top 4 eligible for feature invert)

1. 3-Brad Keysor; Liverpool, NY; Southern Hills Storm Football, Justice League
2. 35-Rob Warren; Pulaski, NY; 1^st to Finish Race Servers, Designs of Elegance
3. 27-Erich Becker^R; Shelby, MI; Mahle Pistons, Plante Moran Tax
4. 55-Steve Callahan; Cuyahoga Falls, OH; Exide Battery, CPR Motorsports
5. 42-Carl Becker; Lansing, MI; Wholesale Diamond Exchange, Michigan Hill Gang
6. 08-Danny Ray^R; Goshen, IN; Masterbrand, Smokie Bone’s Down Home Kitchen

Time of Race:  04:44.050

Supermodified Heat Race 2 – 10 Laps (showing car number, driver name, hometown, sponsors-Top 4 eligible for feature invert)

1. 11-Dave Ohh; Union, CT; TMS Wolfpack
2. 25-Bob Gangwer; Goshen, IN; B&G Racing Photos, RW Woodworking
3. 41-Keith Powell; Crestline, OH; Icings on Top, CPR Motorsports
4. 10-Gary Waldron; Wyoming, MI; Kenowa Auto Supply, Michigan Hill Gang
5. 14-Bobby Hayduk^R; Brook Park, OH; American Heart Assoc., American Diabetes Assoc.
6. 56-Dick Schuler^R; Chisago City, MN; Gubby Beer, Schu Racing

Feature 50 Laps (showing car number, driver name, starting place, bonus, fastest lap, distance behind winner)

1. 11-Dave Ohh; P6 | ! | ** | * | 15.976
2. 35-Rob Warren; P4 |16.164| +0.815
3. 3-Brad Keysor; P2 | 16.116 | +1.303
4. 25-Bob Gangwer; P1 | 16.193 | +3.095
5. 55-Steve Callahan; P6 | 16.161 | +1 Lap
6. 27-Erich Becker^R; P9 | 16.797 | +2 Laps
7. 42-Carl Becker; P8 |  16.710 | +5 Laps
8. 56-Dick Schuler^R; P10 | ⇑ |17.752 | DNF-Black Flag-Incident Rule
9. 08-Danny Ray^R; P2 | 19.108 | DNF-Black Flag-Incident Rule
10. 41-Keith Powell; P4 |  16.259 | DNF-Accident
11. 10-Gary Waldron; P8 | 16.823 | DNF-Accident
12. 14-Bobby Hayduk^R; P10 | 17.715 | DNF-Accident

Time of Race:  26:05.568

• * Denotes Lap Led
• ** Denotes Most Laps Led
• ! Denotes Fastest Lap of Race
• ⇑ Denotes SUPRSCharger

RACE NOTES:

• Four drivers made their very first SUPRS feature start
• There were six caution periods for a total of 19 laps
• The longest green flag stretch was 14 laps
• Dave Ohh and Dick Schuler both advanced four places from their starting spot. Schuler started deepest in the field (P12) and received the SUPRSCharger Award
• Bob Gangwer had the lowest incident rating-0
• Carl Becker had the highest incident rating-32
• Danny Ray had the best lap time consistency at 70.68%
• Steve Callhan had the fastest speed of the race at 165.8 MPH
• Bob Gangwer recorded the fastest speed during the race of 164.166 mph.