Sears Wins First SUPRSNationals, Big Crash Claims Cloonan

August 15, 2023 – Oswego, NY…For Zach Sears, Monday, August 15, 2023 is one he won’t soon forget. For Ryan Cloonan, it’s one he’d rather not remember. Sears claimed his very first win at the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), SUPRSNationals 50 for the Empire State Super Series Regional Tour Monday night at Oswego Speedway, while early leader Ryan Cloonan saw his chances of victory snatched away for the second year in a row.

Last year’s winner Bob Gangwer came out on top of a race long battle that involved four drivers fighting for the final step of the podium and finished second, while Keith Powell played it cool and finished third. Anthony Corsoniti and Ryan Cloonan won the two 10 lap heat races.

Sears Happy to See Checkered Flag First

After a good battle that saw Zach Sears come from fifth starting place to take the lead from Ryan Cloonan on lap 29 Sears was happy to see the checkered flag first, but realized his good fortune was somewhat at the expense of another’s. “It feels good,” began Sears, then added, “But it definitely sucks for Ryan. He had a good feature going but I think he got caught up in a lapped car, we were going down the front stretch and I think he t-boned it, but I don’t know what happened there.”

It’s definitely an honor to be on the list of Dave, Brad, anybody else that’s won this race, knows how hard it is, especially starting fifth and having to track down one of the fastest guys, Ryan. Everybody was coming through the field clean and I guess keeping the nose on it definitely helped.”

Sears seems to be filled with the most confidence he’s ever had going into Topless! 200 Pole Night.  “You know I’ve got a guaranteed starter so it pretty much gives me a guaranteed third place or even better if I can set on the front row like i did last year. Not having Brad there last year definitely helped me sitting on the front row. I don’t know what competition Brad’s bringing, I don’t know what competition Dave’s bringing, but I’m going to try to bring my all and get everything I can,” he said.

“Thanks to all of the SUPRS sponsors, Dave, Brad, The Mod Squad, HeatFinder, and all those guys that help me with set-ups and get me where I can go out and win championships,” Sears acknowledged.

Cloonan Tempers Anger with Big Picture Thinking

At the other end of the spectrum, a big crash claimed Cloonan who was running second at the time of his calamity. Cloonan led a race high 29 laps but saw a chance at victory slip away in the final ESS race of the season for the second year in a row and for a circumstance that was not of his own doing. While not available right after the completion of the race, Cloonan later explained his anger then added some big picture thinking.

“There wasn’t anything I could have done to avoid it,” he said. “The lapped car spun and was headed towards the inside wall, so I pointed the care where they weren’t going to be. Zach made it through on the outside, so I knew there was a lane there. For some reason the lapped car decided to throttle up and go back up the track. I had nowhere to go except throw it as hard as I could to the inside, but there just wasn’t enough tough time or space to make it through. I just wish some people could be more predictable.”

“It’s always frustrating when you get taken out, whether it’s your own fault or someone else’s,” continued the Simability.com driver. “At the end of the night all you can do is dissect what happened and move on to the next round, hopefully not repeating the same mistakes.”

Ohh Ditches Race but Still Takes ESS Championship

Like last year’s three-time Empire State Super Series Champion Brad Keysor, Dave Ohh didn’t make the final race of the regional tour. He still had enough points though to hang on for his first ESS Championship; albeit barely.

Ohh, who had won five races in a row, had the SUPRS Bounty on his head, so when he won, Zach Sears collected the Bounty of 10 points. The win, plus the 10 bounty points, wasn’t enough to topple Ohh as Sears came up just one marker shy of taking the 10 bonus points for being the ESS Champion.

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 19^th Annual Topless! 200. Only two fastest drivers are locked into the season ending supermodified sim racing event. Anticipation is at an all-time level for another new track record to be set for the fourth straight year as Dave Ohh will attempt to break his own one year old record of 15.550.

Ohh hasn’t been off of the front row of the Topless! 200 since his first effort in the race back in 2019, we he claimed the first of his three Topless! 200 Pole Positions. He may have his work cut out though, as 2021 pole sitter, and former track record holder, Brad Keysor would love nothing more than to have the best seat in the house in which to go for the win which would give him his second Triple Crown of Supermodified Sim Racing presented by Icings on Top. Fans shouldn’t count out Zach Sears either, as Sears is the only driver since 2018 other than Ohh or Keysor, to sit on the front row for the Topless! 200.

Don’t miss the high speed antics of the best supermodified sim racers on the planet when SUPRS 19^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 16 the running of the 19^th Annual Topless! 200 at Oswego Speedway will close out a competitive summer season of sim racing at SUPRS. Drivers will have to be fast, smooth and lucky to make it to the end of the 200 lap grind where pit stops are rare, and attrition high.

Follow your favorite SUPRS driver through the 19^th Annual Topless! 200 week with live in-car video, track telemetry, scoring and timing, and commentary, as you make new friends in our chat room 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 5 of 5
• August 14, 2023
• SUPRS Oswego Speedway
• Oswego, NY
• Race 12a of 12
• SUPRS rF W v7.3 modification
• 50 Laps

Supermodified Heat Race – 10 Laps (showing result, car number, driver name, hometown, sponsors, top 3 eligible for feature invert)

1. 12-Anthony Corsoniti; N. Syracuse, NY; TsForecast.com
2. 2-Daniel Nans; Baldwinsville, NY; Haun Welding Supply, Nans Brothers Racing
3. 4-Steven Vincent; Cicero, NY; Creative Assistant
4. 25-Bob Gangwer; Goshen, IN; B&G Racing Photos, RW Woodworking-DNF; Crash
5. 14-Bobby Hayduk; Brook Park, OH; Gannon Auto Sales, Bronx Country-DNF; Crash

Time of Race: 5:27.523

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Supermodified Heat Race – 10 Laps (showing result, car number, driver name, hometown, sponsors, top 3 eligible for feature invert)

1. 13-Ryan Cloonan; Oswego, NY; Simability
2. 22-Zach Sears; Elyria, OH; Midwest Supermodified Series, Adkins Glass
3. 41-Keith Powell; Crestline, OH; Icings on Top, CPR Motorsports
4. 56-Dick Schuler; Chisago City, MN; Gooby Beer, Schu Racing
5. 08-Danny Ray; Goshen, IN; Smokie Bone’s Downhome Kitchen, White Lightening Transportation

Time of Race: 2:47.155

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

1. 22-Zach Sears; P5 | * | ! | 16.029
2. 25-Bob Gangwer; P7 | 16.320 | +2.762
3. 41-Keith Powell; P6 | 16.434 | +2.883
4. 12-Anthony Corsoniti; P1 | 16.365 | +3.291
5. 2-Daniel Nans; P2 | 16.315 | +5.708
6. 4-Steven Vincent; P3 | 16.466 | +41.110 (Finished race with penalty)
7. 13-Ryan Cloonan; P4 |* | ** | 16.203 | DNF; Accident
8. 14-Bobby Hayduk; P9 | 16.686 | DNF; Accident
9. 56-Dick Schuler; P8 | 16.785 | DNF; Accident
10. 08-Danny Ray; P10 | 16.933 | DNF; Accident

Time of Race: 20:19.237

Key:

* Denotes Lap Led

** Denotes Most Laps Led

! Denotes Fastest Lap of Race

“Supermodified Sim Racing for the Right Reasons” since 2004

SUPRS Note of Transparency: 1. Corrected Steven Vincent’s number to #4 from #28; 2. Added interview for Zach Sears and Ryan Cloonan; 3. Corrected amount of laps led by Ryan Cloonan from 30 to 29; 4. Added Post-Race Wrap-Up interview video. 8/19/2023 – 8:57am