News Director 
Story By: DAN KAPUSCINSKI / TRIPLE CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES – OSWEGO, NY – The inaugural season of the Shea Concrete Triple Crown Championship Series presented by ASI Racewear takes the green flag on Saturday night at Oswego Speedway and the ‘Jersey Jet’ Joey Payne will be in action driving a former Mike Muldoon machine now owned by west coast racer Don Penix.
Competing in both the Driver of the Year and Supermodified of the Year categories, utilizing the same race car both wing and non-wing, Payne says the TCCS is a welcome addition to the Supermodified community.
“It is a great deal and should bring a new level of excitement to Supermodified racing,” said Payne. “It is a nice incentive and something I look forward to being a part of.”
Payne has four career Supermodified wins at the Oswego oval and is the current Novelis Supermodified track record holder with a lap of 15.802 seconds at 142.387 mph.
The 1998 winner of the Sandusky Speedway Hy-Miler Nationals, Payne finished second in the 2003 running of Oswego’s Budweiser International Classic 200 with two other podium finishes coming in 2000 and 2015.
With a habit of top finishes in big time events, Payne has his sights set on the overall prize of $12,000 for winning both portions of the Triple Crown Championship in 2017.
Payne will join Mike Muldoon, Tim Snyder, Keith Shampine, Otto Sitterly, Dave Shullick Jr., Jeff Abold, Dave McKnight, Dave Danzer, Tim Jedrzejek, Joe Gosek, Dave Gruel, and Howard Page as drivers currently eyeing the Bentley Warren Driver of the Year championship.
The Penix Racing No. 14 will join the Supermodifieds of Muldoon Racing, Snyder Racing, Osetek Racing Technologies, Team Abold Racing, Gary Morton Racing, Danzer Racing, Gosek Racing, Gruel Racing, and Page Racing for the right to be called the Jim Shampine Supermodified of the Year.
The Shea Concrete Triple Crown Championship Series presented by ASI Racewear will see five non-wing Supermodified events at Oswego Speedway and five wing events on the ISMA tour including races at Lancaster Speedway, Stafford Speedway, Sandusky Speedway, and Star Speedway.
The first race of the series is scheduled to take the green flag this Saturday during Oswego Speedway’s 67th season opener for the non-wing Novelis Supermodifieds. Racing is set to take the green flag at 5 p.m.
Should weather prevent the running of this weekend’s events at Oswego, the May 13 TCCS event will be rescheduled to Oswego’s May 13 rain date which will be Saturday, June 17.
If interested in helping to support the Triple Crown Championship Series of Supermodified Racing feel free to contact series promoter Dan Kapuscinski by e-mail at dkapuscinski00@gmail.com or by phone at (315) 708-7544.
