Column By: TOBY LAGRANGE / RPW – OSWEGO, NY – It’s known as Racing’s Biggest Party but regardless what you call the annual Columbus Day pilgrimage to Central New York, the event known as Super DIRT Week is a tradition matched by very few and surpassed by far fewer.
The 51st running of Super DIRT Week had everything you could have asked for and some things that a true race fan never would.
However, when the final checkered flag waved over Mat Williamson and all of the interviews were done, one thing is glaringly obvious…Super DIRT Week 51 will go down as one of the raciest and most memorable since Buzzie Reutimann put Zephyrhills, Florida on the tip of our tongues in 1972.
If you were to sit down and peruse the various Social Media pages, you would think the event was akin to the sinking of the Titanic. There are those that complained about how the weather delays were handled and others that complained about counting caution laps and still others that complained under the disguise of fact that this was the death of Super DIRT Week.
It is no surprise that many of these same exaggerators predicted that car counts would be at an all-time low and that no one would go watch, among other things. For all its good there are those that still feel the need to highlight what is bad with Social Media accounts.
The fact remains that for three of the four divisions the car counts will go down as the highest of the season for each division and the paid crowd was bigger than any northeast Dirt Modified event will draw this season.
In all the car counts stood as follows – DIRTcar Modifieds (78), DIRTcar 358 Modifieds (78), DIRTcar Sportsman (86) and DIRTcar Pro Stocks (17).
Following the DIRTcar Pro Stock Series event at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway on September 23rd, 178 different drivers have entered (our version) Pro Stock events this season. That includes some Street Stocks that were added to events at places like the Brookfield Speedway.
Of those 178, 43 were in action this past weekend (27 were at Mohawk with Ian Bressett entering both).
So, where were the other 135 drivers?
That is a good question. Certainly a few were saving their stuff for the five-hour trip to Port Royal this weekend that has ultimately been postponed until the spring, but what about the rest? Afterall, the folks down in Central Pennsylvania would be jumping for joy to have 17 Pro Stocks enter their event.
The answer may be to make the DIRTcar Pro Stock part of Super DIRT Week a one-day show. This way drivers can practice, qualify and race in one day and not have to spend money on hotel rooms and other expenses for the week.
The other divisions came out in big numbers once again and that really is no surprise as this is Super DIRT Week and to many the name alone means something. Sure, most of us would love to be back at the Moody Mile and continuing the exact tradition that Glenn Donnelly started more than a half-century ago but the egocentric politicians took that away from us. As a racing family we had two choices…let the politicians kill it or create a new chapter in the legacy that is Super DIRT Week.
Thankfully the folks at the Oswego Speedway stepped up and we have a new home for Super DIRT Week. I have read the uninformed complaining about how the Steel Palace is awful and a new home should be found, however the fact is that there is no other track in New York State that is a viable home for Super DIRT Week.
The most talked about track is the now weed filled Rolling Wheels Raceway. I miss the track simply known to many as The Wheels as much as anyone, I think it is painfully apparent that its days are over. Even if it were to be resurrected, there simply is not enough room for all of the campers, race cars and spectators.
The 2023 version of Super DIRT Week kicked off officially on Monday with campers entering the grounds and movies being shown on the infield. I thought this was a great addition to the schedule and hopefully will grow each year.
On Tuesday great weather greeted the kids of the local Quarter Midget and Microd groups as they took center stage in the infield of the Clay Palace. In my opinion this was an awesome idea and kudos to World Racing Group and DIRTcar Northeast for adding this event. I did not make my way west until Thursday morning and it was great to be able to watch this live on DIRTvision.
Mike Warren was on the call and did a great job. Unless you have sat in his position, stepping in and calling an event with drivers that you have never heard of before on cars that are small and hard to read (small numbers), then it is hard to understand just how difficult it is. I have and know that what he did was not easy at all.
Wednesday during Super DIRT Week means it is parade day. This year I was able to watch it with my six-year-old son from home and he loved it. In a few years he will be making the westward journey with me.
I arrived on Thursday morning as I do each year. This year though, I had a surprise waiting for me. Jan McGaffin of the New York State Stock Car Association (NYSSCA) presented me with the 2022 Glen Ridge Motorsports Park NYSSCA Dedication To Racing Award. While I have won quite a few awards in the past for my writing, this is not only my first NYSSCA Award but is now my most cherished. A big thank you to everyone at NYSSCA for this award.
With the dreaded weekend forecast, event management made the call to get as much action as they could done on Thursday. With beautiful skies overhead, time trials for all four divisions were completed along with heat races for the DIRTcar 358 Modifieds and DIRTcar Pro Stock divisions.
Friday dawned wet and rainy and after a day full of the afore mentioned dreariness, all action was called off at 3pm.
The tough decision to cancel all of Friday’s activities led to another tough decision, which was to cancel the DIRTcar Modified and DIRTcar Sportsman heat races. Instead, Saturday’s program would consist of Last Chance Showdowns for the DIRTcar Modified, DIRTcar 358 Modified and DIRTcar Sportsman divisions as well as all four feature events.
A late afternoon break in the wet stuff allowed all of the Last Chance Showdowns to get in as well as the DIRTcar Pro Stock feature event. As the Billy Whittaker Cars & Trucks 200 was staging Mother Nature returned and would ultimately end the nights program.
Early Sunday morning the decision was made to move the remaining three events to a much nicer looking Monday.
With nearly four inches of rain falling on Sunday the decision was the correct one.
I made my way home on Sunday but made the two-hour ride back on Monday morning. To say that I am glad that I did would be an understatement.
I am not going to rehash the results as you can find those here on Race Pro Weekly but I will say the Monday finale was historic and a great way to end the 51st Super DIRT Week.
Monday was historic on many levels. First, it was the first time that the Monday rain date has been unitized in the history of the event. Secondly, Mat Williamson swept both the Billy Whittaker Cars & Trucks 200 and the Salute to The Troops 150…which has never happened on the same day before.
Next, the show was very well run. It started right around 11AM and finished, following 400 laps of racing, just over five hours later. Finally, the racing was phenomenal in all divisions on Monday. If you were there then you saw the three and four wide racing, which was the norm and not the exception.
At the risk of being labeled as someone who is sucking up, which of course has already happened by those on social media, the entire management team for Super DIRT Week 51 has to be commended and given a pat on the back.
We will start with the track crews who had to battle the blazing son early in the week and the record rainfall for the remainder and still produced a very racey and mostly smooth track surface. Sure, there were some divets in the surface but this is a dirt track, with an asphalt base, that took well over four inches of rain over the course of the event. The racing surface was the best it has ever been at Oswego, which more years than not has produced great racing.
Those in management positions who had to make the tough calls this weekend you deserve a standing ovation. While other promoters tossed in the towel after looking at the forecast you forged through it and delivered the biggest event in our sport. Kudos to each one of you.
Finally, kudos to Super DIRTcar Series Announcer Mike Warren, DIRTcar 358 Modified Series, Can-Am Speedway and Brockville Ontario Speedway Announcer Tim Baltz and the voice of the Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Lebanon Valley Speedway and to steal a line from the stick and ball sports, a first ballot Hall of Famer Danny Martin, on doing a magnificent job behind the microphone all week long. It is not easy sitting behind the microphone during a rain plagued week but they did it masterfully.
The 2023 version of Super DIRT Week was my 29th overall, 28th in a row and eighth in a row doing the on-camera coverage for Race Pro Weekly. It was also my 20th in a row as a member of the media. Despite the wet weather and the rushed schedule, it was fun and doing those interviews is a blast each year. Be sure to check them out on the Race Pro Weekly YouTube page. I am looking forward to my 30th Super DIRT Week next year.
A big congratulations goes out to all four of the Super DIRT Week 51 champions – Mat Williamson (Big Block and Small Block), Matt Janczuk and Luke Horning.
Also a rather large thank you to my fellow Race Pro Weekly team members and our sponsors. It takes a team to get through the week and great sponsors to make it happen…thank you to all of them. A special thank you to Cams Pizzeria for their support in feeding our team all week…it was very good and much appreciated!