OSWEGO, N.Y. – Sunday’s windup to the grand finale of Super DIRT Week at Oswego Speedway kicked off with the Pro Stock 50, the day’s first test of the hopefully rejuvenated racing surface.
After a brisk duel with Luke Horning early on, eastern New York Pro Stock kingpin Chad Jeseo, 2021 champion at both Albany-Saratoga and Lebanon Valley Speedways, easily prevailed over Jason Casey and multi-time DIRT Week winner Rob Yetman. Yetman went to the rear twice after being caught up in early skirmishes, but worked his way back to the lead pack.
The event was marred by several multi-car crashes and ballet like multi-car spins on the dry, slick surface, but the worst came on lap 29, when lead pack runner Rick Crane got boosted in turn one flipped in turn two. When the dust settled, some 14 cars had piled in, with some driving away and while others, after tangling with each other or the infield wall, ended up on the hook looking like they’d been through the shredder.
Jeseo had to take the lead away from fast qualifier Horning, then hold off challenges from Rick Stone and Casey before settling into a groove that let him run away from the field between the eight cautions. Yetman’s charge back to the front was the most interesting run of the 50 lapper, not counting the crashes that, besides the turn one melee, included a crash involving four cars off turn four that sent another handful of shredded cars to the infield.
The seemingly never ending cautions played in Jeseo’s favor in one respect, as he didn’t have to lap anyone until three to go and handled the few cars he did lap masterfully, maintaining a solid lead to the checkers.
Jason White hit the stripe fourth ahead of Scott Towslee, Jason Meltz, Tommy Dean, Pete Stefanski, Burton Ward and Johnny Rivers. World Racing Group head Brian Carter soldiered to a 15th-place finish, going a lap down right at the end.
The finish:
1. 25-Chad Jeseo[2]; 2. 324-Jason Casey[4]; 3. 7-Rob Yetman[11]; 4. 1X-Mike White[25]; 5. 23-Scott Towslee[15]; 6. 51-Jason Meltz[8]; 7. 413-Tommy Dean[26]; 8. 2-Pete Stefanski[17]; 9. 28-Burton Ward[21]; 10. 14J-Johnny Rivers[24]; 11. 17-Nick Hilt[31]; 12. 7D-Chucky Dumblewski[7]; 13. 91-Ian Bressette[27]; 14. 75S-Gary Silkey[20]; 15. 6C-Brian Carter[23]; 16. 178-Steve LaRochelle[13]; 17. 09-Shawn Perez[29]; 18. 56-Jay Fitzgerald[22]; 19. 69-Chris Crane[9]; 20. 6-Shane Playford[19]; 21. 711-Rich Crane[5]; 22. 8N-Nick Stone[3]; 23. 70X-Josh Coonradt[6]; 24. 322-Jay Casey[14]; 25. 54S-Zachary Sorrentino[18]; 26. 75-Eli Gilbert[28]; 27. 4-Dean Charbonneau[16]; 28. 2H-Luke Horning[1]; 29. 14-Kim Duell[10]; 30. X15-Tyler Bushey[30]; 31. 57K-Kevin Fetterly Jr[12]