OSWEGO, N.Y. – Teenage sensation Jeffrey Battle denied Stephen Duphily’s bid for perfection during Sunday’s Busch Classic 35 for 350 winged supermodifieds at New York’s Oswego Speedway.
Duphily, who had won in all four of his 2019 starts at the five-eighths-mile oval, was bested by the hard-charging 18-year-old’s sterling performance. Battle took the lead from Duphily on lap 15 with an inside move entering the third turn and never looked back, driving out to a margin of more than five seconds.
Battle’s white and blue No. 14 was uncontested down the stretch, as the final 30 laps of the 35-lap feature were completed without a caution flag.
In victory lane, the young star was nearly at a loss for words at his impressive accomplishment.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. This is my first time ever here, so that’s very awesome to win this huge event,” said Battle. “I’ve always loved Oswego, just coming out; it’s an awesome track. I can’t thank all the fans enough for coming out. It’s pretty awesome to have a place like this to race at and to win here.
“The car was going pretty good,” Battle added. “Stevie (Duphily) … I knew he was going to be tough. He’s been really good out here so far this year, but we were pretty, pretty awesome to get it done.
Duphily, who led laps three through 14, settled for second after crossing the finish line 5.431 seconds adrift. Rich Eaton completed the podium, followed by Bobby Timmons and Bill Fiske.
Track champion Anthony Losurdo encountered mechanical issues midway through the 350 feature and finished 12th, nine laps behind the race leaders.
The finish:
Jeffrey Battle, Stephen Duphily, Rich Eaton, Bobby Timmons, Bill Fiske, Mike Bruce, Mike Netishen, Mike Keddy, Jim Storace, Tom MacLeod, Dalton Doyle, Anthony Losurdo, John Burke, Matt Seavey, Dave Sanborn, Barry Kingsley.