OSWEGO, N.Y. — The prestige that comes with winning at Super DIRT Week is a major accomplishment for any driver. But for the DIRTcar Pro Stock Series competitors, it’s not the only milestone they’ll chase during “Racing’s Biggest Party.”
The series champion will be crowned after the DIRTcar Pro Stock I Love NY 50 at Oswego Speedway on Friday, Oct. 9, adding to the pressure of racing on the Northeast’s biggest stage.
Jason Casey, who’s currently second in the series standings, hasn’t had to worry about points at Oswego in the past few seasons. However, the Canaan, Conn., driver said he knows exactly how he’ll approach it if he’s in contention in October.
“It means we can’t hold anything back,” Casey said. “You have to get to the front. And especially after a rough night, things will be tight. You just have to go for it.
“There’s a lot of good guys and a lot of competition, and that’s why we like to travel with everybody.”
Last year’s title fight came down to the final laps at Oswego, with five guys mathematically eligible to hoist the championship trophy. In the end, Pete Stefanski emerged at the top, using a second-place finish to beat Tyler Bushey by 10 points.
Despite being on the losing end of the battle, Bushey said he knows what to expect if he gets another chance in 2026.
“There was a lot of pressure that day,” Bushey said. “And then Lap 1, we get a flat tire, and it got out of control after that. We made it back up to eighth, but wasn’t quite good enough. It was quite the experience.
“To get back in that position is always tough. You don’t want to take it for granted. We just need to work hard and hope that we can get there.”
Even with Bushey’s misfortune, Stefanski still almost lost the 2026 title by mere inches. The North Tonawanda, NY driver had to avoid a spinning Kyle Hoard and narrowly missed being caught in a multi-car pile-up.
“It’s a lot of pressure,” Stefanski said. “We’ve been doing it a long time, so we’re not too intimidated by too much pressure. But you still have to run good at every race, so putting it into one race is tough to do.”
While eyes were focused on the battle for the 2026 championship, last year’s I Love NY 50 winner, Devon Camenga led every lap to earn his first Super DIRT Week win and first DIRTcar Pro Stock Series victory.
Now that he’s got the victory on his resume, Camenga, who’s currently third in points, said he hopes it comes down to the wire again.
“I think it’s better for the fans,” Camenga said. “I think it’s better for the drivers to make sure everyone crosses their t’s, dots their I’s, and their lower-case j’s. I don’t know if I want five guys racing for a title, but it’d be cool to have a couple of guys who are all battling it out until the end.”
