(Tom Baker photo)
OSWEGO, N.Y. – All-time Pathfinder Bank Small Block Supermodified wins leader Mike Bond added another jewel to his already star-studded crown at the Oswego Speedway on Sunday, dominating the 25th running of the Bud Light SBS Classic for his fourth win in the prestigious event.
Bond took the lead from polesitter and track record holder Russ Brown on lap 28 and never looked back again, staying out front for the final 48 circuits and weathering a slew of late-race restarts in his No. 74 Millenium Music Chevrolet before collecting the winner’s laurels in Turning Stone Resort & Casino Victory Lane.
“On that restart after the red, Russ got a little loose in the Speedy-Dry and I just had a great opportunity to capitalize,” Bond said. “The car was great today. It got worse the longer we went, though … so I was happy to see those cautions and get the clear track ahead of me.”
“We had a couple real close calls there, but it all worked out for us. It’s been a good day.”
Brown started from the pole and led the way early ahead of Bond, who charged up to second after starting in row two and laid in Brown’s tire tracks as the race wound into an early green-flag run.
In traffic by lap 13, both Brown and Bond deftly snaked to the outside of slower cars as they worked clear of the rest of the field by a full second, but the caution would fly two laps later for a multi-car melee stretching from the start-finish line to the middle of turns one and two.
Involved were reigning track champion Dave Cliff, two-time SBS Classic champion Andrew Schartner and Jack Patrick, among others after oil on the race track led to a slip-sliding mess for many of the frontrunners. The incident led to a red flag for cleanup of roughly 20 minutes.
On the next green flag, Brown again escaped with the lead from Bond by two car lengths, as Dalton Doyle and Alex Hoag gave chase.
However, another caution flag for an incident in turn one – collecting defending SBS Classic champion Bryan Haynes and Mark Castiglia – bunched the field back up and slowed the pace again at the 24th round.
Undeterred, Brown led the field back to green but was quickly swallowed up by Bond. Brown washed wide in turn one and Bond pounced, surging to the inside lane to lead lap 28 moments before the race’s third caution flew – a spinning Scott Schaefer coming to rest on the backstretch.
That yellow set off a fire underneath Bond’s No. 74 Four Sevens Motorsports entry, as he ripped off a blistering pace once the race went green again, opening up a five car length lead over Brown by the halfway point and setting the fastest lap of the race – an 18.947 second clip – on lap 37, just before the crossed flags came doing from the flagstand.
