SANDUSKY, OH (May 31) – In victory lane, second generation driver Danny Shirey delivered a message
that may make fellow Greg Willis/Howard Hanna Outlaw Supermodified Series (OSS) drivers doing more
homework this week. “We’ve been fighting this car all night, I am just glad to make it victory lane.” That
came after a dominating performance all night long behind the wheel of the Amy Papuga owned roadster at
Sandusky Speedway for the 2025 OSS opener, presented by Smith’s Top Notch.
It began right out the box in the preliminary practice sessions when he flirted with the existing track record
and then when Jim Valentine qualifying rolled out it was no more flirting, it was the real thing as he lowered
Todd Buchanan’s two-year 16.422 standard around the one-half mile paved oval to 16.293.
Following Brian’s Automotive/Gibson Racing Tire sponsored heat race wins garnered by Sawyer Stout and
A.J. Lesiecki it was on to the 30-lap main event that began with a 7-car invert.
Kenny Sharp bolted into the early lead at the but it was negated before a full lap of competition, when a
broken heim joint found Doug Neubauer spinning to the top side of turns 3 & 4. With the field bunched back
up for a side-by-side restart, Sharp started where he left off by bolting bast pole-sitter Denny Fisher.
Sharp was quick, but ultimately too quick, as he ‘broke out’ of his qualifying time by more than .3 of a
second to bring out the caution flag and replacement to the rear of the field.
Sharp’s misfortune played into the hands of Sawyer Stout who inherited the lead. Knowing the competition
behind him, Stout began to blister the oval to a 1.47 second lead over them.
But lurking behind was Shirey, who was methodically pacing himself forward from his 7 th position starting
point. With a handful of cars between himself and Stout, Shirey got his break on lap 13 when Sharp spun in
turn two while trying to mount his charge back to the front.
Shirey had gotten up to the runner-up position and when they doubled-up for the restart, Shirey blasted past
Sawyer and it appeared the lights were out for the rest of the field. However, lapped traffic came into play
late in the stages and Shirey got caught up in it, allowing Stout to move within .1 second of the lead. Once
cleared of the traffic, Shirey again “fought” his car to a convincing lead.
With the top two runners of Shirey and Stout solid, all eyes were focused on the battle for third between
Lesiecki and defending champion Buchanan as they encountered the lapped traffic previously cleared by
the front running duo. As Lesiecki and Buchanan charged into turn one decisions had to be made. Lesiecki
chose the higher groove, while Buchanan opted to force a pass on the low side. Buchanan’s move was not
the optimum one and had to back off. Heading down the back chute Lesiecki maintained his spot on the
outside of the lapped traffic, while Buchanan again chose the low side, but got pinched, hit the binders and
spun his machine, to end his night of racing with two laps to go.
From that point forward, Shirey cruised to the win over Stout, with Lesiecki coming home third, followed by
Tyler Capodice and Clayton Karl.
Capodice claimed the Snow Otter Rookie of the Race honors, while Shirey took home the Lang’s
Automotive Hard Charger bonus with his advancement of six positions from start to finish. Brian Neubauer
received bonus money from Quest Restoration for being the final car on the lead lap, while Rich DeWitt
received similar money from Quest Restoration for being the final car running at the completion of 30 laps.
The Greg Willis/Howard Hanna OSS team moves to Lorain Raceway Park this Saturday (June 7) for the
Todd Gibson Memorial, presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts.
Results
Jim Valentine Fast Time – 27 Danny Shirey
Brian’s Automotive/Gibson Hoosier Tire Heat 1 – 1. 40 Sawyer Stout 2. 09 Tyler Capodice 3. 5 Todd Buchanan 4. 88 Frank Neill 5. 1Y Hunter Young 6. 7 Doug Neubauer 7. 69 Clayton Karl
Brian’s Automotive/Gibson Hoosier Tire Heat 2 – 1. 42 AJ Lesiecki 2. 27 Danny Shirey 3. 11 Kenny Sharp 4. 81 Denny Fisher 5. 57 Brian Neubauer 6. 16 Rich DeWitt
Smith’s Top Notch 30 Lap Feature – 1. 27 Danny Shirey 2. 40 Sawyer Stout 3. 42 AJ Lesiecki 4. 09 Tyler Capodice 5. 69 Clayton Karl 6. 81 Denny Fisher 7. 1Y Hunter Young 8. 88 Frank Neill 9. 57 Brian Neubauer 10. 16 Rich DeWitt 11. 5 Todd Buchanan 12. 11 Kenny Sharp 13. 7 Doug Neubauer
DNS – 2. Cody Gallogly 72. Joe Speakman
Quest Restoration Last Car on The Lead Lap Award – 57 Brain Neubauer
Quest Restoration Last Car Running Award – 16 Rich DeWitt