The future looks bright for Super DIRT Week at Oswego

Brian Carter is the owner and CEO of the World Racing Group that just completed a successful Super DIRT Week 52 at the Oswego Speedway last week.
“It was by far our most successful Super DIRT Week in the nine years the event has been run at Oswego,” said Carter. “The racing was good, attendance was great, track conditions were smooth and fast and we had a record car count of 313.
“Our crowds help fill up the hotels, restaurants and bars in town and it’s a big boost to the economy of the city of Oswego. Lets face it, Oswego is a race town like Williams Grove, Eldora or Knoxville. With their great 60-year history of running supermodifieds and the International Classic 200 is now coupled with the biggest dirt modified race in the country. It’s a great fit.”
The World Racing Group also has a great relationship with Oswego Speedway owners John and Eric Torrese. “We’re under contract with Oswego for Super DIRT Week through 2026,” said Carter. “New York State has been helping us for keeping Super DIRT Week in Central New York after the NYS Fairgrounds Mile closed in 2016 and that contract also runs through 2026.”
The DIRT group is also taking an active part in the Oswego community. The 4th annual Super DIRT Week charity golf tournament last week at the Radisson Greens Club raised over $20,000 for several local charities.
The World Racing Group does more than just sanction DIRT racing. Fifteen dirt touring series’ are under the WRG. umbrella. Included in this group are the World of Outlaws Sprint and Late Model tours, UMP modifieds, Extreme midgets and the ASCS Sprint Tour that are just part of the massive sanctioning group. The World Racing Group will run over 5000 events in 2024 and pay out over seventeen million dollars in prize money this year.
Numbers for the Dirtvision streaming package were also up this season and Oswego Super DIRT racing was seen throughout the country.
John Wight of the Gypsum Express Company was in charge of preparing the ⅝-mile Oswego clay, and the smooth, fast conditions produced new track records in all four classes in qualifying last Thursday. Eric Fink, who preps the Brewerton and Fulton tracks for Wight was running the Oswego operation.
Wight’s group will now remove all the clay and store it behind the backstretch stands to be used next October for Super DIRT Week 53.
Brian Carter bought the World Racing Group back in 2003 when it was a public company. He bought out the existing shareholders and returned it to a private company. He now has a staff of over 200 full-timers and has one of the biggest short-track sanctioning groups in the country.
Hoag Memorial: The Hoag Memorial Weekend is set to roll this Friday and Saturday night at the Outlaw Speedway in Dundee.
Friday’s program is topped off with a $4,000-to-win Empire Super Sprint feature, along with qualifiers for modifieds, street stocks, sportsman and 4-cylinder classes. Race time is 7 p.m.
Saturday’s modified feature pays $7,777.77 to win; sportsmen get $5,017.17 for a victory and street stocks get $2,777.77. Race time is 3 p.m.
Whelen mods: The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour heads into its final two races with Ronnie Silk holding a slim five-point lead over Justin Bonsignore and 21 over Patrick Emerling in their battle for the 2024 Whelen championship
Sunday, the Whelen mods have a 150-lap test at the North Wilkesboro, North Carolina Speedway. The race had to be rescheduled two weeks after weather issues from Hurricane Helene. Race time is 2 p.m.
The Whelen season ends with a 200-lap finale at the Martinsville (Virginia) Speedway on Saturday, October 26 at 8 p.m. Both Whelen events will be streamed on Flo Racing.
Brockville Fall Nationals: The DIRT 358 mods and sportsman headline Friday’s Fall Nationals program at the Brockville (Ontario) Speedway. The 358’s run a 50-lap feature, while the sportsman run a 40-lapper. The DIRT big-block modifieds are idle this week.
Saturday night, the Fall Nationals winds up with a 100-lap/$10,000-to-win main event for the 358’s. Quebec’s Felix Roy leads Lance Willix by 16 points and can wrap up the 2024 DIRT 358 title with a seventh-place finish or better.
Brookfield finale: The Brookfield Speedway on the Madison County Fairgrounds closes out its 2024 season on October 26 at 3 p.m. Sportsman, pro stocks, 600 mods and slingshots make up the four classes competing.