Oswego Mayor Robert Corradino poked his head out the side door of the dump truck, fixated on the pile of dirt sliding out the bed of the truck onto Oswego Speedway’s asphalt.
Moments later, Super DIRTcar Series driver Tim Sears Jr. drove up with his GPS guided Dozer and pushed that pile into a precise flat layer as part of the early process of turning the “Steel Palace” into the “Clay Palace” for Super DIRT Week 52 (Oct. 7-12).
The day marked the kickoff of “Super DIRT Week Season” in Oswego, NY as the Northeast’s biggest dirt racing event will nearly double the population of the city for the week. Every year, more than 30,000 people attend the event throughout the week, boosting the tourism and revenue for local businesses.
“From the city standpoint, we certainly love to have (Super) DIRT Week in our community,” Corradino said. “The economic boost we get from sales tax and bed tax and all the activities in the city is wonderful. Normally, October is not a busy month here in Oswego. To have it here is great.”
In his first year as Oswego mayor, Corradino got to experience the transformation of Oswego Speedway into a venue that will bring in hundreds of drivers across the Super DIRTcar Series, DIRTcar 358 Modifieds, DIRTcar Sportsman and DIRTcar Pro Stocks and thousands of fans from across the country.
“It’s amazing how much work and how much manpower is needed for this,” Corradino said. “I didn’t realize. I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve been here during the tenure of DIRT Week and to see all the work and preparation that goes into this, it truly is amazing to see all the work.”
The process of turning the speedway into the home for Super DIRT Week is a multi-week project, consisting of dumping about 500 truckloads of clay around the 5/8-mile dirt track – led by John Wight and his crew – building ticket offices around the facility, prepping the grounds for more than 900 campers, closing part of Albany Street to be used as the front stretch midway, putting up miles of event signage and more.
“While drivers and fans see a fresh race ready facility when they arrive in October, there is months of planning and a year’s worth of work that goes into making sure every detail is accounted for,” said Jeff Hachmann, executive director of events for Super DIRT Week. “When it comes time to make Oswego our home and turn the speedway into a dirt track, we come in having left no stone unturned.
“It’s our goal every year to give Oswego and everyone that’s a part of Super DIRT Week an experience they’ll never forget. And that extends from the racing on track to the fun off the track.”
From increased purses for the drivers to increased activities for the fans, this year’s Super DIRT Week will be the biggest yet at Oswego Speedway.
All four of the week’s biggest Features will run on a new night as this year’s schedule was pushed back a day, putting the DIRTcar 358 Modified Salute to the Troops 150 and DIRTcar Pro Stock 50 on Friday night (Oct. 11) and the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 and DIRTcar Sportsman Chevrolet Performance 75 on Saturday (Oct. 12).
Off track, there’s never been more fan activities. There will be music Wednesday through Saturday with a pre-race concert Wednesday through Friday at noon, a DJ Party every night Wednesday through Friday after the races at the Island Stage, and live concerts Friday night (by Infinity at 10 p.m.) and Saturday night (by Oswego’s ColdFront at 11 p.m.) at the Island Stage.
Fans will get to see 50 of the events’ race cars up close and on the streets of Oswego during the City of Oswego Parade on Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 12 p.m.
There will be various games and activities for fans to participate in Wednesday through Saturday at the front stretch stage. Saturday will also feature an autograph session with the Top 30 Super DIRTcar Series starters at 1 p.m. in the front stretch midway.
The week starts bright and early on Sunday, Oct. 6, at 9 a.m. with early camper and team load-in. Then, the event will officially kickoff at Lighthouse Lanes (in front of Oswego Speedway) at 6 p.m. with free pizza and wings, beer specials and bowling.
Dropping the clay is one step in a long line of items to get to that fun and bring Oswego “Racing’s Biggest Party.”
“It’s a world-class event…” Corradino said.
Tickets to Super DIRT Week 52 at Oswego Speedway are available by CLICKING HERE. For the full schedule of events, CLICK HERE.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.
