Josh Sokolic, a 15 year-old student at West Genesee High School, will join the likes of Michael Barnes, Dan Connors Jr, Dalton Doyle, Josh Kerr, Anthony Losurdo, Camden Proud, and more as active Oswego drivers who made the step up from the Syracuse and Oswego County Quarter Midget Clubs to the fast 5/8ths mile that is the ‘Steel Palace.’

Despite preparing to now be the youngest competitor at the track, Sokolic has been racing for a solid 8 years and has collected five quarter midget championships, over 100 feature wins and multiple USAC Northeast Series regional wins along the way.

As longtime Oswego fans, this will certainly be a family effort for Josh and his father John, who recently purchased what originally was a potent creation put together by former SBS driver and car owner Ed Horne that received its latest updates from Ray Hedger. This car, to now be numbered 26, has seen a good amount of success over the years at Oswego driven most recently by Chris Lupa and Shannon Jones. It has also seen some trips to victory lane in its day courtesy of series all-time wins leader Mike Bond.

This past September, Sokolic made his Small Block Supermodified debut at the Evans Mills Speedway. After laying down dozens of practice laps in pre-race testing, ‘Stosh’ entered his first event which was the ‘Fall Brawl 50’ as part of the Lighthouse Lanes SBS Series. It was a learning experience that saw the No. 26 click off several more laps that proved to be vital seat time for the up and coming young driver.

With his first SBS start out of the way, Sokolic now turns to a full-time Oswego campaign in 2018 with a goal of no more than to simply get acclimated to what is a very different type of race car for the quarter midget graduate.

“My goals this year are to get used to the different size and speed of the car, stay out of trouble and finish races,” Sokolic said. “We want to get as much practice and learning time in as possible, but compete when we can and also learn what I can from the veteran drivers. Hopefully that allows me to get better every time out.”

With a great support system already formed thanks to sponsors All Weather Power Equipment, Lakeland Auto Repair, Northern Property Services, and The First Tee Syracuse as well as presence on social media at Facebook.com/Joshua-Sokolic-Racing and on Instagram @joshua_sokolic_racing, there is no question that the Camillus native is ready for a full-scale assault on the Small Block Super class this coming season.

At least one other driver is expected to contend with Sokolic for Small Block Supermodified Rookie of the Year honors in 2018. To keep tabs on driver registrations as well as future announcements, be sure to visit online at OswegoSpeedway.com. You can also FOLLOW on Twitter @OswegoSpeedway or LIKE on Facebook at Facebook.com/OswegoSpeedway.

The full 2018 schedule for Oswego Speedway, set to open with the first ever running of the Jim Shampine Memorial Twin 50’s on Saturday, May 26, has been posted online at OswegoSpeedway.com. Season ticket information, pricing, and time schedules will be added after the 1st of the year. All kids 16 and under will remain FREE with a paid adult this coming season.

All-Time Oswego Speedway Small Block Supermodified Rookie of the Year Winners (1993-2017):

2017 - Tony Pisa

2016 - None

2015 - Alex McRae

2014 - Camden Proud

2013 - Jeremy Pitcher

2012 - Jon Tesoriero

2011 - David LaTulip

2010 - Michael Bruce

2009 - Andrew Schartner

2008 - Kreig Heroth

2007 - Rick Zeigler

2006 - Larry Muroski

2005 - Josh LaRochelle

2004 - Ryan Coleman

2003 - Dave Gruel

2002 - Tony White

2001 - Dan Kapuscinski

2000 - Chris Proud

1999 - Dan Ferlito

1998 - Bod Andrews

1997 - Mark VanLuven

1996 - Billy Izyk

1995 - Charlie Pike

1994 - Bobby Bond

1993 - Scott Landers