OSWEGO, NY (October 17) – William Caruso, one of the founding members of Oswego Speedway and former Vice President of Operations for over 40 years, passed away on October 16 at the VA Hospital in Syracuse at the age of 91.
Mr. Caruso also served as the Speedway’s Chief Technical Inspector for many years and was known as one of the most well-liked and respected officials during his long tenure.
Oswego Speedway was built in 1951 under the guidance of Harry, George, and William Caruso as they converted the one time Wine Creek horse track into a 3/8 mile dirt auto racing facility. The track was paved during 1952 and remained a 3/8 mile Speedway until 1961 when it was enlarged to its current 5/8 mile size. Since 1962, Oswego Speedway has been the Home of Supermodified racing, and for many years now has been the only facility in the country to run full blown Supermodified racecars on a weekly basis.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday from St. Peter’s Church. There will be no calling hours.
A complete obituary will appear in Thursday’s edition of The Palladium-Times. Arrangements are in care of Dowdle Funeral Home.
About Oswego Speedway: Oswego Speedway, a sports entertainment company, is a 5/8 mile semi-banked pavement racing oval located off the shores of Lake Ontario in scenic Oswego, NY. Oswego Speedway has been a continuously run weekly racing venue since August, 1951. The premier open-wheel pavement short track cars in the world, Supermodifieds, run weekly at Oswego Speedway making Oswego the only weekly Supermodified racing venue in the world. The Small Block Supermodifieds accompany the full blown Supers on a weekly Saturday night schedule which runs from May through September. Oswego Speedway is mentioned in racing circles as the “Indy of the East,” as no fewer than a dozen past and present competitors have competed at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway including Mario Andretti, arguably the greatest driver of all time, two-time Indy 500 champion Gordon Johncock, along with former International Classic Champions Bentley Warren, Joe Gosek, and Davey Hamilton.
Oswego Speedway is honored to recognize several sponsors and corporate partners that help to bring the racing action to you each Saturday night (listed alphabetically): All Seasons Inn, Alliance Bank, Bacc Off, Best Western/Quality Inn, Blue Bowl Sanitation, Bonded Motor Sales, Bosco & Geers, Bracy’s Transmission Services, Bridge Street Jewelers, Brioschi Pharmaceuticals International LLC, Burke’s Home Centers, Burritt Motors, Butler Disposal, Canales Restaurant, Canales Insurance, Century 21 Galloway Realty, Chris Nelson Insurance, Cleaning for a Reason, City Electric, CNY CPR, Coca-Cola, Compass Federal Credit Union, Constellation Energy, Corr-Pak, CPS Electric, C’s Beverage Center, Davis Bros. Meats, Days Inn/Travelodge, Dufore’s Jewelers, Dunkin Donuts, Eagle Beverage, Ellsworth Heating and Cooling, Entergy Northeast, Ferris Industries, Gater Racing News, Green & Seifter CPA, G&I Homes, H. Lee White Marine Museum, Hofmann’s, GMAC Insurance, Gioia Signs, Hoosier Racing Tire, Hudson Dairy, Jerome Fire Equipment, Johnston’s Propane, John Costello & Associates, K&G Lodge, Lighthouse Lanes, Longley Dodge, Marollo Racing Engines, May’s Country Store, McCaffrey Chiropractic, Mickey’s Magical Vacation, Munski’s Auto and Marine, Novelis, Ontario Orchards, Oswego County Federal Credit Union, Oswego Health, Oswego Inn, OTB/Western Region, Oswego Quality Carpet, The Palladium-Times, Par-K Enterprises, Pathfinder Bank, Outdoor Power West, Performance Harley Davidson, Pizza Villa, Ponderosa, The Post-Standard, Precision Balancing, Press Box, Price Chopper, Pullen’s Plumbing, RE Davis and Son, RJ Caruso Tax & Accounting, Rudy’s Lakeside, S&S Tractor, Scriba Electric, Scriba Meats, Shapiro Motor Sales, Sharon’s Hair Gallery, Speedway Press, Steve Abt Auto, Stop DWI – Oswego County, Sunset RV Park, Supercuts, Terrell’s Potato Chips, Thunder Road Bar and Grill, Turning Stone Casino and Resort, Universal Metal Works, Vashaw’s Collision Service, Yogi Bear’s Jelly Stone Park.
From- Dan Kapuscinski/ Public Relations Specialist-Oswego Speedway
Discussion about this post