Ciprich Wins After Coniam's Great Ride

Paladium Times Tuesday Sep 4, 1979
Article written by Bill Foley

Jim Shampime stood in the pits as people filed out of the Oswego Speedway last night and said, "There is just no justice in this race. This can be mean to you." Sharnpine was talking about his lack of luck in the International Classic, but Steve Gioia .Jr, Warren Coniam, Ron Wallace, Bentley Warren, Jerry Buskey along with others probably felt the same way at the conclusion of the 200 lap event.

The International Classic was run on Labor Day afternoon as the result of a downpour on Sunday night which washed out tne action and drenched the campers, crews and drivers.

The 1979 Classic was well worth waiting for as it was packed with excitement. Chuck Ciprich became only the second man in the history of the event to win in consecutive years as he inherited the lead with 15 laps to go when leader Warren Coniam was black flagged with a split oil tank. Ciprich and runner up Dave Shullick ran in the wake of Coniam's oil for many laps before officials black flagged the rear engine Jim Shampine owned machine. Ciprich noted, "There was a lot of oil out there and I had used all my shields, I just couldn't race with all the oil. It was a tough break for Coniam as he was running well." Runner up Shullick echoed disdain for the situation as he said, "The only problem I had was I couldn't see. I had to watch the sun's reflection off the track on order to find the groove."

Dispite the oil problems Coniam was the talk of the race as he found himself down a lap after a refueling stop on the 79th lap. He drove the high groove and unlapped himself by the 122nd lap. On the 125th go around, Steve Gioia Jr, who spun out just past the 100 lap mark when his oil filter blew, slammed into the wall coming off the fourth turn after his rear axle had snapped. Gioia's misfortune was a break for Coniam who raced around the track and tucked himself at the tail end of the pack.

On the restart the rear engine machine roared to life and the crowd of well over 15,000 came to life as Coniam moved past car after car. On the 158th lap he got by Gary Allbritain for third and two laps later caught Ohio's Dave Shullick in traffic to race into second. Finally on the 170th lap Coniam roared under Ciprich coming off the second turn and the crowd was in a frenzy as the 6 raced in front.
With 20 laps to go Coniam was pulling away from the field and had victory in sight. The rear engine machine appeared to be dumping something on the track and officials watched closely as Ciprich and Shullick kept waving at pitside observers in an effort to indicate Coniam was obstructing their view. On the 185th lap the black flag was displayed and a disappointed Coniam headed for the pits. Unknown to the thousands at trackside was that Coniam was extremely low on fuel and it was doubtful he could have finished. Ciprich then grabbed the lead and Shullick challenged but a rear end problem forced him to nurse the machine home in second.

The only battle for position during the final few laps was for third as Doug Heveron got past Joe Paeno on the last lap. A disappointed Paeno said, "I ran out of fuel with two laps to go and just had to nurse the car home."

The 1979 Classic got off to a fast start as pole sitter Shampine led the first 74 laps. Caution flags marred the early going as on the 28th lap Brian Herb's rear axle snapped, while on the 36th go around something broke on Ed Thompson's car forcing him into the wall on the front straight. Not long after, Brad Thrall took a wild ride as he went over the wheel of Paul Richardson. Thrall slammed head on into the third turn wall and flipped the machine. The car was totaled but he walked away uninjured.

Two incidents on the 74th lap played a key role in the race as Shampine and Coniam were battling for the lead heading into the first turn. as they attempted to lap John Spencer, the driver of the 23 had problems and the car got sideways. Shampine came into contact with him and a broken steering arm forced the Pine into the pits for the day. Coniam also headed to the pits at this time but problems during his restart set him back a lap.
While all the action was taking place in the first turn, Dave Thomas roared into the third turn and discovered he was without brakes. He flew over the Jerry busky machine and into the steel wall. Thomas was shaken and his car was destroyed. On the 91st lap, Allbritain moved into the lead for the first time but seven laps later Gioia came through fourth turn traffic to take the lead. Gioia appeared to have the situation well in hand but on the 104th lap the 9 went spinning down the back straight as the oil filter blew. He continued around to the pits, but Bentley Warren got caught in the slick stuff and stuffed the Snyder machine into the wall.

Shullick inherited the lead for the next 50 laps as he held off Ciprich and Allbritain while Coniam made his comeback through the field. Around the 160th lap Ciprich roared in front for the first time as he caught Shullick in heavy traffic heading down the front straght. Coniam capped off his drive on the 170th lap as he gained the front spot but the fateful black flag ended his hopes with 15 to go.

With five laps to go third place Allbritain was in the pits with engine problems, but he came back for a top ten finish. Following Ciprich accross the line were Shullick, Heveron and Paeno while jim Cheney in the Gioia back up machine drove to a fine 5th place finish, after a pit stop for debris caught under his car. Dick Batchelder was 6th while Allbritain settled for 7th. Mike Rizzo had his best Classic finish ever in eighth while Bob Stelter ran into problems in the late going and was shuffled from fourth to ninth. rounding out the top 10 was Fulton's Den Wheeler.

The 1979 Classic had something for everyone. It was by far the most exciting Classic of all time as drivers battled constantly for the lead. It was a $13,000 payday for Ciprich, but for many others it was a race which meant heartbreak. Shampine was right when he said, "There is no justice in this race."

Pit notes:
Jamie Moore was forced to change an engine yesterday after he developed problems... semi qualifiers included Thomas, Thrall, Wallace, Shoberlein, Richardson, Brian Mackereth, Wheeler, Howie Brown, Brad Lichty, Kevin Lyons, jim Mayfild, Kevin Wheelock and Skip Smith... Hal Latulip sat on the bubble... Ollie Silva and wayne Landon were watching the action as they both left their cars home... Geoff Bodine was qualified but ran a modified at Stafford yesterday thus allowing Thomas the chance to drive in the Classic... Lyons and Dean Hoag suffered foot burns during the long race... Ron Wallace qualified for his 23rd Classic... Ciprich and Paeno will be on WSGO's Sports Scene tonight at seven.