Write a commentOswego Speedway has been a hallmark of the city of Oswego for years, maintaining community ties in many ways—including autograph night.
Autograph night is one of the most attended events on their schedule, with parents bringing in their little ones to meet the drivers face-to-face on the very asphalt they race on.
This night is special for a lot of reasons. The children are fascinated by the cars and meeting their favorite local drivers, plus they get an autograph card souvenir and sometimes a sweet candy treat. It really does feel like trick-or-treating in the summer with all the candy sitting out on the cars for the kids.
The drivers really love this event, too, because they get to connect with their younger fans and make racing even more special for them to watch. One of these drivers is David Danzer, a supermodified driver that started in 2011. Danzer’s family has been involved with Oswego Speedway since the 1950s, so getting more and more people at the track to preserve its history is a high priority for him.
“It’s nice to get people interested in what we do here. We gotta get more people into what we do and try to get the fan base back up, so hopefully they keep doing more and more events like this to help bring in more people. Without the people, this place wouldn’t survive,” Danzer said.
Bringing in more fans definitely starts young, so getting kids interested in the events at their local speedway is a great way to keep a strong tie to the community as a whole. Even if the kids at autograph are already fans, it helps strengthen their passion after they have those small but memorable interactions with their favorite drivers. Small block supermodified driver Greg O’Connor agrees.
“Autograph night is nice because it helps them put a face to a name, to put a driver to the car. They get a closer look at the car and everything, too. I’ve been coming here since I was five and I’ve been driving since 2013 so being on the other side of it is nice,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor isn’t the only one that’s gone from childhood fan to Oswego Speedway driver. Many other current drivers found their current interest and passion for supermodified racing at events like autograph night in the past. Driver Cameron Rowe remembers taking his son to autograph night years ago, and they now share their love of racing every weekend.
“This is my son’s rookie year, and I think it’s awesome that he’s going to be able to follow in my footsteps. This is his first autograph night as a driver so it’s special to see it come full circle for him,” Rowe said.
Autograph night continues to be one of the most popular ways Oswego Speedway interacts with the community. The event brings the larger-than-life cars and drivers to their youngest fans and inspires them to continue fostering their love for racing.
