CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For nearly 20 years, Canadian supermodified competitor Warren Coniam was a threat to win every time he went out on the track at the famed Oswego Speedway, a track located just a few miles from Lake Ontario in Oswego, New York.
On the latest episode of the Inside Groove Podcast powered by Indy Performance Composites, host Tom Baker presents an encore presentation of a full-length interview he conducted with the driver always known as “The Snake” for the way he would strike quickly to pass a competitor in traffic. Coniam won two track championships and was twice crowned winner of the richest supermodified race on the planet – the Budweiser International Classic. His last classic win was in 1987, and he decided to retire at the end of that season.
Just a few years later, another Coniam would take to the fast 5/8-mile Oswego oval in the form of Warren’s son Ryan. Ryan raced go-karts for a short time before heading south of the border to compete in the small block supermodified class at Oswego. Ryan’s engineering background carried him further south to NASCAR, where he worked for multiple teams, ending that chapter as crew chief for Regan Smith at the now defunct Furniture Row Racing. Ryan and Regan were pivotal in laying the foundation for the later success that Martin Truex had in the car.
Eventually, Ryan returned to his sprint car racing roots and still competes in his No. 46 to this day, chasing wins everywhere he goes.
This episode is packed full of stories from the 60’s to present day and covers a wide swath of the motorsports landscape.