Weather Pushes Back First On-Track Activity At Utica-Rome
Story By: JOHN TIFF / UTICA-ROME SPEEDWAY – VERNON, NY – The upcoming 2017 season opener at the Utica-Rome Speedway, scheduled for Sunday April 2, has been cancelled due to a recent winter storm and the accompanying snow melt that has followed the storm.
Winter Storm Stella dumped 40” of snow on the speedway, which has made preparations for the scheduled opener nearly impossible to the wet grounds as the snow began to melt. The “Chill Factor” was to feature a $3,000 to win event for the Gates-Cole Auto Insurance Modifieds plus a $1,000 to win show for the Broedel Energy DIRTcar Sportsman.
Action will now begin on the track on April 23 when Budweiser presents the start of points season for the Gates-Cole Auto Insurance DIRTcar Modifieds, Broedel Energy DIRTcar Sportsman, and DIRTcar Pro Stocks plus the first ever Gladiator Twin 20’s for the 360 Sprints. The pit gates will open at 12:30 p.m. while the grandstands will open at 2 p.m. Racing is set to begin at 4p.m.
Competitors are reminded that a DIRTcar license is needed to compete in any of the DIRTcar sanctioned divisions and are encouraged to purchase a license beforehand to help alleviate any opening night lines. To help competitors do this, Bill and Kim Shea are hosting a pre-season pizza party at the Utica-Rome Speedway Club, which is located directly in front of the speedway in the former Tombstone Saloon location. $30 of each license purchased from Utica-Rome Speedway will be directly put into the 2017 drivers point fund. The party starts at 5 p.m. and will continue until 1 a.m.
For complete schedule information including start times, admission, and more be sure to log on to www.uticaromespeedway.com. You can also like are Facebook page to receive all the latest news and follow us on Twitter. The speedway office can be contacted by calling (315)829-4557.
