Matt Sheppard Earns King Of Dirt 358-Mod Win At Utica-Rome

Story By: ROB HAZER / KING OF DIRT – VERNON, NY – Over 100 drivers entered the pit area at Utica Rome Speedway to compete in King Of Dirt Racing events during Legends Night. A very large crowd of fans was not disappointed, as Matt Sheppard, Rocky Warner, Chuck Dumblewski, and Rob Yetman found their way to DKM Fabrication victory lane presented by R3 Graphics.

Headlining the triple header for King Of Dirt Racing were the stars and cars of the Elmo’s Auto Body Small Block Modified Series. Allison Ricci and Erick Rudolph led the field to the green flag; with Victoria champion Rudolph taking the early lead.

Mike Mahaney started 4th in the Buzzchew Chevrolet W-16 powered number 88 and wasted no time pressuring the Halmar number 55 ride of Ricci for the runner up spot. By lap five Mahaney riding the cushion had caught Rudolph, applied pressure, and made the pass to take the lead.

Red flag waived on lap nine for Muller and Sons Heavy Duty Towing number 19 of Jessey Mueller soft rolled over a yuke tire in turn four. Mueller to the amazement of the crowd fired his Cyclone Chassis back up and drove away. He would continue the feature event.

Back to green flag racing and Rudolph was back up on the wheel challenging to regain the lead he once had. He would make the pass on Mahaney to take the lead back on lap 10. Meanwhile there was a ‘superman’ and a ‘wild thing’ moving through the field.

Matt Sheppard who had fallen back on the start was in rhythm and moving forward with the CG Morey owned Crash Palace 14. After a spirited battle with the ‘white night’ Marc Johnson in his Electric City Taxi number 3J, Sheppard was in position to challenge for the top spot. On lap 23 the multi-time Super DIRTcar Series champion would seize the opportunity in traffic to take the lead from Rudolph.

Wild Thing Jeremy Wilder started 13th and impressed the masses in his brand new Cyclone chassis number 22. Wilder worked his way into the top five by lap 23 and was battling with Ronnie Davis III, Neil Stratton, and Bobby Varin for position.

Up front it Sheppard was working on sweeping Modified features on the evening and while Rudolph didn’t let him get too far away, he just couldn’t catch Sheppard who went on to win the 35-lap Small Block Modified feature. Rudolph crossed the line 2nd followed by Marc Johnson, Mike Mahaney, Jeremy Wilder, Ronnie Davis, Neil Stratton, Bobby Varin, Matt DeLorenzo, and Mike Maresca rounding out the top 10.

King Of Dirt Racing DIRTcar East Sportsman had a huge field on hand Sunday August 20th at Utica Rome Speedway. 47 competitors would vie for 24 qualifying positions. Defending KOD champion Connor Cleveland and young gun Jackson Gill would lead the field to the green flag, with Cleveland jumping out to the early lead.

Young AJ Miller found himself battling with some heavy hitting KOD/DIRTcar East tour drivers at Utica Rome. The youngster would find early pressure from former KOD champion Rocky Warner and former Nationals champion Chad Edwards for position in the top five.

By lap five Warner had the Jake Spraker 1J in the lead. Track regular Matt Janczuk enjoys when KOD comes to town despite having tough luck in series events. This time Janczuk was not answering the door when bad luck came knocking, as he rolled from 17th starting position to a 3rd place finish.

Central New York star and Weedsport winner Dave Marcuccilli was moving forward also. By lap 24 Marcuccilli had worked his way into the top five from his 10th place starting position.

It was all behind Rocky Warner though, as he rolled to his 3rd win on the KOD/DIRTcar East tour this season. He was followed by Kevin Root, Matt Janczuk, Dave Marcuccilli, and Chad Edwards rounding out the top five.

Root was later disqualified in post race tech for an illegal distributor moving David Schilling into the 5th position. Chris Mackey, Michael Sabia, Ronnie Davis III, Todd Root, and Kyle Inman rounded out the top 10.

The very first race of the evening was Lazzaro’s Auto Body King Of Dirt Racing Pro Stocks presented by Stone Motorsports rain delayed from June 18th. Byron Wescott and Dan Older led the field to the green flag, but ‘big cat’ Rob Yetman wasted no time going three wide and grabbing the lead by lap 4.

Behind them an intense battle shaped up between Jason Metlz, Nick Stone, Wescott, and Luke Horning for position inside the top five. Meltz would suffer mechanical failure and Horning a flat tire later in the event.

Jason Casey who was in front of the Dirt Rush cameras was charging. He worked his way up to 3rd position by lap 21, but nobody was catching Rob Yetman as he rolled to his first career KOD Pro Stock tour victory. Yetman was followed by Stone, Casey, Horning, and Wescott rounding out the top five.

In the second KOD Pro Stock Feature event Dan Older and Gus Hollner led the field to the green flag. Luke Horning hustled into the lead by lap two, while Krazy Kenny Martin was charging into the top five as well.

Things would get rather interesting by the mid way point as Jason Casey would suffer a flat tire. On the ensuing restart Stone, Yetman, and Horning were racing hard for the win and on lap 19 they went into turn one hot and heavy. Yetman made contact with the back of leader Nick Stone turning him around, which resulted in a trip to the tail of the field.

That left Cousin Luke Horning to assume the top spot, but he found pressure from a surprise source. The 2016 Fall Madness Most Popular Driver Chuck Dumblewski was hooked up and on lap 20 he’d assume the lead and ‘park it’ for his first career KOD Pro Stock tour win. Luke Horning, Mike Welch, Jon Routhier, and Byron Wescott rounded out the top five.

KOD NOTES: Over 100 competitors were in the pits competing in King Of Dirt Racing tour events Sunday August 20th at Utica Rome Speedway. Matt Sheppard claimed his 1st career KOD Small Block Modified win, Rocky Warner grabbed his 8th career KOD Sportsman win, Rob Yetman earned his 1st career KOD Pro Stock win, and Chuck Dumblewski parked it for his 1st career KOD Pro Stock win. Kevin Root was DQ’d for a rule infraction on the distributor.

NOTEABLE RUNS: Jeremy Wilder debuted his new Cyclone Chassis number 22 and drove to an impressive 5th place finish. Ronnie Davis III once again found himself earning a top 10 finish with his DIRTcar W-16 Small Block in 6th. Rocky Warner debuted a Small Block Modified at Utica Rome and was fast. Despite an early race jingle, Warner was able to finish 11th by the end of 35 laps.

Matt Janczuk typically struggles during KOD/DIRTcar East Sportsman tour events, but he found himself 2nd by the end of 30 laps this time around. Chad Edwards who admittedly struggles at Utica Rome had and impressive run battling inside the top five before ultimately finishing 4th, while David Schilling once again charged from the rear to finish near the front this time in 5th.

Rob Yetman and Chuck Dumblewski both picked up their first career KOD Pro Stock wins on unfamiliar territory. Jason Casey and Jon Routhier both had solid runs finishing top five in different feature events. Perhaps the most intriquing story of the night in the Pro Stock division was cousin Luke Horning and Byron Wescott were the only full fender drivers to finish top five in both feature events.

AUGUST 20, 2017 ELMO’S SPEED SUPPLY KING OF DIRT RACING SMALL BLOCK MODIFIED SERIES PRESENTED BY WILBER DUCK CHEVROLET FEATURE FINISH AT UTICA ROME SPEEDWAY (35 Laps) – 1) Matt Sheppard, 2) Erick Rudolph, 3) Marc Johnson, 4) Mike Mahaney, 5) Jeremy Wilder, 6) Ronnie Davis III, 7) Neil Stratton, 8) Bobby Varin, 9) Matt DeLorenzo, 10) Mike Maresca, 11) Rocky Warner, 12) Allison Ricci, 13) Brian Gleason, 14) Steve Way, 15) Don Ronca, 16) Brett Haas, 17) Tyler Meeks, 18) Randy Shantel, 19) Jack Lehner, 20) Lance Willix, 21) Dave Allen, 22) Jack Miller, 23) Elmo Reckner, 24) Michael Sabia, 25) Jessey Mueller, 26) Ricky Davis III, 27) Kevin Poitras, 28) Shaun Pangman, 29) Alan Johnson.

Heat Race Winners – Marc Johnson, Jessey Mueller, Alan Johnson, & Erick Rudolph
Lap Leaders – Erick Rudolph (1-5), Mike Mahaney (6-10), Erick Rudolph (11-22), Matt Sheppard (23-35)
Hoosier Tire Hard Charger – Bobby Varin (+20)
Fast Axle Superior Sixth – Ronnie Davis III
J-Tees Fast Timer – Alan Johnson (18.910)
Newcomer Of The Race – Jeremy Wilder (5th)

AUGUST 20, 2017 1-800-GOT-JUNK? KING OF DIRT RACING DIRTcar EAST SPORTSMAN SERIES PRESENTED BY ANDY’S SPEED SHOP, DODSON CONSTRUCTION, & DEAN’S ELECTRICAL FEATURE RESULTS AT UTICA ROME SPEEDWAY (30 Laps) – 1) Rocky Warner, 2) Matt Janczuk, 3) Dave Marcuccilli, 4) Chad Edwards, 5) David Schilling, 6) Chris Mackey, 7) Michael Sabia, 8) Ronnie Davis III, 9) Todd Root, 10) Kyle Inman, 11) Brian Pessolano, 12) Glenn Forward, 13) Scott Duell, 14) Tyler Trump, 15) Dave Moyer, 16) Jack Lehner, 17) Jeremy Pitts, 18) Connor Cleveland, 19) Jackson Gill, 20) Kevin Chaffee, 21) Jeff Watson, 22) AJ Miller, 23) Cody Hunt, 24) Stephen Dent, 25) Jeff Taylor, 26) Rob Maxon, 27) Andrew Buff, 28) AJ Filbeck, 29) Darryl Nutting, 30) Kevin Root (DQ-Distributor).

Heat Race Winners – AJ Miller, Rocky Warner, Brian Pessolano, Chris Mackey, & Chad Edwards
DTD Lap Leaders – Connor Cleveland (1-4), Rocky Warner (5-30)
Hoosier Tire Hard Charger – David Schilling (+19)
Andy’s Speed Shop $250 Bonus – Rocky Warner (1st)
Fast Axle Superior Sixth – Chris Mackey ($50 Certificate)
J-Tees Fast Timer – Dave Marcuccilli (19.881)
Killer Crate Newcomer Of The Race – Chris Mackey (6th)

JUNE 18, 2017 LAZZARO’S AUTO BODY KING OF DIRT RACING PRO STOCK SERIES PRESENTED BY STONE MOTORSPORTS FEATURE RESULTS AT UTICA ROME SPEEDWAY (30 LAPS) – 1) Rob Yetman, 2) Nick Stone, 3) Jason Casey, 4) Luke Horning, 5) Byron Wescott, 6) Jay Casey, 7) Mike Welch, 8) Kim Duell, 9) Shane Henderson, 10) Kenny Martin, 11) Chuck Dumblewski, 12) Jim Normoyle, 13) Devon Camenga, 14) Jon Routhier, 15) Aaron Page, 16) Jason Meltz, 17) Dan Older, 18) Rich Crane, 19) Gus Hollner, 20) Todd Hoffman (DNS), 21) Brandon Emigh (DNS).

Heat Race Winners – Luke Horning, Rob Yetman, & Gus Hollner
Dirt Dog Lap Leaders – Byron Wescott (1-3), Rob Yetman (4-30)
J-Tees Fast Timer – Luke Horning (23.641)
Hard Charger – Jason Casey (+8)
Newcomer Of The Race – Shane Henderson (9th)

AUGUST 20, 2017 LAZZARO’S AUTO BODY KING OF DIRT RACING PRO STOCK SERIES PRESENTED BY A1 INSTALLERS FEATURE RESULTS AT UTICA ROME SPEEDWAY (30 LAPS) – 1) Chuck Dumblewski, 2) Luke Horning, 3) Mike Welch, 4) Jon Routhier, 5) Byron Wescott, 6) Kenny Martin, 7) Nick Arnold, 8) Nick Stone, 9) Rob Yetman, 10) Shane Henderson, 11) Dan Older, 12) Rich Crane, 13) Jay Casey, 14) AJ Walters, 15) Devon Camenga, 16) Jason Casey, 17) Mike White, 18) Matt Roberts, 19) Kim Duell, 20) Gus Hollner, 21) Ernie Staelens, 22) Jim Normoyle, 23) Aaron page, 24) Jason Meltz.

Heat Race Winners – Nick Stone, Kim Duell, & Luke Horning
J-Tees Fast Timer – Nick Stone (22.638)
Dirt Dog Lap Leaders – Gus Hollner (1-2), Luke Horning (3-12), Nick Stone (13-19), Chuck Dumblewski (20-30)
Hoosier Tire Hard Charger – Byron Wescott (+10)
Newcomer Of The Race – Nick Arnold (7th)