Utica-Rome’s Ready To Go With “Friday Night Dirt Double” Featuring All-Star Sprints & 358-Mods
Story By: JOHN TIFF / UTICA-ROME SPEEDWAY – VERNON, NY – On August 17, Utica-Rome Speedway roars to life for a rare Friday night race night when Tony Stewart’s Arctic Cat All-Star Circuit of Champions Series for 410 Sprints comes to town, which will feature some of the best Sprint Car drivers in the country.
Filling out the card on Wilber Duck Chevrolet night with the “Friday Night Dirt Double” will the 358-Modifieds for a special $2,000 to win event.
The 2018 season for the All-Stars has been a very competitive one so far, with one of the best traveling lineups in the series long and storied history. Currently, Aaron Reutzel of Clute TX leads the standings by just four points over California’s Carson Macedo. Chad Kemenah sits in third in the rankings followed by Jac Haudenschild, former NASCAR Cup driver Dave Blaney, Paul McMahan, Parker Price-Miller, Cale Conley, Brandon Spithaler, and Carl Bowser.
This past weekend at the 58th annual Knoxville Nationals, three All-Star regulars finished in the top 10 with Reutzel finishing in fourth, Macedo in sixth, and Kemenah in seventh. It was an emotion filled week for Macedo as he filled in for the late Jason Johnson in the family owned #41 for both the 360 and 410 portions of the Nationals. Macedo would win a preliminary A-Main before finishing second in the 360 Nationals, followed by his sixth place run in the Nationals a week later.
A full field of 410 Sprints is expected with full-time members Reutzel, Macedo, Kemenah, Haudenschild, Blaney, McMahan, Conley, Spithaler, Bowser, Brock Zearfoss, Tyler Esh, and Smith have committed so far, along with former NASCAR champion Tony Stewart and the legendary Sammy Swindell. Other drivers that have made a commitment for this Friday include Mike Mahaney, Coleman Gulick, Paulie Colagiovanni, Gerard McIntyre, Darren Schott, John Garvin, Justin Barger, Brent Matus, Brandon Matus, and Anthony Fiore.
A full program for the 358-Modifieds is also planned for a 30-lap $2,000 to win, $150 to start event. The 358-Modifieds will run under King of Dirt/Albany-Saratoga rules with Hoosier tires while the Open Sportsman have been invited to compete with the 358-Modifieds as well. The Open Sportsman under the rules common in the Southern Tier track, complete with two barrel carburetors and American Racer tires.
Gates will open at 4 p.m. with racing set to begin at 7 p.m. Adult admission for this huge show is $30 for adults with Seniors, Students, and Military admission set at $27. Grandstand admission for under 16 is $5 while pit admission is $35.
