Special Program Set To Roll Wednesday At Utica-Rome; $10 General Admission
Story By: JOHN TIFF / UTICA-ROME SPEEDWAY – VERNON, NY – The 2019 season is off to a wet start at the Utica-Rome Speedway, but track officials are hoping to break the bad weather luck this Wednesday night.
With so many rainouts to start the season, speedway promoters Bill and Kim Shea have added Wednesday night, May 15 to the schedule to serve as the season opener for the 2019 racing season. To show appreciation to our fans admission for Wednesday’s show is just $10 while kids 16 and under remain free.
The program, sponsored by VP Racing Fuels, features the DirtTrackDigest.com DIRTcar 358-Modifieds, the Broedel Fuel Group DIRTcar Sportsman, the Ted’s Body Shop DIRTcar Pro Stocks and the newly named Bernie’s Extreme Performance Parts Rookie Sportsman. This event serves as the opening round for the chase for the 2019 season championship and drivers will also gain points toward the Hoosier Racing Tire Weekly Championship.
Mother Nature and recent sponsor additions have also forced the track to make additional changes to the 2019 schedule. The VP Racing Fuels Summer Shootout Series for the DIRTcar Sportsman is now slated to take the speedway on Sunday, May 26 along with a full program for weekly divisions and the first stop by the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints.
The DIRTcar 358-Modified Series that was slated for this past Sunday has been rescheduled for July 21st. That was an off day for DIRTcar 358-Modified teams at other facilities allowing Utica-Rome Speedway to take advantage.
Due to all the wet weather and the addition of Bernie’s Extreme Performance Parts as the Rookie Sportsman division sponsor they are now slated to compete each Sunday night for the remainder of the 2019 racing season.
Pit gates on Wednesday will open at 4:30 pm while spectator gates swing open at 5:30 pm with the heat races beginning promptly at 7 pm for opening night on Wednesday. Adult general admission for the opener is set for just $10 while kids 16 and under are free. Pit admission for the night is $27 for DIRTcar members and $30 for non-members.
Utica-Rome Kartway Ready for Action on Sunday, May 19
This coming Sunday the big track at Utica-Rome will sit idle as the stars of tomorrow will get their first opportunity of the season to compete on the Utica-Rome Kartway in 2019.
Sunday’s event is the first of three events scheduled for the Utica-Rome Kartway in 2019. The next two events are scheduled for Sunday, June 30 and Sunday, July 14. There are 11 different divisions slated for competion for the opening program.
Kids divisions scheduled for Sunday include: Jr. Red Clone (5-7 yrs., 225 lbs.), Jr. Green Clone (7-9 yrs., 250 lbs.), Jr. Purple Clone (9-13 yrs., 275 lbs.), Jr. Blue Clone (12-15 yrs., 300 lbs.), Jr. II Flathead (12-15 yrs, 285 lbs) and Jr. lll Flathead (12-15 yes, 300 lbs).
These divisions are a $15 entry fee with trophies on the line in each division.
The adult classes scheduled to hit the track this Sunday are: Clone 340 (15 & up), Clone 375 (15 & up), Clone 400 (15 & up, Driver 190 lbs. with gear), Sr. Winged Champ (16 & up) and Sr. Flathead 375 (15 & up).
These divisions are $25 each to register with a payback of 80% of entry fees in each division.
Drivers will draw for starting positions in their heat race with a heads up start from the heats lining up the feature events.
Pit gates for the Utica-Rome Kartway open at 10 am with hot laps slated for Noon. Racing action will get underway promptly at 1 pm. Admission is $15.
