UTICA-ROME SPEEDWAY CHAMPIONS HONORED AT AWARDS BANQUET VERNON, NY- The final chapter in the 2008 Utica-Rome Speedway season was written this past Saturday, November 8, when the annual Awards Banquet was held at the Turning Stone Casino and Resort in Verona NY. Over 430 attendees watched as the top ten drivers in each of the weekly divisions were recognized for their efforts, along with several special awards. Pat Ward, of Genoa NY, took home the lion’s share of the huge 358-Modified point fund as he took home a check worth $8,000 for his first ever Utica-Rome Speedway championship. Throughout the season, Ward collected eight wins in his Gypsum Express entry along with 13 top five finishes in point competition. Coming in second in the final standings was Vernon’s Willy Decker, a former two time champion, who had grabbed three wins during the ’08 season. Next up was Sharon Springs native and 2008 New Yorker 200 winner Bobby Varin. While Varin went through the regular season winless, he saved his best for last as he took the win in season ending $10,000 to win New Yorker 200. 2007 defending track champion Stewart Friesen endured a tough second half of the season that saw him drop from a very competitive second in the standings to fourth at season’s end. Despite the frustrating end of the season, the young driver from Niagara-on-the-Lake Ontario came up with four wins during the season at the Vernon oval. North Norwich’s Mitch Gibbs came into the season with a new team and high hopes but an early season bone jarring crash derailed his season and even though he had some chances at victory during the season, Gibbs went winless and rounded out the top five point positions. Oneida’s Paul Kinney came home sixth in the standings driving his Nice n’ Easy sponsored entry to five top five finishes. Veteran Utica-Rome driver Jamie Christian came home in seventh in the final rundown in his self owned jc61 mount. Competing his first full season at the Utica-Rome Speedway was Ballston Spa’s Jimmy Davis, although winless this season, Davis showed that he could run with the best of them as he ran up front on many occasions. Davis finished the season with six top five finishes to finish in eighth in the standings. Ted Lamb, from Clay, turned up the heat in the final few races in ’08 after a bad crash in the early part of the season, finishing with a second and win in the final two regular season events. Overall, Lamb had three top five finishes to go with his lone win to grab the ninth spot in final rundown. Veteran Edmeston driver Paul Jensen rounded out the top ten in the standings. Jensen’s return to the weekly wars at the Utica-Rome Speedway saw him with one top five finish overall. In the Sportsman division, Brad Alger took center stage as he was honored for his first ever track championship at the Vernon. Alger completed the season with four wins during regular competition along with nine top fives. Alger also followed the Dart Dirt Race of Champions Sportsman tour, where he had also was champion. The driver that chased Alger all year at Utica-Rome and on the RoC tour was Matt Janczuk. Janczuk consistently finished up front as he also collected nine top fives to go with his one victory. Jeremy Vunk, another RoC series regular, grabbed one win on the season with 11 top fives to finish a competitive third in the standings. After a season of knocking on victory lane’s door, fourth place finisher Jason Rood grabbed that elusive win late in the season to help cement his point standing. Rood had eight top fives during the season. Steve Way rounded out the top five in the competitive division, grabbing two wins and seven top fives in point competitions. Jeff Leslie took home the honors for finishing in the sixth position in the final Sportsman standings, finishing with five top five runs. Tim Nye was next in line, finishing seventh on the strength of his three top five finishes. The rest of the top ten were made up of seasoned veterans, with Jim Rothwell coming home in eighth with five top fives. Next up in the ninth spot was defending champion and two time winner Mike Button who also had four top fives to go along with his two wins. Rounding out the top ten was Jack Miller, returning to weekly competition after a few seasons off. Miller finished the season with one top five finish. Jim Normoyle was a model of consistency in the Pro Stock which carried him to his first ever Utica-Rome Speedway title with three top fives and an incredible 14 top five finishes. Normoyle took center stage during the Pro Stock portion of the program as he was honored for the hard fought title. Finishing in the runner-up position was Rob Seavy, who made a late season charge in the standings to grab the position. Seavy ended his season with one win and 11 top fives. Former track champion Tom Denton was next in line, finishing third after netting two wins and seven top fives. Another former track champion was fourth in the final rundown as Bret Belden took home three victories in ’08 along with eight top fives. Rounding out the top five was Bill Knapp, who had a fine season with one win and 12 top fives. Shawn Frost surprised many in ’08 by grabbing four wins on the season to go along with 10 top five finishes to net him the sixth spot in the standings. Next up in seventh was Mark Effner, who finished the season with one win and nine top fives. Ed Ostrander ended up in the eighth spot, with a one top five. Rounding out the top ten in the Pro Stocks was AJ Digsby who had one win and two top fives and Dave Moyer who ended up with one top five. Ever since Russ Marsden started racing at the Utica-Rome Speedway as a weekly competitor, Russ Marsden has dominated victory lane and taken home the honor of being the Utica-Rome Speedway Pure Stock champion, but the 2008 season saw that change. Chris Carr broke Marsden’s championship streak at four as he was officially named the 2008 Utica-Rome Speedway Pure Stock champion this past Saturday. Carr finished the season with two wins and an impressive 15 top five finishes. Marsden finished two points shy to take the second spot. Marsden finished the season with seven victories and 14 top fives as well as being the SUNY Canton Street Stock Series champion. Ron Hawker completed the season in the third spot with three wins and 13 top fives. Next in the fourth spot was Phil Norman who took home one win to go with his 11 top fives. Rounding out the top five in the standings with two wins and four top fives was Tim Janczuk. Frank Hyatt finished in the sixth spot with three top fives followed by one time winner Chris Cunningham, who had two top five runs. Waylan Wilczek (two top fives), Cale Hoffman (two top fives), and Bill Mason (one top five) rounded out the top ten point positions. Next up were the special award recipients with Jim Davis (358-Modified), Steve Yankowski (Sportsman), Dan Peo (Pro Stock), and Robert Thiemes (Pure Stock) all receiving the New Comer Award. The Most Improved Driver Award went to Paul Kinney (358-Modified), Jeff Leslie (Sportsman), Mark Effner (Pro Stock), and Phil Norman (Pure Stock). Taking home the Outstanding Performance Award by division was Willy Decker (358-Modified), Matt Janczuk (Sportsman), Rob Seavy (Pro Stock), Russ Marsden (Pure Stock). Determination Awards went Gus Schmidt (358-Modified), Casey Williams (Sportsman), Ivan Joslin (Pro Stocks), and Andy Potter (Pure Stock). Following the award portion of the program, Race Director John Tiff took to the podium to speak about the upcoming 2009 season. First off, he confirmed that Big Block will be part of the regular Sunday night program, running with the 358-Modifieds. The Big Block rule structure will follow the DIRTcar rulebook while the 358-Modifieds will continue to use the current Utica-Rome rulebook with the exception that the small block powered cars will now be allowed to use dry sump oil systems. Also, the Modified division will see a purse increase with the winner of the feature events now getting $2,000 to win in addition to the current point fund that will remain in place for the 2009 season. Speaking of rule changes, Tiff informed the large gathering that this will be the last year of the “open motor” Sportsman division. Beginning on 2010, the Sportsman division will be a crate motor division, using the guidelines currently being used by DIRTcar and other tracks. Continuing on, Tiff stated the three major sponsors will still be on board in 2009. Dart Machinery will continue with their sponsorship of the two 200 lap programs in ’09 while Gates-Cole Associates will continue to sponsor many of the major programs next season. The Mirabito Fuel Group will continue their backing of the huge Modified point fund, a fund that pays out over $25,000 to the top ten Modified drivers at season’s end. Tiff then went on to give highlights of the upcoming season’s schedule which included the Victoria 200 to be run as a two day program on Mother’s Day Weekend and the New Yorker 200 Weekend on September 11 and 12. Continuing the tradition of honoring people from Utica-Rome Speedway’s past, July 22 will be the date for the midweek Dart Dirt Race of Champions Modified Series event in honor of Bill Wimble. Also, Fan Appreciation night will return in ’09, as fans that bring canned good for the local food pantries will get in for five dollars while fans without a canned good will pay seven dollars with two dollars going to the food pantries. Lastly, Tiff mentioned that the Utica-Rome staff is gauging interest in a golf tournament. The proceeds from the tournament will help fund the point fund at the speedway. Anyone interested was told to contact Bill Cole, Gene Cole, or Barb Clark. Next up was Director of Operations Barb Clark, who had just completed her first full season in that capacity. Clark went through and thanked everyone including drivers, staff, and ownership for their help in making the 2008 season a successful one. The night ended in several hours of table racing and dancing as everyone in attendance seemed to have a great time. Overall, the night was a success with good food from the Turning Stone Casino and Resort staff and the award presentation was done a fine fashion by track announcer Mike Mallett. Over $65,000 in point funds and tire money was handed out to those in attendance.