Back Home


The Utica Rome Speedway News Room
Click on the headlines to the left for news.


August 29th
CASEY WILLIAMS AND STEWART FRIESEN TAKE EXCITING WINS AT
UTICA-ROME SPEEDWAY
VERNON, NY- Stewart Friesen took another step towards the 2010 Utica-Rome Speedway Modified championship with a win in one of the Twin 20 lap Modified events while Casey Williams held off Friesen to secure his first ever Modified win. Other winners on Marble Hill Inn, Clinton Auto Service, and Clinton Car Wash night included Bill Trexler Jr. in the Sportsman, Bret Belden in the Pro Stocks, and Chris Cunningham was the victor in the Pure Stocks.
Pole sitter Pete Taylor, looking to grab his second win of the season at Utica-Rome, led the opening lap of the first 20 lap Modified feature event until a four car melee slowed the field at the completion of lap one. Third place starter Alan Barker used the restart to his advantage as he grabbed the top spot, but just as he began to look comfortable out front, he suddenly slowed as completed lap four as the leader and went immediately to the pits. Mark Kislowski was the recipient of Barker’s bad luck as he assumed the point to lead lap five, but his turn at the top was short lived as Taylor blasted by to regain the lead on lap six. The action out front was being matched further back on the field as positions were being swapped as drivers were making their charge towards the front.
10th place starter Casey Williams was having a fine run as put himself in the mix for the lead as he moved into second by lap six and by lap eight he was all over the rear bumper of Taylor. Williams slipped by Taylor to gain the lead on lap nine as the field crossed the line on lap 10; it was Williams over Taylor, Todd Burley, Stewart Friesen, and Kislowski.
Burley drove by Taylor for second on lap 11 and had his sights on Williams but at that point Friesen was into the top three. Lap 16 saw Friesen get by Burley on the high side and set off after Williams. Friesen applied heavy pressure to Williams, trying a slide job in turns three and four, but Williams was unshakeable as he fended it off. A lap 19 caution brought the field together again and when the field got the green and white together, Friesen was again after Williams for the win. Going into the final set of turns, Friesen again attempted the slide job. The duo was side by side in turn four but Williams had the momentum as he went on for his first career win. Friesen came across in a close second with Burley in third. Pat Ward came home in fourth with Danny Varin in fifth. Bobby Varin, Willy Decker, Taylor, Jason Rood, and Kislowski rounded the top ten.
With the top five being inverted due to a draw in victory lane after the first race, Danny Varin and Ward started on the front row of the second 20 lap event. Ward rocketed to the lead at the drop of the green with Friesen settling into second from his fourth starting spot. Ward was setting a fast pace in the early stages with Friesen fending off the challenges of Decker and Bobby Varin and at halfway point it was Ward over Friesen, Bobby Varin, Decker, Danny Varin.
The second half of the 20 lap event saw Friesen get quicker as he pulled up on to Ward’s deck lid. On lap 14, Friesen drove in turn three harder than Ward and pulled of a textbook slide job as he grabbed the lead. Friesen then began to steadily pull away with Ward settling back into a battle with Decker for the runner up spot. With two to go, Decker took second from Ward but he would not have enough for the leader. Friesen took the win over Decker, Ward, Bobby Varin, Danny Varin, Ronnie Johnson, Todd Burley, Brian Weaver, Paul Kinney, and Paul Jensen.
Sportsman action saw several leaders in the early stages of their 20 lap main event with Craig Pope, Mike Button, Bill Trexler Jr., and Jeff Leslie all having turns at that point. Trexler would take the lead for on lap 12 from Leslie and race off with win with David Towns recovering from an early race penalty to take second. Steve Way finished in third followed by Leslie and Matt Janczuk.
AJ Digsby led the opening four circuits of the Pro Stock main event with Mark Effner taking a turn as the leader on lap five. Bret Belden took over the lead on lap six he would never be challenged from point on as he led the remainder of the 20 lap feature. Effner would hold on for second followed by Glenn Forward, Jim Normoyle, and Digsby.
The 15 lap Pure Stock nightcap saw Scott Wheelock and Ron Hawker out front in the first half of the feature, with Chris Cunningham the third and final leader as he took over on lap nine. Cunningham would run off with win over Hawker, Rob Thieme, Rick Breed, and Bill Mason.
The final Sunday night show of the season in on tap this coming next week September 5 with the return of the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints plus the final point night for the Modifieds, Sportsman, Pro Stocks, and Pure Stocks. Fireworks will cap off the night’s activities. Gates open for the action packed show open at 2:30 p.m. with racing starting at 5 p.m.

August 29th
MARBLE HILL INN, CLINTON AUTO SERVICE, AND CLINTON CAR WASH
RACE SUMMARY
 MODIFIED FEATURE #1 FINISH (20 LAPS)-CASEY WILLIAMS, Stewart Friesen, Todd Burley, Pat Ward, Danny Varin, Bobby Varin, Willy Decker, Pete Taylor, Jason Rood, Mark Kislowski, Brad Alger, Brian Weaver, Paul Kinney, Ted Lamb, Brian Murphy, Ted Teal, Chris Busta, Brad Godshalk, Ronnie Johnson, Alan Barker, Paul Jensen, and Jeff Kotary.
MODIFIED FEATURE #2 FINISH (20 LAPS)-STEWART FRIESEN, Willy Decker, Pat Ward, Bobby Varin, Danny Varin, Ronnie Johnson, Todd Burley, Brian Weaver, Paul Kinney, Paul Jensen, Brad Alger, Casey Williams, Mark Kislowski, Pete Taylor, Jeff Kotary, Jason Rood, Chris Busta, Ted Lamb, Brad Godshalk, Ted Teal, and Brian Murphy.
SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (20 LAPS)-BILL TREXLER JR., David Towns, Steve Way, Jeff Leslie, Matt Janczuk, Claude Hutchings Jr., AJ Filbeck, Jim Nagle, Jack Miller, Heath Carney, Roger West, John DeForest, Randy Shantel, Craig Pope, Butch Wilcox, Jason Memrick, Bryan McGuire, Aaron Jacobs, Wesley Sutliff, Mike Button, Bobby Heintz, and Jim Rothwell.
PRO STOCK FEATURE FINISH (20 LAPS)-BRET BELDEN, Mark Effner, Glenn Forward, Jim Normoyle, AJ Digsby, Bill Knapp, Pete Broderson, Tom Denton, Jeff Pastorella, Nick Stone, Ed Ostrander, Dave Moyer, Brent Tardy, Jeff Pearsall, Rick Duanehauer, Russ Miller, Rocky Warner, and Dave Meeks.
PURE STOCK FEATURE FINISH (15 LAPS)-CHRIS CUNNINGHAM, Ron Hawker, Rob Thieme, Rick Breed, Bill Mason, Jim Richmond, Phil Norman, Stan Clark, Dave Arbes, Steve Burton, Jim Thomas, Keith Stevenson, Scott Wheelock, Chris Carr, Frank Hyatt, Bill Trexler Sr., Scott Springer, and Ernie Staelens.


2011 MARKS UTICA-ROME SPEEDWAY’S 50TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY, SPECIAL EVENT AND BOOK IN THE WORKS TO CELEBRATE MILESTONE

VERNON, NY- Even though the 2010 season is barely underway at Utica-Rome Speedway, the management is already planning for the 2011 season, which will be the 50th year since racing began in Vernon. To help celebrate the milestone, track owner Gene Cole has partnered with Coastal 181 to publish a book that will chronicle the first 50 historic years.
Leading motorsports author Mark “Bones” Bourcier will pen the effort, which will consist of all the configurations the Vernon speed plant has gone through. In 1961, Utica-Rome Speedway roared to life a quarter mile asphalt oval before switching to a dirt surface as a big five eighths mile track to the current high banked half mile oval. Despite the changes, one thing that has remained consistent is the great racing and dedicated fan base. Bourcier will attempt to capture everything that made Utica-Rome special to fans and drivers alike and one of the most successful racetracks in the Northeast, from the big high paying events right down to the weekly shows. When he wrote “RICHIE! The Fast Life and Times of NASCAR’s Greatest Modified Driver”, Bourcier touched on just part of the history of the Utica-Rome Speedway. This time around, he will touch on the whole history and show why Utica-Rome Speedway is special to the many that have competed or watched racing there.
Bourcier is considered one of the country’s leading motorsports writers, whose work regularly appears in several national publications most notably “Speedway Illustrated.” Besides the above mentioned Richie Evans biography, Bourcier has co-written autobiographies on some of auto racing’s biggest names including Tony Stewart, Bill Simpson, and Bugs Stevens.
Also helping in the effort is Doug Zupan, who has spent many hours researching the history of Utica-Rome Speedway. The statistics, win lists, track champions lists, and history that are on the current speedway website have come from Zupan’s tireless work and research. Both Bourcier and Zupan will be working with past photographers, writers, and former ownership in their efforts to piece together the vast amount of history at the speedway.
Tracking down the huge amount of history of the Utica-Rome Speedway will be a daunting task, and the speedway is looking for contribution to the effort. Anyone with usable items from the speedway’s past such as photos, newspaper clippings, programs, and anything else is urged to contact the speedway. All items will be returned to their rightful owner and they will be given credit in the book. Contributions are not limited only to the oval track but the Utica-Rome Dragway also. Records are currently scarce on the drag strip and more information is needed to do that important part of the track’s history justice.
When released, the book will be a hardcover coffee table-type keepsake with the high quality pages packed with stories, photos, and statistics. Interviews with drivers, fans, employees, management, and whoever else helped make Utica-Rome Speedway what it is today will also help fill out the pages of this historic publication. Currently planned to be over 400 pages with several hundred photos, the book is currently priced at $55 includes tax with pre orders available by contacting the speedway at (315) 829-4557. Supplies will be limited, as only 1500 copies will be printed.
A special 50th anniversary race event is being planned for the 2011 season that will coincide with the book’s release. Details are still being worked out, but expect many of the cast of characters in Utica-Rome Speedway’s past to be present to help celebrate the historic occasion.
When it comes to oval-track auto racing, Coastal 181 is the leading source of books, DVDs, and artwork in the United States. Covering all types of racing from open wheel, regional short track racing, and NASCAR, Coastal 181 has it all covered. Besides being a leading retailer in the racing industry, they also write and publish many of the titles they carry. One of their most recent efforts, “I’ll Never Be Last Again” by Bill Wimble and Coastal 181’s Lew Boyd, was released at Utica-Rome Speedway during an event that paid tribute to Wimble. A full list of books and other racing media available from Coastal 181 can be found at www.coastal181.com.

home