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SHEPPARD TAKES THRILLING MODIFIED WIN ON TAYLOR'S TRAILERS NIGHT AT UTICA-ROME

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - UTICA-ROME SPEEDWAY - May 30, 2025
SHEPPARD TAKES THRILLING MODIFIED WIN ON TAYLOR'S TRAILERS NIGHT AT UTICA-ROME
VERNON, NY.....After what seems like weeks of rain and cancellations, Mother Nature finally smiled on Utica-Rome Speedway for Friday night's race program, sponsored by Taylor's Trailers.
The 30-lap 3 Bastards Brewing Modified feature saw Alex Yankowski and Willy Decker bring the field to the green, with Yankowski taking the top spot. Tim Janczuk raced Decker for second as Matt Sheppard began to work his way forward from his tenth starting spot. As the top three pulled away, Sheppard was able to claw his way up to fourth when the first yellow flag flew on lap 13 for Justin Wright's car making contact with the inside guardrail on the backstretch. This eliminated the big straightaway lead that Yankowski had, allowing Decker and third place Rocky Warner to close in. On the restart, Decker's car faltered and he coasted to a stop outside turn four. On the next restart, Yankowski got a flat right rear, handing the lead to Warner. After a short rain delay, the race resumed with Warner and Sheppard dueling for the lead as Danny Varin took third. For the final laps, Warner and Sheppard raced hard for the lead, dodging in and out of traffic, with Sheppard using a lapped car for a pick and roll to take the lead on lap 28. A yellow set up a green-white-checker finish and Sheppard pulled away to claim the win over Warner, with Janczuk nipping Varin for third on the final lap. Anthony Perrego rounded out the top five.
3 Bastards Brewing Modified heats were won by Ajay Potrzebowski, Matt Sheppard, and Eddie Strada.
The 25-lap Taylor's Trailers Crate 602 Sportsman feature saw Jeremy Slosek grab the early lead with Seth Martin and Josh Amodio trailing. Mike Richmond was coming on strong, but he got over a tire on the restart and barrel rolled several times on the backstretch, bringing out the red flag. Several other cars sustained damage in the incident, but all drivers were OK. When action resumed, Slosek retained the lead as Payton Talbot grabbed second from Martin. Slosek and Talbot battled for the lead at the halfway point while Amodio slid back. Steven Denton battled hard with Martin and Tyler Peet for spots in the top five as Slosek and Talbot pulled away. On a lap 16 restart, Slosek tagged an infield tire in turn one and spun off the top of turn one, collecting Denton. Talbot inherited the lead and pulled away as Peet moved to seconds on lap 21. At the checkers, Talbot held off a closing Peet for the win, with David Hackett making some late moves to take third ahead of Martin. Dave Constantino, who was caught up in the Richmond incident, came back to take fifth.
Taylor's Trailers Crate Sportsman heats were won by Seth Martin, Blake Sarpriacone, and Jeremy Slosek .
In the 20-lap Next Generation Graphix Pro Stock feature, Hunter Keith took the early lead, but AJ Walters took the lead on a lap 1 restart. Shane Playford moved to second as Luke Horning got past Keith for third. Horning moved to second on lap 7 and challenged for the lead as George Cushman moved into third. Walters built a lead at halfway as Horning, Nick Stone, and Cushman battled for second. Walters pulled away from Stone as Cushman and Horning ran side by side for third. Walters brought it home for the win, with Stone a distant second. Cushman got by Horning for third, and Devon Camengea came from the back of the field after trouble on the opening lap to take fifth.
Next Generation Graphix Pro Stock heats were won by AJ Walters and Shane Playford.
The Fastline Performance Limited Sportsman feature event began with Hayden Coons grabing the lead from Matt Bukovan as Jayden Wust quickly came into contention, battling Coons for the lead at the one third mark. Wust grabbed the lead on lap 7 and pulled away from a battle between Bukovan, Coons, and Rocco Constantino. Constantino grabbed second on lap 11 and tried to catch Wust, but wasn't able to as Wust took the win. Constantino was second, with Coons, Sullivan Dickey, and Bukovan rounding out the top five.
Fastline Performance Limited Sportsman heats were won by Rocco Constantino and Sullivan Dickey .
In the JB's Sewer and Septic 4 Cylinder feature, Jusstin Pope came from deep in the field and took the lead on a lap 2 restart from Jeff Connolly to take the lead. Kyle Simmons and Jacob Kimball closed in during the second half of the race, but Pope held them off for the win as the top finishing DOHC car. Wayne Russell Jr was the top finisher of the SOHC cars.
Racing continues at Utica-Rome Speedway on Friday, June 6th when Slade Automotive and the Angonkin Motel present Retro Night, with a full program of regular racing divisions on tap plus the first visit of the year for the Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series. Grandstand admission for the June 6th program will be just $10 for adults. Racing begins at 7:00 p.m. For more information, visit www.uticaromespeedway.com or visit Utica-Rome Speedway on Facebook.
The next race in the VP Racing Fuels 358 Modified Series will be Tuesday night, June 10th, with the Fastline Performance Limited Sportsman and JB's Sewer & Septic 4 Cylinders (SCDRA rules) joining the program. Racing will begin at 7:00pm on June 10th.
RACE SUMMARY-TAYLOR'S TRAILERS NIGHT-UTICA-ROME SPEEDWAY-MAY 30, 2025
3 BASTARDS BREWING MODIFIEDS-MATT SHEPPARD, Rocky Warner, Tim Janczuk, Danny Varin, Anthony Perrego, Alex Yankowski, Ajay Potrzebowski, Brandon Walters, Rusty Smith, Brad Godshalk, David Dickey, Eddie Strada, Tim Mayne, Aaron Jacobs, Johnny Holmes, Jim Walsh, Jason Reome, Willy Decker, Justin Wright, Ed Downing, Payton Talbot, Michael Trautschold .

TAYLOR'S TRAILERS CRATE 602 SPORTSMAN-PAYTON TALBOT, Tyler Peet, Dave Hackett, Seth Martin, Dave Constantino, Matt Richardson, Josh Amodio, Ed Lukas, Zack Welch, Josh Coonradt, Blake Sarpriacone, Carson Rothwell, Buddy Leathley, Matt Backus, Eric Jensen, Jeremy Slosek, Stephen Denton, Brett Mortensen, EJ Gallup, Mike Richmond, Blaine Klinger, Nick Zelinski, John Dumond, Paul Carey, Connor Prokop.

NEXT GENERATION GRAPHIX PRO STOCKS-AJ WALTERS, Nick Stone, George Cushman, Luke Horning, Devon Camengea, Bret Belden, Jim Normoyle, Ed Kotary, Mike Kazlauskas, Toby Cooper, Slater Baker, Ray Richer, Eric Stumpf, Hunter Keith, Ryan Denton, Gus Gould.

FASTLINE PERFORMANCE LIMITED SPORTSMAN-JAYDEN WUST, Rocco Constantino, Hayden Coons, Sullivan Dickey, Matt Bukovan, Nick Ryder, Ernie Satelens, Brad Poppleton, Nick Jenkins, Ayden Goodyeard, Kadyn Despasquale, Josh Andrews, Mike Evans, Kyle Coley.

JB'S SEWER AND SEPTIC FOUR CYLINDERS-JUSTIN POPE (DOHC winner), Donald Kimball, Joesph Bouck, Wayne Russell Jr (SOHC winner), Hank Wedgren Jr, Kamrin Krause, Jeff Connolly, David DeNova, Sophia DeNova, Kyle Simmons (DQ), Jacob Kimball (DQ).

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