VERNON, NY- The Independence Day Weekend is upon us and at Utica-Rome Speedway, and the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints will continue their traditional holiday weekend stop as part of the Central New York ESS Speedweek, but fans will be in for a real treat this Sunday July 3.  The Super DIRTcar Modified Series will make its return back to the spacious Vernon half mile for a 60-lap, $6,000 to win main event.  Also joining in on the three division show on Lights Auto/NAPA and Clinton Tractor night will the inaugural stop of the Ferris Mowers Race of Champions 602 Sportsman Series, which will pay $1,000 to the winner plus a huge fireworks finale. 

Track regular Tim Fuller leads the Super DIRTcar Modified Series caravan into Utica-Rome Speedway as the current point (before Canandaigua Motorsports Park’s event on June 30) and his first win of the season at his Sunday night stop would go a long way in helping maintaining that margin.  With the competition that follows the tour this season, it will be an uphill climb for anyone to claim the 2016 series title.  The winner of this event last year, Billy Decker, trails Fuller by a mere seven points while another UR regular, Larry Wight, rounds out the top three.  Former UR champion, leading feature winner at the speedway, and most recent winner on the series, Stewart Friesen, sits in the fourth ahead of defending series and UR champion Matt Sheppard.  Jimmy Phelps, Brett Hearn, Vic Coffey, Frank Cozze, and Danny Johnson make up the remainder of the top 10 while Peter Britten, Chad Phelps, Pat Ward, Keith Flach, and Mike Mahaney fill out the top15 in the rankings.  Decker and Sheppard have each won an event so far in the young season on the tour while Sheppard has already scored three wins at Utica-Rome Speedway.  A strong field of track regulars is expected to on hand as well to the and keep the trophy and bragging rights home, drivers such as Danny Varin, Matt Hulsizer, Rob Bellinger, Alan Johnson, and many more.  More information on the Super DIRTcar Series can be found at www.superdirtcarseries.com. 

If the last Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints main event at the speedway, held just a few weeks ago on June 12, is any indication on what to expect this Sunday the fans are in for another thrilling show.  In that event, Jason Barney narrowly beat Shawn Donath to the checkered in a finish that fans will talk about for years to come.  This Sunday’s ESS A Main event will conclude the 4^th annual Central New York ESS Speedweek and the champion will be crowned.  Michael Parent, Jason Barney, and Steve Poirier have been crowned the Speedweek champions so far, who will it be this year?  Jason Barney is the current ESS point leader with Steve Poirier, Paul Kinney, Parker Evans, and last week’s winner Matt Tanner making up the top five.  Jeff Cook, Bryan Howland, Paulie Colagiavanni, Jonathan Preston, and Dave Axton are the remainder of the top 10 point earners.  You can expect these drivers and more including Chuck Hebing, Davie Franek, Chad Miller, Donath, Tim Axton, Mike Stelter, and many more to be in attendance.  The latest news, schedule information, and Speedweek updates can be found at www.empiresupersprints.com. 

The newly formed Ferris Mowers Race of Champions 602 Sportsman Series will make its first ever stop at the Utica-Rome Speedway for its third event on the 2016 schedule.  Cody McPherson was the winner of the series opener at Humberstone Speedway in May while the second stop is this Saturday at Freedom Motorsports Park followed by Utica-Rome on Sunday.  Some the competitors in the event at Humberstone are expected as well as some of the top 602 Sportsman competitors in the area as they compete for a strong purse that has $1,000 going the winner and $100 to start.  For more information, go to www.rocmodifiedseries.com. 

Following the racing action on the track, the skies above the speedway will light up with the annual fireworks display that is typically one of the best in the area.  Be sure to bring the family for some exciting short track action and a great fireworks display.  Gates will open at 3 p.m. with qualifying beginning at 5:30 p.m.    

Utica-Rome Speedway is located on Route 5 in Vernon NY, and is just minutes from the New York State Thruway.  For complete schedule information, competitor notes, point standings, and much more be sure to visit us at www.uticaromespeedway.com or call the speedway at (315)829-4557.  We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.