Written by Chris Moore

VERNON, NY – The New Yorker returns.

On Sunday, Sept. 5, Broedel Fuel Group presents the Fuccillo Autoplex of Nelliston Thunder on the Thruway Finale at Utica-Rome Speedway.

The ‘New Yorker 100’ rounds out the five-race mini-series across Utica-Rome and Fonda Speedway.

The Sunoco Modifieds will go for their longest race and highest pay of the season at the ‘Home of Heroes,’ in a 100-lap, $12,000-to-win feature event in memory of Jumpin’ Jack Johnson.

The 100-lapper will pay $500-to-start and the Thunder on the Thruway champion will be crowned.

Sprakers, N.Y.’s Stewart Friesen leads the Sunoco Modified points standings in the Thunder on the Thruway Series, winning all four of the events thus far.

Friesen holds a 30-point advantage over Savannah, N.Y.’s Matt Sheppard and a 60-point lead over Sprakers, N.Y.’s Jessica Friesen.

The New Yorker was first contested on Sept. 1, 1963 as a 400-lap event won by Lou Lazzaro. The event ran consistently from ’63 to ’74, was run again in ’78, from ’90 to ’93 and was scheduled from ’07 through ’19. Three of those events were lost to rain including ’19, ’13 and ’12.

The most recent New Yorker event was run as a 100-lap event on May 13, 2018 with Matt Sheppard winning over Jeremy Wilder, Mat Williamson, Larry Wight and Billy Dunn.

The New Yorker has been held over several race distances including 400, 200, 100, 50 and 40 laps.

Also on the card will be the Worthington Industries Crate 602 Sportsman and the Next Generation Graphix Pro Stocks to round out their Thunder on the Thruway championship chase.

The Crate 602 Sportsman feature will be 25-laps in distance, with a $1,500-to-win and $125-start purse.

Next Generation Graphix has boosted the Pro Stocks purse for their 20-lap series finale. The race will still be $1,000-to-win but will now pay $120-to-start with boosted pay throughout the field.

The powerful Patriot Sprint Tour (PST) 360 Sprint Cars will also make their one and only appearance at the Route 5-oval in the season finale.

Full Thunder on the Thruway points standings for all three divisions are available on the Utica-Rome and Fonda Speedway (https://www.thefondaspeedway.com/) websites.

For the September 5 event, grandstand admission is $25. Seniors (ages 65 and over) are $23 and Kids $11 and under get in FREE.

Pit Admission is $35 for Utica-Rome Speedway members and $40 for non-members.

The event will be streamed live by Dirt Track Digest TV (www.dirttrackdigest.tv) for those unable to attend in-person.

Two days of racing are planned for Utica-Rome Speedway on Labor Day weekend with a complete program on Friday, Sept. 3.

Utica-Rome Speedway is located at 5591 NY-5 (Seneca Turnpike) Vernon, NY 13476. The official website is www.uticaromespeedway.com. Like Utica-Rome Speedway on Facebook or @UR_Speedway.