Written by Chris Moore

VERNON, NY – Race week times two.

Utica-Rome Speedway is set for a huge weekend of racing at the Route 5 oval.

First up, Friday (Sept. 2) is ‘Championship Night’ at the ‘Home of Heroes.’

Champions will be crowned for the 2022 season with the Sunoco Modifieds, Worthington Industries Crate 602 Sportsman, Next Generation Graphix Pro Stocks, Fastline Performance Limited Sportsman, and the Fonda Fair Four Cylinders.

The Senior Services Inc. All-Star Slingshots and D&S Landscaping Junior Slingshots will compete for the final time as well on the inner-oval and crown champions.

Two days later (Sept. 4), the Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series (STSS) Fueled By Sunoco returns to the ‘Home of Heroes’ for the second and final time of the season.

This time, the reward is a cool $25,000 to the winner of the F.X. Caprara Car Companies ‘New Yorker 50’ for the STSS big-block/small-block Modifieds. A total purse of more than $80,000 is on the line for the 29^th running of the historic event.

The Worthington Industries Crate 602 Sportsman ($1,000 to win), Next Generation Graphix Pro Stocks ($1,000 to win) and Fastline Performance Limited Sportsman ($500 to win) all join the Sunday program.

Savannah, N.Y.’s Matt Sheppard – Utica-Rome Speedway’s most dominant Sunoco Modified driver – has clinched the Modified championship on the back of his 10-win season.

Durhamville, N.Y.’s Matt Janczuk leads the way by a comfortable margin heading into championship night with the Worthington Industries Crate 602 Sportsman. On the strength of nine consecutive wins, Janczuk has surged to a 36-point advantage over Gilbertsville, N.Y.’s Payton Talbot.

The Next Generation Graphix Pro Stocks feature one of the closer championship battles, with Grand Gorge, N.Y.’s Beau Ballard leading Fort Johnson, N.Y.’s Josh Coonradt by 22 points. The duo has each been victorious on six occasions this season.

Seth Martin has surged to a 44-point advantage over Zack Welch with the Fastline Performance Limited Sportsman heading into championship night. Martin just needs to take the green flag in Friday night’s feature to claim the championship.

The Fonda Fair Four Cylinders feature the tightest championship battle of any division on the half-mile, with Matt Bukovan holding an 18-point lead ahead of David DeNova for the Dual Cam Championship. Hunter Tarbania has secured the Single Cam championship after last week’s victory.

On the inner-oval, Brett Putnam leads the Senior Services Inc. All-Star Slingshots heading into championship night. The defending champion holds a 12-point lead over teammate Chris Darrow.

Blake Banek has a firm grip on the D&S Landscaping Junior Slingshot point lead, heading the class by 32 markers over the defending champion Corky Warner.

For the Sept. 2 program, all gates open at 5 p.m. Hot laps are slated to begin at 6:45 p.m. with racing to follow at 7:30 p.m.

Grandstand admission is $12 for Adults and $10 for Seniors (ages 65 and above). Kids 11 and under get in FREE.

Pit Admission is $30 for Utica-Rome Speedway members and $35 for non-members.

For the Sept. 4 program, pit gates open at 3 p.m. with grandstand gates following at 4 p.m. Hot laps are slated to begin at 6:15 p.m. with racing to follow at 7 p.m.

Grandstand admission is $30 for Adults and $28 for Seniors (ages 65 and above). Kids 11 and under get in FREE.

Pit Admission is $40 for Utica-Rome Speedway members and $45 for non-members.

The entire weekend of racing will air live and on-demand on FloRacing (www.floracing.tv).

Utica-Rome Speedway is located at 5591 NY-5 (Seneca Turnpike) Vernon, NY 13476. The official website is www.uticaromespeedway.com and can be reached by phone at 315.953.4097.  Like Utica-Rome Speedway on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @UR_Speedway.