Utica-Rome 2006 banquet news

2006 UTICA-ROME SPEEDWAY CHAMPIONS TO BE HONORED ON NOVEMBER 11 AT TURNING STONE CASINO AND RESORT

VERNON, NY- A little less than a month ago Utica-Rome Speedway crowned their 2006 track champions, which leaves only one event on the 2006 agenda. On Saturday, November 11 at the beautiful Turning Stone Casino and Resort, the annual Utica-Rome Speedway Awards Banquet will take place to honor the achievements of the racers at the fast Vernon oval.

Willy Decker defended his 358-Modified title, taking over the point lead on the last night of competition from Bobby Varin when Varin's mount suffered motor problems. Decker's championship was worth an incredible $8,000. Varin, Ted Lamb, Todd Burley, and Jamie Christian rounded the top five positions. Filling out the remainder of the top ten was Paul Kinney, Mitch Gibbs, Gus Schmidt, David Orr, and John Ramsey.

Sportsman veteran Mike Button captured his first ever Utica-Rome Speedway Sportsman title, taking over the lead on the last points night. Jeremy Vunk, Kyle Lewis, Brad Alger, and 2005 champion Paul Carey rounded out the top five point finishers with Steve Way, Matt Janczuk, Tim Nye, Casey Williams, and Alan Barker in the rest of the top 10 spots.

Jerry Holmes dominated the action in the Pro Stock ranks to take his fourth championship in the popular full fendered division, his third in the past four seasons. Former champion Bret Belden made a late season run towards the title but had to settle for second in the standing with Jim Normoyle, Tom Denton, and rookie Chris Mackey following. A look at the standings shows Dave Moyer, Don Decker, Bill Knapp, Ed Ostrander, and Mark Effner in the final five spots in the top ten.

Russ Marsden survived a late season charge by Chris Cunningham to take his third straight title in the Pure Stocks with Cunningham holding on to the second spot. Ron Hawker, Curt Prevo, Glenn Forward, Tim Janczuk, Shawn Dunn, Frank Hyatt, Jim Thomas, and Chris Carr were the rest of the top ten point gainers.

Jim Roberts' first full season in the IMCA Modified division was a successful one as he captured the track title at the Utica-Rome Speedway, holding off Aaron Jacobs, Kevin Buff, Mark Chrzanowski, and Ken Rogers to capture the title. Mike Smith, Bob Banks, Dale Caswell, Pete Anderson, and Bill Anderson rounded the top ten.

The Awards Banquet will start at 6 p.m. with the dinner portion of the evening beginning at 7 p.m. followed by the awards presentation. The whole evening will wrap up at 1 a.m. Tickets for the event are priced $30 per person and are available by calling Connie Plows at (315) 404-0977, Brenda Belden at (315) 855-7688, or Barb Clark at (315) 893-1822. A block of rooms has been set aside for the event until October 11 and when making reservations be sure to mention that you are with Utica-Rome Speedway to receive the special rate. Make your plans now to spend an evening with 400 of your closest friends to celebrate the 2006 season.

Tire refund money will also be distributed on this evening with drivers needing to be present to receive their refunds.

-credit: www.uticaromespeedway.com