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Written by Chris Moore
VERNON, NY – Back to work.
The Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series (STSS) Fueled By Sunoco gets right back to it on Thursday, July 20 at Utica-Rome Speedway for the ‘Richie Evans Remember 61.’
The ‘Home of Heroes’ hosts Round No. 6 of the River Valley Builders North Region $15,000 championship chase, just three days after Round No. 5 took place.
Savannah, N.Y.’s Matt Sheppard is fresh off a $10,000 triumph in the ‘Firecracker 50’ at N.Y.’s Fonda Speedway.
Joining the stars of the STSS, NASCAR Cup Series star Ross Chastain will jump behind the wheel of a Sheppard-owned racecar to compete in Northeast Dirt Modified racing for the first time.
Chastain, along with the STSS North Region contingent, head to Utica-Rome Speedway in search of a $6,100 payday in honor of one of Utica-Rome Speedway’s greatest drivers: Richie Evans.
The ‘Rapid Roman’ was a 33-time winner at the ‘Home of Heroes’ during its days as an asphalt venue.
Evans won four Utica-Rome track championships (1972-1974, 1978) and recorded three victories in the famed ‘New Yorker’ event (1971, 1972 & 1978).
Evans went on to win nine NASCAR national Modified championships, including eight in row from 1978 to 1985.
Evans was just 44 years old when he tragically passed away after an accident during a practice session at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
Evans’ legacy lives on; in 2012 he was the first ‘short-track’ icon inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C. He was also named one of NASCAR’s ’50 Greatest Drivers’ in 1998.
Sheppard heads the North Region class by 51 markers over St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada’s Mat Williamson heading into his home turf. Bohemia, N.Y.’s Dillon Steuer rounds out the top three, a distant 121 points off Sheppard’s pace.
The STSS Crate 602 Sportsman will be on hand as well for Round No. 5 of the Precision Hydraulic & Oil North Region.
Upper Makefield, Pa.’s Joe Toth tops the North Region standings into the trip to the Route 5 oval in Vernon.
The 30-lap affair is worth $2,061 to the winner and $100 to take the green flag.
The Senior Services Inc. All-Star Slingshots and Junior Slingshots round out the program on the inner oval.
Grandstand admission is $28. Seniors (ages 65 and up) pay $26. Kids 11 and under are FREE.
Pit admission is $45 (ages 13 and up), $40 (NASCAR or Utica-Rome Member), $10 for Kids (ages 6-12) and $2 for Children (ages 5 and under).
Gates open at 4 p.m., with hot laps at 6:30 p.m. and racing at 7:15 p.m.
A complete information sheet has been posted on the Short Track Super Series website: https://shorttracksuperseries.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/RichieEvansGeneralInfoSheet.pdf
Utica-Rome Speedway is located at 5591 NY-5 (Seneca Turnpike) Vernon, NY 13476. The official website is www.uticaromespeedway.com and the speedway can be reached by phone at 315.953.4097. Like Utica-Rome Speedway on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @UR_Speedway.
Utica-Rome Speedway is a NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series facility.
To learn more about the Short Track Super Series Fueled By Sunoco, visit www.shorttracksuperseries.com, e-mail bdmotorsportsmedia@gmail.com, check out ‘Short Track Super Series’ on Facebook or @ShortTrackSS on Twitter or Instagram.
