VERNON, N.Y. – Matt Sheppard lifted the lid on the 2022 Utica-Rome Speedway, capturing the $6,800 top prize in the ‘Honoring Alex’ season opener.
The win was Sheppard’s 49th career Sunoco Modified win at the ‘Home of Heroes,’ one the Savannah, N.Y. native himself dubbed “special.”
“I didn’t know much about Alex until I started hearing all the stories about him,” said Sheppard, “he’s definitely someone I wish we could’ve had around a little while longer.”
Alex Friesen, a promotional dynamo and racer, lost his life at age 33 in Dec. 1996. At the time of his passing, he had seven tracks under his control and a small-block modified series on the horizon in addition to a burgeoning driving career.
Sheppard started the 30-lap feature from the front row with Danny Tyler alongside to open the racing season at the Route Five oval.
“Drawing the pole definitely helped against a really, really good field of cars,” Sheppard said of his fortune going from the pole starting position following the top-12 redraw.
When the green flag waved, Sheppard quickly darted to the top spot, bringing Larry Wight along with him and into the runner-up spot.
Stewart Friesen began marching in the early going, racing from his seventh starting position into fourth in the opening four laps, before putting pressure on fellow Canadian Mat Williamson for the final podium position.
The race’s first yellow would fall on lap 10, as Alan Johnson was pointed nose-first into the outside wall exiting turn four, restacking the field just as Sheppard and Wight had begun to negotiate lapped traffic.
When the green flag waved agan, Friesen was able to use the outside groove to drive around Williamson for third, bringing Max McLaughlin with him into fourth.
McLaughlin wasn’t done, chasing Friesen, and throwing a slide job at the car lettered in Alex Friesen’s honor, and causing Stewart to slide off the embankment in the first turn.
However, a yellow flag for Bobby Hackel stopping in the fourth turn before the 14th lap was completed negated the move, and put Friesen back to third, in front of McLaughlin.
The field went back to racing with the top four remaining unchanged for much of the next green flag run until lap 24, when Friesen made a move to take the runner-up spot from Wight in traffic.
The field completed the 25th circuit before Claude Hutchings Jr. spun in the second corner to bring out another caution.
On the restart, Friesen’s chances were nixed when he sailed over the first turn embankment and dropped to ninth with just four laps remaining.
Sheppard took advantage of the miscue, leading the remaining four laps uncontested to win the ‘Honoring Alex’ Season Opener at Utica-Rome Speedway in his Hurlock Auto & Speed Supply No. 9s.
Payton Talbot claimed the opening feature of the season with the Worthington Industries Crate 602 Sportsman. Talbot nabbed his fourth career Utica-Rome Speedway win, the first three of which came in 2021. He earned $1,000 after his 25-lap conquest.
Beau Ballard won the 20-lap Next Generation Graphix Pro Stock main event from his fourth starting position. Ballard began his title defense with a dominant victory.
Seth Martin won his first career 15-lap Fastline Performance Limited Sportsman race in a wild, up-and-down affair. Martin passed Alex Hughes on the 11th circuit and led the remaining four laps for the win. Matt Backus and Tim Deffer rounded out the podium finishers.
Justin Pope, the defending Utica-Rome Speedway champion picked up where he left off in 2022, claiming the 12-lap Fonda Fair Four Cylinder victory.
The Finish:
Feature (30 Laps): Matt Sheppard, Larry Wight, Max McLaughlin, Tim Fuller, Mat Williamson, Stewart Friesen, Billy Decker, Alex Yankowski, Rocky Warner, Pat Ward, Jessica Friesen, Dave Marcuccilli, Erick Rudolph, Shaun Walker, Darren Smith, Bobby Hackel IV, JaMike Sowle, David Schilling, Alan Barker, Nick Heywood, Claude Hutchings Jr., Tucker O’Connor, Rich Christman, Randy Shantel, Alan Johnson, Tyler Trump, Danny Tyler, Willy Decker Sr., Andy Bachetti, Aaron Jacobs.