Utica Rome Speedway Has New Owners, Racing Moves to Friday Nights

The Utica/Rome Speedway has a new owner and racing will move from Sunday to Friday nights when the track opens in the Spring.

Gene Cole, turned operations of the track over to Brett Deyo of BD Motorsports Media LLC., after Bill and Kim Shea stepped down as the speedway’s promoters.

‘Home of Heroes’ races will run on Friday nights for the new season instead of Sunday. Friday night racing will begin at 7:30 p.m., with hot laps at 6:45 p.m. to allow racers and guests time to get home from work.

“Mr. Cole wants nothing more than to see Utica-Rome continue as a speedway,” Deyo said. “There were certainly other lucrative offers received which would have effectively ended auto racing at Utica-Rome. Mr. Cole put the legacy of auto racing at Utica-Rome first and afforded us this opportunity.”

The Utica/Rome Speedway will operate in conjunction with the Fonda Speedway, also owned by BD Motorsports.

Jamie and Denise Page of Bainbridge, New York will manage the track in Vernon along with 25-year-old Chris Moore of Smyrna, Delaware, who will relocate for race season. Moore will also serve as the announcer at both Fonda and Utica-Rome.

The 2021 racing season is expected to begin in May after open practice sessions, and run through Labor Day.

A tribute to the late Richie Evans and a return of the New Yorker event are expected to highlight the ’21 Utica-Rome schedule. More details are expected to be released in the next few weeks.