News Director 
Story By: JOHN TIFF / UTICA-ROME SPEEDWAY – VERNON, NY – The mighty big-block Modifieds return this coming Sunday to the Utica-Rome Speedway for the first of two appearances on the 2019 racing schedule.
The annual Jan Corcoran Memorial 50-lap main-event will feature the big and small blocks taking on one another for a cool $3,064 payday at the conclusion. The August 4 program is presented by Northeast Racing Products and Power Seal.
The event on Sunday will be the 9th Annual Jan Corcoran Memorial. The event started at the Canandaigua Speedway when Jeremie Corcoran was the promoter in order to honor his late mother. It was always one of the biggest events of the season at the popular Ontario County oval and in 2018 the event was moved to the Utica-Rome Speedway.
Last year, Matt Sheppard returned to the Utica-Rome Speedway to take the big day while another invader Peter Britten finished in the second position. Marc Johnson was the final driver on the podium during the 2018 running of the race. Current Utica-Rome Speedway DirtTrackDigest.com DIRTcar 358-Modified point leader Erick Rudolph finished fourth with the defending track champion Billy Dunn completing the top five. Nearly 30 cars took part in the event last season and another solid field is expected on Sunday night as well. The race is a show up points event for the Modified division and features an open draw for starting positions with a redraw for starting spots at the front of the field.
Rules for the big block / small block challenge can be found at: http://www.uticaromespeedway.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Big-Small-Block-Challenge-2.pdf
The Broedel Fuel Group DIRTcar Sportsman are also on the docket on Sunday night. They’ll have a special payday for their 20-lap main-event with $640 going to the winner and $64 going to each driver that makes the starting field. Like the Modifieds, the Sportsman field will also draw for starting position with a redraw utilized for starting spots in the feature event. Matt Janczuk is currently the high-point man in the division on the back of three feature wins in 2019. Dylan Zacharias and Alan Fink are the only other drivers to crack victory lane in the tough division in 2019. This event is show points for the division.
The Ted’s Body Shop Pro Stock division will have a regular 20-lap feature on the night as well while Bernie’s Extreme Performance Parts Rookie Sportsman will complete the night’s program with a 15-lap feature. Josh Coonradt currently leads the points for the Ted’s Body Shop Pro Stocks and he’s coming off a dominant performance on Sunday night at Utica-Rome.
The Northeast Racing Products trade show, auction and swap meet is held annually at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, N.Y. The Northeast Racing Products Show offers a wide array of vendors from dirt track, to asphalt, Modifieds, Sprint Cars and nearly any type of racing you can think of. The ever-popular auction returns on Saturday afternoon. The third annual show dates are Friday and Saturday November 22nd and 23rd.
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The grandstands admission price for this event is $20 with seniors/military members/students costing $18. Kids 16 and under are $5. Pit prices for the event are $35 for all DIRTcar Members and $40 for non-members. Pit gates will open at 4:30pm while spectator gates open at 5pm. Racing starts at 7pm.
