New Title Sponsor – Coach’s Corner
South Glens Falls, NY – On August 14th officials from the Upstate Racing League announced that Coach’s Corner will step up and become the title sponsor of the Pro Late Model Series. Part of this announcement included details regarding the 2018-2019 banquet, which will be held at Coach’s Corner on April 20th, 2019!
Coach’s Corner is a family owned and operated diner located In South Glens Falls, New York. Open seven days a week and only minutes from Lake George and Saratoga Springs, Coach’s Corner is your go-to place for breakfast and lunch. Thursday nights before the race, stop in and see what is cooking for dinner!
Check them out on facebook by clicking here.
Approval Series Info
It’s almost time for sign-ups for the 2018 Approval series. This series is used for the league to evaluate new drivers to see if they are a good fit for the upcoming Pro series. Drivers who pass through to the Pro series will be eligible for the Brian Rogers Motorsports Rookie of the Year Award!
The Approval series is 5 races long, starting August 30th, at Iowa Speedway. The series then heads west to Irwindale Speedway (inner), followed by Thompson, Southern National, and Concord. The finale will be 150 laps and broadcast on MaxSpeedTV.
This is our 5th approval series. The champion will get a free entry ($15 value, if approved) into our Pro Series where there is a $550 point fund along with other prizes and awards that can be earned through out the season. To see what is available please see our rule book.
Why do we do this? We’ve used this process to help filter out certain types of drivers, and as a result, we’ve experienced very low Inc’s, a lot of green flag laps, and low drama over the past few seasons.
What are our expectations of new drivers you ask? New drivers will be evaluated to see if they can drive (and act) with respect, patience, and courtesy. More detail will be discussed at each Approval series drivers meeting.
Entry to the Approval series is free so come on out and join us. Sign-ups begin August 15th!
2018 Banquet Details
We are excited to announce the details for our second annual banquet being held on April 21st at the All Star Alley & Tavern in Syracuse, New York at 1 PM EST. This event will honor our UMP Home Track Series Champion, Super Sprint Series Champion and our Pro Late Model Series Champion all brought to us courtesy of White Knuckle Clothing Inc. There will be games and door prizes and those who attended last year’s banquet can tell you that you won’t leave empty handed!
We will also be doing a 50/50 raffle with prizes including an Upstate Racing League iFlag, shirt, and entry into next years Pro Series. Tickets will be 1 for $1 3 for $2 and 6 for $5 and Al’s Arm Length for $10. To purchase a ticket use the following link paypal.me/upstateracingleague
Prizes for 50/50
1. Cash Prize
2. 1 Entry Fee for any URL Series ($15 value)
3. URL T-Shirt
Also, there will be an exciting announcement at the banquet regarding next season for both Asphalt and Dirt Competitors that you won’t want to miss!
To purchase your ticket for the banquet please click the link provided PayPal.me/upstateracingleague/25 If you want to bring a guest please do! Each ticket is $25.00
The menu:
Food:
– Veggie Platter
– Buffalo Wings
– Cheeseburger Sliders – Cheddar, 1000 Island, Pickles, Caramelized Onions
– Pretzel Bites & Fondue
– Chicken Quesadilla – Grilled Onions and Peppers, Marinated Chicken, Cheddar Jack, Sour Cream
Drinks:
– Unlimited Water and Soda
– Cash Bar for those who want alcohol
Door Prizes:
White Knuckle Clothing Inc.
– Shirts
– Hats
– Koozies
Beth’s Colorful Creations
– Cake Pops
Upstate Racing League
– Pens
– Candy
– iRacing Die Cast Car
– Other Surprises
OnPitRoad.com
– Hats
Sim Speed Shop
– Shirts
– Hats
The Button Box Shop
– Gift Certificate
Devils Bowl Speedway – West Haven VT
– 2 General Admission Tickets to a regular event in 2018
– 2 General Admission Tickets to a regular event in 2018
Plus others!
Kocher Sweeps both Championships as Marinak wins Finale!
Last Thursday, the Upstate Racing League White Knuckle Clothing Inc. Pro Late Model Series rolled into the New Smyrna Speedway for the season closing Chasing the Checkers 200. Matt Kocher entered the evening with an eleven point advantage over his rival for the championship, Stefan Marinak. Jake Watson won the Rumar Vinyl Creations Speed Demon Pole Award and would have Alex Orians starting to his outside. Championship rivals Kocher and Marinak would start third and eighteenth, respectively.
On the initial start Jake Watson would jump out to the initial advantage and Matt Kocher would move past Alex Orians for the second position. Watson would get into the wall on the fourth circuit and the Art’s Barber Shop Points Standings leader Matt Kocher would take the lead and gain an ever so important bonus point. Watson would move back by Kocher on the tenth lap and hope to pull away from the field. Fifth place starting Al Smith Jr. would work his way past Kocher for second on lap fourteen and set his sights on leader Jake Watson. It wouldn’t take long for Al to power his White Knuckle Clothing Inc. Ford Fusion machine by Watson, and he would take the lead on the race’s twenty-sixth lap.
Forty laps into the race, Al Smith Jr. would continue to lead while championship contenders Matt Kocher ran in third and Stefan Marinak rode in the fourteenth spot. On the forty-fourth lap defending series champion Nicklas Rasmussen moved by Al for the lead in his final start in the URL. The field would ride single file, nose to tail through the first eleven cars. Marinak would finally find the “go” button, and on lap fifty-six he would move passed Guillaume Fortin for the tenth spot.
The following lap would see the yellow flag flying for contact between Mike Holtsclaw and Brad Carpenter, sending Carpenter spinning. Nicklas would choose the outside on the ensuing restart and would pull away by multiple car lengths over Al Smith. Marinak would continue to march forward as he would move by Justin MacDuff for the sixth position on lap sixty-six. On the next lap however, a second caution flag would fly for a three car wreck involving Dan Dubuque, Jim McIntyre Jr., and Mike Holtsclaw; effectively guaranteeing we will see Jim McIntyre in a Ford next season.
The restart would come with one hundred and twenty-four laps to go. Rasmussen would choose the outside again and would easily break clear of second place Matt Kocher. Marinak would move up from sixth to fourth on the restart and set his sights on Kocher who fell back to third. The front four would race two by two for multiple laps as Watson and Rasmussen would battle for the lead and Kocher and Marinak would battle for third. Watson would move back into the lead on the eighty-fourth lap as Nick would slot into second. Marinak would get by Kocher and Rasmussen on the ninety-first lap and throw his line out to try and reel Jake Watson in.
Halfway in and a chess match for lead was on between Marinak and Watson. Marinak would pressure Watson for over a dozen laps but eventually Jake would pull away by over a second and a half. The laps would continue to tick off in a rather uneventful second half of the race, as Watson would lead at the one hundred and fifty lap mark over Marinak, Rasmussen, Kocher, and Rex Hoyle. The battle for the lead would heat up again on lap one hundred and sixty as Marinak would be back onto the back bumper of Watson. Marinak looked for a lane to get by but could not find one and Nicklas Rasmussen would close in to make it a three car battle. Contact would ensue allowing both Marinak and Rasmussen to get by Watson.
With twenty-five to go, Marinak would set his sights on the checkered flag. He was doing everything he needed to do although Kocher rode in the fifth spot at this point. Marinak would go on to the race and collect the Team Bushfink Racing Hard Charger Award along with the Jokers eSport Squeaky Clean Driver of the Race Award! Nicklas Rasmussen would have to settle for second in his final Pro Series start, followed by Rex Hoyle, Matt Kocher, and Shawn Cool in the top five. Matt Kocher would sweep both the White Knuckle Clothing Inc. Pro Late Model Series championship and the Brian Rogers Motorsports Slammin’ the Dew Rookie of the Year championship!
Stay tuned to the website and the Facebook page for all news and updates regarding the league. We’ll see you this Fall!
Chasing the Checkers 200 Official Results
Art’s Barber Shop Points Standings
Brian Rogers Motorsports Slammin’ the Dew Rookie of the Year Points Standings