10/10/2023
RUSH Late Model Series
HOVIS RUSH SERIES TO CLOSE OUT 2023 SEASON AT LERNERVILLE THIS WEEKEND FOR THE "STEEL CITY STAMPEDE"; FLYNN'S TIRE LATE MODEL TOUR PLUS RUSH SPRINTS &
HOVIS RUSH SERIES TO CLOSE OUT 2023 SEASON AT LERNERVILLE THIS WEEKEND FOR THE "STEEL CITY STAMPEDE"; FLYNN'S TIRE LATE MODEL TOUR PLUS RUSH SPRINTS & RUSH SPORTSMAN MODS IN ACTION
By Mike Leone
October 10, 2023 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Sarver, PA)...The Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Racing Series presented by Born2Run Lubricants will have a tripleheader of action this weekend (October 12-14) at Lernerville Speedway for the "Steel City Stampede". The RUSH Late Model Flynn's Tire Touring Series finale will lead the way along with the RUSH Sportsman Modifieds in Flynn's Tire Weekly Series special and the RUSH Sprint Cars in a Sunbelt Rentals Weekly Series special. The rain date is Sunday. The event will be streamed live on Dirt.TV.
Practice will be held Thursday night (October 12) with heat races for all divisions on Friday night followed by the conclusion of the event on Saturday. Action gets underway on Friday at 7 p.m. with group qualifying for the RUSH Late Models followed by heat race action. On Saturday, racing will begin early at 4 p.m.
"This is always a great way to end our season," stated RUSH Director Vicki Emig. "The RUSH championships annually comes down to this event. Our Late Model racers are always excited to get the chance to compete at Lernerville. The car counts have always been strong and the racing at Lernerville is always some of the best of the season. The Sportsman Modifieds have been given the opportunity to race numerous times over the past 10 seasons at Lernerville. Lernerville was a very important part of getting our RUSH Sprint division off the ground in 2018, and their races this year at the track are always tremendous. "
This year’s “Steel City Stampede” will be the 15th edition of this huge event that includes many of the region’s racing divisions all showcased in this end of the season blowout. There have been 12 different winners in 14 years with only one repeat RUSH Late Model winner and it took until 2019 to happen. Past winners include Josh Holtgraver (2009), Bryan Force (2010), Butch Lambert (2011), Max Blair (2012, 2019 & 2020), Dennis Lunger, Jr. (2013), Chad Ruhlman (2014), Jacob Hawkins (2015), John Mollick (2016), John Waters (2017), Colton Flinner (2018), Kyle Hardy (2021), and Logan Roberson (2022). With nearly all of those racers not expected to be in competition, there's a high likelihood of a new winner.
FK Rod Ends "Shock the Clock Qualifying, heat races, and the Sunoco Dash will be run on Friday night for the Late Models. The fastest qualifier will receive $100 and all heat race winners will earn $25. The last chance B main(s) will kickoff Saturday's program. The 30-lap feature will pay a $3,500 to-win. There will also be a $200 to-win, $150 to-start non-qualifier.
Despite struggling at the last events at Pittsburgh September 29-30 and recording just one top five in the last four events, Jeremy Wonderling has already clinched his fourth Flynn's Tire Touring Series title; this time worth a record $15,000! Wonderling won a Series high eight features, which came during a 12-race stretch from May 13 through August 8!
Joe Martin will try and secure the runner-up spot in points for the fourth straight year! Thanks to winning the $10,000 "Bill Hendren Memorial" at the last event at Pittsburgh, Martin extended his advantage to 29 points over Mike Wonderling. After challenging for the points lead early in the season, Mike Wonderling appears to be settled into the third spot in points in his first year on the Tour. Though he didn't win a feature, the oldest of the three Wonderling brothers recorded six podium finishes!
Delaware's Cody Dawson is fourth in points over 13-year-old New York racer Brock Pinkerous, who finished second in Futures Cup points. Ashton Briggs, Jim Rasey, Austin Hauser, Craig Graham and Brandt Graham complete the top 10 in points. Brandt Graham currently leads the D&V Jewelers "Wheelman Bonus Event Challenges" Series points over his father Craig as the Canadian pair are in their second year following the Tour.
Meanwhile, the RUSH Sportsman Modifieds will join the "Steel City Stampede" for the 10th consecutive year in an $800 to-win event. Greg Martin won the inaugural race in 2014, while Nick Ritchey won his first ever at Lernerville in 2015. Rocky Kugel topped what was at the time in 2016 was a record field of 29 cars. Steve Slater won the 2017 show, while teen Blaze Myers scored a popular first Tour win in 2018 after coming out of the B main to also win the "Futures Cup" title. In 2019, Eric Gabany was victorious. Chas Wolbert capped off his 2020 championship season by winning his first. Garrett Krummert finally broke into victory lane in the 2021. Ben Easler clinched the 2022 championship to become the ninth different winner. Will there be a 10th different winner this year!?
The RUSH Sportsman Mods have made two visits this season to Lernerville with Kole Holden and Ayden Cipriano victorious. Cipriano leads the $3,500 to-win Weekly Series Championship by 11 over Easler, who captured the $1,000 to-win Wedge Motorsports "Route 7 Rumble" Series Championship for the second straight year. The RUSH Mods have run 24 races in 2023 with seven different drivers victorious. Cipriano and Holden lead the way with seven victories apiece. Easler has four wins. Veteran Rob Kristyak has a pair of wins as does Doug Rutana, which were the firsts of his career. JC Boyer also has a win.
The RUSH Sprints will wrap up their sixth season and will be racing for $800 to-win in their fourth race of the year at Lernerville. The three events this season have averaged over 27 cars per event with the July 21 show attracting an all-time record 30 cars! John Mollick has two victories, while Blaze Myers was also a winner. Past "Steel City Stampede" RUSH Sprint winners include Ruhlman with two victories, while Gale Ruth, Jr., Zach Morrow, and Myers also have a victory.
Ruhlman has already clinched his fifth championship in six years worth another $5,000! Ruhlman leads the Series with eight victories including the last two special events at Hummingbird and Sharon. After finishing third in points each of the last two years, Myers will finish second in 2023 thanks to winning three straight events in July and August. After finishing runner-up in points in 2021 and 2022, Gale Ruth, Jr. has struggled in 2023 with just one win back on May 31 at Knox, but is currently third in points. John Mollick has had a career best year with four victories and has a shot to move into third in points.
The "Fill'er up with Sunoco Bucks" program will include an additional $400 of Sunoco fuel card giveaways for RUSH Late Model competitors; two $100 random draws for drivers in the top 15 of Tour points and another four $50 random draws for all other competitors. Precise Racing Products will award a $50 gift card for the "Pedal Down" Hard Charger that passes the most cars in the Late Model feature. The TBM Brakes “Tough Brake of the Night” will award three bottles of Xtreme6 Racing Brake Fluid. Ontime Body & Graphic's "Spoiler Alert" will award a spoiler kit to the 21st place finisher in the Late Model feature (note: if a driver has already won a spoiler this season, spoiler will be awarded to the next position). Performance Bodies will award a $100 gift card to the first non-qualifier in the Late Models part of the "Nosed Out" program.
RUSH Late Model Feature Payoff: 1. $3,500 2. $1,750 3. $900 4. $750 5. $650 6. $550 7. $500 8. $475 9. $450 10. $425 11. $400 12. $350 13. $325 14. $300 15. $290 16. $285 17. $280 18-24. $275.
RUSH Late Model Non-Qualifier Payoff: 1. $200 2. $190 3. $185 4. $180 5. $175 6. $170 7. $165 8. $160 9. $155 10-24. $150. Tow $125.
RUSH Sportsman Modified Feature Payoff: 1. $800 2. $500 3. $350 4. $300 5. $250 6. $220 7. $180 8. $175 9. $170 10. $165 11. $160 12. $155 13. $150 14. $145 15. $140 16. $135 17. $130 18-24. $125. Tow $75.
RUSH Sprint Car Feature Payoff: 1. $800 2. $400 3. $300 4. $250 5. $225 6. $220 7. $210 8. $200 9. $190 10. $185 11. $180 12. $175 13. $170 14-18. $165 19-24. $160. Tow $75.
The AMB/MyLaps transponders are required for all divisions; rentals will be available for $25 for the weekend. Driver radios are always mandatory; channel 454.000. The entry fee is $100 for Late Models. There will be an open practice from 7-9 p.m. on Thursday night. Registration will open at 3 p.m. on Thursday and 2 p.m. on Friday. There will be a drivers meeting on Friday at 6:20 p.m. Group qualifying will get underway at 7:00 followed by heat races. Racing begins early on Saturday at 4 p.m. Additional information can be found here: https://store-ktte16i9le.mybigcommerce.com/content/Lernerville%20PDF%27s%20for%20website/2023%20Stampede%20Competitor%20Guide%20-%20EDIT.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2k7p05RkozOrE5S-08GN8G77fA99aVvwyxiDSEAwIiiCUc10TazgNclkU
Lernerville is a 4/10-mile high-banked clay oval located 11 miles southeast of Butler, Pa. on Route 356 at 313 North Pike Road, Sarver, PA 16055. Lernerville is just 30 miles northeast of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. For more information, check out their website at www.lernerville.com or call 724-353-1511.
The RUSH Racing Series is brought to you by Hovis Auto & Truck Supply together with Born2Run Lubricants along with the support of Hoosier Tire, Rick Hendrick City Chevrolet, Sunoco Race Fuels, Bazell Race Fuels, Insinger Performance, Flynn's Tire, Sunbelt Rentals, MSD Performance, Holley Performance Products, FK Rod Ends, Schoenfeld Headers, Jones Racing Products, TBM Brakes, Bilstein Shocks, Performance Bodies & Parts, Racing Electronics, Wieland Metal Services, Frankland Racing Supply, Landrum Performance Spring, Ontime Body & Graphic, Sherwood Wheels, Precise Racing Products, Velocita-USA, Wedge Motorsports, 3C Graphix, D&V Jewelers, CrateInsider.com, and Terry Bowser Excavating.
E-mail can be sent to the RUSH Racing Series at info@rushracingseries.com and snail mail to 4368 Route 422, Pulaski, PA 16143. Office phone is 724-964-9300. The RUSH Late Model website is www.rushlatemodels.com. Like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/rushlatemodels and follow us on Twitter @RUSHLM.
Article Credit: Mike Leone