INFLUX OF NEW
RACERS SET TO EMBARK ON SWEENEY RUSH SPORTSMAN MODIFIED SERIES IN 2015
By Jim Zufall & Mike Leone
February 16, 2015
(Pulaski, PA)…As
the Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC RUSH Sportsman Modified Series prepares to enter
its sophomore season, many changes are on the horizon for the crate engine,
Bilstein sealed spec shock, center-steer Modified Series. The first of those
changes is the introduction of two weekly tracks for the division. Sharon
Speedway in Hartford, Ohio and Sportsman’s Speedway in Knox PA have agreed to
provide a weekly venue for the Sweeney RUSH Sportsman Modified to compete on a
weekly basis on Saturday and Sunday nights respectively.
Another large change in the Series is the addition of a number of drivers who
will be entering the Sportsman Modifieds ranks for 2015. Series Co-Director
Vicki Emig, for one is very excited about the growth for the new year. “Last
year was somewhat of an exhibition year, but it served its purpose in
showing the region and potential new racers what an exciting and
affordable class it will be.” She understands that the “show & tell”
aspect of last season served its purpose and that is much of what attracted the
new blood to the division. “The majority of the racers joining the class this
year have never raced or had not recently been racing so the division is right
on track in doing what we had hoped, recruiting new racers and helping to
preserve and build back into our Modified class.”
Among the new drivers entering the ranks of the Sweeney RUSH Sportsman Modified
Series is Joe Plesniak. At age 43, Plesniak has a somewhat diverse short track
background. “I started racing in the mini stock division in 2009.
Had some success and a whole lot of fun.
We moved up to try our hand at the Street
Stock and quickly found out that both my talent and funds were lacking to
compete at that level. We've took a little break from racing, but now we're
going to give it another shot,” Plesniak says of his eagerness to move to the
new affordable New York-style Modifieds.
In fact what has drawn him to the Sweeney RUSH Mods is the cost and the tech
aspects of the class. “Tech for the mini stocks is limited at best. Go on to any
of the racing classified ads and you'll find a bunch of cars for sale with
‘motor work’. The RUSH Series seems to
have a good handle limiting the costs to the racer.” Plesniak’s Watson's Auto
Service, Merle Hays Auto Wrecking, State Farm Insurance, Linda Oliver,
Whispering Pines Golf Course-sponsored Bicknell will be competing mostly at
Sharon
on Saturday nights. “I have no crazy thoughts of
winning anything except for experience,” says the Linesville, Pa. racer. “The
plan is to go out and have fun each week and be able to load the car on the
trailer without cursing. The goal is to
have fun and not break our equipment or anyone else's equipment.”
Another driver that cites the cost controls built into the RUSH Series is
Hubbard, Ohio’s Jeff Hughes. The
29-year-old has some time behind the wheel in the Limited Sprint Cars and Mini
Stocks, but his time working around the Big-Block Modifieds has given him the
passion for this type of car. “What has sparked my interest in in the RUSH
Series is being around the Big-Block Modifieds for the past 15 years watching
one of my best friends Jimmy Weller and his dad race.
I have always had a passion for the
Modifieds, but just to be competitive you have to spend big money which I was
not in the position to do. So now that the RUSH Series has surfaced with
Sportsman Modifieds and has made it affordable I was able to jump right in to
them.”
Hughes will spend much of 2015 behind the wheel of his #22 Teo Pro with the
backing of Hughes General Contracting and One Stop Mart.
You can catch him most anywhere the RUSH
Sportsman Modifieds are scheduled to run this year including weekly at Sharon
and Sportsman’s as well as most of the touring dates.
Emlenton, Pennsylvania’s Kurt Corah joins the ranks of the Sweeney RUSH Mods
with a background that includes much of the 90s and early 2000’ in a Stock Car
before going on to motorcycle racing. He
also finds the low cost of the series keeping the racing in the driver’s and
team’s hands as the reason for his interest in RUSH.
Asked where we can see his Bicknell #152
compete, the 45-year-old says, “I will be racing at Sportsman’s Speedway in
nearby Knox mostly with Sharon on weekends that time will allow.” With backing
from Amazing Stitches and Hermes Custom Products, both of Emlenton, he hopes to
experience some close, competitive racing.
Twenty-four year-old Josh Deems has spent a fair amount of seat time racing at
Tri-City Speedway in the Enduro class and Mercer Raceway Park in a Mod Lite.
He brings his #9D Bicknell, Crate Engine
Sportsman Modified to the RUSH Series with a couple of factors in mind. “I was
interested in the class because it seems like it’ll have an even playing field
and the Series’ promoters care about the drivers,” says the Volant, PA driver,
who continues his high praise of the Series and some of its promotions.
“I think it is great that the class can have a point fund such as it does
for all the more it costs to get into the class; and that they have
the manufacturers night that they give away products and parts to the racer.
Things like that really attract racers to the division.”
With the help of his wife Staci and his uncle, Deems hopes to make as
many races as possible in his yet unsponsored racer.
At age 20, Brandon Richey has two years of experience in the Mini Stocks where
he has already won at Sportsman’s Speedway and picked up a win at the “Little
Guys Nationals” at Mercer Raceway Park. The
Cranberry, Pa. driver will be returning to race at Sportsman’s weekly in his
2010 Teo #17. “Getting used to the Modified will be the big thing as a
first-year driver,” says Richey. His Casey’s Restaurant and Lounge, Nickle Bar,
Eakin Concrete-sponsored entry will be accompanied in the pits by his crew
consisting of his father, grandfather and brother.
His father Chip was a former Big-Block Modified racer at the area
speedways years ago.
Brandon’s cousin Nick Ritchey is one that is looking forward to getting back
into Modified racing due to the affordability.
Nick started racing go-karts at the age of eight, and had many feature
wins along with track championships at Slippery Rock and Pinehill Speedways.
Nick started racing Big-Block Modifieds
in 2001, and captured Rookie of the Year at Tri-City Speedway and the
Outstanding Achievement Award at Mercer Raceway Park.
Nick got hurt in 2005 and gave up racing until 2007 when he started racing an
asphalt Late Model at Lake Erie speedway through 2010.
Now the 30-year-old from Oil City, Pa. will be behind the wheel of a 2003
Bicknell.
While the Sweeney RUSH Late Model Division has a number of very young, talented
drivers, with names like Michael Lake, Ryan Montgomery, Eric Wilson, Nico
Dabecco, and others, the Sweeney RUSH Sportsman Modifieds also has two young
teenagers ready to take on his elders in competition.
The first is Kyle Martell. The
14-year-old is probably the westward most New York-style Modified racer in the
country residing in Rootstown, Ohio. Martell started racing asphalt quarter
midgets at six. Martell raced
throughout Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and North Carolina winning championships
locally, regionally, and nationally throughout his eight-year career.
His biggest victory was a national race in the infield of Indianapolis
Motor Speedway.
In 2014, Martell competed in the “358” Modified division at Mercer Raceway Park,
and is looking forward to moving over to the Sweeney RUSH Sportsman Modifieds
for the upcoming 2015 season.
Martell is a big proponent of the sealed crate engine.
His #8 Bicknell is sponsored by Sarchione Chevrolet & Ford and Band of
Brothers Restoration. He’ll have
help from his dad Tim, uncle Andy, and grandfather Jim as he looks forward to
competing weekly at Sharon Speedway and traveling with the RUSH Series with
futures goals of victories and championships.
At 13 years old by the drop of the first green flag of the season, Stoneboro,
Pennsylvania’s Jeremy Weaver is ready to take on the challenge of the Sportsman
Mods. He became a huge fan of racing
watching his uncle Chris Haines in competition at Mercer Raceway Park and never
missed a race. By age seven, Weaver’s
parents gave him a go-kart as a Christmas present.
A true track kid, Jeremy has made many
friends in the racing business at his young age.
After a couple of track titles in the kart, his story jumps ahead a half
dozen years to another Christmas morning in 2014 when he received a full-size
center-steer Modified!
Sharing garage time with Haines and Tommy Kristyak, Weaver and his father Aaron
are looking forward to a season of learning, seat time, and earning the respect
of the older drivers in the class. The Lakeview Middle School student has a lot
to prove and has just the right determination to reach those goals.
Several other new racers are expected to compete.
One of those is Sam Tatalovic of Guys Mills, Pa.
Sam is the son of new Tri-City Raceway Park owner, Mark Tatalovic.
Sam recently picked up a Bicknell car from longtime racer Rick Hall and
will be a rookie racer in 2015.
Another is 24-year-old Josh Chaney of Hubbard, Ohio, who is good friends with
Jeff Hughes and will be a rookie racer in 2015.
Twenty-year-old go-kart graduate, Chelsie Kriegisch, will begin her first full
season. The Ellwood City, Pa.
resident split time last year with car owner Jerry Schaffer, who will have three
cars in 2015 including one again for his son Will.
Emig seems pleased with the response to the growth of the division so far, with
the number of new drivers and two tracks where they can run full-time. “When
Sharon and Sportsman’s Speedways both stepped up to host the division on a
weekly basis, I knew the results would be positive. I really think by
mid-summer we will see very respectable fields of cars at both speedways and
from there the sky’s the limit for growth into the future.”
RUSH Sportsman Modified marketing partners: Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC, Pace
Performance, Hoosier Tire, Bilstein Shocks, MSD Ignition, Maxima Racing Oil,
Jones Racing Products, VP Racing Fuels, FK Rod Ends, AERO Race Wheels,
Velocita-USA, Precise Racing Products, Alternative Power Sources, K&N Filters,
Rocket Racing, and B.R.A.K.E.S.
E-mail can be sent to the RUSH Racing Series at [email protected] and
snail mail to 4368 Route 422, Pulaski, PA 16143. Office phone is 724-964-9300
and fax is 724-964-0604. The RUSH Racing Series website is
www.rushracingseries.com. Like our Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/rushlatemodels and follow us on Twitter @RUSHLM.
###