RUSH SERIES TO
CLOSE OUT 2016 SEASON THIS WEEKEND AT LERNERVILLE IN "STEEL CITY STAMPEDE" WITH
SWEENEY LATE MODEL & BICKNELL SPORTSMAN MOD TOURS
By Mike Leone
October 12, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
(Sarver, PA)...The 2016 racing season for the Sweeney Chevrolet
Buick GMC RUSH Racing Series powered by Pace Performance will come to a close
this weekend at Lernerville Speedway for the annual "Steel City Stampede".
The RUSH Late Models will compete in a Sweeney Marquee Tour event, while
the RUSH Sportsman Modifieds will battle in a Bicknell Racing Products Touring
Series event. An open practice will
be held Thursday night with heat races for all divisions (plus group qualifying
for the RUSH LM) on Friday night at 7:05 followed by the last chance B mains and
features on Saturday evening starting at 5.
Also, over $15,000 in contingency prizes have been posted to crate engine
racers.
The RUSH Late Models are coming off a very successful
"Bill Hendren Memorial" event as part of the "Pittsburgher 100" at Pittsburgh's
PA Motor Speedway last weekend where John Mollick came out on top of a 39-car
field taking home over $2,600 in cash plus contingencies.
Mollick became the season's 10th different winner in Touring competition
and amazingly the sixth different driver to win his first ever Tour race this
season! Saturday's event will pay
$2,000 to-win.
The championship battle has been tight all season
long between Bryce Davis and John Waters.
The New Yorkers are both looking for their first Sweeney Tour title.
Davis enters the event with a seven-point lead on Waters and if he can
finish in the top four, he'll clinch the $5,000 crown no matter what Waters
does. Both drivers started the year
off fast each winning three feature events through mid-July, but both have been
shutout of victory lane since.
Jason Knowles, another NY driver, is third in points
and is still looking for his first career Tour win as he finishes up his second
year of touring full-time. Will
Thomas III, Brian Knowles, Dave Lyon, Bruce Hordusky, Jr., Alan Dellinger, Eric
Wilson, Mike Pegher, Jr., Tony White, and Clinton Hersh complete the top 12
points-paying positions.
Back on July 1, Davis won his first career
Lernerville feature during a three-race Marquee Tour event win streak.
This year’s “Steel City Stampede” will be the eighth edition of the growing
event that includes eight of the region’s racing divisions all showcased in this
end of the season blowout for the region. There has yet to be a repeat
winner in the Crate Late Models; past winners include Josh Holtgraver (2009),
Butch Lambert (2010), Bryan Force (2011), Max Blair (2012), Dennis Lunger, Jr.
(2013), Chad Ruhlman (2014), and Jacob Hawkins (2015).
Last year's event attracted 54 cars, which was an all-time Northeast
crate record until September 11 at Tri-City Raceway Park when 56 cars showed up
for "Manufacturers Night" presented by MSD Performance!
Meanwhile, the RUSH Sportsman Modifieds will join the "Steel City Stampede" for
the third consecutive year. Greg
Martin won the inaugural race in 2014, while Nick Ritchey won his first ever at
Lernerville last season. The
Sportsman Mods will complete their second season of Bicknell Touring Series
competition and will be featured in an $800 to-win event.
Chas Wolbert, who has yet to finish worse than seventh in a Tour event,
currently leads the points by 10 over Bicknell Weekly Series Champion, Brian
Schaffer. Both drivers are in their
first year in the division Adam
Hilton won the opening event at Tri-City.
Wolbert captured the MFG Night victory at Sharon one week later.
Ritchey followed up last year's "Steel City Stampede" Tour win with
another at Lernerville on July 1.
Chelsie Kriegisch became the first female to win a RUSH Sportsman Mod race on
July 13 taking the Expo event.
Sharon Speedway's September 17 race was rained out and will be completed as a
non-point event in 2017, and the following night saw Tri-City's show succumb to
rain as well.
Lernerville has already hosted a record five RUSH Sportsman Modified races this
season with five different winners including Kole Holden, Schaffer, Ritchey,
Josh Deems, and Wolbert. Deems' win
was his first career win.
As
part of the weekend, over $15,000 in contingencies will be distributed to RUSH
crate engine racers. The grand prize
will be the $7,500 Rocket Racing certificate toward the purchase of a 2017
Rocket XR1, Stage 2, which will see all Pace Performance "Summer Chase" drivers
be eligible (whether in attendance or not).
Lincoln Electric will give away their third Power Mig 140C welder and
utility cart ($750 value) of the season.
All competing crate engine racers in the Late Models, Sportsman
Modifieds, and Stocks in addition to any legal RUSH Pro Mod racer that competed
at Stateline Speedway this season will be eligible for Lincoln drawing.
Also, several thousands of dollars in product contingencies will be up
for grabs to RUSH Pro Stock drivers in the second annual "Manufacturers Night"
presented by MSD Performance. All of
these drawings will take place on Saturday.
Of course, all of the great Touring Series contingencies have been posted
in the Late Models and Sportsman Modifieds.
"This is always a great way to end our season," said RUSH Director Vicki Emig.
"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. We have to thank
Lernerville for allowing our Sportsman Modifieds the opportunity to race there
over the past three seasons. It's
been a great way to continue to grow this division, and we expect a large
turnout this weekend."
Bobby Lake Motorsports "Shock the Clock Qualifying and Beat
the Heat" will be utilized on Friday night for the Late Models meaning the
fastest qualifier will receive $100 and all heat race winners will earn $25.
The K&N “Cold Air Induction” Dash will be run on Saturday night paying a $100
K&N certificate to win, $50 K&N certificate for second with $25 cash for third
and fourth place. The K&N Dash will also set the beginning of the feature
lineup for the top two finishers in the heat races if there are less than five
heats or for the heat winners if there are five or more heats. Meanwhile,
the K&N Dash for the Mods will be run for the first four racers outside the
redraw positions and will have the same payoff.
For both classes, Precise Racing Products will award a $100 gift card for the
"Pedal Down" Hard Charger that passes the most cars in the feature.
The TBM Brakes “Tough Brake of the Night” will award three
bottles of Xtreme6 Racing Brake Fluid valued at approximately $45 along with a
certificate for a discount off any TBM Brakes purchase for both classes.
RUSH Officials will choose the "Maxima Performance" Award for a driver that
exhibits a performance worthy of such in both the Late Models and Mods. The
winner will receive a free case of either Maxima Semi-Syn High Performance
Racing Oil or Maxima Performance Racing Oil of your choice. In addition,
the winner will receive one can of SC-1 clear coat, one 16-oz bottle of Maxima
Cool-Aide concentrate, one 32-oz quart of Maxima PSF power steering fluid, and a
Maxima t-shirt. The value of this prize package is $170!
Also, CrateInsider.com will award a $25 gift certificate to the driver that
finishes last on the lead lap at the finish in both features.
The first non-qualifier in the
Late Models will receive an ARbodies nosed kit valued at $260 for the "Nosed
Out" contingency.
RUSH Late Model Feature payoff:
1. $2,000 2. $1,000 3. $650 4.
$550 5. $470 6. $435 7. $410 8. $370 9. $340
10. $310 11. $280 12. $270 13. $260 14. $250 15. $240
16. $230 17. $220 18-24. $210.
RUSH Late Model Non-Qualifier payoff: 1. $175
2. $150 3. $140 4. $135 5. $130 6. $125 7. $120
8. $115 9. $110 10-24. $105. Tow $100.
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 $60.
2016 Sweeney Late Model Touring Series Points
(must be a Touring Series member to receive
points): 1. Bryce Davis 961 2. John
Waters 954 3. Jason Knowles 887
4. Will Thomas III 874 5.
Brian Knowles 871 6. Dave Lyon 870
7. Bruce Hordusky, Jr. 833 8.
Alan Dellinger 780 9. Eric Wilson
771 10. Mike Pegher, Jr. 742
11. Tony White 695 12.
Clinton Hersh 620 13. Brian Swank
612 14. Matt Latta 525
15. Kyle Zimmerman 410 16.
Damian Bidwell 280 17. Randy Hall
270 18. W.L. Stile 219
19. Jared Kane 210 20. Max
Blair 200 21. Charlie Duncan &
Michael Duritsky, Jr. 166 23. Dennis
Lunger, Jr. 161 24. Josh Double 89
25. Mike Franklin 71.
2016 Bicknell Sportsman
Modified Touring Series Points (must be a
Touring Series member to receive points): 1. Chas Wolbert 453 2. Brian
Schaffer 443. 3. Kole Holden 439 4. Brandon Ritchey 437 5.
Kyle Martell 433 6. Chelsie Kriegisch 424 7. Jeremy Weaver 422
8. Tiffany Williams 415 9. Steve Slater 407 10. Jessica Kriegisch
391 11. Josh Seippel 388 12. Michael Sparks 387 13. Nick
Ritchey 360 14. Will Schaffer 311 15. Jerry Schaffer 245
16. Preston Cope 230 17.
Justin Shea 174 18. Jordan Ehrenberg 154 19. Rocky Kugel 148
20. Jacob Jordan 140 21. Blaze Myers
80.
You do not have to a member of RUSH to compete. The red AMB transponders are required at Lernerville. RACEceivers are always mandatory. The entry fee is $100 for Late Models and $35 for Sportsman Modifieds.
There will be an open practice from 7-9 p.m. on Thursday night. Registration and tech opens at 3 p.m. on Friday with group qualifying for the RUSH Late Models at 7:05. Racing begins early on Saturday at 5 p.m. A three-day pit pass is $55 for members and $65 for non-members. A two-day pit pass is $50 for members and $55 for non-members. Single-day pit passes are $15 for members and $20 for non members on Thursday, $25 for members and $30 for non-members on Friday, and $30 for members and $35 for non-members on Saturday.
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 (office) or 724-353-1350 (track).
RUSH Late Model marketing partners include Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC, Pace
Performance, Hoosier Tire, Bilstein Shocks, Sunoco Race Fuels, Bazell Race
Fuels, Insinger Performance, MSD Performance, Maxima Racing Oil, Jones Racing
Products, Alternative Power Sources, Precise Racing Products, ARbodies, TBM
Brakes, K&N Filters, Lincoln Electric, Beyea Headers, FK Rod Ends, Bobby Lake
Motorsports, Velocita-USA, High Gear Speed Shop, CrateInsider.com, B.R.A.K.E.S.,
RockAuto.com, and Valley Fashions.
RUSH Sportsman Modified marketing partners: Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC,
Bicknell Racing Products, Pace Performance, Hoosier Tire, Bilstein Shocks, MSD
Ignition, Maxima Racing Oil, Jones Racing Products, VP Racing Fuels, FK Rod
Ends, Sherwood Racing Wheels, Velocita-USA, Precise Racing Products, Alternative
Power Sources, K&N Filters, TBM Brakes, Lincoln Electric, CrateInsider.com,
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.
###