JOE MARTIN ENDS A NEAR 3-YEAR WINLESS DROUGHT ON THE HOVIS RUSH LATE MODEL
FLYNN'S TIRE/GUNTER'S HONEY TOUR AFTER A FLAWLESS PERFORMANCE IN THE RETURN TO
SHARON ON KUHNLE MOTORSPORTS PARK NIGHT
By Mike Leone
June 6, 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
(Hartford, OH)...The
Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Dirt Late Model Flynn's Tire/Gunter's Honey
Touring Series returned to Sharon Speedway on Saturday night for the first time
since July 9, 2022. The
weather-challenged 2026 season continued as there was a 90% chance of
thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening.
The storms however all went around the Hartford, Ohio oval allowing just
the third event of 2026 to be completed out of 10 tries.
The event was streamed live on DIRTVision.
Saturday was a storybook ending for Joe Martin.
The former Flynn's Tire/Gunter's Honey Touring Series regular made his
first Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Late Model start of 2026 as he returned to
one of his favorite tracks- Sharon Speedway.
Martin had won the two previous Tour events contested at Sharon in 2021
and 2022.
On Saturday night, Martin drove a flawless 30 laps as he kept Northeast legend,
Dave Hess, Jr., at bay throughout the caution-free event to give car owner
Jonathan Stockdale his first career Tour victory, worth $4,000, and his first
since September 30, 2023 at Pittsburgh PA Motor Speedway.
Even more meaningful was Saturday's event was presented by Kuhnle
Motorsports Park, which is owned by the team's primary sponsor, Kuhnle Brothers
Trucking. The non-stop race was
timed in 9:45.529.
"I'm proud of this and can't thank Jonathan (Stockdale) enough for the
opportunity," expressed the 41-year-old Punxsutawney, Pa. driver from Landrum
Performance Springs Victory Lane. "I
have to thank the Kuhnles as I think they were responsible for getting us back
here. Kim Kuhnle is here and they have a
suite- I want to thank the family for putting this on and allowing me to race
this car once in awhile."
"This place is awesome," added Martin.
"It doesn't matter what division; you can race the top guardrail, around
the tires, and anywhere in between.
I love this place- I really do. It
was getting dirty up top late. I
think there were too many cars running down low and kicking the crumbs up.
If I would have stuck with it and guys followed me we could have run up
there the entire race. When you look
up and see 44 (Hess) on the board and he didn't start right behind me, I figured
I better get down. I started getting
free at the end and tried to keep from spinning the tires.
This car is so good. I show
up at the last minute with my helmet and suit and jump in so I can't take much
credit for it."
Following his Sunoco Dash win, Martin raced into the early lead at the start of
the 30-lap feature, while Jeremy Wonderling passed Austin Allen for second.
Hess started in fifth and was up to fourth on the opening lap.
Hess then drove around Allen for third on lap three, while Martin began
to distance himself from the field.
Hess ran down Wonderling and drove around the five-time champion off turn four
to nip him at the start-finish line for second on lap six.
Martin had a full straightaway advantage by the time Hess made his way to
second. Lapped traffic came into
play on lap 11 and it wasn't until lap 15 when Hess began to chew into Martin's
lead cutting the deficit more than half.
Martin had to negotiate heavy lapped traffic on lap 22, but continued to
maintain his lead. On lap 24, both
racers cleared lapped traffic giving Martin clean air for the first time since
time since the first 1/3rd of the event.
Hess would eat into Martin's lead in the ensuing laps, but Martin had
just enough to keep Hess at bay by 0.555 seconds.
Martin became the season's third different winner in three races.
His seventh career Flynn's Tire/Gunter's Honey Tour victory came aboard
the Jonathan Stockdale-owned, Kuhnle Brothers Trucking/Penske Shocks/Doc
Howard's Distillery/E&S Towing/Slowride Transport/Interstate Towing/Sunnyside
Farm Transit/Whitehill Garage/Dasly Supply-sponsored #31.
It was also Martin's eighth career win on Sharon's 3/8-mile track.
Hess earned $2,000 for his runner-up finish aboard the Alex Anderson-owned #44,
which is sponsored by IllusionCoats Powder Coating- the "Official Powder Coater"
of RUSH and the presenting sponsor of the "Firing Zone".
"I had to make the crew work hard tonight," acknowledged the 41-year-old
Waterford, Pa. great. "I bent the
spoiler against the fence twice tonight and knocked the bumper off on an infield
tire. It's been a busy night.
I think we changed every shock and spring and adjustment we could make
and finally hit on something in the feature where we were pretty good.
It was a good race. Joe
(Martin) was awesome. I thought we
were so close and if I was out front, he'd have been in the same boat as the
cars were so even. I felt I'd gain a
little bit and push a little too hard and lose a bit."
"It's always great racing and love racing with all these guys- the whole crew is
great sportsmanship," added Hess. "I
love racing here whenever we get the chance- the track is phenomenal.
I can't thank my parents enough for putting a car behind me my whole life
to get me where I am and all that experience is paying off.
Thanks to Alex Anderson and his group of sponsors for putting me in a
great hot rod; we were one spot short but aren't hanging our head on that.
We made a lot of strides tonight that will hopefully get us up front for
the big 'Bill Emig Memorial' race."
Wonderling was third for a $1,000 payday as his third top four finish in the
first three races has him atop the $20,000 standings in search of an
unprecedented sixth Flynn's Tire/Gunter's Honey Tour title.
Christian Schneider started eighth and finished fourth after getting by
Kyle Zimmerman on lap 20. Schneider
earned the $100 Big Daddy's Speed Center/Hoosier Tire Western PA gift card for
being the "Pedal Down" Hard Charger following his best finish of the season.
Zimmerman, who was aboard a second Jonathan Stockdale/Kuhnle Brothers
Trucking entry, was fifth for his season's best finish as well.
Kurt Stebbins went 10th to 6th to maintain his points lead in the $3,000 to-win
3C Graphix Rookie-of-Year standings.
Demetrios Drellos, the 2025 3C Graphix Rookie-of-the-Year,
was seventh in his first ever visit to
Sharon as his three top eight finishes has him second in the standings.
Daryl Charlier was eighth.
Allen backpedalled to ninth after starting on the outside pole.
Jason Knowles completed the top 10.
Ben Easler, who finished 11th, in the feature opened the night by going fastest
in hot laps with a lap of 17.367 to earn the $50 "Hottest of the Hot" honors
from Schneider Trucks. Wonderling
captured his first $100 FK Rod Ends "Shock the Clock" fast time honors of 2026
with a lap of 17.577 over the 27-car field, which was hampered by the poor
forecast. Approximately a dozen
teams that posted they were coming to Sharon failed to make the trip due to the
weather.
Wonderling, Zimmerman, and Martin won the $25 FK Rod Ends heat races.
Cory Sines, who made his first RUSH Late Model start since the 2024
season, won the last chance B main.
A flat tire before the green flag of the B main ended Jake Gunn's night early
and was awarded the $100 Close Racing Supply Hard Luck gift card.
Martin received a $100 Sunoco fuel card for winning the Sunoco Dash.
Touring drivers, Wonderling and Drellos won the $100 Sunoco fuel card drawings, while Gunn,
Cale Schwartzmiller, Logan Zarin, and Tommy Schirnhofer, Jr. were the
lucky recipients of the $50 Sunoco fuel card drawings.
Landrum Performance Springs, which will award a $5,000 Loyalty
Bonus at the season ending event, distributed BOGO certificates, which were won
by
Stebbins, Easler, Albert Bull, Ashton Briggs, and Zimmerman.
Up next for the Flynn’s Tire/Gunter's Honey Touring Series will be the fourth
try to complete the "Bill Law Memorial" on Saturday, June 13 at Stateline
Speedway in Busti, NY. The $4,000
to-win event was previously rained out for three consecutive weeks on May 9, May
16, and May 23 without a car ever hitting the speedway.
Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Late Model Flynn’s Tire/Gunter's Honey Touring
Series Race #3 (30
laps, $4,000 to-win): 1. JOE MARTIN (Stockdale 31)
2. Dave Hess, Jr. (Anderson 44)
3. Jeremy Wonderling (3J) 4.
Christian Schneider (Daugherty 56)
5. Kyle Zimmerman (Stockdale 101) 6.
Kurt Stebbins (26) 7. Demetrios
Drellos (111) 8. Daryl Charlier
(Dobnak 42) 9. Austin Allen (Mullen
32) 10. Jason Knowles (4)
11. Ben Easler (02) 12. Logan
Zarin (Beach 33x) 13. Tommy
Schirnhofer, Jr. (8s) 14. Breyton
Santee (9) 15. Cory Sines (25s)
16. Bill Holmes III (8) 17.
Zach Gunn (17G) 18. Ashton Briggs
(11a) 19. Marino Angelicchio (55)
20. Brodie Oravetz (91B) 21.
Chuck Medved (2M) 22. Ryan Hare (29)
23. Cale Schwartzmiller (28s)
24. Cody Dawson (36).
DNQ:
Albert Bull (19), Jake Gunn (14G) & Jeff Watson (1*).
Car Count: 27
Feature Margin of Victory: 0.555 seconds
Feature Lap Leaders: Joe Martin
(1-30)
Close Racing Supply “Tough Brake of the Night:
Jake Gunn
Hoosier Tire Western PA/Big Daddy’s Speed Center Hard Charger: Christian
Schneider (+4)
Landrum Performance Springs BOGO Certificates: Kurt Stebbins, Ben
Easler, Albert Bull, Ashton Briggs & Kyle Zimmerman
Ontime Body & Graphic “Spoiler Alert” Spoiler Kit:
Jeremy Wonderling
Schneider Trucks “Hottest of the Hot” Fastest in Hot Laps:
Ben Easler
(17.367)
Sunoco Fuel Card Winners: Jeremy Wonderling ($100),
Demetrios Drellos ($100), Jake Gunn ($50), Cale Schwartzmiller ($50), Logan
Zarin ($50) & Tommy Schirnhofer, Jr.
FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock” Qualifying (Track
record 16.419 by Max Blair on 9/11/15) ($100 for fast time): 1. 3J-Jeremy
Wonderling, 17.577[1]; 2. 56-Christian Schneider, 17.766[12]; 3. 31-Joe Martin,
17.853[17]; 4. 26-Kurt Stebbins, 17.854[7]; 5. 101-Kyle Zimmerman, 18.010[26];
6. 111D-Demetrios Drellos, 18.063[4]; 7. 32A-Austin Allen, 18.065[21]; 8.
42-Daryl Charlier, 18.127[10]; 9. 02-Ben Easler, 18.167[8]; 10. 55A-Marino
Angelicchio, 18.221[19]; 11. 44-Dave Hess Jr, 18.224[11]; 12. 4-Jason Knowles,
18.228[25]; 13. 25S-Cory Sines, 18.248[6]; 14. 36-Cody Dawson, 18.270[14]; 15.
1*-Jeff Watson, 18.282[18]; 16. 8S-Tommy Schirnhofer Jr, 18.295[24]; 17.
9S-Breyton Santee, 18.317[15]; 18. 33X-Logan Zarin, 18.402[23]; 19. 8-Bill
Holmes, 18.493[13]; 20. 91B-Brodie Oravetz, 18.513[2]; 21. 17G-Zach Gunn,
18.587[5]; 22. 2M-Chuck Medved, 18.588[20]; 23. 14G-Jake Gunn, 18.748[3]; 24.
11A-Ashton Briggs, 19.084[16]; 25. 19-Albert Bull, 19.221[9]; 26. 28S-Cale
Schwartzmiller, 19.240[22]; 27. 29-Ryan Hare, NT.
FK Rod Ends Heat 1 (8
laps, Top 6 transfer to A, $25 to-win): 1. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling[1]; 2.
32A-Austin Allen[3]; 3. 55A-Marino Angelicchio[4]; 4. 26-Kurt Stebbins[2]; 5.
8S-Tommy Schirnhofer Jr[6]; 6. 8-Bill Holmes[7]; 7. 25S-Cory Sines[5]; 8.
2M-Chuck Medved[8]; 9. 19-Albert Bull[9].
FK Rod Ends Heat 2 (8
laps, Top 6 transfer to A, $25 to-win): 1. 101-Kyle Zimmerman[2]; 2. 44-Dave
Hess Jr[4]; 3. 56-Christian Schneider[1]; 4. 42-Daryl Charlier[3]; 5. 9S-Breyton
Santee[6]; 6. 91B-Brodie Oravetz[7]; 7. 14G-Jake Gunn[8]; 8. 36-Cody Dawson[5];
9. 28S-Cale Schwartzmiller[9].
FK Rod Ends Heat 3 (8
laps, Top 6 transfer to A, $25 to-win): 1. 31-Joe Martin[1]; 2. 111D-Demetrios
Drellos[2]; 3. 4-Jason Knowles[4]; 4. 02-Ben Easler[3]; 5. 33X-Logan Zarin[6];
6. 17G-Zach Gunn[7]; 7. 11A-Ashton Briggs[8]; 8. 1*-Jeff Watson[5]. DNS: 29-Ryan
Hare
Last Chance B Main
(8 laps, Top 6 transfer to A): 1. 25S-Cory Sines[1]; 2. 11A-Ashton Briggs[3]; 3.
2M-Chuck Medved[4]; 4. 36-Cody Dawson[5]; 5. 29-Ryan Hare[9]; 6. 28S-Cale
Schwartzmiller[8]; 7. 19-Albert Bull[7]; 8. 14G-Jake Gunn[2]. DNS: 1*-Jeff
Watson
Sunoco Dash
(6 laps, $100 Sunoco fuel card to-win): 1. 31-Joe Martin[2]; 2. 32A-Austin
Allen[1]; 3. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling[5]; 4. 101-Kyle Zimmerman[6]; 5. 44-Dave Hess
Jr[4]; 6. 111D-Demetrios Drellos[3]
The RUSH Racing Series is brought to you by Hovis Auto & Truck Supply together
with Born2Run Lubricants along with the support of Hoosier Tire, Sunoco Race
Fuels, Bazell Race Fuels, Insinger Performance, Colussy Chevrolet Flynn's Tire,
Gunter's Honey, Rustler Sales & Service, MSD Performance, Holley Performance
Products, FK Rod Ends, Capital Contracting Service, Joseph J. Oliva Attorney at
Law, Schoenfeld Headers, Jones Racing Products, Landrum Performance Springs,
Russ King Racing, 3C Graphix, Velocita-USA, Wieland Metal Services, Real
Merchant Services DMV, IllusionCoats Powder Coating, Hoosier Tire Western
Pennsylvania/Big Daddy's Speed Center, Close Racing Supply, Keyser
Manufacturing/Integra Racing Shocks, Seal-Tite Paving & Excavating, Schneider
Trucks, Ontime Body & Graphic, Henry's Headers & Exhaust Systems, D&V Jewelers,
AERO Race Wheels, Racing Electronics, Design Creations, and Competition Crate
Parts.
E-mail can be sent to the RUSH Racing Series at [email protected] and
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 X (formerly known as Twitter)
@RUSHLM.
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