RUSH SERIES TO CLOSE OUT 2018 SEASON THIS WEEKEND AT LERNERVILLE IN "STEEL CITY
STAMPEDE" WITH SWEENEY LATE MODEL & BICKNELL SPORTSMAN MOD TOURS PLUS SPRINT CAR
FINALE; RUSH PRO STOCK "MFG NIGHT" PRESENTED BY MSD SATURDAY
By Mike Leone
October 10, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
(Sarver, PA)...The 2018 racing
season for the Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC RUSH Dirt Late Model and the
Sportsman Modified Touring Series powered by Pace Performance along with the
RUSH Sprint Cars will come to a close this weekend (October 11-13) at
Lernerville Speedway for the "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, and the RUSH
Sprint Cars in a Bonnell's Rod Shop Weekly Series special.
Though not in competition, the RUSH Pro Stock "Manufacturers Night"
presented by MSD Performance will take place in the registration tent at 2 p.m.
for Lernerville racers.
An open practice will be held Thursday night (October 11) with heat races for
all divisions on Friday night followed by the conclusion of the events on
Saturday. Group qualifying for the RUSH Late Models will be at 7 p.m. on
Friday with racing starting early at 4 on Saturday.
The rain date is Sunday.
"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, which will actually be the first time in 2018. 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 five seasons at Lernerville. It's been a
great way to continue to grow this division, and we expect a large turnout this
weekend. And Lernerville has been a
very important part of the growth of the new RUSH Sprints as this weekend is
their 10th scheduled show at the track.
We'll also reward the Lernerville RUSH Pro Stock racers on Saturday with
their Manufacturers Night."
The RUSH Late Models are coming off a very successful "Bill Hendren Memorial"
event presented by FK Rod Ends as part of the "Pittsburgher 100" at Pittsburgh's
PA Motor Speedway last weekend where Daryl Charlier came out on top over a
43-car field taking home the $4,000 payday. Charlier became the season's
11th different winner in Touring competition, but it was his second straight
"Bill Hendren Memorial" win. Saturday's event will pay $2,000 to-win.
This year’s “Steel City Stampede” will be the 10th edition of this huge event
that includes 12 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), Bryan Force
(2010), Butch Lambert (2011), Max Blair (2012), Dennis Lunger, Jr. (2013), Chad
Ruhlman (2014), Jacob Hawkins (2015), John Mollick (2016), and John Waters
(2017).
Jason Genco leads the Sweeney Tour to Lernerville with just a four-point lead
over Jeremy Wonderling. The championship race has been tight all season
long as both racers battle for their first title. Oddly, Wonderling
finished fourth at both Pittsburgh races this season, while Genco was 10th at
both races. Wonderling shaved eight
points off Genco's lead on Sunday with his 13th straight top nine finish.
Pittsburgh was a new track for Genco as will be the case with
Lernerville.
After a strong middle part of the season, Brady Wonderling has struggled of late
with finishes of 17, 21, 22, and 12 in four of his last five races, but remains
third in points as he concludes his first year on the Tour. Another first
time Tour regular, Canadian Adam Ferri, is fourth over John Waters, the 2016
champion, who has jumped back into the top five in points.
J.J. Mazur, Cory Lawler, Bill Kessler, Jason Knowles, Damian Bidwell,
Darrell Bossard, and Max Blair complete the top 12 points paying positions.
Meanwhile, the RUSH Sportsman Modifieds will join the "Steel City Stampede" for
the fifth consecutive year. 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. Last year,
saw Steve Slater become the fourth different winner in as many years.
The Sportsman Mods will complete their fourth season of Bicknell Touring
Series competition and will be featured in an $800 to-win event.
The "Apple Festival Nationals" event at Sharon saw day two rained out and will
be made up in the spring. The last
completed Bicknell Tour event was at Sharon on August 25 as an all-time record
38 cars turned out for "Manufacturers Night" presented by MSD Performance and
was won by Chas Wolbert. Wolbert
currently has a four-point lead on Garrett Krummert, who clinched the $3,000
Bicknell Weekly Series crown last weekend at Mercer Raceway Park.
Brandon Ritchey, who won his first career Tour race on July 12 at Expo,
is third in points and is only six points out of the lead.
Completing the top 10 points paying positions are Kyle Martell, Steve
Slater, Kole Holden, Jeremy Weaver, Blaze Myers, Darin Gallagher, and Jordan
Ehrenberg.
The RUSH Sportsman Modifieds have only completed two events thus far this season
at Lernerville. Kugel won over
a 26-car field on July 20, while Krummert topped a 22-car field on August
31. Both were Bicknell Weekly Series
events.
The RUSH Sprints will wrap up their inaugural season this weekend racing for
$800 to-win, $160 to-start.
Lernerville has been the home for the Series with 10 events scheduled and eight
being completed to date at the Sarver, Pa. oval.
Gale Ruth, Jr. leads the way with three wins, while Chad Ruhlman and Zach
Morrow picked up a pair of victories.
Arnie Kent won the Series' race back on May 16 and went on to win the
$1,000 "Wednesday Night Lightning Series" title.
A
total of 21 different Sprint Cars have hit the track for year one.
Chad Ruhlman has clinched the $5,000 Bonnell's Rod Shop Weekly Series
title thanks to 14 wins overall. Ruth has locked up second in points.
Kent and Morrow are in a close battle for third.
Shawn Smith looks to hold off Brandon Hawkins for the fifth spot.
Smith had a strong second half of the season with seven straight top five
finishes.
The annual "Manufacturers Night" presented by MSD Performance for the RUSH Pro
Stocks will take place on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in the registration tent.
Only the 20 drivers that competed at Lernerville in 2018 will be eligible
for the prize drawings. There will
be one prize per driver. Due to the
Stampede being an open rules event, drivers do not need to be eligible to win
the prizes. Complete prize list is
posted below.
FK
Rod Ends "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.
For both the Late Models and Modifieds, 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 Sportsman Modified Series Officials will determine the Sherwood Racing
Wheels "Man of Steel" award winner as one that bounced back from an earlier
mishap to finish the event strongly each night. The selected driver will
receive a certificate for a free Sherwood Racing Wheel.
New this year is the Dirt
Defender "Defensive Drive" to the driver that best
defended his position throughout the night in both the Late Models and
Modifieds. This award chosen by RUSH Officials will award a $40 Dirt
Defender product package. The award could go to a driver holding off
another for the final heat race or B main transfer position, a driver denying a
hard charging racer a feature win, a move to stay on the lead lap before a
caution, or any such deserving move.
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 18-26. $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 $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.
RUSH Pro Stock "Manufacturers Night" presented by MSD Performance Giveaways:
1. TBM Brake - 4 "Thunderstorm" Blueprinted Calipers
(D52's or D154) & Fluid
($1,145)
2. Holley - 650 CFM Carburetor ($650)
3. Insinger Performance/Precise - 1 Drum of Sunoco
110 Racing Fuel ($460)
4. Jones Racing Products - 1 Crate Engine Pulley Kit
(Part #1004-S-CE) ($412)
5. Schoenfeld Headers - 1 Set of Schoenfeld Cross
Sportsman Headers ($300)
6. Landrum Springs - Package of VB Coil Springs
($300)
7. Landrum Springs - Package of 4 VB Coil Springs
($300)
8. Landrum Springs - Package of 4 VB Coil Springs
($300)
9. Dynamic Drivelines - 1 New Steel Driveshaft ($300)
10. Bilstein Shocks - 2 RUSH "Bilstein Bandit" Shocks
($270)
11. Ingram Engines - $250 Gift Certificate ($250)
12. Wrisco Industries - Four Sheets White Aluminum
($240)
13. Precise/Sunoco/Ultra-Shield - 1 Performance Body
Classic Nose Piece, 2 Sunoco Fuel Jugs & 1 Box of (200) Tear-offs ($235)
14. FSR-Precise/K&N - 1 Single Pass Radiator & $50
K&N Gift Card ($230)
15. Quick Fuel/Earls - $200 Gift Certificate & Ultra
Shield - Box 200 Tear-Offs ($220)
16. Quick Fuel/Earls - $200 Gift Certificate & Ultra
Shield - Box 200 Tear-Offs ($220)
17. Hoosier Tire Distributor/TBM Brakes - 1 Hoosier
Sportsman Tire & Brake Fluid ($215)
18. Hoosier Tire Distributor/TBM Brakes - 1 Hoosier
Sportsman Tire & Brake Fluid ($215)
19. Precise $100 Gift Card//Ultra Shield -Harness
System/Dirt Defender ($210)
20. Precise Racing Products - $200 Gift Certificate
($200)
2018 Sweeney RUSH Late Model
Touring Series Points (Adjusted on
Marquee/Platinum; only Tour members receive points): 1. Jason Genco 1211
2. Jeremy Wonderling 1207 3. Brady Wonderling 1158 4. Adam Ferri 1071 5.
John Waters 1003 6. J.J. Mazur 957
7. Cory Lawler 955 8. Bill Kessler 897
9. Jason Knowles 840 10. Damian Bidwell 772 11. Darrell Bossard
704 12. Max Blair 582 13. Kyle Murray 580 14. Chad Sines &
Christian Schneider 557 16. Beamer
Guzzardi 539 17. Bruce Hordusky, Jr. 529 18. Garret Paugh 481
19. Jimmy Johnson, Jr. 463 20. Brian Knowles 434 21. Charlie
Sandercock 431 22. Cory Sines 374
23. Mike Franklin 362 24. Paul Norman, Jr. 317 25. Cody
Dawson & Tony White 302 27. Joe Watson 210 28. Eric Wilson 190 29.
Braeden Dillinger 160 30. John Mollick 143
31. Andy Boozel 89 32. Jared Kane 84.
2018 Bicknell Racing Products Touring Series Points
(only Tour members receive points): 1. Chas Wolbert 456 2.
Garrett Krummert 452 3. Brandon Ritchey 450 4. Kyle Martell 436
5. Steve Slater 420 6. Kole Holden 416 7. Jeremy Weaver 404 8.
Blaze Myers 398 9. Darin Gallagher 338
10. Jordan Ehrenberg 315 11.
Justin Shea 279 12. David Kalb, Jr. 222
13. Brian Schaffer 176 14. Jason Hufnagel 148 15. Jacob
Jordan 146.
2018 Sweeney RUSH Sprint Car
Bonnell's Rod Shop Weekly Series Points
(based on best 12 finishes): 1. Chad Ruhlman 1342 2. Gale Ruth, Jr. 1313
3. Arnie Kent 1302 4. Zach Morrow 1301 5. Shawn Smith 1257 6.
Brandon Hawkins & Joe McEwen 1247 8. Scott Hawkins 1224 9. Dave
Hawkins 1221 10. Brad Blackshear 1200
11. Tyler Powell 1192 12. Steve Cousins 1191 13. Steve Pedley
870 14. Dalton Daniels 717 15. Jim Kurpakus 632
16. Brian Woodhall 590 17.
Phil Thornton 582 18. Brian Ruhlman 486 19. Mike Lutz 419 20.
Darin Gallagher 272 21. John Mollick 190 22. Kevin Mohney 189.
The AMB/MyLaps transponders are required at Lernerville. Driver radios are
always mandatory at the 454.000 channel. 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 2 p.m. on
Friday. Drivers meeting at 6:20 with
group qualifying for the RUSH Late Models at 7:00. Racing begins early on
Saturday at 4 p.m. Check out the following link for additional "Steel City
Stampede" event details
https://www.rushlatemodels.com/Steel%20City%20Stampede%20Competitor%20Guide%202018.pdf.
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, Holley Performance Products, Earl's Performance
Plumbing, Quick Fuel Technology, FK Rod Ends, Maxima Racing Oil, Schoenfeld
Headers, Jones Racing Products, Alternative Power Sources, Precise Racing
Products, ARbodies, TBM Brakes, K&N Filters, Lincoln Electric, Velocita-USA,
Classic Ink USA, Rocket Chassis, Landrum Performance Spring, CrateInsider.com,
RockAuto.com, and Valley Fashions.
RUSH Sportsman
Modified marketing partners include Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC, Pace
Performance, Hoosier Tire, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Sunoco
Race Fuels, Bazell Race Fuels, Insinger Performance, MSD Performance, Holley
Performance Products, Earl's Performance Plumbing, Quick Fuel Technology, FK Rod
Ends, Maxima Racing Oil, Sherwood Racing Wheels, Schoenfeld Headers, Jones
Racing Products, Alternative Power Sources, Precise Racing Products, TBM Brakes,
K&N Filters, Lincoln Electric, Velocita-USA, Classic Ink USA, CrateInsider.com,
RockAuto.com, and Valley Fashions.
RUSH Sprint Car marketing partners
include partners include Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC, Pace Performance, Hoosier
Tire, Bonnell's Rod Shop, Bilstein Shocks, Insinger Performance, MSD
Performance, Holley Performance Products, Racing Electronics, Dirt Defender,
Frankland Racing Supply, Earl's Performance Plumbing, FK Rod Ends, Schoenfeld
Headers, Jones Racing Products, Precise Racing Products, TBM Brakes, Lincoln
Electric, Pancho's Racing Products, Velocita-USA, Classic Ink USA, Landrum
Performance Spring, RockAuto.com, and Valley Fashions.
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.
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