3 Night RUSH Late Model Tour Weekend On Tap With Tyler County Thursday & PPMS Friday & Saturday

By Mike Leone

September 27, 2022 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Pulaski, PA)…The Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Dirt Late Model Series presented by Born2Run Lubricants is ready for one of its biggest weekends in history. It all gets underway on Thursday night (September 29) at Tyler County Speedway in Middlebourne, WV for the “Cider Jug 40” then followed up by two nights at Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway in Imperial, PA on Friday and Saturday for the annual “Bill Hendren Memorial” presented by FK Rod Ends in conjunction with City Chevrolet and Pro Fabrication. A three-night sweep would be worth a minimum of $18,000! The forecast calls for dry weather all three nights.

The Thursday night Tyler County show is the rescheduled “Cider Jug 40” part of the “Hillbilly 100” with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series that was rained out on September 4. After two rainouts this season for the Flynn’s Tire Tour at Tyler County, hopefully the third time is charm for the first ever RUSH Tour event in the state of West Virginia.

Tyler County is in its first year under the RUSH banner for its Late Model class, and made history on April 2 when it ran its first ever RUSH Late Model event. There were 12 events completed with seven different winners this season at “The Bullring”. Donnie Dotson leads the way with four victories as he sits atop the $2,000 to-win “Track Pack” with the final event of the season on Sunday. Michael Duritsky, Jr. and Kyle Thomas each have a pair of victories, while A.J. Spagnuolo, Brandon Weigle, Lucas McDonald, and Logan Reed also have a win.

Action then shifts 100 miles north to Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway on Friday night as “Dirt’s Monster Half-Mile” hosts the “Bill Hendren Memorial” for the seventh consecutive year to kickoff the 34th annual “Pittsburgher” weekend. The opening night will pay a record $4,000 to-win, $300 to-start thanks to sponsorship from Keyser Manufacturing and Precise Racing Products!

On Saturday night, the RUSH Late Model Flynn’s Tire Tour will join up once again with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series for the second time in three nights and third time of the season in a huge fashion. Earlier this season, RUSH competed on the same card as LOLMDS at Lernerville’s “Firecracker 100” in which Mark Whitener won the richest race in RUSH history worth $20,000 in the “Bill Emig Memorial” presented by Sunoco Race Fuels.

Now another crown jewel has been added to the RUSH schedule- the $10,000 to-win, $450 to-start “Bill Hendren Memorial” thanks to sponsorship from FK Rod Ends, Pro Fabrication, and City Chevrolet, as well as Hendren Racing Engines, 955 Automotive, CrateInsider.com, Daytona 1 Performance Lubricants, West Mifflin Collision, Stan’s Transmission, and Branden Lockwich! This has become the richest “Bill Hendren Memorial” weekend to date. Saturday’s show has a rain date of Sunday.

Also on Saturday, 955 Automotive will present the Sunoco Dash as the winner will not only receive a $100 Sunoco gift card and the pole position for the feature, but also $250!

In addition, the Race Logic Chassis School will award two complimentary passes to its School to be held on January 28-29, 2023 at Gatherings Banquet & Event Center in Edinburg, Pa. Each pass is valued at $399! One will go to the highest finishing non-winner in Saturday’s Feature and the second to the highest finishing non-winner in Saturday’s Non-Qualifier. In the event that there are no non winners in the feature, the second highest finishing non-winner in the Non-Qualifier will receive a complimentary pass. In order to be eligible, driver cannot have won a Late Model (full-size) feature of any kind or any headlining division feature.

Pittsburgh has had 10 different winners in 19 RUSH Late Model races this season. Ben Policz leads the way with five victories, while Michael Norris has won three out four starts including last Saturday night and the $3,000 “Herb Scott Memorial” Flynn’s Tire Tour event. Cole Petrelle, Tim Shaffer, and Joe Martin each have a pair of victories. Daryl Charlier, Kyle Lukon, Michael Reft, Philip Bubeck, and Logan Roberson have single victories. Bubeck leads the $1,000 to-win “Track Pack” points.

There have been 10 different winners in 16 Flynn’s Tire Touring Series events this season. Virginia’s Logan Roberson continues to lead the points with 12 top 5s and 14 top 10 including a Series high five victories. Roberson won the last Tour event at PPMS, the “Jook George Steel City Classic”, for more than $7,600. Martin has two checkered flags and has cut the deficit down to just 12 points, which is as close as Martin has been to the points lead all season long.

Three-time Tour champion, Jeremy Wonderling, is coming off a $6,000 sweep of the “Topless Nationals” last weekend at Genesee to remain in the hunt for the championship in third. Matt Latta has had a strong second half of the season with seven top seven finishes in the last 10 events including a season best fourth on Saturday night as he’s moved into fourth in points. After being as high as third in points, Jeremy’s brother Brady Wonderling has dropped to fifth. Breyton Santee is coming off his best two finishes of the season and is sixth over Andy Michael, Ashton Briggs, Jim Rasey, and Jonathan Stockdale. Canadians Craig Graham and his son Brandt are 11th and 12th in points respectively. Rasey leads the D&V Jewelers Non-Qualifier points.

“This has quickly turned into one of the biggest weekends in RUSH Racing Series history,” expressed RUSH Director Vicki Emig. “It’s been unbelievable to see the ‘Bill Hendren Memorial’ continue to grow. In 2017 it was a $2,500 to-win event spread over two nights with bonus monies. To see it evolve into back-to-back events paying $4,000 and $10,000 to-win in such a short period of time is incredible! You just can’t put a price on showcasing the RUSH Late Model Touring Series in a three-night swing in conjunction with these prestigious Lucas Oil Late Model events at both Tyler County’s ‘Hillbilly 100’ and the ‘Pittsburgher’!”

“Miley Motor Sports echoes the sentiments expressed by Vicki Emig,” stated PPMS promoter Matt Miley. “It has been a tremendous honor to partner with the Hendren Family and RUSH to develop this awesome tribute to Bill Hendren. Many years ago, Miley Motor Sports, led by the late Red Miley, was at the forefront in bringing Chevrolet Performance crate engine racing to western Pennsylvania. Both Bill Hendren and Red Miley had the foresight to realize crate racing would eventually save weekly Late Model racing at many speedways. Lots of folks laughed, ‘how could a crate engine Late Model be a success story’? Well, my guess is Bill and Red will be smiling all the way through the $14,000 to-win ‘Pittsburgher’ weekend! As Red would say, get ready to rumble; the record setting ‘Bill Hendren Memorial’ is about to blast off at the ‘Pittsburgher’!”

In 2005, Bill Hendren, the patriarch of the Hendren family and founder of Hendren Racing Engines, had the foresight to began building his affiliation with crate racing. As many of his open engine customers looked to crate racing as an opportunity to continue racing Bill began offering free advice via the well know 4M.net message board. As the concept grew throughout the country, his generosity and expertise was rewarded as many of those who had utilized his knowledge in the beginning utilized him as their engine rebuilder as their needs arose. Bill passed away on March 19, 2011, but his legacy and dedication to crate racing lives on through his sons, Steve and Mike, as the Hendrens are recognized throughout the entire country as a leader in this specialized form of racing as they continue to operate Hendren Racing Engines.

“I’ll never forget the day 10 years ago in our first season of RUSH that I received a surprise phone call from Steve Hendren expressing interest in having a memorial event for his late father Bill Hendren in conjunction with a RUSH Touring event,” explained Emig. “Although I never knew Bill Hendren personally, I certainly was well aware of his pioneering spirit and great success in the world of Chevrolet Performance crate engine racing. And to have the Hendren Family allow us to hold their patriarch’s only memorial event of the year under the RUSH banner for the 10th straight year is truly an honor. What Steve and his family continue to do for this event is tremendous! We have to thank all of the contributors as well as the Mileys for allowing this event to be part of the ‘Pittsburgher’ weekend.”

Steve Hendren, who will be making the trip up with Kate Dillon of CrateInsider.com, was inducted into the Antioch (CA) Speedway Hall of Fame shortly after the 2021 event. Hendren raced at the track weekly in the Late Model division from 1990-1993 winning 40 races and was the 1992 and 1993 champion. In 1992, Hendren won 25 features in 44 starts with 15 of them coming at Antioch, which propelled him to the NASCAR Pacific Coast Regional Championship.

In addition to the feature and D&V Jewelers non-qualifier purses posted each night, $100 “Shock the Clock” Qualifying and $25 to-win heat races will take place and be presented by FK Rod Ends each night. The Sunoco Dash will set the beginning rows of the feature lineups and will award the winner a $100 Sunoco fuel gift card each night. The “Fill’er up with Sunoco Bucks” program will include an additional $400 of Sunoco fuel card giveaways each night; 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 feature each night. The TBM Brakes “Tough Brake of the Night” will award three bottles of Xtreme6 Racing Brake Fluid each night. The feature winner each night will receive a 5-Gallon Race Jug from Precise. Ontime Body & Graphic’s “Spoiler Alert” will award a spoiler kit to the 17th place finisher on the first night, 18th place finisher on the second night, and 19th place finisher on the third night (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 each night part of the “Nosed Out” program.

Tyler County “Cider Jug 40” Feature Payoff: 1. $4,000 2. $2,000 3. $1,000 4. $800 5. $700 6. $600 7. $550 8. $500 9. $475 10. $450 11. $425 12. $400 13. $375 14. $360 15. $350 16. $340 17. $330 18. $320 19. $310 20-24. $300 (25-26. $300).

Pittsburgh “Bill Hendren Memorial” Night 1 Feature Payoff (30 laps): 1. $4,000 2. $2,000 3. $1,000 4. $800 5. $700 6. $600 7. $550 8. $500 9. $475 10. $450 11. $425 12. $400 13. $375 14. $360 15. $350 16. $340 17. $330 18. $320 19. $310 20-24. $300 (25-26. $300).

Pittsburgh “Bill Hendren Memorial” Night 2 Feature Payoff (40 laps): 1. $10,000 2. $5,000 3. $2,500 4. $2,000 5. $1,500 6. $1,200 7. $1,000 8. $900 9. $800 10. $700 11. $650 12. $625 13. $600 14. $550 15. $525 16. $500 17. $490 18. $480 19. $470 20. $460 21-24. $450 (25-26. $450).

D&V Jewelers Non-Qualifier Payoffs: 1. $200 2. $190 3. $185 4. $180 5. $175 6. $170 7. $165 8. $160 9. $155 10-24. $150. Tow $125.

You do not have to be a member of RUSH to compete only to receive Weekly and/or Tour points. The entry fee is $100 each night. AMB/MyLaps transponders will be used; Westhold transponders will NOT work. Units are available to rent for $25 and no cost to Tyler County regulars on Thursday night. Driver radio channel will be 454.000 at Tyler County. Teams should come prepared with the mandated RUSH tires and fuel for Tyler County.

For Thursday, pit passes will go on sale at 2 p.m. RUSH registration will open at 2 p.m. with the drivers meeting at 5:30. Warm-ups are slated for 6 p.m. followed by qualifying and racing.

For Friday and Saturday pits will be open all day. RUSH registration will open by 3 p.m. with the drivers meeting at 5:35 p.m. Warm-ups are slated for 6 p.m. followed by qualifying and racing.

Tyler County Speedway is a 1/4-mile dirt oval located at 1 Boreman School Rd., Middlebourne, WV 26149. Tyler County ran its first race on June 9, 1974 and the 2019 season will mark the 46th straight year of continuous operations. Tyler County Speedway annually hosts some of the largest and most popular events in the Ohio Valley region. For more information, check out their website at www.tylercountyspeedwayonline.com. Like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thebullringwv and follow them on Twitter @The_Bulling.

Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway is a ½-mile dirt track with a GPS address of 170 Kelso Rd, Imperial PA 15126, which is located just off the Noblestown exit on Routes 22/30. For more information, check out their website at www.ppms.com or call 412-279-7223. The track number on race day is 724-695-3363 or 724-695-0393. As for their social media outlets, you can like their page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PittsburghsPennsylvaniaMotorSpeedway or follow them on Twitter @PAMotorSpeedway.

The RUSH Racing Series is brought to you by Hovis Auto & Truck Supply together with Born2Run Lubricants along with the support of Hoosier Tire, Bilstein Shocks, Sunoco Race Fuels, Bazell Race Fuels, Insinger Performance, MSD Performance, Holley Performance Products, FK Rod Ends, Schoenfeld Headers, Jones Racing Products, TBM Brakes, Performance Bodies & Parts, Racing Electronics, Wrisco Industries, Frankland Racing Supply, Landrum Performance Spring, Ontime Body & Graphic, Sherwood Wheels, Alternative Power Sources, Precise Racing Products, Lincoln Electric, Velocita-USA, Waterstone Mortgage Hermitage, Wedge Motorsports, 3C Graphix, D&V Jewelers, DrumPreserve, CrateInsider.com, Marthinsen & Salvitti Insurance Group 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.

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