8/29/2021
RUSH Late Model Series
LAST LAP PASS NETS CHUB FRANK $3199 "BILL FORNEY MEMORIAL" PACE RUSH LATE MODEL VICTORY AT SHARON FOR HIS 1ST CAREER FLYNN'S TIRE/BORN2RUN LUBRICANTS
LAST LAP PASS NETS CHUB FRANK $3199 "BILL FORNEY MEMORIAL" PACE RUSH LATE MODEL VICTORY AT SHARON FOR HIS 1ST CAREER FLYNN'S TIRE/BORN2RUN LUBRICANTS TOUR WIN
By Mike Leone
August 28, 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Hartford, OH)...The Pace Performance RUSH Dirt Late Model Series together with Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC finally was able to complete the inaugural "Bill Forney Memorial" on Saturday night at Sharon Speedway after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation in 2020 and rain on July 17 postponed the show six weeks. Thirty-three drivers from five different states competed in the first Flynn's Tire/Born2Run Lubricants Touring Series event at Sharon in five years. The night was in remembrance of one, if not the greatest racer to ever wheel a Late Model in the region, who made famous the candy-striped #199. Forney passed away in 2019 at the age of 92. The Canfield/Sharon Speedways Driver Reunion (1949-1973) was held with 33 drivers in attendance with approximately 125 at the pre-race dinner.
Chub Frank emerged victorious in the 30-lap "Bill Forney Memorial" with a last lap pass of Joe Martin in one of the best RUSH Late Model Tour events in recent memory. The race featured three different leaders, four lead changes not to mention numerous side-by-side and even three-wide battles for the lead between Frank, Martin, and early leader Michael Duritsky, Jr. Frank's first career Flynn's Tire/Born2Run Lubricants Touring Series victory was worth $3,000 plus the $199 bonus from Bill Forney's children, Mike and Anita.
"Any time you can win a memorial it's a big deal," acknowledged the 59-year-old Bear Lake, Pa. great. "I never raced against the man, but he's a big name around here. I'm glad to win it and I can hang this (big check) on the wall. I like this track. I was here last week for the World of Outlaws and didn't run as well as I'd have liked. I really wanted to run a crate here because they don't have as much motor and it works out better when the track is slick."
After winning the Sunoco Dash, Duritsky raced to the early lead as Frank and three-time Series champion Jeremy Wonderling passed Will Thomas III for second and third. Sixth starting John Waters passed David Pangrazio on the opening lap for fifth then Thomas for fourth on lap two. By lap six, Frank closed in on Duritsky as the top three pulled away, but the caution was displayed for Bill Henry, Jr., who slowed with six laps scored.
Back under green on lap seven, Pangrazio moved into fourth. All eyes began to shift to Joe Martin, who was running the top side of the speedway. Martin started eighth and cracked the top five on lap nine by passing Thomas. By lap 12 the top five of Duritsky, Frank, Wonderling, Pangrazio, and Martin began to distance themselves from the field. Martin drove around Pangrazio for fourth on lap 13 then did the same to Wonderling one lap later for third. Now Martin was on Frank and made the pass for second on lap 16. Duritsky then moved up to block Martin's challenges as Martin went to the bottom and the two raced side-by-side for the lead.
Frank didn't go away as he joined back into the fray as it was three-wide for the lead on lap 19! Frank would lead lap 20, but Duritsky wasn't about to lose his shot at his first career Tour win taking the lead back on lap 21. Heartbreak would hit Duritsky as contact was made with the slowing Matt Sipes, who was trying to get off the speedway, which caused a flat tire for Duritsky on lap 22. That gave Duritsky the TBM Brakes "Tough Brake of the Night".
When racing resumed, Frank and Martin went as it to the finish. Frank continued to run the bottom, while Martin powered around the top. Finally on lap 27 Martin pulled even and led his first lap of the event on lap 28. The two raced side-by-side for the lead the rest of the distance. On the final lap, Martin changed course and shot to the bottom in turns three and four trying to block Frank's run; however, Martin washed across the track in turn four as Frank won the drag race to the checkered flag! Frank's fourth career Sharon victory came in his 1* sponsored by Briggs Transport, CJ Trucking, and Corry Rubber.
"I got the nose dragging and it was really messing up my entry," explained Frank. "It ended up being a good race. He (Martin) dropped down in that last corner and that was my only chance. If he'd have stayed on the top, he would have probably beaten me. I've raced him quite a bit and have all the respect in the world for those guys. This is tough; people don't realize it. You have to race a lot closer than you do with a Super Late Model. If you make a mistake, they'll pounce all over you. They are actually harder to drive because you have to make every lap almost perfect."
Martin earned $1,500 for his runner-up finish, which was his best of the season with the Tour. Martin has now finished in the top six at 10 of the last 11 events to maintain the runner-up spot in Tour points. Martin just missed out on his first Tour win in nearly seven years to the day on August 30, 2014 at McKean County Raceway.
"I should have kept doing what I was doing but he's a hall of famer and I wanted to take the slide job away," revealed the Mayport, Pa. racer, who has five career Sharon wins. "I figured it was coming. If I would have done what I was doing, Chub probably would have left me a lane, and if not probably could have crossed him over. I watched the professionals too much and got to thinking too much. I just wish I had that last corner back. I'm sure he saw me up there and was thinking that's a long way around for these crate motors. I was thinking it too, but it was working. I could basically enter wide open, and get down there and take air off him. This is the real deal we're racing against; guys like Chub Frank and Kyle Hardy. Kyle doesn't get enough respect across the country. This place is awesome and one of the best places we go to. It was a little wetter than we expected, but come feature time you saw what it is most of the time."
Virginia's Kyle Hardy had never seen Sharon prior to Saturday night. After struggling in qualifying and his heat race, Hardy even backpedalled in the feature from his ninth starting spot. Hardy was running 11th on lap nine before charging forward to third place for his 11th podium finish in 12 races as he continues to lead the $12,000 to-win Tour points!
"It wasn't pretty," acknowledged Hardy. "We fell back early as the car wasn't feeling right. It took for it to clean up around the bottom for me to get going. Not a bad night. Thankfully we didn't get tore up, and it's a good points night. It's fun racing with these guys. This is a great race track with awesome lightning; great smooth surface to race on. We'll be back in a couple week and know what not to do. We'll change a couple things and hopefully be better. I'd like to thank everyone for coming out to watch us. We couldn't do it without you, and thanks to RUSH for giving us a series to race at up here."
New York's Pangrazio had a strong fourth place for his second top five of the season in five starts; however, it was his best finish since a third on July 19, 2018 at Genesee Speedway. Cory Sines had an excellent run coming on late to finish fifth after starting 14th. For Sines it was his best career Tour finish in five years of trying beating his prior best of ninth on June 26 at Lernerville Speedway.
Thomas and Wonderling dropped to sixth and seventh respectively. Tour regular Bud Watson, who has two Pace Weekly Series wins this season at Raceway 7, finally was able to crack the top 10 in a Tour race with an eighth place effort. After racing up to fourth, Waters faded to ninth. Josh Ferry suffered mechanical issues in qualifying, which forced him to miss his heat race and take a provisional. Ferry, a two-time Sharon Econo Mod winner, then went 25th to 10th to earn the $100 Precise Racing Products "Pedal Down" Hard Charger gift card. Duritsky battled back to 12th in the last nine laps after his flat tire, which also allowed him to win the $150 spoiler kit from Ontime Body & Graphic.
Making just his second career Tour start, 17-year-old Ashton Briggs led wire-to-wire to win the $200 Non-Qualifier. The Erie, Pa. rookie took the checkered flag first by a commanding 3.209 seconds in his Farmulated CBD/Findley Lake Landscape Supply/CFR Racing/Fredonia Chrysler Dodge Jeep/Briggs Transport/First National Bank/Monahan & Monahan-sponsored #11A over Big-Block Modified standout Jim Rasey, who started fourth. Briggs became the 50th different winner in 61 Non-Qualifier races run all-time! D.J. Krug went fifth to third in his first ever Sharon start. Jacob Peterson and Rob Coffaro rounded out the top five.
Martin earned his first FK Rod Ends "Shock the Clock" fast qualifier $100 award with a lap of 16.933. Winning $25 FK Rod Ends heat races were Martin, Duritsky, Waters, and Wonderling. Henry and David Parker won the last chance B mains. Duritsky won his first Sunoco Dash of the season, which not only earned him a $100 Sunoco gift card, but also $100 cash in recognition of all of the drivers that ran the Emig Racing #1. Parker was the lucky recipient of the $100 Sunoco gift card random draw part of the "Fill'er up with Sunoco Bucks" program presented by Sunoco and Zarin Truck & Auto.
The Flynn’s Tire/Born2Run Lubricants Touring Series will be off Labor Day weekend then return to Sharon Speedway September 10-11 for the "Cider Jug 40" presented by Zarin Truck & Auto paying $4,000 to-win during the "Apple Festival Nationals". September will close out with the "Topless Nationals" weekend at Genesee Speedway paying $2,000 to-win on both September 24 and September 25. The Saturday show at Genesee is the traveling "Manufacturers Night" for eligible New York racers, which will push the 2021 "Manufacturers Nights" presented by MSD for Late Model racers to well over $42,000 in product giveaways!
Pace Performance RUSH Late Model Flynn’s Tire/Born2Run Lubricants Touring Series "Bill Forney Memorial" Race #12 (30 laps, $3,199 to-win): 1. CHUB FRANK (1*) 2. Joe Martin (Snyder 10s) 3. Kyle Hardy (99) 4. David Pangrazio (136) 5. Cory Sines (25s) 6. Will Thomas III (9) 7. Jeremy Wonderling (3J) 8. Bud Watson (225) 9. John Waters (LeBarron 11) 10. Josh Ferry (33) 11. Matt Latta (27) 12. Michael Duritsky, Jr. (90J) 13. Andy Boozel (12B) 14. Breyton Santee (9) 15. J.J. Mazur (13) 16. Steve Dixon (65) 17. Jacob Gunn (14G) 18. Ryan Frazee (11F) 19. David Parker (2) 20. Logan Jaquay (99*) 21. Zach Kane (10) 22. Steve Hollabaugh (3) 23. Matt Sipes (25) 24. Bruce Hordusky, Jr. (3) 25. Billy Henry, Jr. (21*). (Note: Josh Ferry took a Tour provisional).
Non-Qualifier (8 laps, $200 to-win): 1. Ashton Briggs (11A) 2. Jim Rasey (Wrightsman 21J) 3. D.J. Krug (83) 4. Jacob Peterson (112) 5. Rob Coffaro (24c) 6. Khole Wanzer (01W) 7. Wendell Pinckney (Cole 49). DNS: Colby Beighey (36B).
Car Count: 33
Feature Lap Leaders: Michael Duritsky, Jr. (1-19, 21), Joe Martin (28-29), Chub Frank (20, 30)
Ontime Body & Graphic “Spoiler Alert” Spoiler Kit: Michael Duritsky, Jr.
Performance Bodies "Nosed Out": Ashton Briggs
Precise Racing Products “Pedal Down” Hard Charger: Josh Ferry (+15)
Precise Racing Products 5-Gallon Race Jug: Chub Frank
Sunoco and Zarin Truck & Auto $100 Sunoco Fuel Cards: David Parker & Michael Duritsky, Jr.
TBM Brakes “Tough Brake of the Night”: Michael Duritsky, Jr.
FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock” Qualifying ($100 for fast time): 1. 10S-Joe Martin, 00:16.933[13]; 2. 21J-Jim Rasey, 00:17.134[7]; 3. 11L-John Waters, 00:17.226[15]; 4. 136-David Pangrazio, 00:17.246[24]; 5. 11F-Ryan Frazee, 00:17.253[12]; 6. 90J-Michael Duritsky Jr, 00:17.290[9]; 7. 1-Chub Frank, 00:17.302[20]; 8. 14G-Jake Gunn, 00:17.380[10]; 9. 9-Will Thomas, 00:17.384[18]; 10. 225-Bud Watson, 00:17.454[19]; 11. 65-Steve Dixon, 00:17.462[17]; 12. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling, 00:17.495[2]; 13. 99-Kyle Hardy, 00:17.532[25]; 14. 27-Matt Latta, 00:17.557[21]; 15. 3H-Steve Hollabaugh, 00:17.664[27]; 16. 3-Bruce Hordusky Jr, 00:17.698[30]; 17. 99-Logan Jaquay, 00:17.703[14]; 18. 36B-Colby Beighey, 00:17.710[3]; 19. 2-David Parker, 00:17.725[1]; 20. 12B-Andy Boozel, 00:17.796[11]; 21. 21*-Billy Henry, 00:17.866[5]; 22. 25S-Cory Sines, 00:17.900[32]; 23. 13-JJ Mazur, 00:17.924[22]; 24. 11A-Ashton Briggs, 00:17.930[26]; 25. 25-Matt Sipes, 00:17.941[31]; 26. 9S-Breyton Santee, 00:18.063[33]; 27. 112-Jacob Peterson, 00:18.098[29]; 28. 10-Zachary Kane, 00:18.157[28]; 29. 49C-Wendell Pinckney, 00:18.168[23]; 30. 01W-Khole Wanzer, 00:18.189[8]; 31. 83-DJ Krug, 00:18.391[4]; 32. 24C-Rob Coffaro, 00:18.518[6]; 33. 33-Josh Ferry, NT [16].
FK Rod Ends Heat 1 (8 laps, $25 to-win, Top 5 transfer to the A): 1. 10S-Joe Martin[1]; 2. 9-Will Thomas[3]; 3. 99-Kyle Hardy[4]; 4. 11F-Ryan Frazee[2]; 5. 25-Matt Sipes[7]; 6. 99-Logan Jaquay[5]; 7. 21-Billy Henry[6]; 8. 49C-Wendell Pinckney[8]; 9. (DNS) 33-Josh Ferry
FK Rod Ends Heat 2 (8 laps, $25 to-win, Top 5 transfer to the A): 1. 90J-Michael Duritsky Jr[2]; 2. 225-Bud Watson[3]; 3. 27-Matt Latta[4]; 4. 25S-Cory Sines[6]; 5. 9S-Breyton Santee[7]; 6. 36B-Colby Beighey[5]; 7. 21J-Jim Rasey[1]; 8. 01W-Khole Wanzer[8].
FK Rod Ends Heat 3 (8 laps, $25 to-win, Top 5 transfer to the A): 1. 11L-John Waters[1]; 2. 1*-Chub Frank[2]; 3. 65-Steve Dixon[3]; 4. 13-JJ Mazur[6]; 5. 3H-Steve Hollabaugh[4]; 6. 2-David Parker[5]; 7. 112-Jacob Peterson[7]; 8. 83-DJ Krug[8].
FK Rod Ends Heat 4 (8 laps, $25 to-win, Top 5 transfer to the A): 1. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling[3]; 2. 136-David Pangrazio[1]; 3. 14G-Jake Gunn[2]; 4. 12B-Andy Boozel[5]; 5. 3-Bruce Hordusky Jr[4]; 6. 10-Zachary Kane[7]; 7. 11A-Ashton Briggs[6]; 8. 24C-Rob Coffaro[8].
Last Chance B Main 1 (8 laps, Top 2 transfer to the A): 1. 99-Logan Jaquay; 2. 36B-Colby Beighey; 3. 21-Billy Henry; 4. 21J-Jim Rasey; 5. 49C-Wendell Pinckney; 6. 01W-Khole Wanzer; 7. 33-Josh Ferry.
Last Chance B Main 2 (8 laps, Top 2 transfer to the A): 1. 2-David Parker[1]; 2. 10-Zachary Kane[2]; 3. 11A-Ashton Briggs[4]; 4. 112-Jacob Peterson[3]; 5. 83-DJ Krug[5]; 6. 24C-Rob Coffaro[6].
Sunoco Dash presented by Emig Racing (6 laps, $100 cash & $100 Sunoco gift card to-win): 1. 90J-Michael Duritsky Jr[2]; 2. 9-Will Thomas[1]; 3. 1*-Chub Frank[8]; 4. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling[3]; 5. 136-David Pangrazio[4]; 6. 11L-John Waters[5]; 7. 225-Bud Watson[7]; 8. 10S-Joe Martin[6].
RUSH Racing Series is brought to you by Pace Performance together with Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC along with the support of Hoosier Tire, Bilstein Shocks, Sunoco Race Fuels, Bazell Race Fuels, Insinger Performance, MSD Performance, Holley Performance Products, Hovis Auto & Truck Supply, Born2Run Lubricants, Flynn's Tire & Auto Service, FK Rod Ends, Schoenfeld Headers, Jones Racing Products, TBM Brakes, Performance Bodies & Parts, Racing Electronics, Dirt Defender, Wrisco Industries, Frankland Racing Supply, Landrum Performance Spring, Ontime Body & Graphic, Zarin Truck & Automotive, Sherwood Wheels, Alternative Power Sources, Precise Racing Products, Stop-Fyre, Lincoln Electric, Velocita-USA, Waterstone Mortgage Hermitage, CrateInsider.com, and Wedge Motorsports.
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.
Article Credit: Mike Leone
