10/12/2022
RUSH Late Model Series
HOVIS RUSH SERIES TO CLOSE OUT 2022 THIS WEEKEND AT LERNERVILLE FOR "STEEL CITY STAMPEDE" WITH FLYNN'S TIRE LATE MODEL & SPORTSMAN MOD TOUR PLUS RUSH
HOVIS RUSH SERIES TO CLOSE OUT 2022 THIS WEEKEND AT LERNERVILLE FOR "STEEL CITY STAMPEDE" WITH FLYNN'S TIRE LATE MODEL & SPORTSMAN MOD TOUR PLUS RUSH SPRINTS; $11,000 RUSH MOD ENGINE GIVEAWAY PRESENTED BY WATERSTONE MORTGAGE ALSO ON TAP
By Mike Leone
October 12, 2022 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Sarver, PA)...The Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Racing Series presented by Born2Run Lubricants will have a tripleheader of action this weekend (October 13-15) at Lernerville Speedway for the "Steel City Stampede". The RUSH Late Model Flynn's Tire Touring Series finale will lead the way along with the RUSH Sportsman Modified Flynn's Tire Touring Series and the RUSH Sprint Cars in an Equipment Rental Options Weekly Series special. The event will be broadcast live on Lernerville.TV.
Practice will be held Thursday night (October 13) with heat races for all divisions on Friday night followed by the conclusion of the event on Saturday. Action gets underway on Friday at 7 p.m. with group qualifying for the RUSH Late Models followed by heat race action. On Saturday, racing will begin early at 4 p.m. The Chevrolet Performance 602 RUSH Sportsman Modified engine drawing presented by Waterstone Mortgage will take place during opening ceremonies on Saturday. The rain date is Sunday.
"This is always a great way to end our season," stated RUSH Director Vicki Emig. "The RUSH championships annually comes down to this event. 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. The Sportsman Modifieds have been given the opportunity to race numerous times over the past nine seasons at Lernerville. Lernerville was a very important part of getting our RUSH Sprint division off the ground in 2018, and their races this year at the track have been tremendous. And we can't wait to award one lucky RUSH Sportsman Modified racer a complete Chevrolet Performance 602 Crate Engine package valued at $11,000 thanks to sponsor Sara Cipriano of Waterstone Mortgage."
This year’s “Steel City Stampede” will be the 14th edition of this huge event that includes many of the region’s racing divisions all showcased in this end of the season blowout. There has only been one repeat RUSH Late Model winner and it took until 2019 to happen; past winners include Josh Holtgraver (2009), Bryan Force (2010), Butch Lambert (2011), Max Blair (2012, 2019 & 2020), Dennis Lunger, Jr. (2013), Chad Ruhlman (2014), Jacob Hawkins (2015), John Mollick (2016), John Waters (2017), Colton Flinner (2018), and Kyle Hardy (2021). With nearly all of those racers not expected to be in competition, there's a high likelihood of a new winner.
FK Rod Ends "Shock the Clock Qualifying, heat races, and the Sunoco Dash will be run on Friday night for the Late Models. The fastest qualifier will receive $100 and all heat race winners will earn $25. The last chance B main(s) will kickoff Saturday's program. The 30-lap feature will pay a $3,500 to-win- the highest in "Steel City Stampede" history. There will also be a $200 to-win, $150 to-start non-qualifier.
Virginia's Logan Roberson, a five-time winner this season, leads the $15,000 to-win Flynn's Tire Touring Series points by 20 over Joe Martin. Jeremy Wonderling, the Hovis National Weekly Series Champion, is third in points and is looking for an unprecedented fifth straight Series win. Matt Latta, Brady Wonderling, Breyton Santee, Andy Michael, Ashton Briggs, Jim Rasey, Craig Graham and son Brandt complete the top 11 in points. Thus far this year at Lernerville, Will Thomas III won a Weekly Series race, while the Tour events have went to Mark Whitener ($20,000) and Daryl Charlier ($3,000).
Meanwhile, the RUSH Sportsman Modifieds will join the "Steel City Stampede" for the ninth consecutive year in an $800 to-win event. 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. Steve Slater won the 2017 show, while teen Blaze Myers scored a popular first Tour win in 2018 after coming out of the B main to also win the "Futures Cup" title. In 2019, Eric Gabany was victorious. Chas Wolbert capped off his 2020 championship season by winning his first. Last year, Garrett Krummert finally broke into victory lane in the event to become the eighth different winner. Will there be an ninth different winner this year!?
The RUSH Sportsman Mods have made three visits this season to Lernerville with an average car count of 23 as Garrett Krummert has won two and Ayden Cipriano garnered his first ever at the Sarver, Pa. oval. Ben Easler, who has already won the $1,000 Wedge Motorsports "Route 7 Rumble" Series Championship, has just a six-point lead on Cipriano in the battle for the $3,500 to-win Hovis Weekly Series Championship. Cipriano however leads the Flynn's Tire Touring Series points by nine over Rob Kristyak.
On Saturday, one lucky RUSH Sportsman Modified racer will win a Chevrolet Performance 602 Sportsman Modified crate engine package giveaway (carb-to-pan) valued at approximately $11,000. This will be the most valuable product to ever be given away in the history of the RUSH Racing Series! Thank you to Sara Cipriano of Waterstone Mortgage for making this possible for the second straight year. Other RUSH corporate marketing partners who joined with Waterstone Mortgage to complete the Chevrolet Performance 602 "race ready" engine package are the following: Holley Performance Products Inc, MSD Performance, Schoenfeld Headers, and Jones Racing Products as well as Ingram Engines. Over $33,000 in product giveaways has been posted to RUSH Sportsman Modified racers in 2022!
"We were excited to partner with RUSH for the engine giveaway once again," stated Sara Cipriano. "We have received so much support from the racing community. Mike (Leone) and Vicki (Emig) run a great program not only on the track but from a sponsor standpoint as well. They really get your name out there and noticed which is what you want from an advertising standpoint. For us though, it’s about the people and giving back to the sport our son (Ayden) loves."
To be eligible, drivers had to be a RUSH Sportsman Modified member and not compete in a non-RUSH sanctioned Sportsman Modified event the same night as a completed RUSH-sanctioned event in 2022. Eligible drivers that competed in 25-49% of total completed RUSH events receive 1 chance for the engine giveaway; eligible drivers that competed in 50-74% of total completed RUSH events receive 4 chances; eligible drivers that competed in 75-99% of total completed RUSH events receive 8 chances. Any driver with perfect attendance would receive 10 chances.
The following are the 20 eligible drivers for the engine giveaway with number of chances in parentheses: Lucas Canon (10), Ben Easler (8), Ayden Cipriano (8), Kole Holden (8), Cole Edwards (8), Jacob Jordan (8), Rob Kristyak (4), Justin Shea (4), Tony Tatgenhorst (4), JC Boyer (4), Jacob Rutana (4), Kyle Martell (4), Doug Rutana (4), Dalton Gabriel (4), Jordan Ehrenberg (4), Dave Price (4), Josh Deems (1), Chelsie Kriegisch (1), Jacob Wolfe (1), and Greg Porter (1). Selected driver does not have to be present to win.
The RUSH Sprints will wrap up their fifth season and will be racing for $800 to-win in their fifth race of the year at Lernerville. Chad Ruhlman has won two events this season including the August 12 "Manufacturers Night" presented by MSD Performance that attracted a record 28 cars. John Mollick and Gale Ruth, Jr. are also 2022 Lernerville winners. Ruhlman has a four-point lead on Ruth in the $5,000 to-win Equipment Rental Options Weekly Series Championship. Past "Steel City Stampede" RUSH Sprint winners include Ruhlman with two victories, while Ruth and Zach Morrow also have a victory.
Precise Racing Products will award a $50 gift card for the "Pedal Down" Hard Charger that passes the most cars in the Late Model and Sportsman Modified features. The TBM Brakes “Tough Brake of the Night” will award three bottles of Xtreme6 Racing Brake Fluid in both the Late Models and Sportsman Modifieds. Sherwood Wheels will award a steel wheel to the Sportsman Modified "Man of Steel" recipient.
Ontime Body & Graphic's "Spoiler Alert" will award a spoiler kit to the 19th place finisher in the Late Model feature (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 in the Late Models part of the "Nosed Out" program.
RUSH Late Model Feature Payoff: 1. $3,500 2. $1,750 3. $900 4. $750 5. $650 6. $550 7. $500 8. $475 9. $450 10. $425 11. $400 12. $350 13. $325 14. $300 15. $290 16. $285 17. $280 18-24. $275.
RUSH Late Model Non-Qualifier Payoff: 1. $200 2. $190 3. $185 4. $180 5. $175 6. $170 7. $165 8. $160 9. $155 10-24. $150. Tow $125.
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.
The AMB/MyLaps transponders are required for all divisions; rentals will be available for $25 for the weekend. Driver radios are always mandatory; channel 454.000. The entry fee is $100 for Late Models and $35 for the Sportsman Modifieds. There will be an open practice from 7-9 p.m. on Thursday night. Registration will open at 3 p.m. on Thursday and 2 p.m. on Friday. There will be a drivers meeting on Friday at 6:20 p.m. Group qualifying will get underway at 7:00 followed by heat races. Racing begins early on Saturday at 4 p.m. Additional information can be found here: https://store-ktte16i9le.mybigcommerce.com/content/Lernerville%20PDF%27s%20for%20website/2022%20Stampede%20Competitor%20Guide%20-%20FINAL.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.
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.
Article Credit: Mike Leone
