4/2/2021
RUSH Late Model Series
PACE RUSH SERIES SET TO KICKOFF RECORD-BREAKING 2021 SEASON; LATE MODELS TO VIE FOR OVER $100,000 IN CASH POINT FUNDS; INCREASED PURSES & WEST COAST
PACE RUSH SERIES SET TO KICKOFF RECORD-BREAKING 2021 SEASON; LATE MODELS TO VIE FOR OVER $100,000 IN CASH POINT FUNDS; INCREASED PURSES & WEST COAST EXPANSION FOR SPRINTS; NEW STOCK CAR DIVISION; ENGINE GIVEAWAY AND NUMEROUS SPECIAL EVENTS TO HIGHLIGHT THE YEAR
By Mike Leone
April 2, 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Pulaski, PA)...While the COVID-19 pandemic certainly had a profound effect on the entire world in 2020, the Pace Performance RUSH Racing Series together with Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC is full speed ahead with a record-breaking season in store for 2021 as over $300,000 in championship point funds and contingencies will be distributed across the board to RUSH divisions. Some of the highlights include increased purses and point funds, new speedways, expansion to the West Coast for Sprints, the debut of the RUSH Stock Cars, and a large contingent of new racers across all of RUSH's Series.
Well over 30 speedways throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and West Coast, including several new ones, will host RUSH-sanctioned events in 2021. Approximately 500 RUSH-sanctioned events are scheduled for the biggest season in Series history!
The RUSH Late Model Tour Championship point fund has more than doubled from pre-pandemic years. New marketing partners Flynn's Tire and Born2Run Lubricants have helped boost the point fund to a record $43,000 with $12,000 going to the champion. Twenty-three events are part of the slate that gets underway with the third annual "Battle of the Bay" Speedweek April 14-17.
Drivers in the Pace Performance Weekly Series will also see an increase as the "Track Pack" has expanded from $800 per weekly-sanctioned track to a hefty $2,500! The top six RUSH Weekly member drivers at each track will share the $2,500 with $1,000 going to each champion! Of course drivers will continue to battle for the National Weekly Series Championship and "Futures Cup". Combined RUSH Late Model point funds will exceed $100,000! - tops in all of Chevrolet Performance crate engine racing.
One of the new RUSH Late Model weekly-sanctioned speedways is The Hill located on Monroeton, Pa. running on Friday nights. Western Pennsylvania tracks McKean County Raceway and Dog Hollow Speedway return under new management after being dormant in recent years. For the first time ever, the RUSH Late Models will visit Land of Legends Raceway in Canandaigua, NY and Utica-Rome Speedway in Vernon, NY. The Weekly Series specials will take place on June 4 and August 6 at Utica-Rome and September 11 at Land of Legends.
Year number four for the RUSH Sprint Cars in the Northeast will see 37 events at 11 speedways across four states that will battle for the $20,000 Equipment Rental Options Weekly Series point fund with $5,000 to the champion. In addition, RUSH has formed the Western Series based in California that will offer a $5,000 point fund for its inaugural season.
As the car count and competitiveness of the division has increased and evolved, so have the payoffs and special event concepts for the division. After racing for $400 to-win, $100 to-start for regular events in the first three years of existence, the RUSH Sprint Cars in the Northeast will now compete for a minimum $600 to-win, $150 to-start with several other special events utilizing the $800 or $1,000 to-win payoff structures in 2021! In fact, eight $1,000 to-win, $175 to-start shows featuring four weekends of back-to-back events highlight the schedule including the "Legends Remembered" Series with details to be announced.
Recently announced is the expansion of the RUSH Sprint Cars to the West Coast. Perris Auto Speedway, located in Perris California about an hour from Los Angeles and San Diego, will be the pilot program for the Western Series beginning on July 16 and featuring at least seven other dates. The inaugural champion will earn $1,500 part of the $5,000 point fund. The point fund will grow each year with the goal of having the Western Series match where the Northeast is at presently.
The RUSH Sportsman Modifieds are set to come out of the gates in 2021 with guns a' blazing as a minimum of 35 events are on the docket. The Hovis Auto & Truck Weekly Series Championship will see a 36% increase in the point fund from past seasons with $3,500 to-win and an increased point fund for the second year of the Wedge Motorsports "Route 7 Rumble" Series with $1,000 to-win.
One of the exciting new additions for the RUSH Sportsman Modifieds is the "Loyalty Program" presented by new marketing partner Waterstone Mortgage of Hermitage. One lucky RUSH Modified racer will win a complete race ready Chevrolet Performance 602 Sportsman Modified crate engine package (carb-to-pan) valued at $8,500+ from Pace Performance; this will be the most valuable product to ever be given away in the history of the RUSH Racing Series!
True to its name, the "Loyalty Program" presented by Waterstone Mortgage of Hermitage will reward loyalty. In order to be eligible for the engine giveaway, drivers must be a RUSH member and cannot compete in a non-RUSH sanctioned Sportsman Modified event the same night as a contested RUSH-sanctioned event throughout the 2021 season. Drivers will receive chances based on participation.
The RUSH Pro Mods are set for their biggest and richest season to date. The 2021 slate of events will feature a record 44 events at four speedways in northwest Pennsylvania and western New York including their crown jewel event, the richest in history paying $2,500 to-win at McKean County Raceway on June 19! Drivers will also be competing for the $15,000+ Weekly Series point fund that will award $3,500 to the champion, which is expected to be hotly contested throughout the season.
Back around Thanksgiving, the launch of the RUSH Stock Car Series for 2021 was announced. Dog Hollow Speedway (Friday nights), Stateline Speedway (Saturday nights), and Eriez Speedway (Sunday nights) will run the class weekly in 2021 giving the new class a minimum of 52 events! A $7,500 15-position paying point fund has been established with the inaugural champion earning $2,000! In addition, RUSH will post an additional $1,250 minimum point fund for a Mini Series of events between the speedways with dates to be announced.
The RUSH Stock Cars will look like "stock cars" and be powered by Chevrolet Performance 602 crate engines on sealed/spec Bilstein Shocks, RUSH 91 pump fuel, and Hoosier H500 8" tires. Those four key "cost containment" elements have already proved very successful in the RUSH Sportsman Modified and Sprint Car divisions, and are now expected to drive the same results in the RUSH Stock Car division.
The RUSH Karting Series is gearing up for year number two after the pandemic stunted the growth during the inaugural season. Interest in the RUSH Karting concept has continued to grow throughout the off season and participant numbers are expected to more than double in 2021! RUSH Kart drivers will be vying for their piece of the $8,500 championship point fund as well as the beautiful leather RUSH Championship Kart jackets that will be awarded to the individual champions.
Stateline Speedway Karts will lead the way as the home base and kick-off their season in April with a $200 to win Adult event, host the inaugural kart "Manufacturers Night" on August 14 and feature a $150 "Under the Lights" in the Fall.
Race-1 Motor Speedway in DuBois, Pa. has signed on for five stand-alone events on April 23, May 21, June 11, July 16, and August 13 offering all four RUSH divisions (Amateur, Jr-1, Jr-2 & Adult) the ability to compete. RUSH member drivers can also compete weekly at Race-1 in the track's comparable divisions if not enough RUSH karts are present to run separately and will earn points. Shaffer Speedway in Aliquippa, Pa. as well as Good Hope Speedway in New Springfield, Ohio offer the same opportunity.
All of the popular "Manufacturers Nights" presented by MSD Performance will return that feature between $10,000-$50,000 per RUSH division in addition to the first one for the RUSH Karting Series. Last year, due to COVID-19, member drivers received "Manufacturers Night" products distributed as part of a bonus in addition to their point fund earnings.
In February a two-part story was written on the more than 40 new racers across the RUSH Late Models, RUSH Sprint Cars, RUSH Sportsman Modifieds, and RUSH Pro Mod divisions. That number has grown to more than 50 confirmed in the meantime as drivers ready for what will be the biggest and richest season in the history of the Pace Performance RUSH Racing Series.
On the asphalt side, RUSH will also continue to oversee the Chevrolet Performance crate engine sealing and engine inspection for Jennerstown (PA) Speedway. The 2021 season will mark the fifth year of the partnership with Jennerstown, which has grown from the initial three classes running Chevrolet Performance crate engines of Late Models, Modifieds, and Street Stocks to the Chargers and now the new Pro Stock division that will debut this year. Car counts have grown in the above classes on annual basis.
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. Visit www.rushlatemodels.com, www.rushsportsmanmods.com, www.rushsprintcars.com, www.rushpromods.com, www.rushstockcars.com, and www.rushkarting.com. Search Facebook and Twitter for each Series' individual pages.
Article Credit: Mike Leone
