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KYLE LUKON TOPS 41-CAR RUSH LATE MODEL TOUR FIELD FROM 8 STATES TO WIN NIGHT 1 OF “BILL HENDREN MEMORIAL” PRESENTED BY FK ROD ENDS & PRO FAB AT PITTSB

KYLE LUKON TOPS 41-CAR RUSH LATE MODEL TOUR FIELD FROM 8 STATES TO WIN NIGHT 1 OF “BILL HENDREN MEMORIAL” PRESENTED BY FK ROD ENDS & PRO FAB AT PITTSBURGH; TEAMMATE LEVI SPINNEWEBER CAPTURES $1000 PACE PERFORMANCE “ONE TO REMEMBER” NON-WINNERS RACE
By Mike Leone

October 2, 2020 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Imperial, PA)...The Pace Performance RUSH Dirt Late Model Touring Series together with Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC returned to Pittsburgh's PA Motor Speedway on Friday night for night one of the 10th annual “Bill Hendren Memorial” presented by FK Rod Ends together with Pro Fabrication as part of the “Pittsburgher 100” weekend. Capturing wins were Kyle Lukon in the main event and teammate Levi Spinneweber in the “One to Remember” Non-Winners race presented by Pace Performance. Forty-one cars from eight different states participated as all three Tour shows to date at PPMS have attracted over 40 cars. The following helped make the “Bill Hendren Memorial” the richest to date: FK Rod Ends, Pro Fabrication, Pace Performance, Miley Motor Sports, Hendren Racing Engines, CrateInsider.com, Dirtwrap, Zarin Truck & Auto, Branden Lockwich, and the RUSH Racing Series.

Kyle Lukon became the fourth different RUSH Touring Series winner in as many 2020 races by winning his second straight “Bill Hendren Memorial” in night one of the “Pittsburgher 100” weekend. Lukon, who on all three 2019 Tour events at Pittsburgh for $18,800, led all 30 laps in Friday night’s feature for a $3,100 payday and received a free wrap for the 2021 season from Dirtwrap valued at $800.

“It’s pretty incredible to win this Hendren race,” acknowledged the 30-year-old racer of nearby Burgettstown, Pa. “The last two years just about every race I’ve won has been a memorial; all these people were the pioneers of what we’re doing now. To be able to win memorial races named after the likes of Red Miley, Jook George, and Hendren twice now means so much; without those people a lot of this wouldn’t be possible.”

“The race track was awesome tonight,” continued Lukon. “After I came in from the dash, dad said I think you screwed up because up to that point it was a pretty top dominant race track. I got by Tommy (Schirnhofer) on the bottom, but I was a little worried he may get the jump on me on the start. The car was awesome. Levi (Spinneweber) and his guys pitched in and helped. It’s awesome to hear he ran pretty decent for only his second time in a crate and fourth time in a big car all together. Last year at the Pittsburgher, Alex (Ferree) and I finished one-two in my cars and for us to finish one-two again is pretty sweet, but I’m glad I’m on the good end of it!”

After going fourth to first in the dash to earn the feature pole, Lukon jumped into the lead at the start of the 30-lap feature event with Tommy Schirnhofer, Jr. in tow. Logan Zarin, sixth starting Kyle Hardy, and eighth starting Alex Ferree moved up into positions three through five after the opening lap. After falling out of the top five on lap one, Garret Paugh, raced past Ferree and Hardy for fourth on lap two.

Lukon quickly began to check out on the field as the battle heated up for second. Zarin dropped Schirnhofer back to third on lap three. Paugh, who won his first career Tour race on July 18 at Pittsburgh, then took over third from Schirnhofer on lap five. By the time Lukon caught traffic on lap 10, he had built a half-straightaway lead on Zarin at the “Monster Half-Mile”. A little further back, a great battle was taking place for fifth as Super Late Model standouts Ferree and Hardy were trading the position back and forth numerous times until Hardy slowed with a flat tire to bring out the event’s first caution with 13 laps completed.

When racing resumed on lap 14, Ferree and 15th starting Jeremy Wonderling moved past Paugh for the third and fourth spots respectively. Ferree, who was making his debut in Bob Bentz’s #60M subbing for John Mollick looked strong as he continued to make his way to the front driving around Zarin for second on lap 17 before a caution for Justin Lamb, Matt Latta, and Zach Gunn, who tangled between turns and two.

Back under green for the final time as the last 13 laps went green-to-checkered, it was three-wide in turn one for the lead but Lukon was able to maintain over Ferree, Zarin, and Wonderling. While Lukon pulled away, the battle was on for second and on back. At one point, Wonderling got up to P2 from his 15th starting spot past Zarin and Ferree with even Spinneweber advancing up to fourth before things shook back out to how they were when racing resumed on lap 18.

After ending a six-year winless drought between RUSH Tour wins last year, Lukon has now won four of the last six Tour events at Pittsburgh giving him five for his career and bumping his all-time win total at the “Monster Half-Mile” to an impressive 39 in his Race 1/Tru Form Racing Products/Frankland Racing Supply/Rocket/Lukon's Reb-Fab-sponsored #184.

Ferree was 4.212 seconds behind Lukon in his 2020 RUSH debut and earned $1,500. Last year, Zarin followed the Touring Series in his second year of racing finishing sixth in points and winning the “One to Remember” race. This year, the 18-year-old from nearby Moon Township, Pa. has two Pace Weekly Series wins at Pittsburgh and on Friday night not only recorded his first career Tour top five finish but ended up on the podium with an impressive third place effort!

Wonderling, who is going after his third straight Tour championship and first National Weekly Series Championship, record his third fourth place finish in four Tour races to maintain his points lead. Spinneweber’s fifth came in just his second career RUSH start. After making a late race pass to get the final transfer spot in last chance B main 1, Late Model rookie Josh Ferry had a great run going 23rd to sixth in the feature. Schirnhofer dropped back to seventh. Kentucky’s Grant Garrison made his 2020 RUSH debut and raced from 14th to eighth. After getting as high as third early, Paugh faded to ninth over Jake Gunn.

Levi Spinneweber rounded out an excellent night for Phil Lukon’s race team. After Kyle Lukon pocketed $3,100 in the night’s main event and Spinneweber finished fifth for $525, Spinneweber followed it up by out-dueling Zach Gunn to win the Pace Performance “One to Remember” Non-Winners race. Spinneweber, who has had success in the small car divisions of Mod Lites and Super Six Late Models, captured his first full-size car win in the 20-lap event. In addition to the $1,000 cash, Spinneweber received a GoPro Hero 8 camera, SD card, waterproof case, and a JOES GoPro Mount from CrateInsider.com valued at $480 and a wrap for the 2021 season from Dirtwrap valued at $800!

“I can’t thank Phil and Kyle enough for even being silly enough to put me in a race car,” stated the 35-year-old Butler, Pa. driver. “It’s a true blessing and honor to be able to drive for someone like Phil that has been racing in western Pa. for 35 years. We cut our teeth at Mercer Raceway Park when it was owned by Vicki Emig- the owner of the RUSH Racing Series. I’ve always appreciated her support of support divisions. It grew guys like me up by giving us a place to race and sharpen our talent. To be able to come on a big stage at PPMS and get a RUSH win makes me ecstatic and at a loss of words to be honest. The race car was way better than the driver in the first race. I don’t know if it was jitters or what, but I finally got in a rhythm and we started going back forward. I think we had a top three car, but the driver left a little on the table, but we’ll go to work and make this thing better for tomorrow night.”

Gunn took off in the lead from the outside pole with Spinneweber passing Bill Kessler for second. Spinneweber moved into the lead on lap two before a pair of cautions with four laps completed slowed action. When racing resumed on lap five, Gunn again used the outside to regain the lead. Seventh starting Dan Lepro entered contention as he passed Tony White for third on lap seven before Andrew Squatriglia brought out the caution.

Back under green on lap eight, Spinneweber made the winning move driving under Gunn and pulled away at the halfway point. A spin by Josh Stoica gave Gunn one more chance at Spinneweber, but Spinneweber would maintain the top spot over the final seven laps to take the checkered flag first by 1.717 seconds over Gunn in the Race 1/Tru Form Racing Products/Frankland Racing Supply/Rocket/Lukon's Reb-Fab-sponsored #184X. Lepro was a distant third over pole-sitter Kessler. Stoica charged back through the field after his spin in the final seven laps to finish fifth. White, Eric Hamilton, Jr., Denny Nakutis, Zach Kane, and Squatriglia completed the top 10.

Ben Policz set fast time overall in FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock” Qualifying to earn $100 with a lap of 19.000 not far off Mike Pegher, Jr’s 18.849 track record set eight years. Winning the $25 FK Rod Ends heat races were Zarin, Ferree, Paugh, and Lukon. Zach Gunn and Levi Crowl won the last chance B mains.

The RUSH Touring Series will be right back in action tonight (Saturday) for night two of the “Bill Hendren Memorial” with $3,100 again on the line again at Pittsburgh. There will also be a $500 to-win, $150 to-start Non-Qualifier. Warmups begin at 6 p.m. followed by qualifying and racing with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.

Pace Performance RUSH Late Model Touring Series Race #4 “Bill Hendren Memorial” Night 1 (30 laps, $3,100 to-win): 1. KYLE LUKON (184) 2. Alex Ferree (Bentz 60M) 3. Logan Zarin (1z) 4. Jeremy Wonderling (3J) 5. Levi Spinneweber (Lukon 184X) 6. Josh Ferry (33) 7. Tommy Schirnhofer, Jr. (8S) 8. Grant Garrison (1) 9. Garret Paugh (03) 10. Jake Gunn (14G) 11. Michael Reft (9R) 12. Tim Shaffer (Maniecki 1ST) 13. Joe Martin (Snyder 10s) 14. Michael Duritsky, Jr. (90J) 15. Bill Kessler (09) 16. Levi Crowl (5) 17. Zach Kane (10) 18. Ryan Frazee (11F) 19. Zach Gunn (17G) 20. Colby Beighey (36B) 21. Jim Rasey (Wrightsman 21J) 22. Tony White (27T) 23. Matt Latta (21) 24. Justin Lamb (Koteles 64K) 25. Christian Schneider (M5) 26. Kyle Hardy (Bowie 14c). (Note: Michael Duritsky, Jr. took a Tour provisional & Bill Kessler took a Track provisional.)

DNQ for the feature: Josh Stoica (22J), Daryl Charlier (12), John Boring (58B), Cole Petrelle (184P), Kassidy Kamicker (72B), Dan Lepro (2L), Eric Hamilton, Jr. (33x), Jacob Hawkins (Sines 15), Matt Dobnak (42D), Andrew Squatriglia (15x), Greg Goble (20G), D.J. Nakutis (31N), Ben Policz (14B), Jared Kane (7), Denny Nakutis (3).

Pace Performance “One to Remember” Non-Winners (20 laps, $1,000 to-win): 1. 184X-Levi Spinneweber[5]; 2. 17G-Zach Gunn[3]; 3. 2L-Dan Lepro[9]; 4. 09-Bill Kessler[1]; 5. 22J-Josh Stoica[8]; 6. 27T-Tony White[7]; 7. 33X-Eric Hamilton Jr[16]; 8. 3N-Denny Nakutis[17]; 9. 10-Zachary Kane[6]; 10. 15X-Andrew Squatriglia[11]; 11. 58B-John Boring[14]; 12. 72B-Kassidy Kamicker[12]; 13. (DNS) 42D-Matt Dobnak; 14. (DNS) 20G-Greg Goble; 15. (DNS) 7K-Jared Kane; 16. (DNS) 31N-DJ Nakutis; 17. (DNS) 184P-Cole Petrelle.

Car Count: 41
Feature Margin of Victory: 4.212 seconds
Feature Lap Leaders: Kyle Lukon (1-30)
Wrap from Dirtwrap ($800): Kyle Lukon & Levi Spinneweber
$250 Wrap N' Wear Package Certificate from Dirtwrap and Dirtink: Alex Ferree, Logan Zarin, Jeremy Wonderling, Levi Spinneweber, Zach Gunn, Dan Lepro, Bill Kessler, Josh Stoica.
GoPro Hero 8 Camera & Accessories ($480): Levi Spinneweber

FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock” Qualifying Flight A (Track record 18.849 by Mike Pegher, Jr. on 5/12/12): 1. 1Z-Logan Zarin, 00:19.283[2]; 2. 60M-Alex Ferree, 00:19.296[9]; 3. 27T-Tony White, 00:19.353[5]; 4. 21L-Matt Latta, 00:19.363[1]; 5. 11F-Ryan Frazee, 00:19.409[13]; 6. M5-Christian Schneider, 00:19.409[11]; 7. 14C-Kyle Hardy, 00:19.418[17]; 8. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling, 00:19.433[21]; 9. 14G-Jake Gunn, 00:19.438[4]; 10. 184X-Levi Spinneweber, 00:19.468[3]; 11. 17G-Zach Gunn, 00:19.563[6]; 12. 33-Josh Ferry, 00:19.609[19]; 13. 90J-Michael Duritsky Jr, 00:19.753[14]; 14. 12-Daryl Charlier, 00:19.841[12]; 15. 15-Jacob Hawkins, 00:19.873[10]; 16. 09-Bill Kessler, 00:19.895[20]; 17. 2L-Dan Lepro, 00:20.102[8]; 18. 15X-Andrew Squatriglia, 00:20.474[15]; 19. 7K-Jared Kane, 00:20.562[18]; 20. 184P-Cole Petrelle, 00:20.635[7]; 21. 3N-Denny Nakutis, 00:21.271[16]

FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock” Qualifying Flight B: ($100 for fastest qualifier) 1. 14B-Ben Policz, 00:19.000[10]; 2. 8S-Tommy Schirnhofer Jr, 00:19.175[6]; 3. 03-Garret Paugh, 00:19.202[1]; 4. 184-Kyle Lukon, 00:19.361[15]; 5. 1ST-Tim Shaffer, 00:19.378[17]; 6. 10S-Joe Martin, 00:19.508[18]; 7. 5C-Levi Crowl, 00:19.691[12]; 8. 36B-Colby Beighey, 00:19.692[7]; 9. 9R-Mike Reft, 00:19.734[20]; 10. 64K-Justin Lamb, 00:19.735[3]; 11. 21J-Jim Rasey, 00:20.038[8]; 12. 22J-Josh Stoica, 00:20.042[9]; 13. 1G-Grant Garrison, 00:20.043[14]; 14. 10-Zachary Kane, 00:20.078[11]; 15. 20G-Greg Goble, 00:20.150[19]; 16. 42D-Matt Dobnak, 00:20.209[5]; 17. 31N-DJ Nakutis, 00:20.434[4]; 18. 72B-Kassidy Kamicker, 00:20.460[16]; 19. 58B-John Boring, 00:21.133[13]; 20. 33X-Eric Hamilton Jr, 00:21.641[2]

FK Rod Ends Heat 1 (8 laps, Top 5 transfer to A, $25 to-win) 1. 1Z-Logan Zarin[1]; 2. 14C-Kyle Hardy[4]; 3. 14G-Jake Gunn[5]; 4. 11F-Ryan Frazee[3]; 5. 27T-Tony White[2]; 6. 90J-Michael Duritsky Jr[7]; 7. 17G-Zach Gunn[6]; 8. 15-Jacob Hawkins[8]; 9. 2L-Dan Lepro[9]; 10. 7K-Jared Kane[10]; 11. 3N-Denny Nakutis[11]

FK Rod Ends Heat 2 (8 laps, Top 5 transfer to A, $25 to-win) 1. 60M-Alex Ferree[1]; 2. 184X-Levi Spinneweber[5]; 3. M5-Christian Schneider[3]; 4. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling[4]; 5. 21L-Matt Latta[2]; 6. 33-Josh Ferry[6]; 7. 09-Bill Kessler[8]; 8. 12-Daryl Charlier[7]; 9. 184P-Cole Petrelle[10]; 10. 15X-Andrew Squatriglia[9]

FK Rod Ends Heat 3 (8 laps, Top 5 transfer to A, $25 to-win) 1. 03-Garret Paugh[2]; 2. 1ST-Tim Shaffer[3]; 3. 9R-Mike Reft[5]; 4. 1G-Grant Garrison[7]; 5. 21J-Jim Rasey[6]; 6. 58B-John Boring[10]; 7. 20G-Greg Goble[8]; 8. 31N-DJ Nakutis[9]; 9. 14B-Ben Policz[1]; 10. 5C-Levi Crowl[4]

FK Rod Ends Heat 4 (8 laps, Top 5 transfer to A, $25 to-win) 1. 184-Kyle Lukon[2]; 2. 8S-Tommy Schirnhofer Jr[1]; 3. 64K-Justin Lamb[5]; 4. 10S-Joe Martin[3]; 5. 10-Zachary Kane[7]; 6. 36B-Colby Beighey[4]; 7. 22J-Josh Stoica[6]; 8. 72B-Kassidy Kamicker[9]; 9. 33X-Eric Hamilton Jr[10]; 10. 42D-Matt Dobnak[8]

Last Chance B Main 1 (10 laps, Top 2 transfer to A): 1. 17G-Zach Gunn[3]; 2. 33-Josh Ferry[2]; 3. 90J-Michael Duritsky Jr[1]; 4. 12-Daryl Charlier[6]; 5. 184P-Cole Petrelle[8]; 6. 2L-Dan Lepro[7]; 7. 15-Jacob Hawkins[5]; 8. 09-Bill Kessler[4]; 9. 15X-Andrew Squatriglia[10]; 10. (DNS) 7K-Jared Kane; 11. (DNS) 3N-Denny Nakutis

Last Chance B Main 2 (10 laps, Top 2 transfer to A): 1. 5C-Levi Crowl[9]; 2. 36B-Colby Beighey[2]; 3. 22J-Josh Stoica[4]; 4. 58B-John Boring[1]; 5. 72B-Kassidy Kamicker[6]; 6. 33X-Eric Hamilton Jr[8]; 7. 42D-Matt Dobnak[10]; 8. (DNS) 14B-Ben Policz; 9. (DNS) 31N-DJ Nakutis; 10. (DNS) 20G-Greg Goble

Dash (6 laps): 1. 184-Kyle Lukon[4]; 2. 8S-Tommy Schirnhofer Jr[2]; 3. 184X-Levi Spinneweber[1]; 4. 1Z-Logan Zarin[3]; 5. 03-Garret Paugh[5]; 6. 14C-Kyle Hardy[7]; 7. 1ST-Tim Shaffer[6]; 8. 60M-Alex Ferree[8]

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, FK Rod Ends, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, 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, Trailer-Alarms.com, Zarin Truck & Automotive, Sherwood Wheels, Alternative Power Sources, Precise Racing Products, Lincoln Electric, Velocita-USA, Classic Ink USA, 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 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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