3 BIG EVENTS ON TAP FOR SWEENEY RUSH LATE MODEL TOURING SERIES; GETS UNDERWAY THURSDAY AT MCKEAN FOLLOWED BY BILL EMIG MEMORIAL SAT & SUN AT SHARON
May 21, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Pulaski, PA)…It’s been over a month since the wildly successful debut of the Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC RUSH Dirt Late Model Touring Series at Hagerstown Speedway on April 20. Racers have settled into some Sweeney Weekly Series action throughout the region, but are now are set to hit it hard this weekend with three Tour events on tap!
It all gets underway Thursday night at NDRL’s McKean County Raceway in East Smethport, Pa. followed by the two-day Bill Emig Memorial “Wild Card Weekend” at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio on Saturday and Sunday! Each of three 25-lap feature events will pay $1,500 to-win, $185 to-start. Racing begins at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Hagerstown winner, Rick Singleton, enters the weekend as the point leader. Singleton also has Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC Weekly Series wins at “The Rock” and Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex. Singleton, of Hesston, Pa., will be competing in all three events and currently has a two-point lead on Finksburg, Maryland’s Glenn Elliott, who is planning running the entire Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC Touring Series.
Thursday’s event at McKean will be their first of five Sweeney Tour events in 2013! McKean is under new management in 2013 and have featured the region’s highest weekly car counts to date with a full field or more each night! Max Blair has won all three Sweeney Weekly Series events. A strong field is expected Thursday with no conflicting events throughout the region. In addition to the cash payouts and standard event contingencies, the first ARbodies “Nosed Out” night will be in effect. The first driver that fails to qualify for the feature will receive a nose kit valued at $245!
“We have to thank NDRL’s John Kennedy and Chris Zuver for their support of our RUSH program in our first year,” stated RUSH Co-Director Mike Leone. “Not only did they sanction with us, but they added several more Sweeney Weekly Series events than were originally planned, and in addition to the five Sweeney Tour events at McKean, have also included us at some of their other NDRL events that we’ll have more info on in the near future.”
Attention then switches across the border in Ohio to the beautiful Sharon Speedway for the Bill Emig Memorial “Wild Card Weekend”. Not only will $1,500 be on the line to-win each night, but the event will also boast a separate $1,500 jackpot point fund! The champion will receive $500 and positions two through five will also receive cash. Drivers will draw a card at each event to add to their point finishes from the feature events to determine the standings.
Sharon has held five Sweeney Weekly events to date with point leader Dennis Lunger, Jr. winning two and single victories to Mike Pegher, Jr., Josh Double, and Will Thomas III.
“Bill Emig was a gambler,” stated daughter and RUSH Co-Director Vicki Emig. “He gambled for almost 30 years in his belief of his famous six-cylinder-powered race cars, which in the end brought him hundreds of feature wins and multiple track championships- many against stout V-8 powered fields. When not at the race track he was also known to spend many long nights at the poker table so there is no doubt that he would have thoroughly enjoyed the “luck of the draw” flavor that will determine what drivers take home a piece of the point fund that is thrown in as an added bonus in the Bill Emig Memorial Wild Card Weekend.”
Also part of the weekend will be the John Buzzard Memorial Dashes that will be held each night in conjunction with the K&N “Cold Air Induction” Dashes. The weekend dashes will have additional cash on the line ($100 to-win) along with $150 of K&N product plus another little extra incentive thrown into the mix to add to the events gambling theme. The first heat winner will draw a card for the feature inversion. The top four drivers (five if five heats are run) will run the dash to determine those positions at the front of the feature line-up.
Buzzard was a former racer for the late Emig, who lost his life in an accident at Expo Speedway in 1975. Some of his greatest moments in racing came at Sharon on the blacktop as he was part of the famous weekly David and Goliath battles that pitted his Emig Ford six-cylinder against the V-8 powered Chevrolet of Jim Lewis out of Cleveland, Ohio. Their exciting duals resulted in Buzzard and Lewis being named co-champions of Sharon’s 1973 Stock Car Division. The Buzzard’s family will be on hand for the dash presentations.
“Although my father’s memorial race has been held at various venues throughout the years, it’s very appropriate that it can be showcased for the third straight year at Sharon,” expressed Emig’s daughter Vicki. “Sharon Speedway is the only track in the region that all seven of my father’s drivers raced at for him. His cars and drivers recorded many wins on both the dirt and asphalt- many dating back to the quarter-mile days.”
TurboStart Batteries will award one 16-volt racing battery (valued at $252) to one lucky driver during the Sharon weekend. The drawing will be held on Sunday and drivers will get one chance per night they participate.
Other programs taking place all three nights will be the Precise Racing Products “Pedal Down Hard Charger” as the driver that passes the most cars in the feature will receive $100 Precise certificate. RUSH Officials will choose The Brake Man “Tough Brake of the Night” each night as this driver will receive three bottles of Xtreme6 Racing Brake Fluid valued at approximately $45 along with a certificate good for either $50 off of a purchase of $100 or more or 20% off any The Brake Man purchase.
The “Wheelman” Bonus Event Challenge Series will be held for drivers failing to qualify for the feature each night paying $150 to-start, $80 to-start. Randy Wible won the opening event at Hagerstown and leads those separate points.
“Sharon was one of the first speedways to step up and sanction under RUSH,” stated Leone. “General Manager Dave Willoughby is very supportive of our program and has scheduled five Sweeney Tour events paying between ether $1,500 or $2,000 to-win! The weather is looking great for the weekend and we’re expecting a lot of racers from outside of the region to come in for the holiday weekend.”
Feature payoff each night: 1. $1,500 2. $800 3. $550 4. $410 5. $375 6. $340 7. $325 8. $295 9. $285 10. $280 11. $255 12. $250 13. $230 14. $225 15. $200 16. $195 17. $190 18-24. $185.
Non-Qualifier: 1. $150 2. $125 3. $115 4. $110 5. $105 6. $100 7. $95 8. $90 9. $85 10-24. $80. Tow $75.
Bill Emig Memorial “Wild Card Weekend” Point Fund for Sharon Speedway: 1. $500 2. $400 3. $300 4. $200 5. $100.
Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC Touring Series DRIVER Points (must be Touring member to receive points): 1. Rick Singleton 100 2. Glenn Elliott 98 3. Mike Pegher, Jr. 96 4. Joe Martin 92 5. D.J. Troutman 90 6. Andrew Satterlee 89 7. Ryan Montgomery 88 8. Darren Peters 87 9. Chad Ruhlman 86 10. Bryce Davis 84 11. Josh Double 83 12. John Over 82 13. Josh Holtgraver 81 14. MichaelLake 80 15. Justin Tatlow 78 16. Butch Lambert 77 17. Matt Glanden 76 18. Cody Dawson 73 19. Eric Wilson, Jamie Brown, Jorden Peters, Randy Wible, Scott Tessman, Shane Weaver, Mike Wharton 70.
You do not have to be a RUSH member to compete in any RUSH-sanctioned event. Racers can join Weekly or Touring for $100 each. There will be a $75 entry fee for each event. RACEceivers are mandatory at every RUSH Tour event. The red AMB transponder will be required for Sharon. Rentals will be available for $25.
A reminder that the Hoosier FT 200 and 400 Tires will be able to be utilized and can be grooved and siped in addition of course to the Hoosier Crate Racin’ D21 and D55. For tech questions, contact Travis Harry at 814-676-9997 (work) or 814-758-5737 (cell).
For Thursday at McKean, pits will be open all afternoon for early arrivals. Warm-ups begin at approximately 7:10 p.m. with racing at 7. For Sharon Speedway, racing will begin at 7 p.m. both nights. Pit passes will be sold starting at 4 p.m. on Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday.
McKean County Raceway is a 1/3-mile dirt track located at the McKean County Fairgrounds in East Smethport, Pa. at the intersections of Route 6 and 46. For more information on McKean County Raceway, check out their website at www.mckeancountyraceway.com or call Chris Zuver at 814-598-2601. The track number is 814-887-2600.
Sharon Speedway is a 3/8-mile dirt track with a GPS address of 3241 Custer-Orangeville Rd. NE, Burghill, OH44404. For more information, check out their website at www.sharonspeedway.com or call 330-772-5481. As for their social media outlets, you can like their page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SharonSpeedwayor follow them on Twitter @SharonSpdwy.
2013 RUSHmarketing partners include Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC, Pace Performance, RainEater Wiper Blades, Hoosier Tire, Precise Racing Products, ARbodies, The Brake Man, K&N Filters, Lincoln Electric, TurboStart, Beyea Headers, K1 RaceGear, Bobby Lake Motorsports, Wrisco Industries, High Gear Speed Shop, Utsinger’s Towing, RockAuto.com, and Valley Fashions.
E-mail can be sent to the RUSH Racing Series at info@rushracingseries.com and snail mail to 4368 Route 422, Pulaski, PA16143. 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.