SWEENEY RUSH LATE
MODEL SERIES ANNOUNCES 2015 TOURING SCHEDULE; $10,000 POSSIBLE TO WIN BETWEEN
NEW NORTHERN & SOUTHERN TOURS
By Mike Leone
April 10, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
(Pulaski, PA)...The
Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC RUSH Dirt Late Model Series is excited to release
its 2015 Sweeney Touring Series schedule.
For the first time, the Series will offer both a Northern and Southern
Touring schedule of events. With
$4,000 to-win each region and the $2,000 overall bonus, one driver could win
$10,000!
“As our overall region continues to grow, we felt it was time to split our
Touring Series into two regions,” explained RUSH Co-Director Vicki Emig.
“With our entire region now encompassing an expanse of 600 miles from the
far north in Brighton, Ontario, Canada to the far south in Mechanicsville,
Maryland, the reality is that it is too much to ask the majority of the racers
to do the entire tour. We felt this
split will be a positive change for both the racers and speedways in each part
of the region as it will create a more attainable situation for those that would
like to participate in a touring series, but in the past could not attend many
of the events do to the distance.
However with that said, we are aware of several racers who plan to compete in
all twenty-four events in pursuit of the possible overall $10,000 crown jewel
championship.”
Twenty-four events are included on the combined Sweeney Touring Series schedule.
The Series will make its only visit to Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex
on Saturday, April 18, which will kick-off the 2015 season and begin the points
for the Southern Tour. The
Markleysburg, Pa. oval, which is just minutes from both West Virginia and
Maryland hosts weekly Sweeney RUSH Late Model action.
Roaring Knob led all speedways completing 26 RUSH features in 2014.
“Futures Cup” Champion Michael Lake was the track champion.
In 2014, Potomac and Winchester Speedways came on board as RUSH
weekly-sanctioned speedways and had rousing success doubling car counts.
Rick Singleton swept the inaugural “Mid-Atlantic Classic” Sweeney Tour
weekend at both speedways. That
event is back in 2015 with a pair of $2,000 to-win Tour events on Friday, May 8
at Potomac in Mechanicville, MD and Saturday, May 9 at Virginia’s Winchester.
The first event for the Northern Tour, which will be presented by Insinger
Performance/Sunoco Race Fuels, will be on Monday, May 18 at Merrittville
Speedway. The event will be historic
as it’ll be the first ever Crate Late Model event at the Thorold, Ontario oval,
and will pay $2,000 to-win. It’ll
also be a big night as Canada celebrates Victoria Day and the Sweeney RUSH Late
Models join the DIRTcar 358 Modified Series for the first time ever.
This traditional event always draws a packed grandstand to watch some of
the best Modified racers in the country.
Freedom Motorsports Park has a new owner in Bob Reis, but once again the track
will be under the Sweeney RUSH Weekly Series banner.
Last year, Freedom held the first ever Crate Late Model Touring event,
which won by Chad McClellan. Freedom
has a Northern Tour event scheduled in 2015 on Friday, June 5 as the inaugural
“Ron Baker Memorial” will kick off the three-night “Triple Crown Weekend”.
Baker, who passed away in December, was
most recently the car owner for Ward Schell.
The first weekend in June continues on Saturday night the 6th with
the first ever Sweeney Tour event at Stateline Speedway.
The Busti, NY oval will have a sanction for their Crate Late Models for
the first time in the track’s history as promoter Bill Catania chose RUSH so
it’s drivers can take advantage of all of the amenities the Sweeney Weekly
Series offers. Catania took over
Stateline last summer and made numerous improvements.
A possible second date at Stateline may be added.
Eriez Speedway will complete the “Triple Crown Weekend” with their first of two
Sweeney Tour events. Eriez has been
a strong Sunday night Crate Late Model speedway for many years and we’re
thrilled to have under the Sweeney Weekly Series banner for the first time.
The Insinger Performance/Sunoco Race Fuels Northern Tour will return to
Eriez on Sunday, July 26 for the $30,000 “Manufacturers Night”.
This popular event has annually attracted over 40 competitors in the past
at Sharon Speedway, Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway, and McKean County Raceway.
The richest event in the history of RUSH is coming to Winchester Speedway on
June 12-13. The inaugural “Crate
Racin’ USA Late Model Nationals” will be RUSH’s first ever national event.
Friday will feature Bobby Lake Motorsports “Shock the Clock” qualifying
that will set the line-ups for the “Bill Hendren Memorial” Twin 20s paying
$1,000 to-win each. These qualifiers
will then determine the line-up for Saturday’s 50-lap $6,000 to-win feature and
last chance B mains. Drivers who
fail to qualify for the feature then will be eligible for the $1,500 to-win
non-qualifier. Also on Friday night
will be a $500 to-win “Miles Traveled” event for drivers traveling 350 miles or
further to compete. In addition,
Steve Hendren will post thousands of dollars of contingency prizes on Friday in
memory of his father.
After being closed for four years, racing will come to life once again at
Tri-City Raceway Park under new owner Mark Tatalovic.
The Franklin, Pa. half-mile has two Sunday Tour events scheduled.
The first will be on June 21 and will be the site of the $2,000 to-win
“Bill Emig Memorial” for the first time ever, and a second will take place on
August 16. Eriez has worked with
Tri-City to drop their RUSH Late Models on these nights so their racers can
participate in these events!
Wayne County Speedway has come on board as a Sweeney RUSH weekly-sanctioned
speedway making the Orrville, Ohio oval the westernmost facility under the RUSH
banner. Last year’s scheduled
Sweeney Tour event was rained out the night before Labor Day.
This year, the Series will make three appearances with $1,500 to-win
events on Monday, June 22, Saturday, July 4, and Sunday, September 6.
The first and third events will be part of Tony Stewart’s All Star Sprint
Car Series. The July 4 show will see
one lucky driver leave with a brand new GM 604 engine valued at over $5,500
thanks to Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC and Pace Performance.
RUSH is proud to continue to have Lernerville Speedway share an alliance.
The Sarver, Pa. oval will again hold a Sweeney Weekly Series event on
Friday, May 1 with the All Stars then two Sweeney Tour events; one will again be
with the BOSS Sprints on Friday, July 3 and the second as part of the annual
“Steel City Stampede” for $2,000 to-win October 23-24.
The RUSH Late Models are expected to be part of the traditional racing program
at Expo Speedway during the Trumbull County Fair on Wednesday, July 15.
The big 5/8-mile oval in Cortland, Ohio always offers a unique challenge
to racers.
One of the annual events Series Officials and racers look forward to is the trip
to Humberstone Speedway. The 2015
“Canadian National Late Model Championship” will be held on Sunday, July 19 with
$2,000 to-win at the Port Colborne, Ontario racey bullring.
Humberstone is once again a Sweeney Weekly Series track running on Sunday
nights giving Canadian racers the ability to race three nights per week.
McKean County Raceway will be in operation on a very limited scale in 2015.
The East Smethport, Pa. oval will host the traditional McKean County Fair
race on Thursday, August 20 then return to action for the “Fall Classic” the
second weekend in October. Event
promoter, Chris Zuver, has announced he’ll hold two Insinger Performance/Sunoco
Race Fuels Tour events with $1,200 to-win each on Friday, October 9 and
Saturday, October 10.
Sharon Speedway will be hosting at least five Sweeney Weekly Series events in
2015 when Wayne County Speedway isn’t running the class.
In addition, the Hartford, Ohio showplace will host the $2,000 to-win
“Gary Knollinger Memorial” Sweeney Tour event during the “Apple Festival
Nationals” on September 11-12.
Knollinger was a standout Crate Late Model
racer from Triadelphia, West Virginia. RUSH Officials and many of the
racers became very close to Gary and his family when he was a fierce competitor
before his tragic passing on Christmas 2010. Sharon was Knollinger’s
favorite track as he had a lot of success there, and has been the site of the
memorial the last four years with Max Blair, Joe Martin, Ryan Montgomery, and
Russell King capturing the meaningful events.”
Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway continues their involvement as a strong Sweeney
RUSH Weekly Series member track.
“The Monster Half-Mile” in Imperial, Pa. will host their Sweeney Tour event on
Saturday, September 19.
In addition to the Sweeney Touring Series point fund, RUSH will again offer the
$27,500+ Sweeney Weekly Series point fund that offers $5,000 to-win and pays
down 40 spots, the $10,000+ Pace Performance “Summer Chase” that pays $3,000
to-win down 10 positions, the $3,000+ “Futures Cup” that pays $1,000 to-win down
10 positions, and the new $13,000+ Bilstein Bandits that will pay $5,000 to-win
down 12 positions cash along with contingencies to 13-15.
“We’re excited that the 2015 season is going to be the biggest and most
lucrative in the history for Northeast Crate Late Model racers,” stated RUSH
Co-Director Mike Leone. “It’s now
possible for racers to just run weekly events and take home $13,000 if they’re
on our sealed spec Bilstein shocks or $8,000 if they’re not on Bilsteins
excluding the Futures Cup. And it’s
not out the realm of possibility for a driver to earn over $23,000 if they swept
the Bilstein, the Touring, Weekly, and Summer Chase programs.”
2015 Insinger
Performance/Sunoco Race Fuels Northern Touring Series point fund breakdown: 1. $4,000
2. $2,000 3. $1,500
4. $1,000 5. $800 6. $700
7. $600 8. $550
9. $525 10. $500
11. $450 12. $400.
2015 Southern
Touring Series point fund breakdown: 1. $4,000 2. $2,000
3. $1,500 4. $1,000 5. $800
6. $700 7. $600
8. $550 9. $525
10. $500 11. $450
12. $400.
2015 Overall
Sweeney Touring Series Champion: $2,000
2015 Sweeney Chevrolet Buick
GMC
·
Saturday, April 18 Roaring Knob Motorsports
Complex (S) (Markleysburg, PA) $1,200 to-win
“Mid-Atlantic States Classic”
·
Friday, May 8 Potomac Speedway (S)
(Mechanicsville, MD) $2,000 to-win
·
Saturday, May 9 Winchester Speedway (S)
(Winchester, VA) $2,000 to-win
·
Monday, May 18 Merrittville Speedway (N)
(Thorold, ON, Can.) $2,000 to-win
“Triple Crown Weekend”
·
Friday, June 5 Freedom Speedway (N) (Delevan, NY)
$1,200 to-win “Ron Baker Memorial”
·
Saturday, June 6 Stateline Speedway (N) (Busti,
NY) TBA
·
Sunday, June 7 Eriez Speedway (N) (Erie, PA)
$1,200 to-win
·
Friday-Saturday, June 12-13 Winchester Speedway
(S – Show-Up) (Winchester, VA) $6,000 to-win
(“Crate Racin’ USA Nat’s – Twin
$1,000 to-win Bill Hendren Mem Qualifiers & $500 to-win Miles Traveled race on
Friday; $6,000 to-win feature & $1,500 Non-Qualifier on Saturday)
·
Sunday, June 21 Tri-City Raceway Park (N)
(Franklin, PA) $2,000 to-win “Bill Emig Memorial”
·
Monday, June 22 Wayne County Speedway (S)
(Orrville, OH) $1,500 to-win
·
Friday, July 3 Lernerville
Speedway (S) (Sarver, PA) $1,200 to-win
·
Saturday, July 4 Wayne County
Speedway (S) (Orrville, OH) $1,500 to-win
GM 604 Engine Giveaway presented by Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC/Pace Performance
·
Wednesday, July 15 Expo
Speedway (S) (Cortland, OH) Fair race
·
Sunday, July 19 Humberstone
Speedway (N) (Port Colborne, ON, Can) $2,000 to-win "Canadian National Late
Model Championship"
·
Saturday, July 25 TBA (N)
·
Sunday, July 26 Eriez Speedway (N) (Erie, PA)
$1,500 to-win plus $30,000 “Manufacturers Night”
·
Sunday, August 16 Tri-City Raceway Park (N)
(Franklin, PA) $1,500 to-win
·
Thursday, August 20 McKean County Raceway (N)
(East Smethport, PA) $1,200 to-win Fair race
·
Sunday, September 6 Wayne
County Speedway (S) (Orrville, OH) $1,500 to-win
·
Friday-Saturday, September
11-12 Sharon Speedway (S) (Hartford, OH) $2,000 to-win
("Apple Festival
Nationals" - "Gary Knollinger Memorial")
·
Saturday, September 19
Pittsburgh's PA Motor Speedway (S) (Imperial, PA) $1,200 to-win
·
Friday, October 9 McKean
County Raceway (N) (East Smethport, PA) $1,200 to-win "Fall Classic"
·
Saturday, October 10 McKean
County Raceway (N) (East Smethport, PA) $1,200 to-win "Fall Classic"
·
Friday & Saturday, October
23-24 Lernerville Speedway (S) (Sarver, PA) $2,000 to-win
(“Steel City Stampede”
with heats Friday & main events Saturday)
(N) = Northern Tour
Event ($4,000 to-win title) (S) =
Southern Tour Event ($4,000 to-win title)
The overall point champion will receive $2,000
*Schedule subject to change.
Additional dates may be added
RUSH Late Model marketing partners include Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC, Pace
Performance, Hoosier Tire, Bilstein Shocks, Sunoco Race Fuels, MSD Ignition,
Maxima Racing Oil, Jones Racing Products, Alternative Power Sources, Precise
Racing Products, ARbodies, The Brake Man, K&N Filters, Lincoln Electric,
TurboStart, Beyea Headers, FK Rod Ends, Bobby Lake Motorsports, Crate
Innovations Inc., Moroso Performance Products, Velocita-USA, High Gear Speed
Shop, CrateInsider.com, B.R.A.K.E.S., RockAuto.com, and Valley Fashions.
E-mail can be sent to the RUSH Racing Series at [email protected] 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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