KYLE HARDY TOPS STELLAR FIELD OF 48 PACE RUSH LATE MODELS IN OPENING ROUND OF
“BATTLE OF THE BAY” SPEEDWEEK AT GEORGETOWN FOR 1ST CAREER FLYNN’S
TIRE/BORN2RUN LUBRICANTS TOUR VICTORY
By Mike Leone
April 15, 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
(Georgetown, DE)...After a rainout of the “Raelyn Huffman Memorial” at Delaware
International Speedway on Wednesday night, the Pace Performance RUSH Dirt Late
Model Series together with Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC headed to Georgetown
Speedway on Thursday night to kick-off the third annual “Battle of the Bay”
Speedweek. After 20 hours of steady
rain, the skies clear by midday as a stellar field of 48 cars from six different
states turned out for the 2021 Flynn’s Tire/Born2Run Lubricants Touring Series
opener. With the Canadian border
remaining closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, at least a half-dozen Canadian
racers that were planning on making the trip were unable to do so.
Last year, Kyle Hardy made some limited starts, albeit successful ones, dabbling
in RUSH Late Model competition. For
2021, Hardy, a former full-time standout Super Late Model racer, made the
decision to focus his efforts on RUSH racing and so far the decision is paying
dividends. Hardy entered the weekend
as the Pace Performance National Weekly Series point leader thanks to three
victories and a pair of runner-up finishes.
On Thursday night, Hardy out-dueled the all-time winningest RUSH Tour driver,
Max Blair, to capture his first career Flynn’s Tire/Born2Run Lubricants Tour
victory. In addition to his $3,000
winnings, Hardy received a $150 spoiler kit from Ontime Body & Graphic, a
5-Gallon Race Jug from Precise Racing Products, and was the lucky recipient of a
$100 Sunoco fuel card courtesy of Sunoco and Zarin Truck and Auto.
“I was feeling good and Max snuck by me,” revealed the 27-year-old Linden,
Virginia racer. “I was like well
that’s the race, but he moved up and I passed him where he passed me so I
figured I better not move from this spot.
I have a lot of respect for Max- he drove me clean.
This is so cool for my family and I picked up a Super Late Model ride
tonight driving for Sommey Lacey; that’s extremely fun and costs a lot of money
to do, and I can’t thank him enough.
To top it off with this, I don’t know what to say.
There’s a lot of good people behind me;
we’ve been working our butts off to get us here and this is why we’re here
because of them. I saw the white flag
then the yellow and I thought damn.
The outside is what got me here so that’s why I chose the outside.
I’d like to thank the fans for sticking this out in the cold, and hope we
get them out at Potomac and Winchester the next two nights.”
After winning his heat race from fourth and the Sunoco Dash, feature pole-sitter
John Waters suffered a flat tire on the opening lap, which was a heartbreaker
for the 2016 Tour champion. Waters
was selected as the TBM “Tough Brake of the Night” recipient.
With the lineup shuffled, the new front row was Donald Lingo, Jr. and
Hardy as Hardy charged into the lead with Lingo, fifth starting Blair, seventh
starting Joe Martin, and Ross Robinson in ow.
After a caution for Logan Zarin with two laps scored, the next 27 laps went
caution-free. Back under green flag
conditions, Martin, Blair, and Ross Robinson were trading the third through
fifth place positions back and forth.
By lap five, Hardy began to check out from the field, while Blair closed
in on Lingo in the race for second.
Blair ducked under and went past Lingo on lap seven for runner-up, but found
himself a straightaway behind Hardy on the half-mile track.
Blair began to chew into Hardy’s lead every lap and by the time Hardy caught
traffic lapped on lap 13 his margin really began to shrink.
Robinson passed fellow First State racer, Lingo, for third with an inside
move in turn two on lap 14. At the
halfway point, Blair was ready to make it a race for the lead in traffic.
Meanwhile, Robinson exited the event on lap 17 yielding third back to
Lingo and moving Martin to fourth and 14th starting Amanda Robinson
into the top five.
Back up front, Blair pulled alongside Hardy on lap 18 and one lap later made the
pass stick to lead lap 19. Hardy
however didn’t go away as he returned the favor with a slider in turn three to
regain the lead on lap 20. A lap
later, Hardy began to stretch out his lead as Blair’s right side nose suffered
damage, while Amanda Robinson continued her forward momentum up 11 spots as she
took fourth from Martin.
A caution for Devin Brannon with 29 laps scored set up a one-lap shootout to the
finish. Blair was unable to
challenge Hardy as he took the victory by 1.313 seconds in his American Paint
Co./AGX/Anthony's Pizza/Ingram Engines/Cline Construction/Sommey Lacey
Paint-sponsored #99. Hardy became
the 37th different Tour winner in 127 races all-time and third
different winner in as many “Battle of the Bay” events at Georgetown.
Blair, who won the 2019 event at Georgetown, earned $1,500 for runner-up.
“I think that one got away and was ours,” stated the dejected 31-year-old Blair
of Centerville, Pa. “I ran him down
and passed him for the lead then the very next corner I thought it folded the
bumper down, but I guess I just ripped the nose piece off somehow.
I almost pulled in when it happened because I didn’t think I could get
around here then just hoped I could hold on for second for ‘Battle of the Bay’
points. That one sucks not to be
able to race it out, it just wasn’t a good day.”
A wild last lap three-wide scramble down the backstretch into turn three for
third saw eighth starting Kyle Lukon emerge on top to round out the podium with
Lingo taking fourth in his first career RUSH Tour start, while Amanda Robinson’s
bid from 14th to third wound up with her spinning.
After a poor qualifying effort, Trevor Collins passed a lot of cars all
night going fifth to third in his heat then 16th to a solid fifth in
the feature.
Ninth starting Logan Roberson was sixth.
Austin Hubbard went 17th to seventh, while Levi Crowl advanced
from 18th to eighth. Matt
Glanden earned the Precise Racing Products “Pedal Down” Hard Charger with a run
from 22nd to ninth.
Walker Arthur completed the top 10 in his first RUSH Tour start since winning at
Winchester on May 9, 2015!
Cody Dawson brought down the curtain on the night by leading all eight laps of
the Non-Qualifier dominating the affair by a winning margin of 4.834 seconds.
The 26-year-old Laurel, Delaware driver earned $200 in the John
Dawson-owned, Dawson & Bedworth/Coastal/Aqua Electric/MJ
Brittingham/FIPR-sponsored #36 as he became the amazing 44th
different Non-Qualifier winner in 53 events run all-time.
Chuck Bowie, Robert Smith, and Timmy Booth were second through fourth
respectively.
Ross Robinson set fast time in $100 FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock” Qualifying
with a lap of 19.552 beating out Blair by just 0.004 of a second!
Robinson blistered the former track record of 19.820 set by Dillon Brown
at the 2019 event. Earning $25 FK
Rod Ends heat race wins were Ross Robinson, Blair, Hardy, Waters, Lingo, and
Brannon. The last chance B mains
were won by Darrell Bossard, Derek Magee, and Brandon Sturgis.
Waters’ victory in the Sunoco Dash not only earned him a $100 Sunoco fuel
card courtesy of Sunoco and Zarin Truck & Auto, but also $200 cash put up by
Bradford Speedway promoter Dennis Cummings!
The RUSH Touring Series will be right back in action Friday night as the “Battle
of the Bay” Speedweek continues on to Potomac Speedway in Mechanicville, MD
before concluding the swing on Saturday night at Winchester (VA) Speedway with
$3,000 on the line each night. The
Flynn’s Tire/Born2Run Lubricants Tour then heads to McKean County Raceway in
East Smethport, Pa. on Sunday, April 25 for a $2,000 to-win event.
Pace Performance RUSH Late Model Flynn’s Tire/Born2Run Lubricants Touring Series
“Battle of the Bay” Race #1
(30 laps, $3,000 to-win): 1. KYLE HARDY (99)
2. Max Blair (111) 3. Kyle
Lukon (184) 4. Donald Lingo, Jr.
(55L) 5. Trevor Collins (72)
6. Logan Roberson (17) 7.
Austin Hubbard (Klink 49) 8. Levi
Crowl (5) 9. Matt Glanden (01)
10. Walker Arthur (87) 11.
Joe Martin (Snyder 10s) 12. Derek
Magee (96) 13. Devin Brannon
(Newcome 37) 14. Amada Robinson (4)
15. Nick Davis (92) 16.
Michael Duritsky, Jr. (90J) 17. Joey
Warren (11) 18. Darrell Bossard
(Winans 213) 19. Brandon Sturgis
(10B) 20. Jeremy Wonderling (3J)
21. Logan Zarin (1z) 22. Ben
Scott (80) 23. Ross Robinson (7)
24. Cory Sines (25s) 25. John
Waters (LeBarron 11).
(Note: Michael Duritsky, Jr. took a Tour
provisional)
Non-Qualifier
(8 laps, $200
to-win): 1. Cody Dawson (36)
2. Chuck Bowie (14c) 3.
Robert Smith (01s) 4. Timmy Booth
(95). DNS: Sparky White (16), Jeremy
Pilkerton (8), Andy Michael (17x), Jason Genco (Craig/Badgley 29J), J.J. Mazur
(13), Jerry Barker (51), Dana Walker (33), Kyle Murray (21), Ryan Frazee (11F),
Al Shawver, Jr. (215), Bud Watson (225), Ed Pope, Jr. (11), Joe Pete (8/7),
Billy Henry, Jr. (21*), Matt Hill (84), Josh Ferry (33), Geoff Carey (X), David
Smith (47), David Dill, Jr. (24).
Car Count: 48
Feature Margin of Victory:
1.313 seconds
Feature Lap Leaders: Kyle Hardy (1-18, 20-30), Max Blair (19)
Ontime Body & Graphic “Spoiler Alert” Spoiler Kit: Kyle Hardy
TBM Brakes “Tough Brake of the Night”: John Waters
Performance Bodies "Nosed Out" $100 gift card: Sparky White
Precise Racing Products “Pedal Down” Hard Charger $100 gift card: Matt Glanden (+13)
Precise Racing Products 5-Gallon Race Jug: Kyle Hardy
Sunoco and Zarin Truck & Auto $100 Sunoco Fuel Cards: Kyle Hardy & John Waters
FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock” Qualifying Flight A
($100 for fast time)
(Track record 19.820 by Dillon Brown on 4/18/19): 1.
7R-Ross Robinson, 00:19.552[3]; 2. 111-Max Blair, 00:19.556[1]; 3. 99-Kyle
Hardy, 00:19.573[24]; 4. 10S-Joe Martin, 00:19.575[23]; 5. 17R-Logan Roberson,
00:19.696[13]; 6. 87-Walker Arthur, 00:19.721[11]; 7. 36-Cody Dawson,
00:19.752[9]; 8. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling, 00:19.822[8]; 9. 11F-Ryan Frazee,
00:19.839[14]; 10. 21-Kyle Murray, 00:19.911[16]; 11. 213-Darrell Bossard,
00:19.918[6]; 12. 49K-Austin Hubbard, 00:20.044[20]; 13. 29J-Jason Genco,
00:20.047[12]; 14. 01-Matt Glanden, 00:20.148[21]; 15. 13-JJ Mazur,
00:20.163[2]; 16. 5C-Levi Crowl, 00:20.203[22]; 17. 225-Bud Watson,
00:20.312[7]; 18. 80-Ben Scott, 00:20.460[19]; 19. 8/7-Joe Pete, 00:20.484[17];
20. 21*-Billy Henry, 00:20.562[15]; 21. 8-Jeremy Pilkerton, 00:20.585[10]; 22.
95-Timmy Booth, 00:20.669[18]; 23. 16-Sparky White, 00:22.349[4]; 24. (DNS)
01S-Robert Smith, 00:22.349.
FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock” Qualifying Flight B:
1. 4R-Amanda Robinson, 00:19.654[9]; 2.
55L-Donald Lingo Jr, 00:19.693[11]; 3. 37-Devin Brannon, 00:19.820[14]; 4.
184-Kyle Lukon, 00:19.833[13]; 5. 1Z-Logan Zarin, 00:19.937[8]; 6. 10B-Brandon
Sturgis, 00:19.951[5]; 7. 33-Josh Ferry, 00:20.017[20]; 8. 90J-Michael Duritsky
Jr, 00:20.036[7]; 9. 11W-Joe Warren, 00:20.067[21]; 10. 11L-John Waters,
00:20.120[17]; 11. 25S-Cory Sines, 00:20.134[6]; 12. 92-Nick Davis,
00:20.139[15]; 13. 33W-Dana Walker, 00:20.351[1]; 14. 72-Trevor Collins,
00:20.362[19]; 15. 17X-Andy Michael, 00:20.434[18]; 16. 11P-Ed Pope,
00:20.436[10]; 17. 51-Jerry Barker, 00:20.487[16]; 18. 215-Al Shawver Jr,
00:20.779[2]; 19. 96-Derek Magee, 00:20.835[3]; 20. X-Geoff Carey, NT; 21.
14C-Chuck Bowie, NT; 22. 84-Matt Hill, NT; 23. 24-David Dill Jr, NT; 24.
47-David Smith, NT.
FK Rod Ends Heat 1 (8
laps, Top 3 transfer to A, $25 to-win) 1. 1. 7R-Ross Robinson[1]; 2. 10S-Joe
Martin[2]; 3. 5C-Levi Crowl[6]; 4. 29J-Jason Genco[5]; 5. 36-Cody Dawson[3]; 6.
95-Timmy Booth[8]; 7. 21-Kyle Murray[4]; 8. 8/7-Joe Pete[7]
FK Rod Ends Heat 2 (8
laps, Top 3 transfer to A, $25 to-win) 1. 111-Max Blair[1]; 2. 17R-Logan
Roberson[2]; 3. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling[3]; 4. 213-Darrell Bossard[4]; 5. 01-Matt
Glanden[5]; 6. 16-Sparky White[8]; 7. 225-Bud Watson[6]; 8. 21*-Billy Henry[7].
FK Rod Ends Heat 3 (8
laps, Top 3 transfer to A, $25 to-win): 1. 99-Kyle Hardy[1]; 2. 87-Walker
Arthur[2]; 3. 49K-Austin Hubbard[4]; 4. 11F-Ryan Frazee[3]; 5. 80-Ben Scott[6];
6. 8-Jeremy Pilkerton[7]; 7. 13-JJ Mazur[5]; 8. (DNS) 01S-Robert Smith.
FK Rod Ends Heat 4 (8
laps, Top 3 transfer to A, $25 to-win): 1. 11L-John Waters[4]; 2. 184-Kyle
Lukon[2]; 3. 4R-Amanda Robinson[1]; 4. 96-Derek Magee[7]; 5. 33W-Dana Walker[5];
6. 11P-Ed Pope[6]; 7. 33-Josh Ferry[3]; 8. (DNS) 84-Matt Hill.
FK Rod Ends Heat 5 (8 laps, Top 3 transfer to A, $25 to-win): 1.
55L-Donald Lingo Jr[1]; 2. 1Z-Logan Zarin[2]; 3. 72-Trevor Collins[5]; 4.
25S-Cory Sines[4]; 5. 51-Jerry Barker[6]; 6. 90J-Michael Duritsky Jr[3]; 7. (DQ)
X-Geoff Carey[7]; 8. (DQ) 24-David Dill Jr[8].
FK Rod Ends Heat 6 (8
laps, Top 3 transfer to A, $25 to-win): 1. 37-Devin Brannon[1]; 2. 11W-Joe
Warren[3]; 3. 92-Nick Davis[4]; 4. 215-Al Shawver Jr[6]; 5. 17X-Andy Michael[5];
6. (DNS) 14C-Chuck Bowie; 7. (DQ) 10B-Brandon Sturgis[2]; 8. (DQ) 47-David
Smith[8].
Last Chance B Main 1 (10
laps, Top 2 transfer to A): 1. 213-Darrell Bossard[2]; 2. 01-Matt Glanden[4]; 3.
16-Sparky White[6]; 4. 29J-Jason Genco[1]; 5. 36-Cody Dawson[3]; 6. 21-Kyle
Murray[7]; 7. 95-Timmy Booth[5]; 8. (DNS) 225-Bud Watson; 9. (DNS) 8/7-Joe Pete;
10. (DNS) 21*-Billy Henry.
Last Chance B Main 2 (10
laps, Top 2 transfer to A): 1. 96-Derek Magee[2]; 2. 80-Ben Scott[3]; 3.
8-Jeremy Pilkerton[5]; 4. 13-JJ Mazur[7]; 5. 33W-Dana Walker[4]; 6. 01S-Robert
Smith[9]; 7. 11F-Ryan Frazee[1]; 8. (DNS) 11P-Ed Pope; 9. (DNS) 33-Josh Ferry;
10. (DNS) 84-Matt Hill.
Last Chance B Main 3 (10
laps, Top 2 transfer to A): 1. 10B-Brandon Sturgis[7]; 2. 25S-Cory Sines[1]; 3.
17X-Andy Michael[4]; 4. 51-Jerry Barker[3]; 5. 14C-Chuck Bowie[6]; 6. (DNS)
215-Al Shawver Jr; 7. (DNS) 90J-Michael Duritsky Jr; 8. (DQ) X-Geoff Carey[8];
9. (DQ) 24-David Dill Jr[9]; 10. (DQ) 47-David Smith[10].
Sunoco Dash
(6 laps, $200
to-win + $100 Sunoco fuel card): 1. 11L-John Waters[1]; 2. 55L-Donald Lingo
Jr[2]; 3. 99-Kyle Hardy[4]; 4. 7R-Ross Robinson[6]; 5. 111-Max Blair[3]; 6.
37-Devin Brannon[5].
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 [email protected] 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.
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