MAX BLAIR GOES 2-FOR-2 IN “BATTLE OF THE BAY” SPEEDWEEK PRESENTED BY WEHRS BY
CAPTURING HIS 1ST CAREER GEORGETOWN WIN WORTH $3000 OVER THE 50-CAR
SWEENEY RUSH LATE MODEL TOUR FIELD
April 18, 2019 FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Georgetown, DE)...The
Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC RUSH Dirt Late Model Touring Series presented by
Pace Performance moved on to Georgetown Speedway on Thursday night.
Night two of the second annual “Battle of the Bay” Speedweek presented by
Wehrs Machine & Racing Parts brought out a Georgetown record 50 race teams from
seven different states plus Ontario, Canada one night after setting a Speedweek
record of 53 cars at Delaware International Speedway (DIS).
It was a summer-like day with sunshine and 85-degree weather, which saw a
large crowd turn out.
On Wednesday night, Max Blair opened Speedweek by sweeping the night setting
fast time, winning his heat, the dash, and feature taking home $4,325 in the
“Raelyn Huffman Memorial” at DIS.
On Thursday night, Blair nearly duplicated the feat doing everything but setting
fast time as he pocketed $3,075 after his career first Georgetown win bringing
his two-night Speedweek cash earnings to $7,400.
Blair has now made four career starts in the “First State” and has won
three of them.
“You’re not going to find a better deal for crate racing than this Battle of the
Bay,” stated the 29-year-old Centerville, Pa. racer.
“Huge props to Mike (Leone) and Vicki (Emig) along with all of the race
tracks. This is a really, really
good deal for crate guys. It’s the
best stretch deal going in the country for us.
This is a really stout field of race cars.
To win both nights is pretty awesome.
Hopefully we can keep it going. Ross
(Robinson) is really close in the point deal so it’s going to come down to the
wire.”
Following his dash win, Blair raced to the early lead in the 30-lap feature
event with Dillon Brown passing both Darrell Bossard and Matt Hill for second.
Bossard, who started third, dropped to fifth after the first lap and was
feeling pressure from seventh starting Logan Roberson on lap three.
The two ran side-by-side for the position on laps five, six, and seven.
Roberson finally made the pass on lap seven; however, a caution for Zac
Weller and Darren Alvey negated the pass with six laps scored.
When racing resumed, Hill and fifth starting Ross Robinson had a great restart
as they moved into second and third respectively and dropped Brown back to
fourth before a caution for a spin by Nick Davis with seven laps completed.
Back under green, Hill made a great cross-over move going from the top in
turn one and surprised Blair driving back under him to lead off turn two.
The pass though wouldn’t count as several cars tangled on the backstretch
that saw Logan Zarin go on his side bringing out the red and the last stoppage
of the event. Zarin was okay, but
done from the event.
Back under green for the final time as the last 23 laps would go
green-to-checkered, 12th starting Dale Hollidge was on the move as he
passed both Roberson and Brown to take over fourth on lap eight.
In front of Hollidge, Hill and Robinson were racing side-by-side on lap
nine with Robinson going to the inside to make the pass for second, while
Hollidge followed in third.
As Blair continued to lead at the halfway point, Hollidge ran down Robinson in
the battle for second. Out front,
Blair caught lapped traffic for the first time on lap 19; meanwhile, Brown and
Roberson closed in on Robinson and Hollidge making it a four-car race for second
with 10 laps to go. Blair was back
in traffic again on lap 24. His
lead would shrink over the final six laps, but still was a margin of 3.656
seconds when the checkered flag waved on his all-time leading 23rd
career Sweeney Tour victory in his Murphy’s Logging/C&J Dairy/Previty’s Auto
Wrecking/Specialty Products/Moody & Son Welding-sponsored #111.
Blair once again received a Sunoco 5-Gallon Race Jug in victory lane.
“I almost really messed up that one restart,” revealed Blair.
“I was so worried about someone rolling by me on the top.
I thought I was clear on the frontstretch so I moved up going into (turn)
one and left that bottom wide open.
I wasn’t expecting that (Hill to go by him)- that’s for sure.
That one caught me by surprise; we definitely got lucky with that
caution. I couldn’t decide if I
wanted to take the top on the restarts.
I knew I wanted to end up on the bottom- I think the top is better on the
starts, but it’s pretty hard not to take the bottom on restarts.”
One night after earning $2,000 for finishing second to Blair in the “Raelyn
Huffman Memorial” at DIS, Robinson pocketed $1,500 for another runner-up finish
to Blair. Robinson also received
the “Spoiler Alert” $150 rear spoiler from Ontime Body & Graphic.
“This was a really good night for us,” stated the 28-year-old hometown
Georgetown driver, who won the event last year.
“Everything was going good up until the features.
I thought we were really good in the Super Late Model too then that one
caution came out. I can’t complain
to run second to the 111- he’s one of the best in the country in crate racing.”
Hollidge had a great run in third for his best career Sweeney Tour finish.
“We ran a really good heat race and battled hard for the win, but to
finish second- that’s six spots in the feature and we had to start 12th,”
explained the 30-year-old Clements, MD racer.
“I really wish I could have started up front.
Max is really good, but we had a good car tonight and I think we could
have had something for him if we had a caution with a few laps to go.
I have to thank all of the guys and my family.
We’ve been on the road for two days and to run two cars is tough.
Seems like I’ve been in the car all night.”
South Carolina’s Brown improved on his fifth place finish in his first career
RUSH start on Wednesday at DIS with a fourth on Thursday night, while Roberson
dropped a position to fifth.
Michael Duritsky, Jr., who won the RUSH Weekly Series season opener at
Georgetown last month in his first ever appearance, had a solid sixth place
effort. Kyle Lukon raced from the
18th starting spot to a seventh place finish.
Jason Genco moved from 14th to eighth over defending Sweeney
Tour champion, Jeremy Wonderling.
Scott Gunn rallied from 17th to 10th.
After taking a Series provisional, Trevor Feathers stormed from 25th
to 12th to earn the $100 Precise Racing Products “Pedal Down” Hard
Charger award. Bill Kessler, who
took a Series provisional on Wednesday night, ironically did a great job to hold
off Feathers for the third and final transfer spot in heat race three, and was
selected as Dirt Defender’s “Defensive Drive of the Night”.
After nearly winning his heat race, “Futures Cup” racer, Logan Zarin, was
picked for the TBM Brakes “Tough Brake of the Night” after getting on his side
in the feature.
One night after winning his first ever Non-Qualifier race, Joe Warren duplicated
his victory by leading all 10 laps to become just the fourth driver in the
history of the “Wheelman” Bonus Event Challenge Series to win multiple events in
the 40 races run all-time. The hometown
Georgetown resident led all 10 laps for the second straight night and once again
earned the $200 prize in his #11.
Warren used the outside to pass Sandercock on the start, and while Sandercock
stayed within striking distance throughout the event, the Canadian had to fend
off fellow Ontario province racer, Sam Pennacchio, for the runner-up spot.
Brad Rigdon was fourth over 17th starting Matt Glanden.
Brown set a new track record in qualifying with a lap of 19.820 as he was the
only driver that ran a sub 20-second lap to earn the $100 “Shock the Clock”
honor from FK Rod Ends. Picking up
$75 FK Rod Ends heat race wins presented by Preferred Power Wash were Brown,
Blair, Robinson, Hill, Dawson, and Bossard.
Blair won the dash, while Alvey, Kevin Scott, Jr., and Braeden Dillinger
split the three last chance B mains.
For the second consecutive race, Mark Pettyjohn of PJ1 Motorsports presented the
“$500 Club” with five $100 cash drawings.
The following five drivers from 2018 DIS track points were selected by a
random draw:
Sparky White, Joe Warren, Derek Magee, Trevor Collins, and Mike Wharton.
It was the second straight night that Collins and Magee earned an extra
$100 to go with the race winnings.
The Sweeney Tour event at Potomac Speedway in Mechanicsville, Maryland on Friday
night is cancelled due to the high likelihood of rain throughout the day and
night. Action returns on Saturday
night at Winchester (VA) Speedway for the $3,000 to-win Speedweek finale, where
the weather forecast is very promising.
Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC RUSH Late Model Touring Series “Battle of the Bay”
Speedweek presented by Wehrs Machine & Racing Products Race #2 (30
laps, $3,000 to-win): 1. MAX BLAIR (111)
2. Ross Robinson (7) 3. Dale
Hollidge (0) 4. Dillon Brown (6)
5. Logan Roberson (17) 6.
Michael Duritsky, Jr. (90J) 7. Kyle
Lukon (184) 8. Jason Genco
(Badgley/Craig 29J) 9. Jeremy
Wonderling (3J) 10. Scott Gunn
(14G) 11. Darrell Bossard (Winans
213) 12. Trevor Feathers (Royston
20) 13. Nick Davis (92)
14. Cody Dawson (36) 15.
Bill Kessler (09) 16. Kevin Scott,
Jr. (WWC Trucking 72) 17. Derek
Magee (96) 18. Kyle Murray (21)
19. Braeden Dillinger (14)
20. Matt Hill (84) 21. Logan Zarin
(1z) 22. Tyler Reed (Klink 49)
23. Amanda Whaley (4) 24.
Zac Weller (1*) 25. Darren Alvey
(30). (Note: Trevor Feathers
took a Series provisional.)
Non-Qualifier (10
laps, $200 to-win): 1. Joe Warren (11)
2. Charlie Sandercock (Crouter 57)
3. Sam Pennacchio (311) 4.
Brad Rigdon (09) 5. Matt Glanden
(01) 6. Jonathan Raley (05)
7. J.J. Mazur (13) 8. Billy
Thompson (55) 9. Jakob Piper
10. Charles Shawver, Jr. (WWC Trucking 74)
11. Jamie Wrightsman (21J)
12. Jason Dean (7) 13. Trevor
Collins (11) 14. Mike Wharton (100)
15. Chad Sines (15) 16. Joe
Pete 8/7) 17. Sparky White (16)
18. Chuck Bowie (14c)-DNS
19. Andy Michael (17x)-DNS 20.
Jeremy Pilkerton (8)-DNS 21. Kerry
King (KB)-DNS 22. Ryan Frazee
(11F)-DNS 23. Ben Scott (1)-DNS
24. Levi Crowl (5)-DNS 25.
Timmy Booth (95)-DNS.
Car Count: 50
Feature Margin of Victory:
3.656 seconds
Feature Lap Leaders: Max Blair (1-30)
“$500 Club” presented by PJ1 Motorsports:
Sparky White, Joe Warren, Derek Magee, Trevor Collins & Mike Wharton
Precise Racing Products “Pedal Down Hard Charger”:
Trevor Feather (+13)
Dirt Defender “Defensive Drive of the Night”:
Bill Kessler
TBM Brakes “Tough Brake of the Night": Logan
Zarin
Sunoco 5-Gallon Race Jugs:
Max Blair
Ontime Body & Graphic “Spoiler Alert”:
Ross Robinson
FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock” Qualifying
($100 for fast time) (Track Record: 19.956 by Jason Knowles 4/19/18): 1. Dillon
Brown 19.820 (NTR) 2. Max Blair
20.043 3. Ross Robinson 20.206
4. Matt Hill 20.241 5. Cody
Dawson 20.249 6. Dale Hollidge
20.314 7. Amanda Whaley 20.324
8. Michael Duritsky, Jr. 20.377
9. Trevor Collins 20.394 10.
Jeremy Wonderling 20.425 11. Logan
Zarin 20.435 12. Darrell Bossard
20.481 13. Logan Roberson 20.489
14. Jason Genco 20.495 15.
Bill Kessler 20.520 16. Kyle Lukon
20.526 17. Joe Warren 20.550
18. Nick Davis 20.559 19.
Matt Glanden 20.565 20. Darren
Alvey 20.580 21. Tyler Reed 20.592
22. Kevin Scott, Jr. 20.590
23. Scott Gunn 20.699 24. Braeden
Dillinger 20.732 25. Chuck Bowie
20.742 26. Charlie Sandercock
20.745 27. Sam Pennacchio 20.791
28. Kyle Murray 20.855 29.
Zac Weller 20.885 30. Joe Pete
20.894 31. Ryan Frazee 20.915
32. Mike Wharton 20.923 33.
J.J. Mazur 20.927 34. Chad Sines
20.929 35. Timmy Booth 21.056
36. Andy Michael 21.067 37.
Jonathan Raley 21.160 38. Jamie
Wrightsman 21.160 39. Trevor
Feathers 21.184 40. Billy Thompson
21.184 41. Jason Dean 21.238
42. Charles Shawver, Jr. 21.239
43. Brad Rigdon 21.322 44.
Derek Magee 21.326 45. Ben Scott
21.346 46. Levi Crowl 21.368
47. Kerry King 21.376 48.
Sparky White 21.597 49. Jeremy
Pilkerton 21.619 50. Jakob Piper
DSQ (light).
FK Rod Ends Heat 1 presented by Preferred Power Wash
(8 laps, Top 2 transfer to A, $75 to-win) 1. Brown
2. Roberson 3. Whaley
4. Glanden 5. Bowie
6. Frazee 7. Magee
8. Wrightsman 9. Pilkerton.
FK Rod Ends Heat 2 presented by Preferred Power Wash
(8 laps, Top 2 transfer to A, $75 to-win) 1. Blair
2. Duritsky 3. Genco
4. Alvey 5. Wharton
6. Sandercock 7. Dean
8. Raley.
FK Rod Ends Heat 3 presented by Preferred Power Wash
(8 laps, Top 2 transfer to A, $75 to-win) 1. Robinson
2. Reed 3. Kessler
4. Feathers 5. Mazur
6. Pennacchio 7. B. Scott
8. Collins-DNS.
FK Rod Ends Heat 4 presented by Preferred Power Wash
(8 laps, Top 2 transfer to A, $75 to-win) 1. Hill
2. Wonderling 3. Lukon
4. K. Scott 5. Murray
6. Sines 7. Crowl
8. Piper 9. Thompson.
FK Rod Ends Heat 5 presented by Preferred Power Wash
(8 laps, Top 2 transfer to A, $75 to-win) 1. Dawson
2. Zarin 3. Gunn
4. Weller 5. Warren
6. Shawver 7. Booth
8. King.
FK Rod Ends Heat 6 presented by Preferred Power Wash
(8 laps, Top 2 transfer to A, $75 to-win) 1. Bossard
2. Hollidge 3. Davis
4. Dillinger 5. Michael
6. Rigdon 7. Pete
8. White.
Last Chance B Main 1 (10
laps, Top 2 transfer to A): 1. Alvey
2. Magee 3. Sandercock
4. Bowie 5. Raley
6. Dean 7. Wharton
8. Pilkerton 9. Wrightsman
10. Frazee 11. Glanden.
Last Chance B Main 2 (10
laps, Top 2 transfer to A): 1. K. Scott
2. Piper 3. Feather
4. Mazur 5. Pennacchio
6. Sines 7. Piper
8. Collins 9. Thompson
10. B. Scott 11. Crowl.
Last Chance B Main 3 (10
laps, Top 2 transfer to A): 1. Dillinger
2. Weller 3. Warren
4. Rigdon 5. Michael
6. Pete 7. Shawver
8. King 9. White
10. Booth-DNS.
Dash (6
laps): 1. Blair 2. Hill
3. Bossard 4. Brown
5. Robinson 6. Dawson-DSQ
(light).
RUSH Racing
Series is brought to you by Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC & Pace Performance 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,
Bonnell's Rod Shop, Sherwood Wheels, Alternative Power Sources, Precise Racing
Products, Lincoln Electric, Velocita-USA, Classic Ink USA, CrateInsider.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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