$6000+ HOVIS RUSH LATE MODEL WEEKEND SWEEP FOR JEREMY WONDERLING AS SUNDAY'S
VICTORY IS HIS 1ST AT ERIEZ IN FLYNN'S TIRE TOURING SERIES COMPETITION
By Mike Leone
May 14, 2023 FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
(Erie, PA)...The Hovis Auto &
Truck Supply RUSH Dirt Late Model Series presented by Born2Run Lubricants opened
the 2023 season at Eriez Speedway on a chilly Sunday evening in the first of two
appearances for the Flynn's Tire Touring Series at the northwest Pennsylvania
dirt track owned by the Alexander Family.
A solid field of 37 cars turned out for the Mother's Day special with six
new cars that didn't compete on Saturday at Stateline bringing the two-night car
count total to 48 competitors.
Last September 23-24 at Genesee Speedway, Jeremy Wonderling swept the weekend
for more than $6,000 during his four-race Flynn's Tire Touring Series win
streak. On Sunday night, Wonderling
capped off another $6,000+ weekend sweep leading from green-to-checkered for his
first career Touring Series victory at Eriez, which came one night after his
fourth "Bill Law Memorial" win in six tries at Stateline Speedway.
"This is definitely a big turnaround from the beginning of the year,"
expressed the 42-year-old Wellsville, New York winner.
"I struggled pretty bad in
Delaware but we seem to have this thing on kill right now.
The race track was on the bottom.
I can't say the lapped cars were doing anything wrong and you try to be
as patient as you can. If Scooter
(David Pangrazio) got beside me I was going to have to start shoving them
(lapped cars) around a bit. A big
shout-out to Close Racing Supply and Jim Stevens from Penske Shocks, who help me
out a ton. I have to thank Dennis
Cummings, all of my sponsors, crew, family, and everyone that comes and does
this with me along with the fans for coming out to support us."
After 30 non-stop laps the night before at Stateline, Sunday's only caution in
the feature came when sixth starting Brock Pinkerous spun on the opening lap.
Fifth starting Mike Wonderling had advanced to third on lap one, while
Jason Genco was up two spots into the top five.
Genco then was able to get past Chub Frank on the restart for fourth.
With the laps ticking off caution-free, Jeremy Wonderling had built up a
five-car length lead on David Pangrazio once he caught the back of the pack on
lap 12. Wonderling did a great job
maneuvering through traffic as he stretched out his lead on lap 17.
Wonderling had more than a straightaway advantage when he caught a
three-car battle in front of him on lap 27; meanwhile, Pangrazio had his hands
full with Jeremy's brother Mike in the battle for second.
Jeremy Wonderling was able to extend his lead in the closing laps as he took the
checkered flag first by 4.041 seconds for his 16th career Flynn's Tire Touring
Series victory in his Terry Prince
Contracting/Close Racing Supply/Cummings Trucking/Shuttleworth Sales/Penske
Shocks by JDS/Swift Springs-sponsored #3J.
Pangrazio's runner-up was his career best Touring Series effort and earned
$1,500. Pangrazio has competed in
Touring Series events over the past seven years with a pair of third place
finishes as his prior best finishes.
"It was definitely locked down on the bottom and we got stuck in lapped
traffic," explained the 24-year-old Elba, NY racer.
"I had a lot of
fun though.
We had a first yesterday (Genesee) and a second today- I'll take it.
I have to thank my mom and dad, girlfriend, and sister along with Martin
Dynamics, who helped me tonight and I think it helped us a ton.
I also have to thank all my sponsors and
everyone that helps me get here."
Mike Wonderling was third and joined his brother Jeremy on the podium on the
same night for the first time ever in Flynn's Tire Touring Series competition.
It was Mike's second podium finish of the year after a career best second
on April 15 at Winchester (VA) Speedway.
After finishing third in the prior four Touring Series events he had
competed in, Genco missed the podium by one spot in fourth.
It was also Genco's seventh top four finish in the last eight Tour events
over the past two years. Frank was
fifth.
Chad Homan made his first Tour start of the season and was sixth to earn a
spoiler kit from Ontime Body & Graphic.
Billy Henry, Jr. went 10th to seventh.
For the second straight night, Breyton Santee earned the $50 Precise
Racing Products "Pedal Down" Hard Charger gift card by using the outside to
advance forward. On Saturday night,
Santee advanced 10 spots, while on Sunday he was +9 going 17th to eighth.
Andy Boozel was ninth as 15th starting Shane Crotty completed the top 10
after failing to qualify for the feature on Saturday night.
Steve Houser ended the night by capturing a popular win in the eight-lap D&V
Jewelers "Wheelman" Non-Qualifier.
The $200 victory was Houser's first of any kind in his racing career as he led
the entire caution-free race. The
43-year-old Westfield, New York driver of the Basil of Fredonia/Barcelona
Market/Houser Hauling-sponsored #33z became the amazing 67th different winner in
81 races run all-time. Gary Youngs
was 1.181 seconds back in second for his best finish.
Jacob Peterson went fifth to third.
Steve Blodgett was fourth in his first career Tour start.
Tour regular Marc Berzowski was fifth and takes over the "Wheelman"
points lead.
Brock Pinkerous earned his first career FK Rod Ends "Shock the Clock" honors
setting fast time overall against the 37-car field in qualifying with a lap of
16.748 to earn $100. Picking up $25
FK Rod Ends heat race victories were Pinkerous, Mike Wonderling, Jeremy
Wonderling, and Pangrazio. Kurt
Stebbins and Khole Wanzer won the last chance B mains.
Jeremy Wonderling became the sixth different Sunoco Dash winner in six
events this season to earn a $100 Sunoco fuel card.
Also winning $100 Sunoco fuel cards through random drawings were Tour
racers Cody Dawson and Chad Sines, while $50 Sunoco fuel cards went to Kassandra
Norman, David Parker, Pangrazio, and Santee.
Mechanical issues for Joe Martin prior to the green flag in the feature resulted
in an early exit from the event as he was chosen as the TBM Brakes "Tough Brake
of the Night" recipient for the second time this season.
Big-Block Modified standout, Demetrios Drellos, made his third Tour start
of the season and missed the feature by one spot earning him a $100 Performance
Bodies gift card for the "Nosed Out" contingency.
The Flynn’s Tire Touring Series will return to action for three events over
Memorial Day weekend with Outlaw Speedway in Dundee, NY on Friday (May 26) for
the "Gary Montgomery Memorial", Saturday (May 27) at Genesee Speedway in
Batavia, NY, and Sunday (May 28) at Bradford (PA) Speedway.
All three events will pay $3,000 to-win.
Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Late Model Flynn’s Tire Touring Series Race #6
(30 laps, $3,000
to-win): 1. JEREMY WONDERLING (3J)
2. David Pangrazio (136) 3. Mike
Wonderling (18) 4. Jason Genco
(Craig/Badgley 29J) 5. Chub Frank
(1*) 6. Chad Homan (91)
7. Billy Henry, Jr. (21*) 8.
Breyton Santee (9) 9. Andy Boozel
(Briggs 12B) 10. Shane Crotty
(Briggs 4) 11. Brandt Graham (14)
12. Logan Jaquay (Briggs 99*)
13. Andy Michael (17x) 14. Chad
Sines (15) 15. Colby Beighey (36)
16. Matt Sipes (25) 17. Craig
Graham (98) 18. Kurt Stebbins (26)
19. Ashton Briggs (11A) 20.
Brock Pinkerous (555) 21. Jim Rasey
(Wrightsman 21J) 22. Cody Dawson
(36) 23. Scott Gurdak (5G)
24. Khole Wanzer (01W) 25.
Joe Martin (Snyder 10s).
(Note: Jim Rasey took a Tour provisional)
D&V Jewelers
Non-Qualifier
(8 laps, $200 to-win): 1. Steve Houser (33z)
2. Gary Youngs (y26) 3. Jacob
Peterson (112) 4. Steve Blodgett
(23GB) 5. Marc Berzowski (25M)
6. Kassandra Norman (6) 7. Al
Bull (19). DNS: Demetrios Drellos
(111), Austin Hauser (51), Charles Houser (15), Mason Jaquay (Briggs 17), David
Parker (2).
Car Count: 37
Feature Margin of Victory:
4.298 seconds
Feature Lap Leaders: Jeremy
Wonderling (11-30)
Ontime Body & Graphic “Spoiler Alert” Spoiler Kit:
Chad Homan
Performance Bodies “Nosed Out”:
Demetrios Drellos
Precise Racing Products “Pedal Down” Hard Charger:
Breyton Santee (+9)
Sunoco Fuel Card Winners:
Chad Sines ($100), Cody Dawson ($100),
Kassandra Norman ($50), David Parker ($50), David Pangrazio ($50),
Breyton Santee ($50)
TBM Brakes “Tough Brake of the Night”: Joe Martin
FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock” Flight A Qualifying
(Track record 15.655 by Max Blair 6/10/18)
($100 for fast time): 1. 555-Brock
Pinkerous, 00:16.748[12]; 2. 10S-Joe Martin, 00:16.789[18]; 3. 29J-Jason Genco,
00:16.826[10]; 4. 18-Mike Wonderling, 00:16.883[9]; 5. 36-Cody Dawson,
00:16.944[15]; 6. 12B-Andy Boozel, 00:16.985[14]; 7. 9S-Breyton Santee,
00:16.997[2]; 8. 21J-Jim Rasey, 00:17.142[5]; 9. 111D-Demetrios Drellos,
00:17.343[4]; 10. 14-Brandt Graham, 00:17.376[8]; 11. 25-Matt Sipes,
00:17.378[7]; 12. 4C-Shane Crotty, 00:17.413[3]; 13. 5G-Scott Gurdak,
00:17.507[13]; 14. Y26-Gary Youngs, 00:17.805[19]; 15. 17J-Mason Jaquay,
00:18.065[1]; 16. 112-Jacob Peterson, 00:18.203[16]; 17. 6N-Kassandra Norman,
00:18.818[17]; 18. 23GB-Steve Blodgett, 00:19.615[11]; 19. (DQ) 26-Kurt Stebbins
(light at scales).
FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock” Flight B Qualifying
(Track record 15.655 by Max Blair 6/10/18): 1.
91-Chad Homan, 00:16.782[7]; 2. 136-David Pangrazio, 00:16.924[10]; 3. 3J-Jeremy
Wonderling, 00:16.968[9]; 4. 1*-Chub Frank, 00:17.033[17]; 5. 15-Chad Sines,
00:17.096[18]; 6. 2-David Parker, 00:17.098[8]; 7. 21*-Billy Henry,
00:17.245[6]; 8. 99*-Logan Jaquay, 00:17.312[16]; 9. 51-Austin Hauser,
00:17.372[13]; 10. 11A-Ashton Briggs, 00:17.398[1]; 11. 01W-Khole Wanzer,
00:17.405[2]; 12. 36B-Colby Beighey, 00:17.430[3]; 13. 17X-Andy Michael,
00:17.604[4]; 14. 98-Craig Graham, 00:17.662[15]; 15. 19-Albert Bull,
00:17.769[14]; 16. 33Z-Steve Houser, 00:17.963[5]; 17. 15C-Charles Houser,
00:19.878[12]; 18. (DQ) 25M-Marc Berzowski
(light at scales).
FK Rod Ends Heat 1 (8
laps, $25 to-win, top 5 transfer to A): 1. 555-Brock Pinkerous[1]; 2. 29J-Jason
Genco[2]; 3. 36-Cody Dawson[3]; 4. 5G-Scott Gurdak[7]; 5. 9S-Breyton Santee[4];
6. 26-Kurt Stebbins[10]; 7. 25-Matt Sipes[6]; 8. 111D-Demetrios Drellos[5]; 9.
6N-Kassandra Norman[9]; 10. 17J-Mason Jaquay[8].
FK Rod Ends Heat 2 (8
laps, $25 to-win, top 5 transfer to A): 1. 18-Mike Wonderling[2]; 2. 10S-Joe
Martin[1]; 3. 12B-Andy Boozel[3]; 4. 4C-Shane Crotty[6]; 5. 14-Brandt Graham[5];
6. Y26-Gary Youngs[7]; 7. 21J-Jim Rasey[4]; 8. 112-Jacob Peterson[8]; 9.
23GB-Steve Blodgett[9].
FK Rod Ends Heat 3 (8
laps, $25 to-win, top 5 transfer to A): 1. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling[2]; 2. 91-Chad
Homan[1]; 3. 21*-Billy Henry[4]; 4. 15-Chad Sines[3]; 5. 17X-Andy Michael[7]; 6.
01W-Khole Wanzer[6]; 7. 19-Albert Bull[8]; 8. 51-Austin Hauser[5]. DNS:
15C-Charles Houser.
FK Rod Ends Heat 4 (8
laps, $25 to-win, top 5 transfer to A): 1. 136-David Pangrazio[1]; 2. 1*-Chub
Frank[2]; 3. 99*-Logan Jaquay[4]; 4. 36B-Colby Beighey[6]; 5. 11A-Ashton
Briggs[5]; 6. 98-Craig Graham[7]; 7. 2-David Parker[3]. DNS: 33Z-Steve Houser,
25M-Marc Berzowski.
Last Chance B Main
1
(8 laps, top 2
transfer to the A): 1. 26-Kurt Stebbins[1]; 2. 25-Matt Sipes[3]; 3.
111D-Demetrios Drellos[5]; 4. 21J-Jim Rasey[4]; 5. Y26-Gary Youngs[2]; 6.
112-Jacob Peterson[6]; 7. 6N-Kassandra Norman[7]; 8. 17J-Mason Jaquay[9]; 9.
23GB-Steve Blodgett[8].
Last Chance B Main
2
(8 laps, top 2
transfer to the A): 1. 01W-Khole Wanzer[1]; 2. 98-Craig Graham[2]; 3. 33Z-Steve
Houser[6]; 4. 25M-Marc Berzowski[8]; 5. 19-Albert Bull[3]. DNS: 2-David Parker,
15C-Charles Houser, 51-Austin Hauser.
Sunoco Dash
(6 laps, $100
Sunoco fuel card to-win): 1. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling[1]; 2. 136-David Pangrazio[4];
3. 10S-Joe Martin[2]; 4. 1*-Chub Frank[5]; 5. 18-Mike Wonderling[6]; 6.
555-Brock Pinkerous[3]; 7. 29J-Jason Genco[7]; 8. 91-Chad Homan[8].
The RUSH
Racing Series is brought to you by Hovis Auto & Truck Supply together with
Born2Run Lubricants along with the support of Hoosier Tire, Rick Hendrick City
Chevrolet, Sunoco Race Fuels, Bazell Race Fuels, Insinger Performance, Flynn's
Tire, Sunbelt Rentals, MSD Performance, Holley Performance Products, FK Rod
Ends, Schoenfeld Headers, Jones Racing Products, TBM Brakes, Bilstein Shocks,
Performance Bodies & Parts, Racing Electronics, Wieland Metal Services,
Frankland Racing Supply, Landrum Performance Spring, Ontime Body & Graphic,
Sherwood Wheels, Precise Racing Products, Velocita-USA, Wedge Motorsports, 3C
Graphix, D&V Jewelers, CrateInsider.com, and Terry Bowser Excavating.
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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