DEFENDING SWEENEY RUSH LATE MODEL TOUR CHAMP JEREMY WONDERLING SURVIVES MID-RACE
RAIN DELAY & CHALLENGES FROM BLAIR & GENCO TO CAPTURE HIS 1ST WIN
TOUR WIN OF 2019 & 2ND “BILL LAW MEMORIAL” IN 3 YEARS AT STATELINE
May 18, 2019 FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
(Busti, NY)...One month after a successful four-night
“Battle of the Bay” Speedweek Mid-Atlantic swing presented by Wehrs Machine &
Racing Products, the Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC RUSH Dirt Late Model Touring
Series presented by Pace Performance resumed action on Saturday night for the
season’s only appearance at Stateline Speedway located just across the
Pennsylvania border in Busti, NY.
The “Bill Law Memorial” marked just the third ever appearance by the Sweeney
Tour at Stateline, and the 33-car turnout was a high watermark.
The event paid tribute to the late Law, who had the first Crate Late
Model in the Northeast more than 12 years ago.
Law was a huge supporter of racing in the region and helped kick-start
the racing career of his grandson, Kyle Murray, who currently competes in a RUSH
Late Model.
Defending Sweeney Tour champion, Jeremy Wonderling,
withstood the pressure by two of the Northeast’s best in Max Blair and Jason
Genco through lapped traffic and survived a mid-race rain delay to capture his
first Tour victory of the season.
For Wonderling, it was his second “Bill Law Memorial” victory in the past three
years at Stateline. Wonderling
earned $2,000 and received one of the new Sunoco 5-Gallon Race Jug.
“It means a lot to win this race,” acknowledged the
39-year-old Wellsville, NY winner. “Bill
Law was a great friend of the family for years.
I knew Bill way before I even knew (grandson) Kyle (Murray).
He was an innovator in this class.”
“I didn’t know I was ahead of Max because the
scoreboard wasn’t working,” continued Wonderling.
“I knew he was there in third during the rain delay.
The lapped traffic was getting hairy there for a while; I didn’t know
what to do. The lapped cars were
running side-by-side and I was trying to pick which one was going to go the
right way. I saw Jason (Genco) and
the other (lapped) car ahead got a little further ahead so I said to myself, ‘I
have to block him’. That was
nerve-wracking to sit during the rain delay and wonder what the track is going
to do and how good the car is going to be.
The car was just as good when I came back as it was at the beginning.”
After winning the dash, Wonderling earned the pole
position and raced to the early lead with Tour rookie Ryan Frazee in second in
his first ever Stateline appearance, while Genco and Blair moved past Scott
Gurdak for third and fourth respectively on the opening lap.
Genco and Blair began to apply heavy pressure to Frazee on lap five.
Genco ducked under Frazee in turns one and two on laps six and seven, but
Frazee continued to maintain the runner-up spot.
On lap 12, contact was made between the two in turn two as Genco and
Blair moved on by to take over second and third.
Out front as the laps ticked off caution-free,
Wonderling had a several car-length lead as he caught lapped traffic for the
first time on lap 14. As the
frontrunners received the halfway signal, it was a three-car battle for the lead
in traffic. Blair pulled even with
Genco on lap 17, but Genco held down the second position.
After clearing Blair, Genco then raced side-by-side with Wonderling on
lap 18. Some light precipitation
began falling and the caution was displayed with 18 laps scored.
After the drivers gave the thumbs up for the surface
being okay, racing resumed with Gurdak and eighth starting Darrell Bossard
moving past Frazee for fourth and fifth respectively.
Several cars tangled in turn four on lap 20 with everyone but Kyle
Zimmerman able to keep going.
Zimmerman’s night would be done and was awarded the TBM Brakes “Tough Brake of
the Night”. Under caution, the
intensity of the rain picked up and the cars were sent back to the lineup area
in the pits. The rain didn’t last
long, but track equipment was summoned to the track to get the surface back to
race-able conditions.
When green flag racing resumed, the final 10 laps
would go non-stop as the three-car race for the lead between Wonderling, Genco,
and Blair resumed. On lap 28, Blair
went to the outside of Genco in turns three and four and made the pass for
second stick. Blair though would run
out of time in the final two laps and even though he cut into Wonderling’s lead,
Wonderling took the checkered flag first by a margin of 0.910 of a second.
Wonderling’s fifth career Tour win came in his Close Racing Supply/Terry
Prince Contracting/Pine Grove Collision/The Store in Scio/Ultra Force
Machine/Wonderling Pit Stop-sponsored #3J.
Blair earned $1,000 for second as he’s now finished
in the top two of all four 2019 Sweeney Tour events to maintain the points lead.
“I wish that rain would have held off a couple more laps,” stated the
defending Sweeney Weekly Series Champion.
“I wish too I could have gotten to second a little quicker because that
would have been a lot of fun racing with him (Wonderling).
Those guys were getting bottled up in traffic and I really think I could
have surprised them both on the outside, but that’s part of racing and why it’s
so fun. Congrats to those guys- if I
can’t get it I just as much hope they can for sure.”
Genco was third for his season’s best Tour finish.
Bossard snuck past Gurdak on lap 25 to finish fourth and captured the
“Spoiler Alert” as he received a $150 spoiler kit from Ontime Body & Graphic.
Gurdak dropped to fifth. Last
year’s race winner and last week’s Stateline victor, Damian Bidwell, was sixth.
Tour regular, Kyle Lukon, was seventh in his first ever Stateline
appearance. Frazee dropped to eighth
over Braeden Dillinger. Bruce
Hordusky, Jr. was 10th and received a $50 bonus from Schwartz
Construction.
Michael Duritsky, Jr. raced from 23rd to
16th to earn the $100 Precise Racing Products “Pedal Down” Hard
Charger award for the second straight race.
T.J. Downs, who held off Duritsky’s challenges to win the first last
chance B main, was selected as the Dirt Defender’s “Defensive Drive of the
Night” award winner.
Paul Norman led all eight laps of the Non-Qualifier
in dominating fashion for the $200 victory in his B&B Logging/White Tale
Auto/Fathers Motors/Scoops Coops-sponsored #6.
The 49-year-old Gerry, NY driver took the checkered flag first by a big
margin of 5.373 seconds to become the 36th different winner in 42
“Wheelman” Bonus Event Challenge Series races run all-time.
David Parker got sideways on lap two allowing Chad Clement to take
second. Fifth starting Brian Larson
was third over Josh Beckstrom in both racers’ Touring Series debut.
Jacob Peterson completed the top five.
Scott Gurdak set fast time in $100 FK Rod Ends “Shock
the Clock” Qualifying with a lap of 17.443.
Winning $25 FK Rod Ends heat races were Gurdak, Blair, Wonderling, and
Lukon. Besides Downs, Andy Michael
won the other last chance B main.
The Zarin Truck & Automotive “$500 Club” drawings
were co-sponsored by Schwartz Construction of Conneaut, Ohio and Rusted Nutz of
Pittsfield, Pa. The following
drivers in the top 15 of Stateline’s points were randomly selected at the
drivers’ meeting and received an extra $100: Blair, Bossard, Brian Knowles,
Scott Dellahoy, and Gary Troyer.
The Sweeney Tour will resume action on Sunday (May 19) at Eriez Speedway in
Erie, Pa. for a “Marquee” event paying $2,000 to-win, $225 to-start with a $200
to-win Non-Qualifier. Pits open at
3:30 with warm-ups at 6 followed by qualifying and racing.
The Tour then will have a New York doubleheader on Friday, May 31 at
Outlaw Speedway for the “Gary Montgomery Memorial” and Saturday, June 1 at
Genesee Speedway with both racing paying $2,000 to-win.
Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC RUSH Late Model Touring Series Race #4 (30 laps, $2,000
to-win): 1. JEREMY WONDERLING (3) 2.
Max Blair (111) 3. Jason Genco
(Craig/Badgley 29J) 4. Darrell
Bossard (Winans 213) 5. Scott Gurdak
(Hollabaugh 5G) 6. Damian Bidwell
(1/2-Pint) 7. Kyle Lukon (184)
8. Ryan Frazee (11F) 9.
Braeden Dillinger (14) 10. Bruce
Hordusky, Jr. (3) 11. Brian Knowles
(7) 12. Ward Schell (61s)
13. Khole Wanzer (01W) 14.
Sam Pennacchio (311) 15. Chad
Schauers (28K) 16. Michael Duritsky,
Jr. (90J) 17. Logan Zarin (1z)
18. Gary Troyer (13) 19.
Scott Dellahoy (27) 20. Kyle Murray
(21) 21. Jared Kane (7)
22. Kyle Zimmerman (z17) 23.
T.J. Downs (1) 24. Andy Michael
(17x) 25. Bill Kessler (09).
(Note: Bill Kessler took a Tour
provisional.)
Non-Qualifier (8 laps, $200
to-win): 1. Paul Norman (6) 2. Chad
Clement (45) 3. Brian Larson (2B)
4. Josh Beckstrom (96B) 5.
Jacob Peterson (112) 6. David Parker
(2) 7. Dale McDonald, Jr. (36M)
8. Matt Sipes (25)-DNS.
Car Count: 33
Feature Margin of Victory:
0.910 of a second
Feature Lap Leaders: Jeremy Wonderling (1-30)
“$500 Club”
presented by Schwartz Construction & Rusted Nutz: Max Blair, Darrell Bossard, Brian Knowles, Scott Dellahoy, Gary
Troyer
10th
Place $50 Bonus presented by Schwartz Construction: Bruce Hordusky, Jr.
Precise Racing Products “Pedal Down Hard Charger”: Michael Duritsky, Jr. (+7)
Dirt Defender “Defensive Drive of the Night”:
TJ Downs
TBM Brakes “Tough Brake of the Night":
Kyle Zimmerman
Sunoco 5-Gallon Race Jugs:
Jeremy Wonderling
Ontime Body & Graphic “Spoiler Alert”: Darrell Bossard
FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock” Qualifying
($100 for fast time) (Track Record: 17.376 by John Waters 5/20/17):
1. Scott Gurdak 17.443 2. Max Blair
17.652 3. Darrell Bossard 17.891
4. Kyle Lukon 17.899 5.
Michael Duritsky, Jr. 17.978 6. Ryan
Frazee 18.025 7. Jeremy Wonderling
18.058 8. Damian Bidwell 18.109
9. Jason Genco 18.151 10. Sam
Pennacchio 18.175 11. Brian Knowles
18.184 12. Bruce Hordusky, Jr.
18.213 13. Braeden Dillinger 18.316
14. Ward Schell 18.390 15.
Logan Zarin 18.391 16. Kyle Murray
18.414 17. Kyle Zimmerman 18.485
18. Chad Schauers 18.495 19.
Andy Michael 18.506 20. Jared Kane
18.548 21. Scott Dellahoy 18.558
22. T.J. Downs 18.574 23.
Khole Wanzer 18.597 24. Gary Troyer
18.717 25. Paul Norman 18.779
26. David Parker 18.889 27.
Bill Kessler 18.896 28. Chad Clement
18.914 29. Josh Beckstrom 18.691
30. Jacob Peterson 20.419 31.
Dale McDonald, Jr. 21.000 32. Brian
Larson NT 33. Matt Sipes NT.
FK Rod Ends Heat 1 (8
laps, Top 5 transfer to A, $25 to-win) 1. Gurdak
2. Genco 3. Dillinger
4. Zimmerman 5. Dellahoy
6. Beckstrom 7. Norman
8. Duritsky-DSQ (no scales)
9. Sipes-DNS.
FK Rod Ends Heat 2 (8
laps, Top 5 transfer to A, $25 to-win) 1. Blair
2. Frazee 3. Schell
4. Schauers 5. Pennacchio
6. Downs 7. Parker
8. Peterson.
FK Rod Ends Heat 3 (8
laps, Top 5 transfer to A, $25 to-win) 1. Wonderling
2. Bossard 3. Knowles
4. Wanzer 5. Zarin
6. Michael 7. Kessler
8. McDonald.
FK Rod Ends Heat 4
(8 laps, Top 5 transfer to A, $25 to-win) 1. Lukon
2. Bidwell 3. Hordusky
4. Murray 5. Kane
6. Troyer 7. Clement
8. Larson.
Last Chance B Main 1 (8
laps, Top 2 transfer to A): 1. Downs
2. Duritsky 3. Norman
4. Parker 5. Beckstrom
6. Peterson 7. Sipes-DNS.
Last Chance B Main 2 (8 laps, Top 2 transfer to A): 1. Michael
2. Troyer 3. Kessler
4. Clement 5. Larson
6. McDonald.
Dash (6 laps): 1.
Wonderling 2. Frazee
3. Gurdak 4. Genco
5. Lukon 6. Blair
7. Bidwell 8. Bossard.
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.
###