SWEENEY RUSH LATE MODEL TOUR SET TO JOIN THE WORLD OF OUTLAWS LM AT
LERNERVILLE'S "FIRECRACKER" THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY; $10,000 TO-WIN "BILL EMIG
MEMORIAL" PRESENTED BY HOVIS WILL BE THE RICHEST CRATE LM EVENT IN THE HISTORY
OF THE NORTHEAST
By Mike Leone
June 17, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Sarver, PA)...Five
months after the big announcement, it's finally time for the most anticipated
event in the history of the Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC RUSH Racing Series
powered by Pace Performance. The
Sweeney Late Model Touring Series is set to join up with the World of Outlaws
Morton Buildings Late Model Series at Lernerville Speedway for the "Firecracker"
this Thursday (June 20) through Saturday.
The "Bill Emig Memorial" presented by Hovis Auto & Truck Supply will pay
$10,000 to-win on Saturday night for the richest Crate Late Model race in the
13-year history of Crate Late Models in the Northeast!
The 2019 "Firecracker 100" will be the 13th annual edition featuring complete
shows for the World of Outlaws on Thursday and Friday paying $6,000 to-win
followed by the "Firecracker 100" on Saturday night with $30,000 on the line.
Now the RUSH Late Models will get their chance to shine in front of a
huge audience at this crown jewel event.
Tickets are on sale through Lernerville's website at
https://lernervilletickets.com/13th-annual-firecracker-100-june-20-21-and-22.
The RUSH Late Model portion will get underway on Thursday night with warm-ups and FK Rod Ends $100 "Shock the Clock" Qualifying. Friday night will include $25 to-win FK Rod Ends heat races and the $100 to-win "John Buzzard Memorial" Dash, which will set the beginning rows of the feature lineup. Buzzard was a former racer for Bill Emig, who tragically lost his life at Expo Speedway. Saturday night will start off with last chance B mains followed by the 50-lap feature paying $10,000 to-win, $450 to-start and including with the $400 to-win, $200 to-start "Wheelman" non-qualifier race. There is a rain date of Sunday.
In addition to the $10,000 payout, the "Bill Emig Memorial" winner will also
receive the beautiful custom lettered Zamp helmet by 5-time Lernerville Super
Late Model Champion, John Flinner, a limited edition pair of gold $ drivers
shoes from Velocita-USA, the sought after large hardwood award laser etched by
great friend & RUSH engine rebuilder Steve Hendren, and a large winner's check.
"I can't thank Lernerville and the World of Outlaws enough for allowing the RUSH
Late Models to be part of the renowned 'Firecracker' event," expressed RUSH
Director Vicki Emig. "To be able to
showcase our racers at what is considered to be one the country's premier Super
Late Model events is truly an honor for all of us and I know our racers will put
on a great show for the fans as they compete for $10,000.
We expect a very large car count with drivers traveling in from at least
11 different states plus Canada."
"On a personal note I honestly can't describe what it means to bring the 'Bill
Emig Memorial' to the 'Firecracker' and back to Lernerville where the inaugural
event took place in 1991," added Emig. "To
have this event pay $10,000 to win, which will be the richest ever event
throughout our region since my involvement with crate racing, of course makes it
even more meaningful. As a car
owner, my dad had a very long and storied history at Lernerville and I know he
would be so proud to see that his love of racing and legacy continues on through
this historic event. I also have to
thank longtime friend and business associate, Cliff Hovis, for bringing Hovis
Auto & Truck Supply on as a major event sponsor."
Hovis Auto & Truck Supply is headquartered in Mercer, Pa.
Hovis has
17 locations throughout western Pennsylvania and expanded their business to
include heavy duty truck parts and paint, body and equipment sales.
Hovis will have a display tent in the
grandstand area. Each night, fans
can register to win a pair of tickets to the NASCAR weekend in Richmond
September 20-21. A pair of tickets
will be given away on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night.
Defending Sweeney Tour Champion, Jeremy Wonderling leads the Series to
Lernerville. The Wellsville, NY
racers has been hot of late winning three of the last four Tour races.
In addition, Wonderling picked up a Sweeney Weekly Series win on June 7
at Ransomville (NY) Speedway.
Wonderling has a 27-point lead on Jason Genco, who finished second in the 2018
points. Drivers third through
eighth in points are all in their first season as full-time Tour racers and
include Kyle Lukon, Braeden Dillinger, Michael Duritsky, Jr., Ryan Frazee, Kyle
Murray, and Logan Zarin. Despite
missing one show, three-time 2019 winner, Max Blair, is 10th in points over
Canada Sam Pennacchio, who is touring for the first time.
Darrell Bossard is 12th.
The RUSH Late Model Tour events at Lernerville always draw great car counts and
produce tremendous racing. The 2018
season concluded at Lernerville for the DIRTcar "Steel City Stampede" when
Colton Flinner fought off Tour Champion Jeremy Wonderling, Pittsburgh standout
Daryl Charlier, and Mike Pegher, Jr. for his first career Lernerville win.
The 2015 "Steel City Stampede" attracted 54 RUSH Late Models, which at
the time was an all-time Northeast record car count.
That number was eclipsed at the 2016 "Manufacturers Night" presented by
MSD Performance at Tri-City Raceway Park when 58 cars turned out.
Will the 2019 "Firecracker" event set a new all-time record high car
count for the 13-year history of Crate Late Models in the Northeast!?
The last time the "Bill Emig Memorial" was held at Lernerville was in
2014 when Chad McClellan was victorious.
The majority of the RUSH Late Model weekly-sanctioned tracks throughout the
entire region have given the class the night off to compete in this historic
event, while other tracks will accommodate racers that choose to participate in
the event.
The World of Outlaws and Lernerville Speedway invite RUSH racers to participate
in the Fan Horseshoe/Corn Hole Tournament that will be held on Friday at 1 PM,
as well as Saturday's LUNGevity Foundation Kick it to Cancer Kick Ball Game that
will be held at noon at the football field.
The Foundation will also be setup possibly on Thursday and for sure on
Friday in the grandstand area. They
are asking drivers to bring door panels, shirts, etc.
The new "$500 Club" presented by Zarin Truck & Automotive will be part of the
event. The top 15 drivers in track points at Dog Hollow Speedway and
Pittsburgh's PA Motor Speedway will be eligible for the 5 $100 drawings at the
drivers meeting.
Precise Racing Products will award a $100 gift card for the "Pedal Down" Hard
Charger that passes the most cars in the feature. The
TBM Brakes “Tough Brake of the Night” will award three bottles
of Xtreme6 Racing Brake Fluid valued at approximately $45 along with a
certificate for a discount off any TBM Brakes purchase. RUSH Late Model Series
Officials will also determine the Dirt Defender "Defensive Drive" to the driver
that best defended his position throughout the event, and will receive a $40
product package each night.
New contingency programs for the 2019 season include the "$500 Club", Sunoco
5-Gallon Race Jugs, and Ontime Body & Graphic "Spoiler Alert. A Sunoco
5-Gallon Race Jug will go to the winner of each Tour race. Ontime's
"Spoiler Alert" will award a $150 spoiler to the eighth place finisher.
Combined these programs will influx approximately $800 of additional value into
each Tour event.
Feature Payoff:
1. $10,000 2. $5,000 3. $2,500 4. $2,000 5. $1,500
6. $1,200 7. $1,000 8. $900 9. $800 10. $700 11.
$650 12. $625 13. $600 14. $550 15. $525 16. $500
17. $490 18. $480 19. $470 20. $460 21-24. $450
25. $450 (Series provisional, if necessary, must be in the top 15 of Tour
points).
Non-Qualifier Payoff:
1. $400 2. $300 3. $250 4. $240 5. $235 6. $230
7. $225 8. $220 9. $215 10. $210 11. $205 12-24.
$200. Anyone not starting a feature will receive $125.
2019 Sweeney RUSH Late Model Touring Series points
(only Tour members receive points): 1. Jeremy Wonderling 730 3. Jason
Genco 703 3. Kyle Lukon 695 4. Braden Dillinger 660
5. Michael Duritsky, Jr. 659 6. Ryan Frazee 624
7. Kyle Murray 615 8. Logan
Zarin 606 9. Bill Kessler 600
10. Max Blair 566 11. Sam
Pennacchio 537 12. Darrell Bossard 498
13. Chad Sines 422 14. J.J.
Mazur 402 15. Brian Knowles 322
16. Logan Roberson 286 17.
Ross Robinson 270 18. Dale Hollidge & Matt Latta 254 20. Trever
Feathers 243 21. Cody Dawson 233 22. Scott Gunn & Jared Kane 226
24. Paul Norman 217 25. Jamie
Wrightsman & Dale McDonald 210 27. Jon Rivers 171
28. John Waters 152 29. Cory
Sines 145 30. Beamer Guzzardi 80
31. Jason Knowles 77 32. Al
Shawver, Jr. 70.
The pits will be open on Wednesday (June 19) to park race teams from 5-8 PM.
There will be someone to assist you to park on Wednesday as well as
throughout the day on Thursday.
Pre-race tech and registration will begin by 1 PM on Thursday; however,
registration will close between 2-2:30 PM for an event staff meeting with WoO
and track officials. The pits will
be cleared at 3:45 PM and pit passes will go on sale at 4 p.m.
RUSH warm-ups are slated for 7:05 p.m. on Thursday followed by WoO heats with
our group qualifying to follow. The
entire weekend's schedule of events are posted here
https://rushlatemodels.com/FirecrackerSOE2019.pdf.
For additional information, check out the event guide
https://rushlatemodels.com/Firecracker%20Event%20Guide%202019.pdf.
You do not have to be a member of RUSH to compete only to receive Weekly and/or
Tour points. The entry fee for the
event is $100. AMB/MyLaps
transponders will be used. Westhold
transponders will NOT work. Units
are available to rent for the weekend for $25.
Driver radio will be channel 454.000.
Precise Racing Products, located minutes south of Lernerville on Route 356, will
provide track side service every night during the "Firecracker".
Precise will have the Hoosier Tires, Sunoco 110 and RUSH 91 fuel, as well
as parts for sale.
Lernerville is a 4/10-mile high-banked clay oval located 11 miles southeast of
Butler, Pa. on Route 356 at 313 North Pike Road, Sarver, PA 16055. Lernerville
is just 30 miles northeast of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. For more
information, check out their website at
www.lernerville.com
or call 724-353-1511 (office) or 724-353-1350 (track).
Hovis Auto Wrecking, Inc. was first opened as a family business in 1952. By
1969 their business had grown to include new parts sales and Hovis Auto & Truck
Supply was formed. Since that time, Hovis has grown to 17 locations and
expanded their business to include heavy duty truck parts and paint, body and
equipment sales. For 50 years,
Hovis Auto & Truck Supply has based their success on four key ingredients: their
dedicated professionals, large inventories, quality name brand parts, and
competitive prices.
Hovis Auto & Truck Supply belongs to one of the largest automotive program
distribution groups in the nation. As a member of Federated Auto Parts, they
keep abreast of changes in technology and quality parts in today's fast paced
economy. Hovis is one of the largest distributors for each of its two
automotive refinish lines: Axalta and Akzo Nobel. Hovis
is also a member of Vipar, one of the largest independent Heavy Duty Truck Parts
Distributor Programs in the nation. Hovis'
officers sit on advisory councils of numerous manufactures, allowing Hovis Auto
and Truck Supply to be on the cutting edge of technology.
The Hovis Auto & Truck Supply corporate office and distribution Center is
located in Mercer, Pa. Hovis has locations in the following western
Pennsylvania cities: Allison Park, Butler, DuBois, Emlenton, Erie, Franklin,
Grove City, Hermitage, Meadville, New Brighton, New Castle, North Huntingdon,
Oil City, Titusville, Wexford, and Zelienople. All of the store are open
Monday through Friday from 8 p.m. until 6 p.m. All of the stores open at 8
a.m. on Saturdays have different closing times. For more information on
Hovis Auto & Truck Supply, check out their website at
www.hovisauto.com
and "like" their page on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/HovisAutoSupply.
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, Zarin Truck & Automotive,
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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