JACOB WHITT EMERGES VICTORIOUS IN A
WILD 40-LAP FEATURE AT WINCHESTER FOR HIS 1ST CAREER HOVIS RUSH LATE MODEL
FLYNN’S TIRE/GUNTER'S HONEY TOUR WIN; BECOMES 10TH DIFFERENT WINNER IN 11 RACES THIS SEASON
By Mike Leone
September 19, 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Winchester, VA)...Mother Nature hasn’t been kind for much of the rain-plagued
2026 season and always seems to threaten, delay or rainout the program when the
Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Dirt Late Model Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey
Touring Series has events scheduled at Winchester Speedway. In fact,
Mother Nature has washed out the last three spring events at Winchester and
highly threatened last year’s fall make-up; however, on Saturday night, a
reprieve was granted as the show was completed before showers, which cancelled
numerous events to the northwest, rolled into the region just after the
completion of the show. Thirty-nine
cars from seven different states turned out for race #11 of the 2026 season and
the 10th all-time Tour event at Winchester.
On July 4, Jacob Whitt won his first
career RUSH Late Model feature in a Colussy Chevrolet Weekly Series event at
Winchester. On Saturday night, Whitt
emerged victorious in a wild 40-lap feature after Kyle Hardy, Devin Brannon,
Christian Schneider, and Jeremy Wonderling all has issues either leading or
challenging for the lead. Those
racers misfortunes proved beneficial for Whitt, who inherited the lead with two
laps to go, and held off 2025 Winchester Champion, Davin Kaiser, for the $5,000
victory, which resulted in a raucous celebratory scene in Landrum Performance
Springs Victory Lane. Whitt became
the amazing 10th different winner in 11 Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey
Tour races this season and fourth to win his first career Tour event!
“That right there means everything to
me,” expressed the emotional 25-year-old Stephens City, VA winner.
“We put so many hours into this program
all year, but night after night we’ve had carburetor and fuel problems.
I didn’t have anything for those guys, but they honestly drove like
idiots. I was just riding around and
waiting for them to take each other out.
I can’t say enough about my family- my wife, my kids, my mom and dad.
I come home from work at four and then go into the shop and work until
eight every single night. We are
literally a small, local-based team so this means the world to me.
I could hang it up and be thrilled right now.
I joked all week and said if I win, I won’t go to work all week, now I
don’t know what I’m going to do.
Kyle Hardy is the man- he’s the crew chief of the year, friend of the year.
I have to thank him for everything he’s done for me.
He didn’t have to put his eggs in my basket.
He’s a class act and never fails to pull through with whatever.”
Schneider and Brannon led the 25-car
starting field to green with Brannon taking command, while Hardy moved past
Schneider for second. Brannon and
Hardy quickly distanced themselves from the field by lap three.
The duo then raced side-by-side for the lead over the next three laps
with Hardy making a slingshot pass in turns three and four as he officially led
five. Hardy was unable to get away
from Brannon in the ensuing laps.
Lapped traffic came into play on lap 12 as Brannon pulled even.
Hardy was able to maintain the lead, but shortly after lost power in turn
two with 13 laps completed.
This moved Brannon back to the lead
with Schneider to second. Four more
laps were completed before a caution preceded a long green flag run between laps
17-38. Brannon took off in the lead
in the IllusionCoats Powder Coating “Firing Zone” as Schneider followed in
second. Schneider went with the hard
tire compound and as the laps ticked off without a caution, Schneider reeled
Brannon back in especially when lapped traffic came into play on lap 30.
By lap 35, Schneider closed in and was on the leader on lap 36.
The two were about to battle for the lead when fourth place running Bubby
Tharp, Jr. spun in turns one and two to bring out the caution and setup a
two-lap shootout to the finish.
When racing resumed, Schneider made
contact with Brannon in turn two with Brannon spinning and bringing out the
caution. This gave Schneider the
lead, but his lead would be short-lived.
When green replaced yellow, second running Wonderling tried to make a
move in turns three and four and contact sent both cars spinning, which brought
out the event’s final caution.
After all of the issues from Hardy,
Tharp, Brannon, Schneider and Wonderling, Whitt inherited the lead and kept
Kaiser at bay in the final two laps as he took the checkered flag first by 0.618
seconds in his Race Wraps/J&S Home Services/All State/Integra Shocks by
Daugherty-sponsored #33. Whitt
became the 54th driver all-time to win a Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey
Tour race. In addition, Whitt
remains the only Virginia driver to win a Tour race at Winchester outside of
Canadian Charlie Sandercock’s upset in 2023.
Kaiser, who just took over the driving
duties of the Benjamin Seals #00, came home second for his best career Tour
finish worth $2,500. “I was able to
keep my nose clean and get a really good finish,” acknowledged the 19-year-old
hometown Winchester resident. “I
tried my best to get Jacob and roughed him up a bit.
Congrats to Jacob- the last two weeks he’s been the car to beat around
here. We’re still learning the car
as I’ve only drove it a handful of times.
As a driver, I’m just trying to adapt to the car and go from there.
I can’t thank him (Benjamin Seals) enough for doing this along with my
mom and dad for letting me do what I love along with girlfriend and sponsors.”
Austin Allen, who was fresh off his
first career Tour victory at the last event at Tri-City Raceway Park on
September 6, came home 3rd after starting 12th for a
$1,250 payday. Demetrios Drellos
raced from 19th to 4th for $1,000 along with the $100 Big
Daddy’s Speed Center/Hoosier Tire Western PA gift card for being the “Pedal
Down” Hard Charger. Drellos has now
finished in the top 10 in all 11 Tour events this season to close within four
points of Wonderling in the race for the $20,000 championship.
New York racer Bill Holmes III made his first ever visit to Winchester
and recorded his first career top five on the Tour.
Jason Knowles was 6th after
starting 17th for his sixth top 10 of the season.
Hardy, the 2021 Tour Champion, was able to come back to finish seventh.
Winchester regulars Branson Woodward and Kris Hutton were eighth and
ninth respectively. Maryland racer,
Jeremy Pilkerton, made his first Tour start since April 14, 2023 at Potomac
Speedway and finished 10th.
Making his first ever Flynn’s
Tire/Gunter’s Honey Tour start, Codey Breeden led all 10 non-stop laps of the
Real Merchant Services DMV Non-Qualifier.
The 21-year-old Fairplay, Maryland racer earned $200 aboard the Trae
Sutphin-owned #15 as he became the amazing 93rd different winner in
118 Non-Qualifier events all-time!
Breeden also received a $50 Holley Performance gift card for being the first
feature non-qualifier. Josh Williams
was second. Dylan High passed Scott
Sweeney Jr. for third. Sweeney was
fourth over Nick Hausenfluck.
Hardy started the night off strong
earning the $50 Schneider Trucks “Hottest of the Hot” for fast time in hot laps
with a 16.645. Hardy then went on to
set fast time overall against the 39-car field in FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock”
Qualifying with a lap of 16.864.
Hardy proceeded to win the first FK Rod Ends heat race for another $25, while
Whitt, Brannon, and Kaiser won the other heat races.
Doug Jones and Brayden Carter captured the last chance B mains.
Schneider became the ninth different Sunoco Dash winner of the season and
received a $100 Sunoo Fuel card.
Also winning $100 Sunoco Fuel cards
were Tour racers, Ben Easler and Cody Dawson, while Holmes, Dylan High, Doug
Jones, and Hardy won the $50 fuel cards all part of the “Fill’er up with Sunoco
Bucks” presented by Bazell Racr Fuels.
Dusty Waters made the five-hour tow
from Portville, NY to Winchester for the first time ever and suffered engine
issues in hot laps, which ended his night.
Waters was selected as the as Close Racing Supply “Tough Break of the
Night” recipient and received a $100 CRS gift card.
Henry's Headers & Exhaust Systems
awarded a $500 certificate towards the purchase of stainless-steel Crate Late
Model Henry's headers in a random drawing won by Kurt Stebbins, which is part of
the Tour's Loyalty Program.
Landrum Performance
Springs, which will award a $5,000 Loyalty Bonus at the season ending event,
distributed BOGO certificates, were won by Williams, Schneider, Brodie Oravetz,
Allen, and Sweeney.
The next events for Flynn’s
Tire/Gunter's Honey Touring Series will be the “Bill Hendren Memorial” events at
Pittsburgh PA Motor Speedway on October 2-3. Friday’s Platinum event will
pay $4,000 to-win with $10,000 on the line on Saturday night.
Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Late
Model Flynn’s Tire/Gunter's Honey Touring Series Race #11 (40 laps, $5,000 to-win): 1. JACOB WHITT (33)
2. Davin Kaiser (Seals 00) 3.
Austin Allen (Mullen 32) 4.
Demetrios Drellos (111) 5. Bill
Holmes III (8) 6. Jason Knowles (4)
7. Kyle Hardy (99) 8. Branson
Woodward (3) 9. Kris Hutton
(Beverlin 11) 10. Jeremy Pilkerton
(8) 11. Kurt Stebbins (26)
12. Doug Jones (16J) 13.
Brayden Carter (5*) 14. Steven
Powell (51) 15. Christian Schneider
(56) 16. Brodie Oravetz (91B)
17. Austin Yarbrough (Hurley 67)
18. Jeremy Wonderling (3J)
19. Bubby Tharp, Jr. (44) 20. Ben
Easler (02) 21. Brayden Armel
(Hollidge 15) 22. Trevor N. Collins
(2) 23. Chase Hardy (99CH)
24. Cody Dawson (36) DSQ:
Devin Brannon (unsportsmanlike conduct).
(Note: Ben Easler took a Tour provisional).
Real Merchant Services DMV Jewelers
Non-Qualifier
(10 laps, $200 to-win): 1. Codey
Breeden (15) 2. Josh Williams (29)
3. Dylan High (1) 4. Scott
Sweeney, Jr. (40s) 5. Nick
Hausenfluck (21) 6. Marty Pownall
(26) 7. Tommy Shingleton (2)
8. Matthew Sims (36) 9. Jim
Pownall (9). DNS: Mike Franklin (74), Morgan Johnston (Jones 447), Kevin Powell
(73), Dusty Waters (14).
Car Count: 39
Feature Margin of Victory: 0.618 seconds
Feature Lap Leaders: Devin Brannon (1-4, 14-38), Kyle Hardy (5-13), Jacob
Whitt (39-40)
Close Racing Supply “Tough Brake of the
Night:
Dusty Waters
Henry's Headers $500
Certificate for Crate Late Model Headers:
Kurt Stebbins
Hoosier Tire Western PA/Big Daddy’s
Speed Center Hard Charger: Demetrios Drellos (+15)
Holley Performance Group “Nosed Out”:
Cody Breeden
Landrum Performance Springs BOGO
Certificates: Josh Williams, Christian
Schneider, Brodie Oravetz, Austin Allen & Scott Sweeney, Jr.
Ontime Body & Graphic “Spoiler Alert”
Spoiler Kit:
Kurt Stebbins
Schneider Trucks “Hottest of the Hot”
Fastest in Hot Laps:
Kyle Hrdy 16.645
Sunoco Fuel Card Winners presented by
Bazell Race Fuels: Ben Easler ($100), Cody
Dawson ($100), Bill Holmes III ($50), Dylan High ($50), Doug Jones ($50), Kyle
Hardy ($50)
FK Rod Ends “Shock the
Clock” Qualifying Flight A ($100 for fast time) (Track record 15.119 by Kyle Hardy on
4/17/21) : 1. 99-Kyle Hardy, 16.864[9]; 2. 33W-Jacob Whitt, 17.299[11]; 3.
56-Christian Schneider, 17.471[12]; 4. 99CH-Chase Hardy, 17.477[4]; 5.
15A-Brayden Armel, 17.517[15]; 6. 3W-Branson Woodward, 17.535[1]; 7. 74-Mike
Franklin, 17.556[17]; 8. 111D-Demetrios Drellos, 17.577[3]; 9. 67-Austin
Yarbrough, 17.594[5]; 10. 91B-Brodie Oravetz, 17.639[16]; 11. 9-Jim Pownall,
17.742[8]; 12. 2-Trevor Collins, 17.771[18]; 13. 16J-Doug Jones, 17.847[6]; 14.
447-Morgan Johnston, 17.928[10]; 15. 4-Jason Knowles, 17.964[13]; 16. 1H-Dylan
High, 18.011[2]; 17. 02-Ben Easler, 18.033[14]; 18. (DNS) 14W-Dusty Waters,
18.271; 19. (DQ) 29W-Josh Williams, 17.715[7]; 20. (DQ) 73-Kevin Powell,
18.271[19]
FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock”
Qualifying Flight B (Track record 15.119 by
Kyle Hardy on 4/17/21): 1. 137-Devin Brannon, 17.096[5]; 2. 00-Davin Kaiser,
17.314[13]; 3. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling, 17.320[17]; 4. 44T-Bubby Tharp Jr,
17.362[19]; 5. 26-Kurt Stebbins, 17.571[6]; 6. 8P-Jeremy Pilkerton, 17.582[1];
7. 26P-Marty Pownall, 17.671[2]; 8. 32A-Austin Allen, 17.691[8]; 9. 15R-Codey
Breeden, 17.702[10]; 10. 51P-Steven Powell, 17.703[7]; 11. 8-Bill Holmes,
17.733[4]; 12. 5*-Brayden Carter, 17.873[14]; 13. 29-Ryan Hare, 17.969[12]; 14.
21-Nick Hausenfluck, 18.067[15]; 15. 2S-Tommy Shingleton, 18.090[16]; 16.
36-Cody Dawson, 18.101[18]; 17. 40S-Scott Sweeney Jr, 18.183[11]; 18.
36S-Matthew Sims, 18.883[3]; 19. (DQ) 11B-Kris Hutton, 17.541[9]
FK Rod Ends Heat 1 (10 laps, Top 5 transfer to A, $25 to-win): 1. 99-Kyle
Hardy[1]; 2. 56-Christian Schneider[2]; 3. 67-Austin Yarbrough[5]; 4.
15A-Brayden Armel[3]; 5. 4-Jason Knowles[8]; 6. 16J-Doug Jones[7]; 7. 02-Ben
Easler[9]; 8. 29W-Josh Williams[10]; 9. 9-Jim Pownall[6]; 10. 74-Mike
Franklin[4].
FK Rod Ends Heat 2 (10 laps, Top 5 transfer to A, $25 to-win): 1. 33W-Jacob
Whitt[1]; 2. 99CH-Chase Hardy[2]; 3. 3W-Branson Woodward[3]; 4. 91B-Brodie
Oravetz[5]; 5. 111D-Demetrios Drellos[4]; 6. 2-Trevor Collins[6]; 7. 1H-Dylan
High[8]; 8. 447-Morgan Johnston[7]; 9. 73-Kevin Powell[10]; 10. (DNS) 14W-Dusty
Waters.
FK Rod Ends Heat 3 (10 laps, Top 5 transfer to A, $25 to-win): 1. 137-Devin
Brannon[1]; 2. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling[2]; 3. 26-Kurt Stebbins[3]; 4. 8-Bill
Holmes[6]; 5. 11B-Kris Hutton[10]; 6. 15R-Codey Breeden[5]; 7. 26P-Marty
Pownall[4]; 8. 29-Ryan Hare[7]; 9. 40S-Scott Sweeney Jr[9]; 10. 2S-Tommy
Shingleton[8]
FK Rod Ends Heat 4 (10 laps, Top 5 transfer to A, $25 to-win): 1. 00-Davin
Kaiser[1]; 2. 44T-Bubby Tharp Jr[2]; 3. 32A-Austin Allen[4]; 4. 8P-Jeremy
Pilkerton[3]; 5. 51P-Steven Powell[5]; 6. 36-Cody Dawson[8]; 7. 5*-Brayden
Carter[6]; 8. 21-Nick Hausenfluck[7]; 9. 36S-Matthew Sims[9].
Last Chance B Main 1
(10 laps, Top 2 transfer to A): 1. 16J-Doug Jones[1]; 2.
2-Trevor Collins[2]; 3. 02-Ben Easler[3]; 4. 29W-Josh Williams[5]; 5. 1H-Dylan
High[4]; 6. 9-Jim Pownall[7]. DNS: 74-Mike Franklin, 447-Morgan Johnston,
73-Kevin Powell, 14W-Dusty Waters.
Last Chance B Main 2
(10 laps, Top 2 transfer to A): 1. 5*-Brayden Carter[4]; 2.
36-Cody Dawson[2]; 3. 15R-Codey Breeden[1]; 4. 40S-Scott Sweeney Jr[7]; 5.
36S-Matthew Sims[8]; 6. 21-Nick Hausenfluck[6]; 7. 26P-Marty Pownall[3]; 8.
2S-Tommy Shingleton[9]; 9. 29-Ryan Hare[5]
Sunoco Dash (6 laps, $100 Sunoco fuel card to win): 1. 56-Christian
Schneider[2]; 2. 137-Devin Brannon[1]; 3. 99-Kyle Hardy[6]; 4. 3J-Jeremy
Wonderling[4]; 5. 33W-Jacob Whitt[7]; 6. 00-Davin Kaiser[3]; 7. 99CH-Chase
Hardy[8]. DNS: 44T-Bubby Tharp Jr.
The RUSH Racing Series is brought to you by Hovis Auto & Truck Supply together
with Born2Run Lubricants along with the support of Hoosier Tire, Sunoco Race
Fuels, Bazell Race Fuels, Insinger Performance, Colussy Chevrolet Flynn's Tire,
Gunter's Honey, Rustler Sales & Service, MSD Performance, Holley Performance
Products, FK Rod Ends, Capital Contracting Service, Joseph J. Oliva Attorney at
Law, Schoenfeld Headers, Jones Racing Products, Landrum Performance Springs,
Russ King Racing, 3C Graphix, Velocita-USA, Wieland Metal Services, Real
Merchant Services DMV, IllusionCoats Powder Coating, Hoosier Tire Western
Pennsylvania/Big Daddy's Speed Center, Close Racing Supply, Keyser
Manufacturing/Integra Racing Shocks, Seal-Tite Paving & Excavating, MotoRad,
Schneider Trucks, Ontime Body & Graphic, Henry's Headers & Exhaust Systems,
D&V Jewelers, AERO Race Wheels, Racing Electronics, Design Creations, and
Competition Crate Parts.
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 X (formerly known as Twitter)
@RUSHLM.
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