"BILL HENDREN MEMORIAL" FOR
RUSH LATE MODEL TOUR CONTINUES TO EXPAND; 2020 VERSION ON OCTOBER 2-3 AT
PITTSBURGH TO FEATURE A $3000 TO-WIN SHOW EACH NIGHT PRESENTED BY FK ROD ENDS IN
CONJUNCTION WITH PRO FAB; $800 TO-WIN PACE "ONE TO REMEMBER" NON-WINNERS RACE
& $500 TO-WIN NON-QUALIFIER ALSO PART OF WEEKEND
By Mike Leone
September 10, 2020 FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
(Imperial, PA)…The Pace
Performance RUSH Dirt Late Model Touring Series together with Sweeney Chevrolet
Buick GMC is thrilled to announce an expanded 2020 "Bill Hendren Memorial"
presented by FK Rod Ends in conjunction with Pro Fabrication.
The 10th annual edition to be held at Pittsburgh's PA Motor Speedway on
October 2-3 will feature for the first time a complete Touring event paying
$3,000 to-win, $275 to-start on both Friday and Saturday night!
In addition, Friday night will also include the third annual
"One to Remember" Non-Winners feature presented
by Pace Performance paying $800 to-win, $75 to-start, while Saturday night will
conclude with the $500 to-win, $150 to-start Non-Qualifier.
Saturday's program will also
include the "Pittsburgher 100" for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.
In the event Friday night is rained out and unable to be rescheduled,
Saturday's "Bill Hendren Memorial" will revert to the 2019 payoff of $5,000
to-win, $325 to-start. Also in this
case, the "One to Remember" race will move to Saturday night and there will be
no Non-Qualifier. The rain date is
Sunday (October 4).
This marks the fifth straight
year PPMS has hosted the "Bill Hendren Memorial" and third straight year that
the event purse will increase. This
is due to the great efforts by Bill Hendren's son Steve and his family along
with FK Rod Ends, Pro Fabrication, Pace Performance, CrateInsider.com, Miley
Motor Sports, RUSH, and many others.
Other bonuses and contingencies are still in the works.
Winners each night will receive the custom, laser-etched awards from the
Hendren Family.
"It's truly unbelievable to see
this event continue to grow," expressed RUSH Director Vicki Emig.
"In 2017 this was a $2,500 to-win event spread over two nights and to see
where it's come in three short years is amazing!
The Miley Family continues their effort of showcasing the RUSH Late
Models as their weekly headlining division with excellent car counts and is
willing to do four Tour events during this difficult season.
They had an idea to change things up this year and when we all put our
heads together, the RUSH racers will now be showcased each night in full Tour
events as part of the Pittsburgher in addition to the Non-Winners and
Non-Qualifier events!"
In 2005, Bill Hendren, the patriarch of the Hendren family and founder of
Hendren Racing Engines, had the foresight to began building his affiliation with
crate racing. As many of his open engine customers looked to crate racing
as an opportunity to continue racing Bill began offering free advice via the
well know 4M.net message board. As the concept grew throughout the
country, his generosity and expertise was rewarded as many of those who had
utilized his knowledge in the beginning utilized him as their engine rebuilder
as their needs arose. Bill passed away on March 19, 2011, but his legacy and
dedication to crate racing lives on through his sons, Steve and Mike, as the
Hendrens are recognized throughout the entire country as a leader in this
specialized form of racing as they continue to operate Hendren Racing Engines.
"I look back to several years ago to a surprise phone call I received from Steve
Hendren expressing interest in having a memorial event for his late father Bill
Hendren in conjunction with a RUSH Touring event," explained Emig.
"Although I never knew Bill Hendren personally, I certainly was well aware of
his pioneering spirit and great success in the world of GM Performance crate
engine racing. And to have the Hendren Family allow us to hold their
patriarch's only memorial event of the year under the RUSH banner is truly an
honor. What Steve and his family
continue to the purses is tremendous!
We have to thank all of the contributors as well as the Mileys for
allowing this event to be part of the Pittsburgher 100 weekend."
Each night will include $100 FK Rod Ends "Shock the Clock" Qualifying.
Drivers will then compete in FK Rod Heats heat races paying $25 to-win.
The dash will determine the beginning of the feature lineup each night.
Last chance B mains will be run to complete the starting feature field.
Not only is each night a $3,000 to-win Tour feature, but positions 11-24
have been increased over the standard $3,000 to-win Tour purse!
And not only will Touring Series points be on the line, but each night
will allow Weekly members the ability to earn Weekly Series points with the
Weekly Series Championship being extended through end of the 2020 season due to
COVID-19.
In order to be eligible for the "One to Remember" race, driver must compete in
the regular "Bill Hendren Memorial" event on Friday night and never have won a
Late Model race of any kind or any headlining division feature event or prior
"One to Remember" race. The lineup will be determined off the qualifying
times with a pill drawn for an invert (4, 6 or 8) depending on car count.
Past "Bill Hendren Memorial" winners at Pittsburgh include Kyle Lukon (2019),
Daryl Charlier (2017-2018), and John Mollick (2017).
Past "One to Remember" winners include Logan Zarin (2019) and Chuck
Medved (2018). Jeremy Wonderling
leads the Touring Series points in search of his third straight championship.
Stay tuned for additional exciting announcements as the event draws near.
If anyone would like to get involved to help further grow the event, they
can contact the RUSH Office at 724-964-9300.
"Bill Hendren Memorial" presented by FK Rod Ends in conjunction with Pro
Fabrication Feature Payoff EACH night: 1. $3,000 2. $1,500 3. $800 4. $600 5.
$500 6. $475 7. $450 8. $425 9. $400 10. $350
11. $325 12. $310 13. $300 14. $295 15. $290 16.
$285 17. $280 18-24. $275.
(25-26. $275 if provisionals are added).
Any driver not qualifying for Friday night's feature will receive $125.
Any driver not starting Saturday's Non-Qualifier will receive $125.
"One of to Remember" Non-Winners presented by Pace Performance Feature Payoff: 1. $800 2.
$300 3. $225 4. $200 5. $150 6. $125 7. $120
8. $115 9. $110 10. $105 11. $100 12. $95 13. $90
14. $85 15. $80 16-24. $75.
"Wheelman" Non-Qualifier Payoff (Night 2 only): 1. $500 2. $200 3. $195 4. $190 5. $185
6. $180 7. $175 8. $170 9. $165 10. $160 11. $155
12-24. $150.
Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway is a ½-mile dirt track with a GPS address of 170
Kelso Rd, Imperial PA 15126, which is located just off the Noblestown exit on
Routes 22/30. For more information, check out their website at www.ppms.com or call
412-279-7223. The track number on race day is 724-695-3363 or
724-695-0393. As for their social media outlets, you can like their page
on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PittsburghsPennsylvaniaMotorSpeedway or follow them on
Twitter @PAMotorSpeedway.
RUSH Racing Series is brought to
you by Pace Performance together with Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC 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, Zarin Truck &
Automotive, Sherwood Wheels, Alternative Power Sources, Precise Racing Products,
Lincoln Electric, Velocita-USA, Classic Ink USA, CrateInsider.com, and Wedge
Motorsports.
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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