MCKEAN TO FEATURE LONG-AWAITED NORTHERN DEBUT OF RUSH LATE MODELS SATURDAY IN A SWEENEY WEEKLY SERIES EVENT; EXPANDED SCHEDULE AT M.C.R. IN 2013
By Mike Leone                       

 

April 25, 2013                FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

(Pulaski, PA)…With great weather in the forecast, there’s high anticipation in the air as the 2013 racing season set to begin in the northern region this Saturday (April 27) at McKean County Raceway.  Under the new management team of John Kennedy and Chris Zuver, an expanded 17-event schedule is in place that will feature the RUSH Late Models in a mix of Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC Weekly and Touring Series events Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at the East Smethport, Pa. oval.

 

Over the past seven years, the promotional team of Ken Leet, Rich Yeager, Tom Gleason, and Rod Biehler did a fabulous job of running a top notch professional program and providing racers a great track to compete on.  McKean was one of the first four original speedways back in 2007 to bring the Crate Late Models in on a weekly basis, and much of the division’s success today, especially in the northern region, can be attributed to these gentlemen.


 

“We’ve had a great relationship with Ken, Rich, Tom and Rod over the years,” stated RUSH Co-Director Vicki Emig.  “What they did was phenomenal and will be missed, but with that said it’s an exciting time for fans and racers in the north.  John Kennedy has a lot of great ideas and is willing to invest a lot of money at the facility and to the racers in major events.  We’ve known Chris Zuver for many, many years- he’s very dedicated to the sport and well-liked by the racers.  We have to thank John and Chris for having the faith is us during their transition.”  

 

McKean has 12 Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC Weekly Series events beginning with Saturday night before switching to Friday night racing in addition to the five Sweeney Chevrolet Buick Touring Series events. 

 

The first of five Tour shows at M.C.R. will be on Thursday, May 23 with $1,500 going to the winner as the start of a busy Memorial Day weekend with two other $1,500 to-win shows at Sharon Speedway May 26-27 plus the $1,500 Bill Emig Memorial “Wild Card Weekend” point fund.  The next two Tour events at M.C.R. will be popular ones with the Thursday, July 11 “Cross the Borders” Speedweek and the Thursday, August 15 McKean County Fair Race.  The final Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC Tour events at M.C.R. will be on Friday and Saturday, September 19-20.  More details on this weekend will be announced.

 

McKean has always had a strong bed of competitors ready to withstand the challenges of any and all invaders.  Chad Ruhlman and Justin Tatlow, who will also compete on the Sweeney Tour, are excited to have more races close to home at McKean and will be two of the favorites to win at any time.  Drivers like Bryce Davis, Adam Sixt, John Lacki, Damian Bidwell, Ed and Zach Carley, Ward Schell, Junior Peters, Brad Mesler, Garrett Mott, Dereck Frank, Cody Mason, Matt Harvey, Justin Smith, Craig Dean, and others will all be contenders on a weekly basis.

 

McKean’s weekly RUSH member racers will be able to take part in all of the Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC RUSH Late Model programs.  Note: former promoter, Rich Yeager, will be at McKean Saturday assisting racers to join RUSH.  It’s quite possible that one McKean regular racer could win $8,000 in point money excluding any Touring or “Futures Cup” point funds! 

 

Drivers will be able to accumulate their best 15 finishes (two per week) throughout the season as part of the $25,000+ Sweeney “Weekly Series Championship” that will pay $5,000 to-win down 30 positions. 

 

Come July, the top 10 Sweeney RUSH Weekly members in McKean points under the RUSH system will move on to the $10,000+ Pace Performance “Summer Chase”.  Drivers can race as many times as they want from July through Labor Day at not only McKean, but any RUSH-sanctioned event.  Drivers’ average points (minimum eight events) will determine the $3,000 champion that will pay down 10 positions. 

 

Any RUSH member under the age of 18 will also be eligible for the $3,000 “Futures Cup” program.  Those 18 and 19 cannot have more than one full season of competition in Crate Late Models or any other higher division.  These racers can compete at McKean and at any other RUSH-sanctioned event to accumulate points.  Drivers’ Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC “Weekly Series” points will be added to three stand-alone “Futures Cup” events that will be announced. 

 

Along with McKean’s RUSH Late Models that will pay a minimum of $750 to-win or $1,000 if there are 24 or more cars, the speedway will also campaign the Super Late Models, Modifieds, Close Racing Supply Street Stocks, and the Mini Stocks.  

 

This Saturday night is the first of the 12 NDRL’s United Late Model Series (ULMS) event beginning with $3,000 to-win.  On Friday, August 23, $7,500 to-win will be posted for NDRL’s ULMS then will wrap up with the big “Fall Classic” Weekend.

 

McKean County Raceway is a 1/3-mile dirt track located at the McKean County Fairgrounds in East Smethport, Pa. at the intersections of Route 6 and 46.  For more information on McKean County Raceway, check out their website at www.mckeancountyraceway.com or call Chris Zuver at 814-598-2601. The track number is 814-887-2600.

 

2013 RUSH weekly-sanctioned speedways include Allegheny Mountain Raceway (Kane, PA), Bradford (PA) Speedway, McKean County Raceway (East Smethport, PA), Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway (Imperial, PA), McKean Motorsports Complex (Markleysburg, PA), Sharon Speedway (Hartford, OH), and The Rock – Allegany County Speedway (Cumberland, MD).

 

2013 RUSH marketing partners include Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC, Pace Performance, RainEater Wiper Blades, Hoosier Tire, Precise Racing Products, The Brake Man, K&N Filters, Lincoln Electric, K1 RaceGear, TurboStart, Bobby Lake Motorsports, Wrisco Aluminum, RockAuto.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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