SWEENEY RUSH LATE MODELS SET TO KICKOFF SEASON THREE; OVER
$80,000 IN CASH POINT FUNDS UP FOR GRABS IN WEEKLY, TOURING, SUMMER CHASE,
FUTURES CUP & BILSTEIN BANDITS
By Mike Leone
April 3, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Pulaski, PA)…After an offseason that saw tremendous growth, the Sweeney
Chevrolet Buick GMC RUSH Dirt Late Model Series is primed to begin its third
year of operations. All told over
$80,000 in cash point funds will be up for grabs amongst the Series' programs
including the Sweeney Weekly and Touring Series, Pace Performance "Summer
Chase", "Futures Cup", and the new Bilstein Bandits.
An additional $70,000 of contingencies will also be distributed.
The Sweeney Weekly Series is scheduled to get underway Friday
(April 3) at Potomac Speedway, weather permitting.
Potomac and sister track, Winchester Speedway, have both lost an event
for the Series already this season due to the weather.
The Weekly Series will continue through September.
Member drivers' best 12 finishes will be utilized at all RUSH-sanctioned
events; however drivers can only accumulate their best two finishes per weekend.
"I don't think we have ever experienced an offseason like the one
we just went through," stated RUSH Co-Director Vicki Emig.
"Beginning three weeks after the checkered flag fell on our final event
at Lernerville, almost every weekend has been filled with activities surrounding
the Series; however with that said, the end results have been overwhelming as 20
different speedways will present a RUSH-sanctioned event in 2015 and our region
transcends a 600-mile span from Brighton, Ontario to Potomac, MD.
And this doesn’t even include our growth in the RUSH Sportsman Modifieds
and our new pilot RUSH Pro Stock program.”
The top 50 drivers in points will share in $27,525 with $5,000
going to the champion. Max Blair,
won the inaugural championship in 2013, while last season saw Chad Ruhlman win
the crown.
For the time ever in the Northeast, the Sweeney Touring Series
has been split into a Northern and Southern Touring Series due to the wide
expansion of the Series. Each Tour
will offer approximately 12 events with $4,000 to-win each title.
The driver that accumulates the most points overall will earn a $2,000
bonus meaning one driver could win $10,000 by touring!
Ryan Montgomery was the 2014 Sweeney Tour champion.
The
Pace Performance "Summer Chase" will offer a $10,000+ point fund with $3,000 to
the champion and paying back 10 positions.
This system looks at member racers' average point scores in a minimum of
six events from July 1 through Labor Day.
To be eligible for the Chase, drivers must be in the top 10 of weekly
track points or the Tour as of June 30.
Rick Singleton won the 2014 title.
The Bilstein Bandits championship program has been well
documented throughout the winter.
Member drivers that elect to campaign the $135 Bilstein "sealed" spec shocks
will be eligible for an additional $13,150 cash point fund.
The same point system as the Sweeney Weekly Series will be utilized with
$5,000 going to the champion as well!
The final major RUSH Late Model program is the popular "Futures
Cup" for eligible teenage racers.
The top 10 drivers will share in $3,000 with $1,000 going to the champion.
The Sweeney Weekly Series point system will be utilized for this as well
with the possible addition of a stand-alone "Futures Cup" race.
Past "Futures Cup" champions include Ryan Montgomery, Nico Dabecco, Eric
Wilson, and Michael Lake.
Other programs such as the K&N "Cold Air Induction" Dash
Championship Series and the "Wheelman" Bonus Event Challenge Series will also
offer cash and contingencies.
And besides all of these great cash point funds, many other
programs will return to the Series like the $30,000 "Manufacturers Night" at
Eriez Speedway on July 26 and the "Bill Hendren Memorial" night with
contingencies at Winchester Speedway on June 12.
Also contingency programs like Precise Racing Products "Pedal Down Hard
Charger", Maxima Racing Oil "Performance Award", TBM Brakes "Tough Brake of the
Night", Bobby Lake Motorsports "Shock the Clock & the Beat the Heat", ARbodies
"Nosed Out", and the K&N "Cold Air Induction" Dash will be part of the Sweeney
Touring Series events.
"This is going to be our biggest season yet," stated RUSH
Co-Director Mike Leone. "Our Weekly,
Summer Chase, and Futures Cup return and we've added to our Touring Series with
the two regions plus the addition of the Bilstein program.
We did lower the number from 15 to 12 best finishes in the Weekly and
from a minimum of eight to six races for the Summer Chase.
We looked at last year's numbers and with several speedways not running a
large schedule of events, we felt this change will give a lot more racers the
ability to have a better chance at earning money.
The days or running two, three or more nights per week simply isn't
realistic for many racers today."
"It's possible a driver could win $8,000 or even $13,000 if they
run the Bilstein spec shocks by simply racing at their local tracks," continued
Leone. "And now by splitting our
touring series it's conceivable for a driver to win $10,000 and a sweep of all
of the programs could be worth over $23,000!"
The 20 tracks hosting Sweeney Weekly and/or Touring Series events
in alphabetical order include Brewerton Speedway (Brewerton, NY), Brighton
Speedway (Brighton, ON, Can.), Can-Am Motorsports Park (LaFargeville, NY), Eriez
Speedway (Erie, PA), Expo Speedway (Cortland, OH), Freedom Motorsports Park
(Delevan, NY), Fulton Speedway (Fulton, NY), Humberstone Speedway (Port
Colborne, ON, Can.), Lernerville Speedway (Sarver, PA), McKean County Raceway
(East Smethport, PA), Merrittville Speedway (Thorold, ON, Can.), Pittsburgh's PA
Motor Speedway (Imperial, PA), Potomac Speedway (Mechanicsville, MD), Roaring
Knob Motorsports Complex (Markleysburg, PA), Sharon Speedway (Hartford, OH),
Stateline Speedway (Busti, NY), Tri-City Raceway Park (Franklin, PA), Wayne
County Speedway (Orrville, OH), Winchester Speedway (Winchester, VA), and
Woodhull Raceway (Woodhull, NY).
Membership forms are available on the membership tab at
www.rushlatemodels.com. The cost of
a Weekly or Touring membership is $125 or $225 for both.
While membership isn't mandatory, it does make drivers eligible to
accumulate points and earn point fund monies.
Also, drivers will receive an additional $100,000 of excess participant
accident insurance when competing at a RUSH event over and above the track's
policy and one's health insurance.
Sweeney Weekly Series ($27,525):
1.
$5,000 2. $3,000
3. $2,500 4. $2,000
5. $1,500 6. $1,200
7. $1,000 8. $900
9. $800 10. $700
11. $600 12. $500
13. $400 14. $390
15. $380 16. $370
17. $360 18. $350
19. $325 20. $300
21. $295 22. $290
23. $285 24. $280
25. $275 26. $270
27. $265 28. $260
29. $255 30. $250
31. $245 32. $240
33. $235 34. $230
35. $225 36. $220
37. $215 38. $210
39. $205 40. $200.
Northern Touring Series ($13,025): 1. $4,000
2. $2,000 3. $1,500
4. $1,000 5. $800 6. $700
7. $600 8. $550
9. $525 10. $500
11. $450 12. $400.
Southern Touring Series ($13,025): 1. $4,000
2. $2,000 3. $1,500
4. $1,000 5. $800 6. $700
7. $600 8. $550
9. $525 10. $500
11. $450 12. $400.
Pace Performance "Summer Chase"
($10,050): 1. $3,000
2. $1,500 3. $1,000
4. $800 5. $750
6. $700 7. $650
8. $600 9. $550
10. $500.
Bilstein Bandits ($13,150 cash):
1. $5,000
2. $2,500 3. $1,500
4. $1,000 5. $750
6. $500 7. $400
8. $350 9. $325
10. $300 11. $275
12. $250 13. 2 Bilstein
sealed spec shocks 14. 2 Bilstein sealed spec shocks 15. 2 Bilstein sealed spec
shocks.
"Futures Cup"
($3,000): 1. $1,000
2. $500 3. $400
4. $300 5. $200
6. $150 7. $125
8. $115 9. $110
10. $100.
RUSH Late Model marketing partners include Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC, Pace
Performance, Hoosier Tire, Bilstein Shocks, Sunoco Race Fuels, MSD Ignition,
Maxima Racing Oil, Jones Racing Products, Alternative Power Sources, Precise
Racing Products, ARbodies, The Brake Man, K&N Filters, Lincoln Electric,
TurboStart, Beyea Headers, FK Rod Ends, Bobby Lake Motorsports, Crate
Innovations Inc., Moroso Performance Products, Velocita-USA, High Gear Speed
Shop, CrateInsider.com, B.R.A.K.E.S., 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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