5/22/2024
RUSH Late Model Series
TRIPLEHEADER WEEKEND FOR HOVIS RUSH LATE MODEL FLYNN'S TIRE/GUNTER'S HONEY TOUR; FRIDAY AT OUTLAW FOR "GARY MONTGOMERY MEMORIAL" FOLLOWED BY GENESEE O
TRIPLEHEADER WEEKEND FOR HOVIS RUSH LATE MODEL FLYNN'S TIRE/GUNTER'S HONEY TOUR; FRIDAY AT OUTLAW FOR "GARY MONTGOMERY MEMORIAL" FOLLOWED BY GENESEE ON SATURDAY & TRI-CITY SUNDAY
By Mike Leone
May 22, 2024 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Pulaski, PA)... While Mother Nature has wrecked havoc to the start of the season, the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Dirt Late Model Flynn's Tire/Gunter's Honey Touring Series is ready for a huge tripleheader over the Memorial Day weekend. Outlaw Speedway in Dundee, NY gets action underway on Friday night (May 24) followed by Saturday night at Genesee Speedway in Batavia, NY, and then Sunday night for the return to Tri-City Raceway Park after nearly six years! All three races will pay $3,000 to-win.
Friday night at Outlaw will be the fifth annual "Gary Montgomery Memorial" honoring a man that was synonymous with racing all over the Upstate New York State Region. After a long and courageous battle with cancer, Montgomery passed away in November 2016 and left behind a loving family that will be invited back to Outlaw to help present the trophy to the winner of the event.
In 2017, longtime "360" Late Model competitor, Bryce Davis, claimed the victory over a stellar field of drivers including many that competed in Montgomery’s former 360 Can Am Series. Davis went on to win the 2017 Touring Series Championship. In 2018 and 2019, it was another former "360" Late Model competitor, Jeremy Wonderling, winning one of the season's best races and he too ironically went on to win the Touring Series Championship both of those years. The 2020 event was lost to the COVID-19 pandemic and rain claimed the events in 2021 and 2022. Last year, Pennsylvania racer Joe Martin swept the night setting fast time, winning his heat, and the feature before ultimately finishing second in points.
“Gary was such a huge part of this business," stated Outlaw Speedway Owner/Promoter Tyler Siri. "He did it all as a broadcaster, promoter and track manager. His ties to this region run deep especially at Outlaw where he once managed the facility for then owners Lin and Cindy Hough when the track was called Black Rock Speedway. Gary did a fabulous job with the BRP Can AM Series as many of the guys that were loyal to him now compete in the RUSH Late Model Series. It is a perfect fit to have his name tied to a nightly special at the track involving the RUSH Late Model Series.”
Saturday will move about 100 miles northwest to Genesee Speedway. The Batavia, NY fairground track under the third year promotion by RUSH Late Model racer Kurt Stebbins and his wife Bonnie will host their only appearance of the season by the Touring Series. John Waters won the first ever Tour race at the track in 2017, while Jason Genco swept both shows in 2018 before Jeremy Wonderling was victorious in 2019. No Tour event was held in 2020 due to COVID-19. Waters and Wonderling then added their second Genesee Tour wins in 2021. Chad Homan won his first career Touring Series event in May 2022, while Wonderling swept the two-day "Topless Nationals" for $6,000 later that year. Last season, Bryce Davis ended a near six-year winless drought with the Touring Series.
Genesee has fought Mother Nature this season, but has been able to complete three City Chevrolet Weekly Series events to date with Jeremy Wonderling winning the last two weekend and Jason Knowles the opener.
The brigade of racers will head south to Tri-City Raceway Park on Sunday as the Flynn's Tire/Gunter's Touring Series makes a return to the half-mile Franklin, Pa. oval for the first time since August 19, 2018! New Tri-City owners Josh and Kyrsten Shiffer, who completed their second show under their ownership this past Sunday, quickly picking up the event after the cancellation by Bradford Speedway, which was originally scheduled to host the show.
Tri-City's race is a Platinum Event designation- the first of two scheduled in 2024. Platinum Events allow Tour members the opportunity to use the event to replace their worst Tour finish or give Tour members that have or will miss a Tour show in 2024 the opportunity to use the event as a replacement Marquee Event.
The Flynn's Tire/Gunter's Honey Touring Series has made seven visits to Tri-City, which all occurred from 2015-2018. Max Blair and Mike Pegher, Jr. each won a pair of events, while single victories have gone to Bryce Davis, Jeremy Wonderling, and Brady Wonderling. Tri-City still owns the all-time highest car count for the RUSH Racing Series with 58 cars on September 11, 2016 for "Manufacturers Night" presented by MSD Performance.
"We're looking forward to three big nights over Memorial Day weekend," stated RUSH Director Vicki Emig. "These shows are a great opportunity for our northern racers to compete in Tour shows. The Outlaw shows have been tremendous in the past; some of our best racing. The Stebbins have taken over from where the Johnson Family has left off at Genesee and their small track always offers competitive racing. We have to thank the Shiffers for contacting us to pick up Sunday's show to keep the three-night swing intact. It'll be great to return to Tri-City after nearly six years!"
The podium finishers at the season opening event at Pittsburgh on April 20 was an interesting trio that included winner Tim Shaffer, who is a National Sprint Car Hall of Famer, runner-up 14-year-old Brock Pinkerous, and third place Dave Hess, Jr., a Super Late Model and Modified great who made his first Pittsburgh Chevrolet Performance crate engine start. Pinkerous, who finished fourth in the 2023 Tour standings, now has two career City Chevrolet Weekly Series victories after winning the RUSH debut at Albany-Saratoga Speedway on April 26 in addition to the 2023 season opening win at Stateline.
Roberson, the 2022 Series Champion, had to battle his way out of the B main then worked his way from the 19th starting spot to 5th. Joe Martin, who has finished runner-up in points each of the last four years, went 16th to 6th. Meanwhile, four-time and defending Flynn's Tire/Gunter's Honey Tour champion, Jeremy Wonderling, had a quiet night in eighth.
$100 "Shock the Clock" Qualifying and $25 to-win heat races will take place each night and be presented by FK Rod Ends. The Sunoco Dash will set the beginning rows of the feature lineup each night and will award the winner a $100 Sunoco fuel gift card. The "Fill'er up with Sunoco Bucks" program will include an additional $400 of Sunoco fuel card giveaways each night; two $100 random draws for drivers in the top 15 of Tour points and another four $50 random draws for all other competitors.
Each night, the podium finishers will each receive a three-pack of Heritage Wine Cellars premier products. Precise Racing Products will award a $50 gift card for the "Pedal Down" Hard Charger that passes the most cars in the feature each night. Ontime Body & Graphic's "Spoiler Alert" will award a spoiler kit to the second place finisher on night one, the third place finisher on night two, and the fourth place finisher on night three. The first feature non-qualifier each night will receive a $50 certificate from Holley Performance brands. There will also be five BOGO Landrum Performance Springs certificates given away through drawings each night. Forty lucky fans will receive a bottle of Dusted Steak Seasoning each night.
Feature Payoff Each Night: 1. $3,000 2. $1,500 3. $800 4. $650 5. $600 6. $500 7. $475 8. $450 9. $425 10. $400 11. $325 12. $300 13. $275 14. $270 15. $265 16. $260 17. $255 18-24. $250.
Non-Qualifier Payoff Each Night: 1. $200 2. $190 3. $185 4. $180 5. $175 6. $170 7. $165 8. $160 9. $155 10-24. $150. Tow $125.
Warm-ups get underway at 6:45 p.m. on Friday night, 5:30 on Saturday night, and 5:15 on Sunday night with the drivers meeting 30 minutes prior. The AMB/MyLaps transponders will be used each night; rentals will be available each night for $25. The driver radio channel will be 454.000.
All events will also count towards the RUSH City Chevrolet National Weekly Series Championships and 3C Graphix "Futures Cup" for those eligible racers. In addition at Genesee, points will also be awarded for the City Chevrolet "Track Pack" that features a $2,500 per track point fund for the top six racers in RUSH member points at year's end with $1,000 going to the champion.
Outlaw is a 4/10-mile oval located at 82 Main St, Dundee, NY 14837. For more information, check out their website at www.outlawspeedwayllc.com. Like their page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OutlawSpeedwayLLC and follow them on Twitter @OutlawSpeedPR.
Genesee Speedway is located off Route 5 at the Genesee County Fairgrounds at 5056 E Main Street Rd, Batavia, NY 14020. For more information, check out their website at www.genesee-speedway.com and like them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091797205118
Tri-City Raceway Park is a ½-mile dirt track located at 3430 PA-417, Franklin, PA 16323. Like their Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063565753208
The RUSH Racing Series is brought to you by Hovis Auto & Truck Supply together with Born2Run Lubricants along with the support of Hoosier Tire, Rick Hendrick City Chevrolet, Sunoco Race Fuels, Bazell Race Fuels, Insinger Performance, Flynn's Tire, Gunter's Honey, Sunbelt Rentals, MSD Performance, Holley Performance Products, FK Rod Ends, Schoenfeld Headers, Jones Racing Products, Landrum Performance Springs, 3C Graphix, Dave Poske's Performance Parts, Velocita-USA, Wieland Metal Services, Frankland Racing Supply, Dusted Steak Seasoning, Ontime Body & Graphic, Sherwood Wheels, D&V Jewelers, Dusted, Heritage Wine Cellars, Precise Racing Products, Wedge Motorsports, and Racing Electronics.
E-mail can be sent to the RUSH Racing Series at info@rushracingseries.com 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.
Article Credit: Mike Leone
