7/16/2024
RUSH Late Model Series
HOVIS RUSH LATE MODEL FLYNN'S TIRE/GUNTER'S HONEY TOUR TO TRY FOR A 3RD TIME TO COMPLETE "BILL LAW MEMORIAL" SATURDAY AT STATELINE
HOVIS RUSH LATE MODEL FLYNN'S TIRE/GUNTER'S HONEY TOUR TO TRY FOR A 3RD TIME TO COMPLETE "BILL LAW MEMORIAL" SATURDAY AT STATELINE
By Mike Leone
July 16, 2024 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Busti, NY)...After four straight rainouts since the last completed event at Lernerville Speedway on June 22, the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Dirt Late Model Flynn's Tire/Gunter's Honey Touring Series will try for the third time this season to complete the "Bill Law Memorial" at Stateline Speedway this Saturday night (July 20). The early outlook is calling for sunny skies and 80 degrees! Warmups begin at 6:45 p.m.
The $3,000 to-win "Bill Law Memorial" returns to Stateline for the seventh time in history after being rained out on May 11 and June 29. In 2011, Law was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer and passed away in July 2012. Law's involvement in racing began in the late 1970s as he loved having muscle cars and going to the drag strip in his high school days. Even though he never actually raced, he stood behind racing 100%. In the early 1980s, Law and Leon Szweda put an asphalt car together and raced at New York's Holland Speedway.
Law's taste for racing moved to the dirt tracks in the mid 1980s as he helped Tom Taber for several years. He met a lot of great people that he became very good friends with; one was Bob "The Bird" Baldwin. The Law Family traveled with him and his family racing from Pennsylvania to West Virginia to Maryland.
As Bill's son Jon was getting older, they got involved in Go-Kart racing as the family would travel all over New York and Pennsylvania. Bill was still involved in auto racing as they would race Go-Karts during the day and sell parts and fuel at night at the races. As Jon got older, Bill bought him an IMCA Modified. A few seasons later, Jon and Bill bought a Limited Late Model. That lasted a couple years until Jon was starting his own family and got away from the racing scene.
Law was the first person to have a Crate Late Model in the region when the class debuted in 2007 in the Northeast. Law had several drivers over the years behind the wheel of his #14 including Baldwin, Ward Schell, Rich Gardner, Jon Law, Curt VanPelt, David Scott, and Kyle Scott. Bill's grandson, Kyle Murray, has raced RUSH Late Models over the years. With the Scott Family owning Stateline, it's fitting the "Bill Law Memorial" takes place at their track as Jean and Jim Scott's son David and grandson Kyle drove for Law.
The 2017 event was the first ever Tour event at Stateline in the 10-year history of Crate Late Models in the Northeast as a big crowd watched a thriller as Jeremy Wonderling held off standout and track dominator Max Blair for the victory. The 2018 event was just as good as Damian Bidwell made a late race pass of Scott Gurdak for his first Tour win in more than three years. In 2019, Wonderling again held off Blair after withstanding a mid-race rain delay. The COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the 2020 event. Wonderling was victorious again in 2021 topping a Stateline record 43-car field. Joe Martin won his first career Stateline race in 2022 after waiting out an hour and a half rain delay. Last year, Wonderling won the event for the fourth time in six years this time over a 42-car field!
Stateline has completed six City Chevrolet Weekly Series events thus far in 2024 with an average car count of 22+ per night. Randy Hall and Jason Genco each have a pair of victories, while Dave Parker and Mike Wonderling have also been victorious.
"We have to thank Stateline for their willingness to continue to reschedule the 'Bill Law Memorial' after two rainouts already this year," explained RUSH Director Vicki Emig. "We're thankful that the Law Family has allowed us the opportunity to continue be able to have this event as a Tour show, and we look forward to honoring Bill on Saturday night."
Fourteen-year-old Brock Pinkerous leads the Flynn's Tire/Gunter's Honey Tour as the points leader heading into Stateline, which is the site of his first career Late Model victory that occurred last year in a City Chevrolet Weekly Series event. After four podiums including a career first Tour victory at Tri-City to start off the season, Pinkerous has finished seventh in the last two events to hold a slim five-point lead over defending and four-time Series Champion, Jeremy Wonderling. Wonderling is the only repeat winner on the Tour this season as there have been five different winners in the first six events.
Joe Martin, who is still in search of his first win of the season, is third in points as he trails Wonderling by nine for the position he's finished in each of the past four seasons. Jared Miley is fourth in points and leads the $3,000 to-win 3C Graphix Rookie-of-the-Year points by nine over fifth place points man, Daryl Charlier. Sixth through 10th in points are Jim Rasey, Damian Bidwell, Austin Allen, Mike Wonderling, and Kyle Zimmerman.
$100 "Shock the Clock" Qualifying and $25 to-win heat races will take place and be presented by FK Rod Ends. The Sunoco Dash will set the beginning rows of the feature lineup 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; two $100 random draws for drivers in the top 15 of Tour points and another four $50 random draws for all other competitors.
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. Ontime Body & Graphic's "Spoiler Alert" will award a spoiler kit to the seventh place finisher. The first feature non-qualifier will receive a $50 certificate from Holley Performance brands. There will also be five BOGO Landrum Performance Springs certificates given away through drawings. Forty lucky fans will receive a bottle of Dusted Steak Seasoning.
Feature Payoff: 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: 1. $200 2. $190 3. $185 4. $180 5. $175 6. $170 7. $165 8. $160 9. $155 10-24. $150. Tow $125
Pit gates open at 4 p.m. (access prior). Drivers meeting will be at 6:15 p.m. Warmups for the RUSH Late Models will be at 6:45 p.m. with qualifying and racing to follow. Driver radio channel is different at Stateline as 469.500 is used. AMB/MyLaps transponders will be used. The complete pit notes/agenda is available at the following link: https://www.rushlatemodels.com/StatelineAgenda072024.pdf.
Saturday's event will also count towards the RUSH City Chevrolet National Weekly Series Championships and 3C Graphix "Futures Cup" for those eligible racers. In addition, 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.
Stateline Speedway is located nine miles southwest of Jamestown, NY, south of Busti, NY at 4150 Kortwright Rd., Jamestown, NY 14701. For more information, check out their website at www.newstatelinespeedway.com. Like their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/newstatelinespeedwaybustiny.
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, Joseph J. Oliva Attorney at Law, 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, Racing Electronics, and Billy’s Garage.
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
