9/29/2021
RUSH Late Model Series
"BILL HENDREN MEMORIAL" FOR RUSH LATE MODEL FLYNN'S TIRE/BORN2RUN LUBRICANTS TOUR FRIDAY & SATURDAY AT PITTSBURGH; $3000 TO-WIN EACH NIGHT PRESENTED B
"BILL HENDREN MEMORIAL" FOR RUSH LATE MODEL FLYNN'S TIRE/BORN2RUN LUBRICANTS TOUR FRIDAY & SATURDAY AT PITTSBURGH; $3000 TO-WIN EACH NIGHT PRESENTED BY FK ROD ENDS & PRO FAB; $1200 TO-WIN "ONE TO REMEMBER" NON-WINNERS RACE & $500 TO-WIN NON-QUALIFIER ALSO PART OF WEEKEND
By Mike Leone
September 29, 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Imperial, PA)…The Pace Performance RUSH Dirt Late Model Flynn's Tire/Born2Run Lubricants Touring Series will return to action this weekend at Pittsburgh's PA Motor Speedway for the "Bill Hendren Memorial" presented by FK Rod Ends in conjunction with Pro Fabrication. The 11th annual edition (ninth in the Northeast) will feature a $3,000 to-win, $275 to-start complete show on both Friday and Saturday night (October 1-2)! In addition, Friday night will also include the fourth annual "One to Remember" Non-Winners race presented by Hendren Racing Engines and CrateInsider.com paying a record $1,200 to-win, while Saturday night will conclude with the $500 to-win Non-Qualifier!
This marks the sixth straight year PPMS has hosted the "Bill Hendren Memorial" as part of the "Pittsburgher 100" weekend that also includes the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series on Saturday night. The additional payoff in this event is due to the great efforts by Bill Hendren's son Steve and his family along with FK Rod Ends, Pro Fabrication, CrateInsider.com, Miley Motor Sports, RUSH, and Branden Lockwich. The top three feature finishers each night and the "One to Remember" victor will receive custom, laser-etched awards on marble 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 strong competition and again was willing to do four Tour events. Last year, we were able to format this into two complete shows and that will again be the case this year along with the popular 'One to Remember' race that continues to grow."
Each night will include $100 FK Rod Ends "Shock the Clock" Qualifying. Drivers will then compete in FK Rod End heats heat races paying $25 to-win. The Sunoco dash will determine the beginning of the feature lineup each night with the winner receiving a $100 Sunoco gift card. Last chance B mains will be run to complete the starting feature field for the $3,000 to-win, $275 to-start feature events. Positions 11-24 have been increased each night over the normal $3,000 to-win payoff. Friday is a Platinum Tour Event allowing Tour members the opportunity to use the event as a replacement for a missed Marquee Event or throw out their worst Marquee finish. Saturday is the next-to-last Marquee Tour Event of the season.
Thanks to Bettie Hendren (Bill's wife) for adding $200 to the winner of the "One to Remember" race presented by Hendren Racing Engines and CrateInsider.com, which will now offer a record $1,200 to-win! Each starting driver will receive a minimum of $75 in addition to their Tour event payoff. In order to be eligible, driver must compete in the regular "Bill Hendren Memorial" event on Friday night and never have won a Late Model (full-size) feature or any headlining division feature event or prior "One to Remember" race. Drivers that have won non-qualifier races are still eligible to compete. 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 John Mollick (2016), Daryl Charlier (2017-2018), Kyle Lukon (2019 & 2020), and Levi Crown (2020). Past "One to Remember" winners include Chuck Medved (2018), Logan Zarin (2019), and Levi Spinneweber (2020).
Virginia's Kyle Hardy, who last weekend clinched the $5,000 Pace National Weekly Series Championship, leads the Tour back to Pittsburgh for third and fourth time of 2021. Hardy, who has six wins and an impressive 12 podium finishes in 14 races, has a 58-point lead on the surging Joe Martin in the $12,000 championship race. After starting the season off with three finishes outside the top 10 in the first six races, Martin has come on strong with eight straight top six finishes including his first Tour win in seven years at the September 11 Sharon event. Three-time champion and three-time 2021 winner, Jeremy Wonderling, has slipped back to third, but will have an opportunity to get back in the hunt by throwing out his worst finish of 19th on Friday night.
Michael Duritsky, Jr. is fourth with four top five and seven top 10 finishes. Fresh off his first Tour win in more than three years last Friday night at Genesee, John Waters jumped up to fifth in points as he became the seventh different winner in 14 races this season. After failing to finish in the top 10 in any of the first 11 Tour races, Bud Watson has an eighth, a ninth, and a season best sixth in the last three Tour races. J.J. Mazur, Ryan Frazee, Kyle Lukon, and Cory Sines complete the top 10.
Pittsburgh has featured an amazing 11 different winners in 17 events in 2021 including three drivers winning their first career features! Charlier leads the way with four victories to sit atop the $1,000 to-win RUSH "Track Pack" points. Lukon has been victorious in three of the six races he's competed in. Ben Policz is the only other multiple winner. Career first RUSH wins have went to Dan Lepro, Cole Petrelle, and most recently Bill Kessler. Wonderling and Michael Norris won the two previous Tour events, while Logan Zarin and Garret Paugh have also been victorious.
"Miley Motor Sports is extremely proud to host these top notch RUSH events," added Matt Miley. "We can’t thank all of those who have made them happen enough. It reenergizes an old team. The racing is intense, competitive, high car counts, and lots of great side-by-side racing. The Herb Scott, Jook George, Red Miley, and the Bill Hendren Memorial, which is now not one but two Tour events! These men made racing what it is today; competitors, car owners, businessmen who never let the sport we love down. They were great men on and off the track and in their respective communities."
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 do for this event 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."
Steve Hendren, who will be making the trip up with Kate Dillon of CrateInsider.com, will be inducted into the Antioch (CA) Speedway Hall of Fame on October 9. Hendren raced at the track weekly in the Late Model division from 1990-1993 winning 40 races and was the 1992 and 1993 champion. In 1992, Hendren won 25 features in 44 starts with 15 of them coming at Antioch, which propelled him to the NASCAR Pacific Coast Regional Championship.
Precise Racing Products will award a $100 gift card for the "Pedal Down" Hard Charger that passes the most cars in the feature each night. The TBM Brakes “Tough Brake of the Night” will award three bottles of Xtreme6 Racing Brake Fluid valued at approximately $45 along with a certificate for a discount off any TBM Brakes purchase.
The feature winner each night will receive a 5-Gallon Race Jug from Precise. Ontime Body & Graphic's "Spoiler Alert" will award a $150 spoiler kit to the 15th place finisher on Friday night and the 16th place finisher on Saturday night (note: if a driver has already won a spoiler this season, spoiler will be awarded to the next position).
One driver will be randomly selected each night at the drivers meeting for a $100 Sunoco gift card thanks to the "Fill'er up with Sunoco Bucks" program presented by Sunoco and Zarin Truck & Auto. Also, Performance Bodies will award a $100 gift card to the first non-qualifier each night as part of the "Nosed Out" program.
"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 Hendren Racing Engines & CrateInsider.com Feature Payoff: 1. $1,200 2. $300 3. $225 4. $200 5. $150 6. $125 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.
In the unlikely 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 3).
The pits will be open all afternoon both days. Registration and pre-race tech will begin at 3 p.m. with the drivers meeting scheduled for 5:35 p.m., warm-ups at 6 followed by qualifying and then racing at 7. You do not have to be a member of RUSH to compete only to receive points. The entry fee is $100 per event. AMB/MyLaps transponders will be required; rentals are available. One-way driver radio channel is 454.000.
Friday's schedule of events: https://ppms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/33BD342A-F85C-4934-8BF2-A2AA41A5E60F-768x1025.png
Saturday's schedule of events: https://ppms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1D94A8F0-6DEF-4FD7-9DBC-583CD384E7AA-768x1025.png
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, Born2Run Lubricants, Flynn's Tire & Auto Service, FK Rod Ends, 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, Zarin Truck & Automotive, Sherwood Wheels, Alternative Power Sources, Precise Racing Products, Stop-Fyre, Lincoln Electric, Velocita-USA, Waterstone Mortgage Hermitage, CrateInsider.com, and Wedge Motorsports.
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 Twitter @RUSHLM.
Article Credit: Mike Leone
