9/13/2022
RUSH Late Model Series
2022 "BILL HENDREN MEMORIAL" PRESENTED BY FK ROD ENDS IN CONJUNCTION WITH CITY CHEVROLET & PRO FAB BECOMES CROWN JEWEL FOR HOVIS RUSH LATE MODEL FLYNN
2022 "BILL HENDREN MEMORIAL" PRESENTED BY FK ROD ENDS IN CONJUNCTION WITH CITY CHEVROLET & PRO FAB BECOMES CROWN JEWEL FOR HOVIS RUSH LATE MODEL FLYNN'S TIRE TOUR WITH $10,000 TO-WIN AT PITTSBURGH
$18,000 to-win 3-night swing with Tyler County September 29, Pittsburgh September 30 & October 1
By Mike Leone
September 13, 2022 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Pulaski, PA)...The Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Dirt Late Model Series presented by Born2Run Lubricants is proud to announce a major purse increase for the annual "Bill Hendren Memorial" presented by FK Rod Ends in conjunction with City Chevrolet and Pro Fabrication. The two-night affair at Pittsburgh's PA Motor Speedway will offer a record payoff including a complete show on Friday night, September 30 paying $4,000 to-win presented by Keyser Manufacturing and Precise Racing Products followed up by a $10,000 to-win event on Saturday night, October 1! These two events will follow Tyler County Speedway on Thursday, September 29 for $4,000 to-win creating a three-night swing for the Flynn's Tire Touring Series with a possible $18,000 to-win!
The Thursday night Tyler County show is the rescheduled "Cider Jug 40" part of the "Hillbilly 100" with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series that was rained out on September 4. After two rainouts this season at Tyler County, hopefully the third time is charm for the first ever Flynn's Tire Tour event in the state of West Virginia.
Thanks to Keyser Manufacturing and Precise Racing Products, the Friday night Pittsburgh event has been increased from the standard $3,000 to-win Tour purse to $4,000 to-win, $300 to-start! This will be the kickoff to the 34th annual "Pittsburgher" weekend and the seventh straight year the "Bill Hendren Memorial" has taken place at "Dirt's Monster Half-Mile"!
On Saturday night, the RUSH Late Model Flynn's Tire Tour will join up once again with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series for the second time in three nights and third time of the season in a huge fashion. Earlier this season, RUSH competed on the same card as LOLMDS at Lernerville's "Firecracker 100" in which Mark Whitener won the richest race in RUSH history worth $20,000 in the "Bill Emig Memorial" presented by Sunoco Race Fuels. Now another crown jewel has been added to the RUSH schedule- the $10,000 to-win, $450 to-start "Bill Hendren Memorial" thanks to sponsorship from FK Rod Ends, Pro Fabrication, and City Chevrolet, as well as Hendren Racing Engines, 955 Automotive, CrateInsider.com, Daytona 1 Performance Lubricants, West Mifflin Collision, Stan's Transmission, and Branden Lockwich!
Also on Saturday, 955 Automotive will present the Sunoco Dash as the winner will not only receive a $100 Sunoco gift card and the pole position for the feature, but also $250!
"This has quickly turned into one of the biggest weekends in RUSH Racing Series history," expressed RUSH Director Vicki Emig. "It's been unbelievable to see the 'Bill Hendren Memorial' continue to grow. In 2017 it was a $2,500 to-win event spread over two nights with bonus monies. To see it evolve into back-to-back events paying $4,000 and $10,000 to-win in such a short period of time is incredible! You just can't put a price on showcasing the RUSH Late Model Touring Series in a three-night swing in conjunction with these prestigious Lucas Oil Late Model events at both Tyler County's 'Hillbilly 100' and the 'Pittsburgher'!"
"Miley Motor Sports echoes the sentiments expressed by Vicki Emig," stated PPMS promoter Matt Miley. "It has been a tremendous honor to partner with the Hendren Family and RUSH to develop this awesome tribute to Bill Hendren. Many years ago, Miley Motor Sports, led by the late Red Miley, was at the forefront in bringing Chevrolet Performance crate engine racing to western Pennsylvania. Both Bill Hendren and Red Miley had the foresight to realize crate racing would eventually save weekly Late Model racing at many speedways. Lots of folks laughed, 'how could a crate engine Late Model be a success story'? Well, my guess is Bill and Red will be smiling all the way through the $14,000 to-win 'Pittsburgher' weekend! As Red would say, get ready to rumble; the record setting 'Bill Hendren Memorial' is about to blast off at the 'Pittsburgher'!"
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'll never forget the day several years ago I received surprise phone call 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 Chevrolet 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 for the 10th straight year 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' weekend."
Steve Hendren, who will be making the trip up with Kate Dillon of CrateInsider.com, was inducted into the Antioch (CA) Speedway Hall of Fame shortly after the 2021 event. 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.
In addition to the feature and D&V Jewelers non-qualifier purses posted each night, $100 FK Rod Ends "Shock the Clock" Qualifying, $25 to-win FK Rod Ends heat races, and the Sunoco Dash paying a $100 Sunoco gift card will take place nightly ($250 cash Saturday night). This is in addition to $400 per night of Sunoco gift card drawings along with contingencies from Precise Racing Products, Ontime Body & Graphic, Performance Bodies, and TBM Brakes. Saturday's show has a rain date of Sunday.
Tyler County "Cider Jug 40" Feature Payoff: 1. $4,000 2. $2,000 3. $1,000 4. $800 5. $700 6. $600 7. $550 8. $500 9. $475 10. $450 11. $425 12. $400 13. $375 14. $360 15. $350 16. $340 17. $330 18. $320 19. $310 20-24. $300 (25-26. $300).
Pittsburgh "Bill Hendren Memorial" Night 1 Feature Payoff (30 laps): 1. $4,000 2. $2,000 3. $1,000 4. $800 5. $700 6. $600 7. $550 8. $500 9. $475 10. $450 11. $425 12. $400 13. $375 14. $360 15. $350 16. $340 17. $330 18. $320 19. $310 20-24. $300 (25-26. $300).
Pittsburgh "Bill Hendren Memorial" Night 2 Feature Payoff (40 laps): 1. $10,000 2. $5,000 3. $2,500 4. $2,000 5. $1,500 6. $1,200 7. $1,000 8. $900 9. $800 10. $700 11. $650 12. $625 13. $600 14. $550 15. $525 16. $500 17. $490 18. $480 19. $470 20. $460 21-24. $450 (25-26. $450).
D&V Jewelers Non-Qualifier Payoffs: 1. $200 2. $190 3. $185 4. $180 5. $175 6. $170 7. $165 8. $160 9. $155 10-24. $150. Tow $125.
Stay tuned for additional details in the coming weeks. Up next for the Flynn's Tire Touring Series will be the "Topless Nationals" at Genesee Speedway in Batavia, NY on September 23-24 with $3,000 to-win each night.
The RUSH Racing Series is brought to you by Hovis Auto & Truck Supply together with Born2Run Lubricants along with the support of Hoosier Tire, Bilstein Shocks, Sunoco Race Fuels, Bazell Race Fuels, Insinger Performance, MSD Performance, Holley Performance Products, FK Rod Ends, Schoenfeld Headers, Jones Racing Products, TBM Brakes, Performance Bodies & Parts, Racing Electronics, Wrisco Industries, Frankland Racing Supply, Landrum Performance Spring, Ontime Body & Graphic, Sherwood Wheels, Alternative Power Sources, Precise Racing Products, Lincoln Electric, Velocita-USA, Waterstone Mortgage Hermitage, Wedge Motorsports, 3C Graphix, D&V Jewelers, DrumPreserve, CrateInsider.com, Marthinsen & Salvitti Insurance Group and Terry Bowser Excavating.
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
