SWEENEY RUSH SPORTSMAN MODS SET TO KICKOFF SEASON #2 THIS WEEKEND WITH A BICKNELL RACING PRODUCTS WEEKLY SERIES DOUBLEHEADER AT LERNERVILLE & SHARON

By Mike Leone

April 29, 2015               FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Pulaski, PA)…After a long and cold offseason, things are finally ready to heat up for the Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC RUSH Sportsman Modified Series.  Year number two for the growing Series will begin this weekend with a Bicknell Racing Products Weekly Series doubleheader at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio on Friday night and Sharon Speedway on Saturday night.      

 

The Northeast-style, center-steer Modifieds utilizes GM 602 crate engines, $135 Bilstein sealed spec shocks, and spec Hoosier Tires on steel wheels will feature 43 dates at six different speedways throughout western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio.  In 2014, 19 Weekly Series events were held with seven-time winner, Greg Martin of Wilson, New York, capturing the $3,000 inaugural title.  This weekend begins the quest for the 2015 Bicknell Racing Products Weekly Series Championship. 

 

Lernerville has three Bicknell Racing Products Weekly Series events and two Bicknell Racing Products Touring Series events scheduled for 2015.  Lernerville allows RUSH Members the same pit pass discount as DIRTcar members.  Friday's event is $30 for members and $35 for non-members.  Gates open at 5 p.m. on Friday with time trials for the All Star Sprints at 7:15 p.m.

 

Sharon has offered an incentive for its Weller Hughes Contracting & Developing-sponsored division in 2015.  If 24 or more cars are present, the weekly payoff raises up to $500 to-win, $75 to-start.  Also, Sharon has waived its annual registration fee.  Sharon's pit gates open at 4 p.m. with warm-ups at 6:30.    

 

Sportsman's Speedway, who will run the Bicknell Racing Products RUSH Sportsman Modifieds on a weekly basis from May 10 through September 6, will hold an open practice this Sunday from 1-4 p.m.

 

New in 2015 will be a Bicknell Racing Products Touring Series and “Futures Cup” for eligible teenage racers.  Tracks hosting Touring Series events will include Expo, Sharon, Sportsman’s, Lernerville, and Tri-City Speedways.  These events will pay a minimum of $600 to-win up to $1,000 with a separate point fund.  Highlights of the Tour include the “Sam and Bonnie Colwell Memorial” at Sportsman’s on August 9, the two-day “Apple Festival Nationals” at Sharon Speedway September 11-12, the first ever event at Tri-City on September 13 as they reopen in 2015 after being closed for four years, and a pair of events at Lernerville including the season finale on October 23-24 for the “Steel City Stampede”.

 

One of the new racers to the Series is Kole Holden. Holden is 16 years old and has been racing go-karts on asphalt, dirt and concrete since age eight.  He has won races in NY, PA, OH, IN, and NC, and numerous championships, recently winning the 2014 PA Dirt Kart Series in JR. Champ kart class.   He is a sophomore at Sheffield High School where he participates in wrestling and trap shooting.  Holden will be driving a #2 2013 Bicknell.

 

Another new racer since our last preview of new racers entering the division is Justin Shea.  The Franklin, Pa. resident raced motocross for a number of years, but doesn't have much car experience. He plans to use 2015 as a learning experience and to get as much seat time as possible.  Shea plans to race his #145 weekly at Sharon.  

 

"I was attracted to the RUSH Series do to it being a more level playing field in my eyes with the crate engines," stated the 33-year-old Shea.  "It really is a much more cost effective way to get into dirt track racing then to try to compete in the more open classes.  I believe RUSH has created a great way to entice new or entry level drivers to get involved in the sport and breathe new life into it whether it be with the Modifieds,  Late Models or Stock Series. We look forward to meeting lots of new people this year and making some new friends within the sport."

 

Big-Block Modified racer, Rick Regalski, will field a RUSH Sportsman Modified for his 14-year-old son, Garrett, of Butler, Pa.  Regalski will also allow some of his crew members the opportunity to get behind the wheel.  Regalski's uncle is longtime Big-Block Modified racer, Ralph McBride. 

 

Back in February, the Series previewed the following new racers Josh Chaney, Kurt Corah, Jeff Hughes, Kyle Martell, Joe Plesniak, Brandon Ritchey, Nick Ritchey, Sam Tatalovic, and Jeremy Weaver.  Also, Josh Deems and Steve Burns, Jr., who made a couple starts at the end of 2014, are expected to be full-time competitors in 2015.  Jerry Schaffer, who owned two cars in 2014, has added a third to his stable.  His son Will and Chelsie Kriegisch will run full-time, while Jerry and possible others will pilot the third entry.

 

Jeremy Paup, who competed on a part-time basis in 2014, has teamed with Jim Bryce.  Bryce is expected to run the #30x at Sharon, while Paup will handle the driving duties at Sportsman's.  Longtime Late Model and E-Mod racer, Larry Kugel, joined the division in mid-August and will racing full-time in 2015 joining his son Rocky, who finished third in the 2014 Weekly Series points.

 

Jordan Eck, who won the inaugural at Sharon Speedway last year and finished runner-up in the subsequent event at Lernerville, is planning on returning to the class.  Jordan's father Doug Eck is a longtime Super Late Model racer.  Jordan sold his Modified last year to return to Late Model competition.  

 

RUSH Sportsman Modified marketing partners: Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC, Bicknell Racing Products, Pace Performance, Hoosier Tire, Bilstein Shocks, MSD Ignition, Maxima Racing Oil, Jones Racing Products, VP Racing Fuels, FK Rod Ends, Sherwood Racing Wheels, Velocita-USA, Precise Racing Products, Alternative Power Sources, K&N Filters, TBM Brakes, Lincoln Electric, Rocket Racing, and B.R.A.K.E.S.


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 pages at www.facebook.com/rushlatemodels and www.facebook.com/rushsportsmanmods or follow us on Twitter @RUSHLM and @RUSHSportMods.
 

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