SWEENEY RUSH LATE MODEL TOUR PART OF "PITTSBURGHER" WEEKEND AT PPMS; $2500 TO-WIN "BILL HENDREN MEMORIAL"

 (Imperial, PA – October 4, 2017)...The Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC RUSH Dirt Late Model Touring Series powered by Pace Performance is in the midst of three straight weekends to close out the 2017 season.  After last Saturday's "Fall Classic" at McKean County Raceway, the Series heads south this weekend to Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway as part of the "Monster Half-Mile's" 29th annual "Pittsburgher 100" weekend with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.  The Sweeney Marquee Tour event will be the "Bill Hendren Memorial" with qualifying and heat races on Friday night (October 6) followed by the remainder of the program on Saturday night.

This year marks the fifth time that the Hendren Family has presented the "Bill Hendren Memorial" in the Northeast, and second straight at Pittsburgh as part of the "Pittsburgher".  Not only will drivers be competing in the $2,500 to-win, $250 to-start feature, but also the Hendren Family has posted an additional $3,000 in cash bonuses that will be awarded over the 30-lap feature on Saturday night!  The complete list is posted below.  In addition and like in the past, the top three feature finishers will received beautiful, custom laser etched plaques by Steve himself and presented by CrateInsider.com.

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.

"It truly is an honor that Steve and his family continue to align not only his father's memorial event with us, but also presents the RUSH Engine Rebuilder of the Year award," explained RUSH Director Vicki Emig.  "Over the years, the Hendrens have brought over $48,000 in cash and contingencies to these RUSH events and we know how much the racers annually appreciate his efforts.  We're also really looking forward to being part of the Pittsburgher and it's always a great opportunity for our racers to be able to race on the same stage as Lucas Oil.  We have to thank the Miley Family for their continued support of RUSH."

With just two Sweeney Tour events remaining this season, Bryce Davis and John Waters enter the weekend tied for the point lead.  Both drivers have two wins and two runner-up finishes.  Waters, who is in search of his second straight championship, was victorious at Genesee and McKean, while Davis won at Outlaw and Old Bradford.  Davis has 10 top five finishes compared to Waters' nine; however, Waters has recorded each of those in the last 10 events.

After a fast start, Jeremy Wonderling has slipped from being right in the championship hunt due to four 13th or worse finishes in the last seven events, but remains in third place.  Brothers Jason and Brian Knowles are fourth and fifth as Jason has just a two-point advantage on Brian.  The much-improved second year racer, Brian Swank, is sixth as he's recorded three top eight finishes in the last six events.  Completing the top 12 in the points-paying positions are Pegher, J.J. Mazur, Tony White, Kyle Murray, Jamie Wrightsman, and Eric Wilson.

Pittsburgh has completed 17 feature events with nine different winners in 2017 under the RUSH banner.  Daryl Charlier and John Mollick led the way with four wins apiece.  Ben Policz and Mike Pegher, Jr. were the only other repeat winners with a pair of wins each as Pegher's came over a 43-car field for the "Jook George Steel City Classic" Tour event.  Steve Beatty, Justin Lamb, Michael Reft, Kyle Lee, and Eric Wilson all captured a victory.

2017 Sweeney Late Model Touring Series Points (Adjusted on Marquee/Platinum; only Tour members receive points): 1. Bryce Davis & John Waters 866  3. Jeremy Wonderling 833  4. Jason Knowles 787  5. Brian Knowles 785  6. Brian Swank 746  7. Mike Pegher, Jr. 688  8. J.J. Mazur 680  9. Tony White 539  10. Kyle Murray 492  11. Jamie Wrightsman 472  12. Eric Wilson 447  13. Bruce Hordusky, Jr. 386  14. Bill Kessler 372  15. Matt Latta 330  16. Chad Wright 320  17. Max Blair 298  18. D.J. Krug 220  19. Jon Rivers 171  20. Greg Beach 159  21. Hunter Hulley 144  22. Kyle Zimmerman 90  23. John Mollick 89  24. Jamie Brown & Carl Shetler 81  26. Jared Kane & Mike Franklin 70.

You do not have to a member of RUSH to compete.  The AMB/MyLaps transponders are required.  RACEceivers are always mandatory.  The entry fee is $100.  Pit passes are $30 Friday or $75 for a two-day pass.  Pits will open at 2 p.m. on Friday and will be open all day on Saturday.  Drivers meeting is at 5:30 p.m. on Friday with pill cutoff at 5:45.  Warm-ups are 6 p.m. both days.  In the event of rain on Friday, provisions have been made to run the entire show Saturday.  A Sunday rain date is also available.

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 http://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  http://www.facebook.com/PittsburghsPennsylvaniaMotorSpeedway or follow them on Twitter @PAMotorSpeedway.

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By Mike Leone