5/18/2022
RUSH Late Model Series
SUNOCO RACE FUELS TO PRESENT THE 2022 "BILL EMIG MEMORIAL"; $20,000 TO-WIN EVENT WILL BE THE RICHEST IN RUSH HISTORY & WILL TAKE PLACE JUNE 23-25
SUNOCO RACE FUELS TO PRESENT THE 2022 "BILL EMIG MEMORIAL"; $20,000 TO-WIN EVENT WILL BE THE RICHEST IN RUSH HISTORY & WILL TAKE PLACE JUNE 23-25 AT LERNERVILLE PART OF "FIRECRACKER 100" WITH LUCAS OIL LATE MODELS
By Mike Leone
May 18, 2022 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Pulaski, PA)...Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Dirt Late Model Series presented by Born2Run Lubricants Directors Vicki Emig and Mike Leone are proud to announce Sunoco Race Fuels will present the 2022 "Bill Emig Memorial". This season's richest Flynn's Tire Touring Series event will take place at Lernerville Speedway for the fourth straight year as part of the Big River Steel "Firecracker 100" on June 23-25; however, this year's event will pay a Northeast Crate Late Model record high of $20,000 to-win and will be on the card with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series competing for $50,000 to-win! RUSH's portion will be broadcast live on Lernerville TV for the first time.
"Sunoco Race Fuels couldn’t be more excited to extend our relationship with the additional partnership on the 'Bill Emig Memorial'," stated Sunoco Sales Manager Russ Bradford. "The RUSH Racing Series has been an invaluable partner to Sunoco Race Fuels over the years and we look forward to many more years of working together. Vicki and Mike have worked very hard to represent Sunoco Race Fuels in the most professional way possible and that is why we feel the partnership is so valuable to our marketing efforts. I’m very excited to attend the 'Bill Emig Memorial' this summer. I look forward to spending time with Vicki, Mike, the competitors and the fans, while enjoying the great racing put on by the RUSH Racing Series."
Sunoco Race Fuels has been an important corporate marketing partner of the RUSH Racing Series as 2022 will mark the 10th year of their longstanding, successful relationship. Sunoco, the "Official Fuel" of RUSH, has fueled the Series over the past several years and offers their Sunoco E85R as an exciting cost-effective option for the RUSH Late Models in 2022.
Last year for the first time, Sunoco increased their support of RUSH by presenting the Sunoco "Fill'er Up with Sunoco Bucks" at each Flynn's Tire Tour event that saw $5,000 of Sunoco fuel cards awarded to "Tour" participants. This program has increased to over $12,000 of Sunoco fuel cards distributed to "Tour" racers in 2022!
In 2021, Sunoco launched its loyalty program. The Sunoco Go Rewards program is a mobile-based loyalty program that rewards members when they purchase fuel at participating Sunoco locations. Consumers who download the Sunoco App are automatically enrolled into Go Rewards and save at the pump when they use their app to pay for fuel. Sunoco Go Rewards presents the "FANtastic Fan Experience" at Flynn's Tire Touring Series events. Download the Sunoco App and start saving instantly! Download and setup takes only a few minutes.
"Sunoco Race Fuels has been a wonderful partner of RUSH over the past nine years and I've always hoped to bring the retail side of Sunoco into the Series," expressed Emig. The RUSH footprint throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic is a perfect match to the Sunoco retail side in these regions and I'm really looking forward to promoting to the tens of thousands of fans that will attend a RUSH sanctioned event the Sunoco retail locations as well as the Sunoco Go Rewards Program."
"Hovis Auto & Truck Supply presented my father's memorial each of the past three years, but with them moving to our branding Series sponsorship, it opened up the door for Sunoco to get involved on a larger scale. To be able to present a check for $20,000 to win to one of our RUSH racers is simply huge for grassroots racing on a national stage in front of what will surely be packed house. I don't know anywhere in the country Late Model fans are going to be able to witness a $50,000 Lucas Oil Super Late event in conjunction with a $20,000 RUSH event on the same night; it's going to be spectacular!"
Not only will the 2022 feature winner's take double from $10,000 to $20,000 for RUSH, but an additional $8,125 has been spread throughout the remainder of the feature purse! Notably, second place has jumped from $5,000 to $7,000, 10th place from $700 to $1,000, and start money from $450 to $600. The feature winner will also receive a ring valued at several thousands of dollars from D&V Jewelers- the "Official Jeweler" of RUSH.
The 2022 "Bill Emig Memorial" will be the 32nd annual event remembering the late car owner and father of RUSH Director Vicki Emig. In 2019, the "Bill Emig Memorial" took place with the "Firecracker 100" at Lernerville for the first time and attracted a season high 53 cars from seven different states and Ontario, Canada as Max Blair passed Ross Robinson with five laps to go for the victory. In 2020, the status of the event was up in the air until about one week prior due to COVID-19 restrictions, but that didn't stop Blair, who won the caution-free 50 lapper for another $10,000 payday. This past season the event continued its forward momentum as an event high 54 cars from 11 different states were in competition. Florida's Mark Whitener won his first RUSH event in his first attempt, worth $10,000.
"We've been working very hard to take the RUSH Touring Series to the next level," stated Emig. "COVID delayed our attempts in 2020, but last year we doubled our point fund and the racing was tremendous all season long. Now with our purses all going to a minimum of $3,000 to-win, our point fund going up another 25%, and to be able to have our first ever $20,000 to-win race presented by Sunoco just says so much about how RUSH competition has evolved over the past years."
"We cannot thank the Tomson Family at Lernerville for believing in our program enough three years ago to include us as part of the Firecracker 100," continued Emig. "Now to be able to have the richest event in the 16-year history of Crate Late Models in the Northeast in conjunction with the biggest Super Late Model race in the history of western Pennsylvania is beyond words; it's going to be historic and I don't think anyone is going to want to miss it!"
The Thursday (June 23) program will include warmups and FK Rod Ends "Shock the Clock" Qualifying; Friday (June 24) will feature FK Rod Ends heat races and the Sunoco Dash; Saturday (June 25) will see last chance B mains, the 50-lap feature, and the non-qualifier. The rain date is Sunday (June 26).
2022 "Bill Emig Memorial" Feature Payoff ($51,925): 1. $20,000 2. $7,000 3. $3,500 4. $3,000 5. $2,000 6. $1,500 7. $1,300 8. $1,200 9. $1,100 10. $1,000 11. $900 12. $800 13. $700 14. $650 15. $625 16. $620 17. $615 18. $610 19. $605 20-24. $600 25-26. $600 (provisionals, if necessary).
Non-Qualifier Payoff: 1. $400 2. $300 3. $250 4. $240 5. $235 6. $230 7. $225 8. $220 9. $215 10. $210 11. $205 12-24. $200. Anyone not starting a feature will receive $125.
The 2022 Flynn's Tire Touring Series Championship will pay a record point fund of more than $51,000 with $15,000 to the champion. Thus far this season, Virginia racer Logan Roberson has won three of the five events to lead the points, while Joe Warren and Joe Martin have also been victorious.
Sunoco has grown from its humble roots as a small oil company in Pittsburgh, PA, to one of the largest fuel distribution companies in the United States. Sunoco's rich, 130 plus-year heritage, legacy and reputation for innovation, and commitment to its local communities are foundational elements of this iconic American brand. Today, Sunoco distributes fuel to over 5,000 gas station locations in more than 30 states. Sunoco LP (NYSE: SUN) is a master limited partnership. SUN's general partner is owned by Energy Transfer Operating, L.P., a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE: ET). For more information, check out www.sunoco.com.
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, Terry Bowser Excavating, and Stop-Fyre.
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