By Mike Leone RUSH DIRT LATE MODEL SERIES PR
February 15, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Pulaski, PA)…The Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Late Model Series presented by Born2Run Lubricants is proud to release its powerful 2026 Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Touring Series schedule of events. The richest season in Series history will include a minimum of 20 events at 12 different speedways all paying between $4,000 and $20,000 to-win, and boasting a $76,200 point fund with $20,000 to the champion! Six of the events will pay more than the standard $4,000 to-win purse. Many of the events will be streamed live by FloRacing, DIRTVision, The Cushion, and Dirt.tv. Jeremy Wonderling is the defending Series champion and has won five of the last eight titles.
The Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Touring Series has averaged 35 cars or more per event each of the last seven years, while the number of full-time Tour regulars has been the highest in Series history each of the last two years thanks to the record breaking point fund and strong event purses.
The 2026 champion will take home $20,000 for the third consecutive year! Also returning for the third straight year is the Landrum Performance “Loyalty Bonus” where one Touring Series member that competes in at least 75% of the completed events will receive a $5,000 bonus at the season ending event! 3C Graphix will again present the Rookie-of-the-Year with $3,000 going to the winner; driver must competes in 75% of the events that has yet to do so in years past. And new for 2026 is the Capital Contracting Service “Allegiance Rewards” program that will see $600 distributed to three lucky Tour drivers ($300, $200, $100) after each fourth completed event for drivers/teams that have competed in 75% of the completed events. Several new programs for the season that will add even more value to the events are also in the works and will be announced soon!
Highlighting the schedule is the Series’ crown jewel $20,000 to-win “Bill Emig Memorial” presented by Sunoco Race Fuels with associate sponsorship from Seal-Tite Paving & Excavating and Joseph J. Oliva Attorney at Law, which returns to Lernerville in conjunction with the renowned “Firecracker 100” weekend for the eighth straight year. Other returning marquee events include the “Jook George Steel City Classic” and “Bill Hendren Memorial” events at Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway. Mansfield Speedway will be a new venue, while Georgetown, Sharon, Woodhull, and Marion Center will all return to the schedule after an absence.
“We’re coming off arguably the best RUSH Late Model Touring Series season in our history,” remarked RUSH Director Vicki Emig. “The car counts were strong, quality of racing superb, and as always the support of our speedways and marketing partners tremendous. Our schedule is solid with numerous stops at many of the premier speedways throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest. With $4,000, $5,000, $6,000, $10,000, and $20,000 to win events throughout surrounded by a $76,000+ championship point fund, I think both RUSH racers and the fans are going to have a lot to look forward to!”
The 2026 season will get underway at Pittsburgh PA Motor Speedway with the “Herb Scott Memorial” on Saturday, April 18 for their first of four events with this one being their earliest date in Series history. “Dirt’s Monster Half-Mile” in Imperial, Pa. will be under the third full season of ownership by Blair Cress, Jr. Pittsburgh always attracts some of the largest car counts on the Tour as the Tour regulars battle the stiff competition of the track’s weekly competitors. In 2024, the Tour events averaged 47 cars per event, while last year was 43 per event after the first show was rained out.
For the first time in more than three years, Georgetown Speedway will host a Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Touring Series event on Friday, April 24. The $5,000 to-win event will be the richest Chevrolet Performance Late Model event in the history of the Delaware oval. The “Melvin L. Joseph Memorial” will also include the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series as it’ll be the first four events where RUSH teams up with them live on FloRacing. Georgetown will continue to be a RUSH Weekly-sanctioned track in 2026.
The following night (Saturday, April 25), Winchester will host their first of two 2026 Tour events as this will give racers in the Mid-Atlantic region back-to-back $5,000 to-win events. Last year, Winchester hosted a $5,000 to-win event won by Kyle Hardy, which was the richest event at the high-banked Virginia red clay oval since 2015. Winchester will be under the Weekly Series banner for the 13th straight year in 2026.
The Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Tour then heads north to Stateline Speedway in Busti, NY for the ninth year for the “Bill Law Memorial” on May 9. The Saturday night Weekly Series track is under the second year of ownership by Bill Catania, who also hosts the RUSH Pro Mods and RUSH Stock Cars on a weekly basis. Last year, Max Blair topped a 49-car field, which was a record count at Stateline. Wonderling has won four of the eight “Bill Law Memorial” events. The event has averaged more than 42 cars the last five years.
The following night (Sunday, May 10), Eriez Speedway will give racers back-to-back $4,000 to-win shows within just a 40-mile distance. Located just outside of Erie, Pa., this will be year number eight of ownership for Dave Alexander, who will again host weekly Sunday night RUSH Late Model and RUSH Stock Car racing. Last year’s May show at Eriez attracted 43 cars. There have been 16 RUSH Tour events completed all-time at Eriez. Max Blair leads the way with eight victories. Former champs Hardy and Wonderling are the only other repeat winners, while Rob Blair, Logan Roberson, Josh Ferry, and most recently Dave Hess, Jr. have also been victorious.
Tri-City Raceway Park in Franklin, Pa. will again host a pair of $4,000 to-win events on holiday weekends in 2026. The first on the big half-mile is the traditional Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. Daryl Charlier won this event in 2025 ending a three-year winless drought on the Tour. While these will be on the two RUSH Late Model events of the season at Tri-City, the Venango County oval does run the RUSH Sprint Cars and RUSH Stock Cars weekly on their Friday night program.
Less than a week later, the RUSH Late Models head across the border to Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio on Saturday, June 6 for a much-anticipated return to the 3/8-mile red clay oval for the first time in nearly four years. The $4,000 to-win event will be streamed live on DIRTVision and is being presented by Kuhnle Motorsports Park of Thompson, Ohio, who is a big supporter of Jonathan Stockdale’s team that includes his son Logan along with veterans Kyle Zimmerman and Joe Martin.
The Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey RUSH Late Model Tour will join up with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series for the “Firecracker 100” weekend June 25-27 at Lernerville Speedway! This premier event for Super Late Models paying $50,000 to-win also showcases RUSH in the running of the “Bill Emig Memorial” for the eighth straight year. The Saturday night program for RUSH will again be highlighted by a 50-lap $20,000 to-win main event presented by Sunoco Race Fuels with associate sponsorship from Seal-Tite Paving & Excavating and Joseph J. Oliva Attorney at Law.
Max Blair won the “Bill Emig Memorial” the first two years totaling $20,000 then won $20,000 alone in 2023, while Florida’s Mark Whitener won $10,000 in 2021 and $20,000 in 2022 for western Pa. car owner Dirk Neal and Brian Daugherty. In 2024, Dave Hess, Jr. won the $20,000 jackpot for his biggest career win in his storied career. Mason Zeigler became the newest $20,000 winner in 2025. Last year’s event attracted an all-time RUSH record high car count of 62, which was also the highest Late Model car count in the Northeast. D&V Jewelers annually awards a diamond championship ring valued at $8,000 to the victor, pushing the winner’s total earnings to an amazing $28,000!
Stateline Speedway’s second show this year will take place on Saturday, July 4 as the Independence Day holiday will be celebrated with the America 250 featuring a huge fireworks extravaganza! Last year’s first ever second show at Stateline attracted 42 cars and was won by 2017 champion, Bryce Davis.
A second show in successive Saturdays in western New York will take place at Woodhull Raceway on July 11. The cars and stars of the Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Tour will return to the high banks for the first time in nearly two years and first time on a Saturday night since 2014. Past Woodhull Tour winners include Wayne Robertson, Wonderling, and Davis. RUSH Late Model Weekly Series racing will continue at Woodhull for the eighth straight year.
A third straight Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Tour show in western New York will be held at The Dirt Track at Genesee on Tuesday, July 21. The event will be part of the 187th annual Genesee County Fair. Last year, the Tour was part of the Fair’s attractions for the first time in seven years. and drew a large crowd! Genesee will be under the promotion of James Gayton for the second year; however, the 2026 season will mark the 11th straight season that Genesee has been a RUSH Weekly Series track.
For the 10th time, the “Jook George Steel City Classic” at PPMS will be a Tour event. The “Jook George” will take place on Saturday, July 25 paying a minimum $6,010 to-win along with substantial money and bonuses throughout the entire field thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Branden Lockwich. Last year, Christian Schneider was the event victor for not only his first career Tour victory, but the richest win of his career. Schneider will be one of several drivers battling for the 2026 3C Graphix Rookie-of-the-Year as he joins the Tour full time this season.
Another venue that will return to the 2026 schedule after an absence will be Marion Center Raceway on Saturday, August 8 as it kicks off the first of three Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Tour events in four days. Wonderling has been victorious in all three prior events held at Indiana County, Pennsylvania 1/4-mile during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. This year’s event will be the richest Chevrolet Performance Late Model event in the history of Marion Center with $4,000 on the line at a track that more often than not has produced side-by-side racing right down to the checkered flag!
Sunday’s show (August 9) at Eriez will be the annual “Manufacturers Night” presented by MSD Performance. The will be the sixth straight year Eriez has hosted the event and seventh all-time. The average car count for the event since Manufacturers Night debuted in 2012 is nearly 48. The last three Mfg. events at Eriez have attracted between 52-55 cars! Well over $30,000 of valuable and useful products is typically distributed to competing racers on this night.
For the first time in history, the Hovis RUSH Racing Series will hold an event at Mansfield Speedway. On Tuesday, August 11, the RUSH Late Model Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Tour will compete for a minimum of $4,000 to-win and join up with the Super DIRTcar Big-Block Modified Series for the first time ever! The event will be streamed live on DIRTVision. The 4/10-mile facility located in Mansfield, Ohio is in the process of being revitalized by new owner Matt Tifft and will return to action in 2026 after sitting dormant for six years. Mansfield will mark the westernmost RUSH-sanctioned event in Series history!
Tri-City’s second holiday weekend show will take place Labor Day weekend on September 6. This year’s show has been moved to Sunday night as part of the track’s “Oil Region Labor Day Classic”. In the 2025 event, Kyle Hardy won in his first ever start at the 1/2-mile Venango County, Pennsylvania oval, which not only ended a winless drought of two years and four months on the Tour, but began a three-race win streak .
For the first time since 2015, two Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Touring Series events are scheduled for Winchester Speedway. Like the April 25 show, the September 19 event will also pay $5,000 to-win. Track owner Greg Gunter is a huge supporter of RUSH not only running the RUSH Late Models weekly at his track (22 events scheduled in 2026), hosting two $5,000 to-win Tour events, co-presenting the Series through his Gunter’s Honey, and owning the RUSH Late Model driven by Mike Franklin.
For the 11th straight year, the Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Tour will be part of the “Pittsburgher 100” joining LOLMDS for two complete shows at PPMS on October 2-3 live on FloRacing. For the fifth straight year, the “Bill Hendren Memorial” will pay $4,000 to-win on Friday, while Saturday’s show will boost a $10,000 to-win payoff alongside the $50,000 to-win “Pittsburgher” for LOLMDS. Sponsors such as FK Rod Ends, City Chevrolet, Pro Fab, Hendren Racing Engines, CrateInsider.com, West Mifflin Collision, Stan’s Transmission, and Branden Lockwich have stepped up to really make this into a major event. In 2005, Bill Hendren, the patriarch of the Hendren family and founder of Hendren Racing Engines, had the foresight to begin building his affiliation with crate racing.
And as what been an annual tradition since RUSH’s inception, the “Steel City Stampede” will bring down the curtain on the Touring Series season on October 16-17 at Lernerville Speedway. This year’s “Steel City Stampede” will be the 18th edition of this huge event that includes most of the region’s racing divisions. Max Blair (2012, 2019-2020), Michael Norris (2023-2024), and Kyle Hardy (2021, 2025) are the only three drivers to win multiple events. Other past winners include Josh Holtgraver (2009), Bryan Force (2010), Butch Lambert (2011), Dennis Lunger, Jr. (2013), Chad Ruhlman (2014), Jacob Hawkins (2015), John Mollick (2016), John Waters (2017), Colton Flinner (2018), and Logan Roberson (2022).
All Tour events in 2026 will pay a minimum of $4,000 to-win, $300 to-start with a $200 to-win non-qualifier (30 cars or more), and guaranteed $125 tow money. All events will utilize the group qualifying format featuring $100 FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock Qualifying” (split A/B with four or more heats) and $25 to-win FK Rod End heat races plus the Sunoco Dash, which awards the winner the pole position for the feature and a $100 Sunoco fuel card. Other nightly contingencies will be announced soon.
The championship points will be based off the cumulative Marquee Events; however, member drivers/owners will be able to use the Platinum Events to replace their worst Marquee Event point scores. Drivers can also use Platinum Events to replace missed Marquee Events. Platinum dates include May 24 at Tri-City and July 21 at Genesee with a rain date of October 2 at Pittsburgh. A printable schedule is available here: https://www.rushlatemodels.com/Touring Schedule LM 2026.pdf
Touring membership is available for $125 or drivers can join both Weekly and Touring for $225. The membership is available at the following link: https://rushlatemodels.com/memberships.html or through the Pit Pay App at https://getpitpay.com/5lb
2026 Minimum 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.
Non-Qualifier Payoff: 1. $200 2. $190 3. $185 4. $180 5. $175 6. $170 7. $165 8. $160 9. $155 10-24. $150. Tow $125
2026 Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Touring Series Points Fund ($68,200 + $5,000 Landrum Loyalty Bonus + $3,000 3C Graphix Rookie-of-the-Year): 1. $20,000 2. $10,000 3. $7,500 4. $5,000 5. $4,000 6. $3,000 7. $2,500 8. $2,400 9. $2,200 10. $2,000. Drivers/Owners in the following positions must compete in 75% of the completed Tour events to receive point fund monies: 11. $1,500 12. $1,300 13. $1,200 14. $1,100 15. $1,000 16. $900 17. $800 18. $700 19. $600 20. $500.
2026 Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Late Model Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Touring Series Schedule*
· Sat, April 18 Pittsburgh PA Motor Speedway (Imperial, PA) – $4,000 to-win “Herb Scott Memorial”
· Fri, April 24 Georgetown Speedway (Georgetown, DE) – $5,000 to-win “Melvin L. Joseph Memorial”
· Sat, April 25 Winchester Speedway (Winchester, VA) – $5,000 to-win
· Sat, May 9 Stateline Speedway (Busti, NY) – $4,000 to-win “Bill Law Memorial”
· Sun, May 10 Eriez Speedway (Erie, PA) – $4,000 to-win
· Sun, May 24 Tri-City Raceway Park (Franklin, PA) – $4,000 to-win (Platinum)
· Sat, June 6 Sharon Speedway (Hartford, OH) – $4,000 to-win presented by Kuhnle Motorsports Park
· Thr-Sat, June 25-27 Lernerville Speedway (Sarver, PA) – $20,000 to-win “Bill Emig Memorial” presented by Sunoco Race Fuels along with Seal-Tite Paving & Excavating and Joseph J. Oliva Attorney at Law (Part of the “Firecracker 100” – (Rain date 6/28)
· Sat, July 4 Stateline Speedway (Busti, NY) – $4,000 to-win
· Sat, July 11 Woodhull Raceway (Woodhull, NY) – $4,000 to-win
· Tue, July 21 The Dirt Track at Genesee (Batavia, NY) – $4,000 to-win for Genesee County Fair (Platinum)
· Sat, July 25 Pittsburgh PA Motor Speedway (Imperial, PA) – Minimum $6,010 to-win “Jook George Steel City Classic” – (Rain date 8/1)
· Sat, Aug 8 Marion Center Raceway (Marion Center, PA) – $4,000 to-win
· Sun, Aug 9 Eriez Speedway (Erie, PA) – $4,000 to-win “Manufacturers Night” presented by MSD Performance
· Tue, Aug 11 Mansfield Speedway (Mansfield, OH) – $4,000 to-win
· Sun, Sept 6 Tri-City Raceway Park (Franklin, PA) – $4,000 to-win
· Sat, Sept 19 Winchester Speedway (Winchester, VA) – $5,000 to-win
· Fri, Oct 2 Pittsburgh PA Motor Speedway (Imperial, PA) – $4,000 to-win “Bill Hendren Memorial” Night 1 (Part of the “Pittsburgher”)
· Sat, Oct 3 Pittsburgh PA Motor Speedway (Imperial, PA) – $10,000 to-win “Bill Hendren Memorial” Night 2 presented by FK Rod Ends, Pro Fab & City Chevrolet (Part of the “Pittsburgher 100”) (Rain date 10/4)
· Fri-Sat, Oct 16-17 Lernerville Speedway (Sarver, PA) – $4,000 to-win “Steel City Stampede” – (Rain date 10/18)
*Schedule is subject to change. Additional date(s) may be added.
The RUSH Racing Series is brought to you by Hovis Auto & Truck Supply together with Born2Run Lubricants along with the support of Hoosier Tire, Sunoco Race Fuels, Bazell Race Fuels, Insinger Performance, Flynn’s Tire, Gunter’s Honey, MSD Performance, Holley Performance Products, FK Rod Ends, Capital Contracting Service, Joseph J. Oliva Attorney at Law, Schoenfeld Headers, Jones Racing Products, Landrum Performance Springs, Russ King Racing, 3C Graphix, Dave Poske’s Performance Parts, Velocita-USA, Wieland Metal Services, Real Merchant Services, illusioncoats Powder Coating, Frankland Racing Supply, Seal-Tite Paving & Excavating, Schneider Trucks, Dusted Steak Seasoning, Ontime Body & Graphic, D&V Jewelers, AERO Race Wheels, Racing Electronics, Design Creations, and Competition Crate Parts.
E-mail can be sent to the RUSH Racing Series at info@rushracingseries.com and 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 X (formerly known as Twitter) @RUSHLM.
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