7/19/2020
RUSH Late Model Series
GARRET PAUGH CAPTURES 1ST CAREER PACE RUSH LATE MODEL TOUR WIN OVER STELLAR 41-CAR FIELD IN THE "HERB SCOTT MEMORIAL" AT PITTSBURGH; CHAS WOLBERT NOW
GARRET PAUGH CAPTURES 1ST CAREER PACE RUSH LATE MODEL TOUR WIN OVER STELLAR 41-CAR FIELD IN THE "HERB SCOTT MEMORIAL" AT PITTSBURGH; CHAS WOLBERT NOW 3-FOR-3 IN HOVIS RUSH SPORTSMAN MOD WEEKLY SERIES RACING AT PITTSBURGH
By Mike Leone
July 18, 2020 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Imperial, PA)...The Pace Performance RUSH Racing Series together with Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC held a doubleheader of events on a stifling hot Saturday night at Pittsburgh's PA Motor Speedway. Garret Paugh emerged victorious over a stellar 41-car RUSH Late Model Touring Series field in the rescheduled "Herb Scott Memorial" in the first of three visits to the "Monster Half-Mile", while Tony White won the "Wheelman" Non-Qualifiers race. Chas Wolbert captured his third straight at Pittsburgh in Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Sportsman Modified Weekly Series competition in 2020.
After falling back to seventh early in the event, Garret Paugh charged back forward, made a bold move following a restart on lap 15 by driving around track standout John Mollick in turn two, and never looked back. After the final 10 laps went green-to-checkered, Paugh stretched his margin of victory over the talent-laden field to an impressive 4.014 seconds to earn the $2,000 "Herb Scott Memorial" victory plus a $110 bonus from "Jook George Steel City Classic" event coordinator, Branden Lockwich. Though never competing in more than a handful of events per year, Paugh's win was his first career RUSH Tour victory in eight years of trying!
"This is awesome and a true honor to win one of these Touring Series races," expressed the 24-year-old Elkins, WV racer. "It's been a long time coming. I've been so close. I run a lot of different series throughout the year, but I love racing the RUSH Series- it's by far the best series in my opinion. We changed some things on the car to try and make it better and man did it make a big difference. I fell back early and thought I was in trouble, but I snookered them on the restarts getting a good run on the bottom with momentum to get by them. When Mollick is out front he's hard to get by. I was getting alright runs on him, but he'd get a big run off turn two. I knew my only chance was probably on a restart. I have to thank my parents because without them I couldn't do this. This win is dedicated to my buddy Wes, who used to help us but lost his battle with cancer in April."
Fresh off his first career Lernerville Big-Block Modified win on Friday night, Mollick raced to the early lead in the 30-lap feature over David Pangrazio, Daryl Charlier, Paugh, and Michael Duritsky, Jr. Following a restart for a spin by Josh Ferry, Charlier and Duritsky passed Pangrazio for second and third on lap two. Paugh, who started third had faded back to seventh, but two cautions on laps six and seven allowed him to make great advances as he worked his way forward into second on lap eight.
The top three cars of Mollick, Paugh, and Charlier began to distance themselves from the field on lap nine, while the battle heated up for fourth between Joe Martin, Duritsky, and Pangrazio. A caution for "Futures Cup" racers Ryan Frazee and Logan Zarin slowed action with nine laps scored. When racing resumed, Martin moved past Charlier for third as Mollick and Paugh broke away. John Waters had raced from 25th to eight before spinning to bring out the caution with 14 laps scored.
It was that caution that allowed Paugh to hit the top just right to rocket off turn two for the lead at the halfway point.
One more caution with 10 laps to go was all that slowed Paugh from the victory. Paugh stretched out his lead over the final one-third of the race in his Roy's RV/KNP Trucking/Roman's Trucking & Excavating/Jones Fire Sales/Talbott Funeral Home-sponsored #03 to become the 34th different Tour winner over the past eight seasons.
Mollick was second for his best Tour finish since ending the 2016 season with back-to-back wins on October 7 at and October 14 at Lernerville and Pittsburgh respectively. Ninth starting Martin had a great run edging out eighth starting Jeremy Wonderling for the third spot. For Wonderling, the defending and two-time Tour champion, now takes over the points lead after his second straight fourth place finish. Duritsky was fifth.
Tim Shaffer, who got inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame as part of the 2020 class, used an off night from Sprint Car racing for his best run in a RUSH Late Model Tour event. Shaffer charged through the field from 21st starting spot to finish sixth bringing 22nd starting Steve Dixon with him in seventh. Ferry dropped to eighth at the finish. After going 25th to eighth and spinning on lap nine, Waters was able to make his way back forward to finish ninth. Ben Policz rounded out the top 10.
Tony White was the 2014 and 2015 "Wheelman" Champion for the non-qualifier events. White though had never been able to pick up a victory until Saturday night. The 36-year-old Aliquippa, Pa. driver led all the way in the eight-lap non-stop affair to pick up the $200 top prize in his Tootsies Diner/That Stereo Shop/Sheffield Lanes/Ricky Dee's Pizza/The Fallout Shelter/Hercules MFG/Lucci Kitchen & Bath/Cummins & Perry/TurboStart/Ashby MFG/Breann Tumas & Zach Ulrich of Keller Williams-sponsored #27T. White became the 40th different winner in 49 races run all-time! Fresh off a "Wheelman" win at Lernerville on June 27, Jamie Wrightsman, the 2017 champion, finished second to maintain the points lead. Sixth starting D.J. Nakutis was third over Brian Goebel and eighth starting Josh Stoica.
Mollick set fast time overall in FK Rod Ends "Shock the Clock" Qualifying with a lap of 19.914 to earn $100. Mollick, Policz, Paugh, and Ferry added $25 FK Rod Ends Heat Race wins. Mollick also won the dash to earn the feature pole, but came up one spot shy in the feature for the night's clean sweep. Zarin and Shaffer won the last chance B mains.
The Pace Tour will be off until August 8 for the "Jook George Steel City Classic" at Pittsburgh. The event will pay a minimum of $5,010 to-win, $325 to-start. Any driver/owner that contributes towards the event by purchasing a minimum of $50 will be eligible for the $1,000 bonus if said driver wins the feature. To contribute to the event, contact Branden Lockwich at 412-639-3723. The rain date is August 9.
Chas Wolbert has finished either second or third the past four seasons in the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Weekly Series Championship points for the Pace Performance RUSH Sportsman Modifieds. This season, Wolbert is looking to get over the hump. On Saturday night, Wolbert made it three-for-three at Pittsburgh with his fourth overall win of 2020 after a dominating run in the 15-lap feature that went non-stop in 6:58.850.
"We've been pretty blessed even with the circumstances we've been dealt," acknowledged the 25-year-old Warren, Ohio winner. "We picked up this 2020 Bicknell this year; very special thanks to Randy (Williamson), the Slack Family, and everyone else us up there- they build a really great car. We're still trying to figure some things out, but I guess we had it figured out tonight. The car felt really good and I found a really good line."
After being docked a row for jumping the initial start, Wolbert snuck under Ayden Cipriano and Brandon Ritchey in turns one and two on the opening lap and never looked back. Wolbert stretched his lead throughout the race winning by a huge margin of 8.778 seconds in his Alcon Mechanical/Dunkin Donuts of Warren, OH/C.T. Wolbert Trucking/Walters Building Co./Ohio Intra Express/Russ King Racing/Sawtelle Tree-sponsored #c3. Fourth starting Tony Tatgenhorst passed Kyle Martell on lap 10 to finish second. Martell, who started seventh, was third. Ritchey and Chelsie Kriegisch completed the top five. Wolbert also won the heat race.
Pace Performance RUSH Late Model Touring Series “Herb Scott Memorial” Race #2 (30 laps, $2,110 to-win): 1. GARRET PAUGH (03) 2. John Mollick (Bentz 60M) 3. Joe Martin (Snyder 10S) 4. Jeremy Wonderling (3J) 5. Michael Duritsky, Jr. (90J) 6. Tim Shaffer (45) 7. Steve Dixon (65) 8. Josh Ferry (33) 9. John Waters (LeBarron 11) 10. Ben Policz (14B) 11. Christian Schneider (Maniecki 1ST) 12. David Pangrazio (136) 13. Bill Kessler (09) 14. Chad Sines (15) 15. Jake Gunn (14G) 16. John Watson (14) 17. Cory Sines (25S) 18. Ryan Frazee (11F) 19. Zach Kane (10) 20. Zach Gunn (17G) 21. Michael Reft (9R) 22. Daryl Charlier (12) 23. Logan Zarin (1z) 24. Colton Flinner (48) 25. Colby Beighey (36B) 26. Keith Barbara (Koteles 64K)-DNS. (Note: John Waters took a Series provisional.)
Non-Qualifier (8 laps, $200 to-win): 1. Tony White (27T) 2. Jamie Wrightsman (21J) 3. D.J. Nakutis (31) 4. Brian Goebel (12G) 5. Josh Stoica (22J) 6. Dave Goble (20G) 7. Kassidy Kamicker (72B) 8. John Boring (58B) 9. Denny Nakutis (3) 10. Brandon Lott (47)-DNS 11. Eric Hamilton, Jr. (33X)-DNS 12. David Parker (2)-DNS 13. John Oaks (11S)-DNS 14. Bud Watson (25)-DNS 15. Dan Lepro (2)-DNS.
Car Count: 41
Feature Margin of Victory: 4.014 seconds
Feature Lap Leaders: John Mollick (1-14), Garret Paugh (15-30)
FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock” Qualifying Flight A ($100 for fast time) (Track record 18.849 by Mike Pegher, Jr. on 5/12/12): 1. 60M-John Mollick, 00:19.914[3]; 2. 14B-Ben Policz, 00:20.079[5]; 3. 90J-Michael Duritsky Jr, 00:20.303[4]; 4. 48F-Colton Flinner, 00:20.382[2]; 5. 1ST-Christian Schneider, 00:20.399[10]; 6. 136-David Pangrazio, 00:20.416[14]; 7. 1Z-Logan Zarin, 00:20.448[20]; 8. 11F-Ryan Frazee, 00:20.578[19]; 9. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling, 00:20.631[7]; 10. 2L-Dan Lepro, 00:20.709[8]; 11. 9R-Mike Reft, 00:20.720[18]; 12. 25S-Cory Sines, 00:20.818[9]; 13. 65D-Steve Dixon, 00:20.916[17]; 14. 11L-John Waters, 00:21.018[12]; 15. 25W-Bud Watson, 00:21.345[13]; 16. 14G-Jake Gunn, 00:21.364[6]; 17. 20G-Dave Goble, 00:21.409[21]; 18. 21J-Jamie Wrightsman, 00:21.442[1]; 19. 31-DJ Nakutis, 00:21.652[15]; 20. 22J-Josh Stoica, 00:21.989[11]; 21. 3N-Denny Nakutis, 00:22.254[16].
FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock” Qualifying Flight B: 1. 03-Garret Paugh, 00:20.158[18]; 2. 33-Josh Ferry, 00:20.193[6]; 3. 64K-Keith Barbara, 00:20.497[3]; 4. 09-Bill Kessler, 00:20.531[15]; 5. 10S-Joe Martin, 00:20.648[10]; 6. 12-Daryl Charlier, 00:20.866[12]; 7. 15-Chad Sines, 00:20.894[19]; 8. 14-John Watson, 00:20.987[7]; 9. 36B-Colby Beighey, 00:21.126[11]; 10. 12GX-Brian Goebel, 00:21.176[13]; 11. 45-Tim Shaffer, 00:21.256[8]; 12. 17G-Zach Gunn, 00:21.273[2]; 13. 27T-Tony White, 00:21.473[5]; 14. 11S-John Oaks, 00:21.479[16]; 15. 10-Zachary Kane, 00:21.608[14]; 16. 33X-Eric Hamilton Jr, 00:21.876[1]; 17. 58B-John Boring, 00:22.345[4]; 18. 47L-Brandon Lott, 00:22.451[9]; 19. 2-David Parker, 00:22.551[17]; 20. 72B-Kassidy Kamicker, 00:24.012[20].
FK Rod Ends Heat 1 (8 laps, Top 5 transfer to A, $25 to-win) 1. 60M-John Mollick[1]; 2. 90J-Michael Duritsky Jr[2]; 3. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling[5]; 4. 1ST-Christian Schneider[3]; 5. 9R-Mike Reft[6]; 6. 1Z-Logan Zarin[4]; 7. 65D-Steve Dixon[7]; 8. 25W-Bud Watson[8]; 9. 3N-Denny Nakutis[11]; 10. 20G-Dave Goble[9]; 11. 31-DJ Nakutis[10].
FK Rod Ends Heat 2 (8 laps, Top 5 transfer to A, $25 to-win) 1. 14B-Ben Policz[1]; 2. 136-David Pangrazio[3]; 3. 11F-Ryan Frazee[4]; 4. 48F-Colton Flinner[2]; 5. 14G-Jake Gunn[8]; 6. 11L-John Waters[7]; 7. 25S-Cory Sines[6]; 8. 21J-Jamie Wrightsman[9]; 9. 22J-Josh Stoica[10]; 10. 2L-Dan Lepro[5].
FK Rod Ends Heat 3 (8 laps, Top 5 transfer to A, $25 to-win) 1. 03-Garret Paugh[1]; 2. 64K-Keith Barbara[2]; 3. 10S-Joe Martin[3]; 4. 36B-Colby Beighey[5]; 5. 15-Chad Sines[4]; 6. 45-Tim Shaffer[6]; 7. 27T-Tony White[7]; 8. 10-Zachary Kane[8]; 9. 58B-John Boring[9]; 10. 2-David Parker[10].
FK Rod Ends Heat 4 (8 laps, Top 5 transfer to A, $25 to-win) 1. 33-Josh Ferry[1]; 2. 12-Daryl Charlier[3]; 3. 17G-Zach Gunn[6]; 4. 09-Bill Kessler[2]; 5. 14-John Watson[4]; 6. 72B-Kassidy Kamicker[10]; 7. 11S-John Oaks[7]; 8. 12GX-Brian Goebel[5]; 9. 33X-Eric Hamilton Jr[8]; 10. 47L-Brandon Lott[9].
Last Chance B Main 1 (10 laps, Top 2 transfer to A): 1. 1Z-Logan Zarin[1]; 2. 65D-Steve Dixon[3]; 3. 25S-Cory Sines[4]; 4. 11L-John Waters[2]; 5. 21J-Jamie Wrightsman[6]; 6. 20G-Dave Goble[9]; 7. 31-DJ Nakutis[11]; 8. 22J-Josh Stoica[8]; 9. 3N-Denny Nakutis[7]; 10. 25W-Bud Watson[5]-DNS; 11. 2L-Dan Lepro[10]-DNS.
Last Chance B Main 2 (10 laps, Top 2 transfer to A): 1. 45-Tim Shaffer[1]; 2. 10-Zachary Kane[5]; 3. 27T-Tony White[3]; 4. 12GX-Brian Goebel[6]; 5. 72B-Kassidy Kamicker[2]; 6. 47L-Brandon Lott[10]; 7. 58B-John Boring[7]; 8. 33X-Eric Hamilton Jr[8]; 9. 2-David Parker[9]; 10. 11S-John Oaks[4].
Dash (6 laps): 1. 60M-John Mollick[1]; 2. 136-David Pangrazio[4]; 3. 03-Garret Paugh[5]; 4. 12-Daryl Charlier[7]; 5. 90J-Michael Duritsky Jr[8]; 6. 14B-Ben Policz[6]; 7. 33-Josh Ferry[3]; 8. 64K-Keith Barbara[2]-DNS.
Pace Performance RUSH Sportsman Modifieds Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Weekly Series Event (15 laps): 1. CHAS WOLBERT (c3) 2. Tony Tatgenhorst (63T) 3. Kyle Martell (8) 4. Brandon Ritchey (17) 5. Chelsie Kriegisch (10) 6. Kole Holden (2) 7. Ayden Cipriano (5c) 8. Jessica Kriegisch (63).
RUSH Racing Series is brought to you by Pace Performance together with Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC along with the support of Hoosier Tire, Bilstein Shocks, Sunoco Race Fuels, Bazell Race Fuels, Insinger Performance, MSD Performance, Holley Performance Products, Hovis Auto & Truck Supply, FK Rod Ends, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Jones Racing Products, TBM Brakes, Performance Bodies & Parts, Racing Electronics, Dirt Defender, Wrisco Industries, Frankland Racing Supply, Landrum Performance Spring, Ontime Body & Graphic, Trailer-Alarms.com, Zarin Truck & Automotive, Sherwood Wheels, Alternative Power Sources, Precise Racing Products, Lincoln Electric, Velocita-USA, Classic Ink USA, CrateInsider.com, and Wedge Motorsports.
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 and fax is 724-964-0604. The RUSH Racing Series website is www.rushracingseries.com. Like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/rushlatemodels and follow us on Twitter @RUSHLM.
Article Credit: Mike Leone
