Local Racing
Saturday’s Jook George Steel City Classic At PPMS Now Richest Race In RUSH History
IMPERIAL, PA (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Saturday night’s “Jook George Steel City Classic” is now the richest race in RUSH history with over $10,000 to-win up for grabs in Saturday night’s 30th annual event.
Event coordinator Branden Lockwich told Pittsburgh Racing Nowthat presenting sponsorship from Zarin Truck & Auto and additional contributions from the George Family, Miley Motor Sports, FK Rod Ends, and others are making the event the biggest payday in the tri-state area for the RUSH Late Model Touring Series.
“This year I was blessed to have Jim Zarin, who is a longtime racer at the track, and his son Logan now races in the class,” said Lockwich. “He approached me and came on and said he wanted to be the presenting sponsor, so that kind of got the ball rolling and got me thinking maybe we can get it to ten-thousand this year.”
“On behalf of the Jook George family, we wanted to do something extra special this year since it’s the 30th anniversary for what used to be called the ‘Fall Classic’ at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway,” expressed Dana George. “Jook and his #10 race team looked forward to this race every year so we have contributed additional funds so that the first-place prize money will be a grand total of $10,010!”
There is even more money on the line for the race-winner. Lockwich said PPMS owners Miley Motor Sports also came up with an additional bonus if the winner contributes to the event.
“We wanted to do something to reward the teams and drivers that support this race year-in and year-out,” said Lockwich. “We came up with the idea of a thousand-dollar bonus, so if Jim Smith wins the ‘Jook George Memorial’ and contributes as far as a lap sponsor, he will win that $1,000 bonus making his payday $11,010, which is pretty good for that class on a one-day race.”
“Miley Motor Sports is ecstatic about the 30th edition of the RUSH Dirt Late Model Series ‘Jook George Classic’, which is set-up to be the biggest and best ever to honor our great friend of racing, Jook George,” said PPMS promoter Matt Miley. “We can’t thank Branden, the RUSH team, and all who have contributed enough. It’s a win, win, win, win – for racers, fans, sponsors and the Speedway.”
RUSH announced that payouts for positions 6-26 in the Feature have been increased along with the entire non-qualifier payoff plus 6-Dash positions will now pay. There will also be a “$500 Club” drawing for the top 15 in PPMS Points where 5-drivers will receive $100 each.
“I started this in 2015 just figuring it would be a one-time deal but it just kind of grew every year,” said Lockwich. “I’ve been blessed because a lot of these guys and gals that sponsor, they’ve been with me since I took over in 2015.”
Lockwich and Miley are expecting a huge field attempting to qualify for the 50-lap feature.
“I would look for close to 50 if not more cars,” said Lockwich. “Last year the race was $5,010 to-win and we had 51. I’d say we’re looking at over 50-cars from 5-or-6-States, maybe some guys from Canada.”
“It’s really amazing how this event has grown and how so many people have gotten behind it to make this all possible,” expressed RUSH Director Vicki Emig. “We can’t thank the George Family, Miley Motor Sports, Branden and so many others for their amazing contributions, and allow us to present this as a RUSH Late Model Touring Series event. To think that one driver has the ability to win well over $11,000 is pretty incredible.”
Tickets are available. For more information you can visit the tracks website at www.ppms.com or call 412-279-7223. The track phone number on race day is 724-695-3363 or 724-695-0393.
SARVER, PA (April 26, 2024) AJ Flick picked up his first Peoples Natural Gas Sprint Car win of 2024 at Lernerville Speedway on Friday night and Michael Norris made it back-to-back wins in the Late Model Division.
Flick started fourth on the grid and passed leader and pole-sitter Carl Bowser using the bottom side on lap 8 while Bowser worked the high side. Bowser wouldn’t go away easily, pulling side-by-side with Flick at the halfway mark. Flick eventually was able to hold Bowser at bay, building a three-second lead as he encountered lap traffic.
A caution flag with five-laps-to-go bunched up the field but Flick got an impressive restart and kept the field at bay to pick up the victory. Bowser finished second and Michael Bauer finished third after starting eighth.
“I didn’t expect it to slick off as much as it did,” Flick said about the track conditions. “It was odd because it wasn’t really wide but yet the actual racing groove was getting slick and starting to come in already. I missed it in the heat race, but come feature time it seems like we’re starting to dial it in a bit more.”
Norris started 10th and put on a clinic coming through the field to make it two straight at ‘The action Track.’
“Luck was on our side tonight,” Norris said. “I always seem to have late race cautions. Thanks to John Garvin for leaving me a lane, he got me pretty good on that last restart but I knew as long as I could be even with him going into turn one, the top was so good and it was.”
Erick Rudolph made the trip to Sarver from Ransomville, New York and it paid off. Rudolph took home the feature victory in the Diehl Automotive Big Block Modified main event.
“There’s something about Lernerville Speedway,” said Rudolph. “It’s one of my favorite tracks in the country and anytime we get a chance to come down here it’s always something we look forward to.”
Tyler Dietz proved to be the class of the field once again, garnering his first feature win in the Millerstown Pic-A-Part Pro Stock main event. Dietz survived a late race restart and held off front row starter Tim Bish and a hard charging Chris Schneider to grab the checkered flag.
“I kind of thought that he (Bish) was going to take the bottom,” Dietz stated, remarking about the crucial restart. “I was hoping he would go high because I think I was better up high but I just never got the chance to go up there.”
PITTSBURGH, PA (April 24, 2025) The Historic Stock Car Racing Association (HSCRA) is joining the lineup of racing groups at this year’s Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix (PVGP) Historics at Pittsburgh International Race Complex. This is the first time the HSCRA will race in the PVGP Historics 3-day weekend, July 26 to 28, 2024.
“We are thrilled to welcome the HSCRA to our 2024 event,” said Dan DelBianco, Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. “Their participation not only broadens the appeal of the PVGP Historics but also aligns with our mission to celebrate all automotive history. This is a fantastic opportunity for race fans of all types to witness the power and beauty of historic stock cars in action.”
The HSCRA, renowned for its commitment to preserving and celebrating the history of stock car racing, will bring a new dimension to the PVGP Historics. The group is open to all stock cars that ran in one of the major NASCAR series.
“The HSCRA is anxious to bring NASCAR to Pittsburgh,” said Carlus Gann of HSCRA. “We look forward to making this a regular stop on our tour. Western Pennsylvania has deep roots in racing, and building a world-class track at Pitt Race in Beaver County makes it a perfect fit.”
The most popular class is Generation 4 Cup cars built for the 1992-2007 seasons. During this era, teams built a few cars for the two road courses on the schedule.
“We are hoping for a full field of meticulously restored stock cars,” added Chris Evans of the HSCRA. “Former NASCAR winners like Joe Nemechek and a competitive lineup of today’s top historic stock car drivers will be on hand.”
Gary Moore, a seasoned participant in over a dozen PVGP races, knows the intricacies and challenges of the Pitt Race track. Moore will be showcasing his 1969 Mercury Cyclone (right), victoriously driven by Cale Yarborough, exclaiming, “It’s quite the adventure behind the wheel!”
The HSCRA will have a practice session in the morning and a qualifying race in the afternoon on Friday, July 26. A morning and afternoon practice session on Saturday, July 27. Sunday, July 28 will see the HSCRA have a short morning warm-up prior to being one of the featured Sunday afternoon races.
The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix Motorsport Festival features two weekends of racing action. The first weekend is the PVGP Historics at Pittsburgh International Race Complex. The second weekend is racing through a 2.33-mile road course set on the streets of Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park. In addition to the race weekends, the PVGP stages car shows, parties, road rallies, and a black-tie formal. The PVGP’s mission is to provide residential care, treatment and support for people with autism and intellectual/developmental disabilities – donating $6.7 million to charity since 1983.
IMPERIAL, PA (April 20, 2024) Aliquippa’s Tim Shaffer started on the pole position and survived several caution flags and restarts to win the Herb Scott Memorial Saturday night at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway (PPMS).
“Boy I earned that one huh,” said Shaffer following the race. “These wins just keep getting better and better. Herb Scott won a lot of features and I have a long way to go to catch him, but my career went on the road and it became hard to win races. It’s kind of back home racing now for me and it’s a lot of fun.”
Brock Pinkerous and Dave Hess Jr. staged an epic battle over the last several laps with Pinkerous scoring an emotional runner-up finish.
“Congrats to Tim on the win,” said Pinkerous, who hails from Ellenville, NY. “He’s really good at this track. Him and Dave are legends around this area. It’s really cool to battle with them; they raced me clean and I raced them clean. Even though we didn’t win tonight, this is for my uncle tonight who passed away about a month ago. I hope he’s watching over us tonight, and I really love you uncle Chris.”
“We were really good on those restarts,” said Hess, the 39-year-old Waterford, Pa. driver. “A little tweak to the car and maybe a gear change and we could have had something for the leaders. Once those two (Shaffer and Pinkerous) got rolling, they were a little better than I was.”
Kyle Lukon finished fifth and Logan Roberson rounded out the Top 5.
A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 45-Tim Shaffer[1]; 2. 555-Brock Pinkerous[4]; 3. 44-Dave Hess Jr[21]; 4. 184-Kyle Lukon[5]; 5. 17R-Logan Roberson[19]; 6. 10S-Joe Martin[16]; 7. 36-Cody Dawson[7]; 8. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling[10]; 9. 42-Daryl Charlier[6]; 10. 184C-Justin Chance[13]; 11. 21J-Jim Rasey[24]; 12. 184P-Cole Petrelle[20]; 13. 77-Tom Klein[23]; 14. 57-Charlie Sandercock[11]; 15. 36B-Colby Beighey[15]; 16. 18-Mike Wonderling[25]; 17. 29-Ryan Hare[17]; 18. 60H-Brian Huchko[22]; 19. 9R-Mike Reft[14]; 20. 25-Zachary Kane[9]; 21. 72B-Kassidy Kamicker[18]; 22. 75-Jared Miley[3]; 23. 60-Brandon Burgoon[2]; 24. 14AJ-AJ Miller[8]; 25. 14G-Jake Gunn[12]
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