Excitement Builds For ‘Battle Of The Bay’ To Kick Off 2018 Rush LM Season

Story By: MIKE LEONE / RUSH RACING SERIES – PULASKI, PA – With the month of April now here, the countdown is on for the inaugural “Battle of the Bay” Speedweek featuring four races to kick-off the 2018 Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC RUSH Dirt Late Model Touring Series season April 18-21 at Delaware, Georgetown, Potomac and Winchester Speedways.

The Speedweek will get underway on Wednesday the 18th at Delaware International Speedway followed by the short drive to Georgetown for Thursday night action before moving into the state of Maryland on Friday night at Potomac Speedway then wrapping up on Saturday at Virginia’s Winchester Speedway. Each event will be a “Marquee” distinction with $2,000 to-win. There will also be a $3,000 Speedweek point fund (see details below). And in addition, a $150 travel package will be available for each competing top 12 driver in 2017 Sweeney Tour points. Driver must compete in at least two events including the first race of Speedweek to be eligible.

Pit notes and agendas with additional information have been created for each event. Drivers should make themselves aware of all pertinent information and also be aware of all RUSH Technical Rules, which are available on the website.

Delaware: https://www.rushlatemodels.com/DelawareAgenda041818.pdf. Tires and both RUSH 91 and Sunoco 110 will be available.
Georgetown: https://www.rushlatemodels.com/GeorgetownAgenda041918.pdf. Tires and both RUSH 91 and Sunoco 110 will be available.
Potomac: https://www.rushlatemodels.com/PotomacAgenda042018.pdf. Tires and Sunoco 110 will be available.
Winchester: https://www.rushlatemodels.com/WinchesterAgenda042118.pdf. Tires and Sunoco 110 will be available.

“The Mid-Atlantic racers have really been clamoring to have the ability to compete in Touring Series events,” continued Emig. “These racers are a big part of our overall program, but it’s difficult for them to make it to most of our events. This went from one show at Winchester to the other three tracks wanting to join in and make a Speedweek out of it. Now to have four shows in their backyard to open the season is quite a big deal. The response has been tremendous from racers from all over our region; in fact, we’ve talked with racers from Canada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia that will be joining racers of course from Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.”

Three of the four tracks have already completed Sweeney Weekly Series events. Amanda Whaley won the Georgetown opener on March 16, while defending Weekly Series Champion, Logan Roberson, swept the March 30-31 weekend events at Potomac and Winchester. The Winchester event featured 27 cars for their opener.

The Delaware and Georgetown shows will mark the first ever Sweeney Tour events in the state of Delaware. A total of five Sweeney Tour Mid-Atlantic events have been completed all-time in the history of RUSH with Rick Singleton sweeping the events at Potomac and Winchester in 2014, while Walker Arthur did the same in 2015. The last completed Sweeney Tour event in the Mid-Atlantic was on June 13, 2015 when Allen Brannon won the “Crate Racin’ USA Nationals”. Due to some scheduling conflicts, no events were scheduled in the Mid-Atlantic in 2016. The Sweeney Tour was scheduled to open the 2017 season at Winchester, but rain forced the cancellation.

Feature Payoffs: 1. $2,000 2. $1,000 3. $650 4. $550 5. $470 6. $435 7. $410 8. $370 9. $340 10. $310 11. $280 12. $270 13. $260 14. $250 15. $240 16. $230 17. $220 18-24. $210.

Non-Qualifier Payoffs: 1. $175 2. $150 3. $140 4. $135 5. $130 6. $125 7. $120 8. $115 9. $110 10-24. $105. Tow $100.

“Battle of the Bay” Speedweek Point Fund ($3,000*): 1. $1,000 2. $500 3. $350 4. $225 5. $200 6. $180 7. $150 8. $140 9. $130 10. $125. (Must be a RUSH member. A minimum of three events must be completed or will be pro-rated with two events being completed. No point fund if only one event is completed.)

Delaware International Speedway is a 1/2-mile track located at 37854 Sussex Highway, Delmar, DE 19940. DIS is located on a 125 acre Motorsports Complex which house’s three racing facilities in one. The Speedway will celebrate their 48th consecutive year, when it opens in April of 2018. For more information on DIS, check out their website at www.delawareracing.com. The track office number is 302-846-3911. You can like their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DelawareRacing and follow them on Twitter @delawareracing.

Georgetown Speedway is a 1/2-mile clay oval located at 24505, 24513 S. Dupont Blvd, Georgetown, DE 19947. Deyo signed a three-year lease that runs through 2019 and improvements continue at the Sussex County track, which hosted its first race in 1950. The speedway operates on a special-events-only schedule with high-profile programs from March through October. For more information on Georgetown, check out their website at www.thegeorgetownspeedway.com. You can like their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/GeorgetownSpeedway and follow them on Twitter @thegtownspdwy.

Potomac Speedway is a high-banked 3/8-mile dirt track located on Route 234 at 27963 Budds Creek Road, Mechanicsville, MD 20659. The track first opened in 1973, and is located about an hour south of Washington D.C and Baltimore. For information, check out their website at www.potomacspeedway.com or call 301-481-8855. You can like their Facebook at www.facebook.com/PotomacSpdwy and follow them on Twitter @PotomacSpdwy.

Winchester Speedway is also a high-banked 3/8-mile dirt track located just off Route 50 at 950 Airport Road Winchester, VA 22604. The track first opened in 1936 under the name of Airport Speedway. The track has been home to the Winchester 200, a major Super Late Model event, since 1963! For more information, check out their website at www.winchestervaspeedway.com or call 301-481-8855. You can like their Facebook at www.facebook.com/wincvaspeedway and follow them on Twitter @Wincvaspeedway.