Stateline & Eriez Speedway Join Forces To Grow Rush Racing Series Stock Cars In ’21

Story By: MIKE LEONE / RUSH RACING SERIES – PULASKI, PA – The Pace Performance RUSH Stock Car Series together with Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC is pleased to announce the addition of Stateline and Eriez Speedways to the recently announced Series.

The two well-known speedways, located just 40 miles from each other, will be a catalyst for the growth of the division throughout the northern end of the region. Dog Hollow Speedway was announced on November 23 as the flagship speedway operating on Friday nights.

With now three regional facilities taking part in the RUSH Stock Car program, the inaugural Weekly Series Championship will increase nearly $2,500 going from a $5,000 10-position paying point fund to a $7,500 15-position paying point fund. The 2021 champion will now take home $2,000!

In addition, RUSH will post an additional $1,250 minimum point fund for a Mini Series of events between the speedways with dates to be announced. The Mini Series will include approximately six higher paying events that will offer cumulative points towards the five-position point fund that pays $500 to the champion. The Mini Series events will also count towards the Weekly Series Championship.

A $200 to-win “Futures Cup” Championship will also be posted for eligible teenage racers. Also, as is the case with the other RUSH divisions, a “Manufacturers Night” presented by MSD Performance will take place at Dog Hollow on a date to be announced where thousands of dollars of valuable product giveaways will be distributed.

The RUSH Stock Cars will look like “stock cars” and be powered by Chevrolet Performance 602 crate engines on sealed/spec Bilstein Shocks, RUSH 91 pump fuel, and Hoosier H500 8″ tires. Those four key “cost containment” elements have already proved very successful in the RUSH Sportsman Modified and Sprint Car divisions, and are now expected to drive the same results in the RUSH Stock Car division. Questions on these components, rules, and membership should be directed to RUSH. Dog Hollow has already seen a tremendous response since the initial announcement was made; Speedway officials feel there could be 10-12 cars on opening night.

“Dave (Alexander) contacted me months ago with his thoughts on a crate ‘stock car’ division and they were honestly similar to what Dog Hollow’s Mark McClellan and Kyle Smith were thinking,” explained RUSH Director Vicki Emig. “Dog Hollow has forged the path and now with Stateline and Eriez, historically known as strong Saturday-Sunday night partners in the north, we couldn’t have asked for a better trio of speedways to begin developing this division. I think the timing is perfect for the RUSH Stock Cars, and we expect the division to grow very quickly; and we continue to be in discussions with other promoters about the division.”

Stateline will run the RUSH Stock Cars weekly on Saturday nights in 2021 beginning with a feature only until 13 or more cars are present, while Eriez will run the division bi-weekly on Sunday nights alternating with their Pro Stock division.

“The region needs an entry level ‘stock car’ division,” stated soon-to-be third year Eriez owner-promoter Dave Alexander, who also features the RUSH Late Models weekly. “While the Pro Stock division has always featured good racing at Eriez, there is no affordable entry level division to get into racing outside of the Mini Stocks. And while our Mini Stock class continues to grow, we’d like to offer this option to get into an affordable full-size race car.”

“I had been thinking about coming up with some entry level Stock Car division even before RUSH made their announcement,” added Alexander. “The RUSH package makes sense by keeping the rules package uniform and they supplement it with the point funds, Manufacturers Night, teching, and more. Raceway 7 also runs the Pro Stocks bi-weekly. We’ll work with them so the Pro Stock racers have ample nights to race. By announcing the RUSH Stock Cars now it still gives those interested a chance to get a car ready for the upcoming season. We realize it will be a building process, but felt it’s better to begin now than possibly wait until 2022.”

“There’s no question there needs to be an affordable entry level, full-bodied division for regional racers,” stated Stateline owner-promoter Jean Scott, whose track also runs the RUSH Late Models an RUSH Pro Mods weekly. “We need to give young racers an opportunity to affordably get into a full-size race car as well as preserve current racers, who are struggling financially to be competitive. We feel the RUSH Stock Cars division is the answer for both of these situations and need to start it sooner than later to develop this concept. Jim (Scott) has always wanted to see Stock Cars return to looking like ‘stock cars’, which is what the RUSH body package addresses.”

Chevrolet Performance 602 Stock Car divisions continue to flourish across the country with strong weekly car counts by providing an affordable and exciting option for those wanting to participate in a stock car division. A tentative set of rules, which closely mirrors several other prominent national sanctioning bodies, is available at the following link: https://rushstockcars.com/2021%20Stock%20Car%20Rules.pdf. Please contact the RUSH Office for any rules questions.

RUSH membership is $125, which makes driver eligible for the points funds and Manufacturers Night. Membership also includes a $100,000 excess participant accident insurance policy when competing in a RUSH-sanctioned event.