By Mike Leone
(Hartford, OH)-It’s been quite a year for veteran racer John Mollick in the RUSH Sprint Cars. Mollick entered the 2024 season with seven career wins in the division, but had never won before at Sharon. That certainly has changed this year as Mollick went unchallenged on Saturday night for his third victory at the Hartford, Ohio oval and has more than doubled his career win total circuit wide with his eighth checkered flag of 2024! The 20-lap Billy’s Garage feature went caution-free in 6:52.602.
“We’ve been tweaking and tweaking on this car just for here,” revealed the 53-year-old Toronto, Ohio standout. “We’ve been trying some different things and it’s really been coming around to where it’s really getting into this slick track. DRC builds a good car and this is a really good one. I’m really happy with the car tonight. I knew it was Twin-State Club Night and I’ve won a lot of races on their night so I knew I had to get another one tonight. I have to thank my car owner Scott (Clever), who keeps this thing going and we’ve been going good all year.”
Blaze Myers and Trent Marshall led the field to green with third starting Mollick charging into the lead on the opening lap. Without a caution, Mollick set sail and took the checkered flag first by 5.260 seconds in the Scott Clever-owned, Duda Cable Construction/Pro-X Pressure Washing/ RV Coleman Trucking/Peluso Roofing/Dutch Run Coal/Salina Inn/Fox’s Pizza Den/JET Engines-sponsored #4J to maintain his lead in RUSH’s $5,000 to-win Sunbelt Rentals Weekly Series Championship. Mollick has yet to finish worse than second in any of the six RUSH Sprint features this season. It was Mollick’s fourth career Sharon win as he also won in the Big-Block Modifieds in 2017.
Fifth starting Gale Ruth, Jr. was third. Brent Rhebergen went eighth to fourth to earn the $100 Summit Racing Equipment Hard Charger gift card. Arnie Kent was fifth. Fifteen-year-old Sprint Car rookie Luke Mulichak, who leads RUSH’s Futures Cup points, went 10th to 6th. Marshall dropped from second to seventh at the finish as Bill Cunningham, Joe Buccola, and Ryan Fraley completed the top 10. Heat winners were Kent and Ruth over the 18-car field.
Billy’s Garage RUSH Sprint Cars (20 laps): 1. 4J-JOHN MOLLICK[3]; 2. 41-Blaze Myers[1]; 3. 24-Gale Ruth Jr[5]; 4. 68-Brent Rhebergen[8]; 5. 9-Arnie Kent[6]; 6. 55-Luke Mulichak[10]; 7. 17-Trent Marshall[2]; 8. 44C-Bill Cunningham[9]; 9. 5B-Joe Buccola[7]; 10. 12-Ryan Fraley[4]; 11. 23-Charlie Utsinger[11]; 12. 13K-Kevin Kaserman[16]; 13. 1E-Curt Emings[13]; 14. 16C-Amelia Clay[12]; 15. 19-Brad Blackshear[14]; 16. 43SR-Aden Boozell[17]; 17. 29-Brandon Shughart[15]; 18. 18-Brandon Fiedler[18].