By Mike Leone
(Pulaski, PA)…With several speedways throughout western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and western New York region recently releasing their 2026 schedules and special events, the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Sprint Car racers will be preparing throughout the off-season to compete in what will be the most impressive schedule of events in the division’s nine-year history!
Anchored by weekly Friday Night racing at Tri-City Raceway Park (Franklin, PA), the RUSH Sprint Cars will visit an additional five speedways throughout three states in 2026 including Sharon Speedway (Hartford, OH), Lernerville Speedway (Sarver, PA) Michaels Mercer Raceway Park (Mercer, PA), Pittsburgh PA Motor Speedway (Imperial, PA), and Stateline Speedway (Busti, NY). All of the speedways are located within an approximate 75-mile radius creating an excellent situation for racers to chase their lucrative $5,000 to-win $20,000+ Billy’s Garage Weekly Series Championship points fund.
Highlighting the season will see the RUSH Sprint Cars showcased an unprecedented five times on a national level in conjunction with many of the region’s major sprint car events. They will join the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars at Sharon on May 2, the All Star Circuit of Champions at Stateline on August 7 and Mercer on October 2, and for the first time ever with the USAC National Sprint Car Series part of Lernerville ‘s two-day “Commonwealth Clash” September 11-12!
The RUSH Sprints will join up with the FAST on Dirt Sprint Series at least three times including their $10,000 to-win event at Pittsburgh on July 11. Also, the RUSH Sprints will be part of Western PA Sprint Speedweek during the bookend events at Mercer and Tri-City along with traditional events such as the “Sprint Spectacular” and the season-ending “Steel City Stampede” at Lernerville plus for the first time ever at Mercer’s “Little Guy Nationals”!
Speaking of Mercer, the RUSH Sprints will be on the schedule 10 times in 2026 following an impressive debut in September at the 3/8-mile legendary track. Mercer will be celebrating its 75th anniversary season, which was home for traditional, non-wing Sprint Car racing from the later 1960s into the 1970s before winged racing became the norm.
A large portion of the 2026 schedule will be streamed live. DIRTVision will stream all eight of Sharon’s events. FloRacing will stream the All Star and USAC events. Dirt.tv will handle the streaming for all of Lernerville’s events. The Cushion will stream select events at Pittsburgh and Tri-City.
“To have the RUSH Sprint Cars part of many of our region’s major Sprint Car events speaks volumes to quality and level of competition as well as the excitement these cars provide for the fans,” stated RUSH Director Vicki Emig. “It’s not uncommon at RUSH events to see veteran Sprint Car racers mixing it up lap after lap with some of the best up and coming young sprint car talent in the region with many nights not having the winner determined until the last corner of the last lap! We’re really excited to have such strong support from the regional promoters who have helped us put together our best schedule to date for the RUSH Sprint Cars, which helps reinforce the continued forward momentum of the division!”
The RUSH Sprint Car’s founding concept of providing a true “cost containment” sprint car package, with its key components being the Chevrolet Performance 602 crate engine, Bilstein sealed/spec shocks, and Hoosier spec tires, has never wavered throughout the division’s nine-year of existence.
Today, the RUSH Sprint Car division is still considered to be one of, if not, the most cost-effective way for a racer to compete in a full-size race car. The division continues to attract racers from across the spectrum from veterans to up and coming young guns that continuously produce old school, wheel-to-wheel non-wing sprint car racing at its finest!
Chad Ruhlman captured five $5,000 titles (2018-2019, 2021-2023). Jeremy Weaver won the championship during the shortened the 2020 COVID-19 season for Ted Hull. John Mollick won his first title in 2024 for car owner Scott Clever. And this past season saw Blaze Myers win the $5,000 Billy’s Garage Weekly Series Championship for Hull- a 2025 Twin-State Auto Racing Hall of Fame Car Owner inductee.
Seasoned veterans such Arnie Kent, Gale Ruth, Jr., Zach Morrow, and Mollick, as well as others battle with numerous tremendously talented young racers that have ascended from the karting ranks into full-size race cars as with all RUSH divisions placing them on an equal platform of competition. The 2025 Russ King Racing “Futures Cup” class had a record nine participants led by 17-year-old champion Wyatt Long along with Ricky Tucker III, Cooper Fritz, Samantha Priest, Grayson Bayle, Lucas Roessner, Cooper Macormac, Jayden Shiffer, and Cullen Hutchison. Long also finished fifth in the Billy’s Garage Weekly Series points and won the non-winners race at Tri-City.
Perhaps 55-year-old Mollick, who has experienced success in all forms of dirt track racing including Super Late Models, “410” Sprint Cars, Big-Block Modifieds, RUSH Late Models, and more now finds his home with the RUSH Sprint Cars, said it best following his season ending win at Lernerville, “It’s a great class and will teach you how to drive any other type of race car. They are so hard to drive because they’re not down on the right front and have no aero; they’re just bars, tires, and driver. Once you learn what these cars want, keep working on them and become fast, it will carry you the rest of your career.”
The complete 2026 schedule will be released in the coming weeks.
The RUSH Racing Series is brought to you by Hovis Auto & Truck Supply together with Born2Run Lubricants along with the support of Hoosier Tire, Rick Hendrick City Chevrolet, Sunoco Race Fuels, Bazell Race Fuels, Insinger Performance, Flynn’s Tire, Gunter’s Honey, MSD Performance, Holley Performance Products, FK Rod Ends, Billy’s Garage, Joseph J. Oliva Attorney at Law, Schoenfeld Headers, Jones Racing Products, Landrum Performance Springs, Russ King Racing, 3C Graphix, Dave Poske’s Performance Parts, Velocita-USA, Wieland Metal Services, Frankland Racing Supply, Seal-Tite Paving & Excavating, Dusted Steak Seasoning, Ontime Body & Graphic, D&V Jewelers, AERO Race Wheels, Heritage Wine Cellars, Precise Racing Products, Racing Electronics, Design Creations, and Competition Crate Parts.
E-mail can be sent to the RUSH Racing Series at info@rushracingseries.com and mail to 4368 Route 422, Pulaski, PA 16143. Office phone is 724-964-9300. The RUSH Sprint Car website is www.rushsprintcars.com. Like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/rushsprintcars and follow us on X (formerly known as Twitter) @RUSHSprints.