Dirt on Dirt - Whitener wins RUSH's $10,000 Emig Memorial

June 26

Lernerville Speedway,

Sarver, PA

Sanction: Pace Performance RUSH Racing Series (Bill Emig Memorial) - $10,000

Information provided by: Kevin Kovac and series reports (last updated June 27, 11:48 pm)

Whitener wins RUSH's $10,000 Emig Memorial

Bill Emig Memorial

Mark Whitener
Kyle Hardy
Joe Martin
Cody Overton
David Pangrazio
Michael Duritsky
Levi Crowl
Breyton Santee
Cory Sines
Michael Norris
Nick Davis
J.J. Mazur
Kurt Stebbins
Ahnna Parkhurst
Logan Zarin
Daryl Charlier
Bud Watson
Jason Genco
Jeremy Wonderling
Max Blair
John Waters
Kyle Lukon
Chub Frank
Josh Ferry
Justin Kann

presented by

Photo slideshow Feature highlights

Rick Neff

Mark Whitener holds up his $10,000 check Saturday at Lernerville.

What won the race: Taking the lead on the eighth lap, sixth-starting Mark Whitener of Middleburg, Fla., paced the final 42 circuits and cruised to win the RUSH-sanctioned Bill Emig Memorial presented by Hovis Auto & Truck Supply at Lernerville Speedway on Saturday, earning $10,000. The victory came in Whitener's first-ever start in a RUSH-sanctioned Crate Late Model event.

Quotable: "I was riding until I saw (Hardy) pull up alongside me and saw the white flag and figured (oh no!), I better get going," said the soon-to-be 40-year-old Whitener, who drove a Dirk Neal-owned car. "We had (harder tires) on and I shouldn't have been riding. I should have been balls to the wall like I was when I took the lead, then I calmed down."

Key notes: Whitener drove an XR1 Rocket car owned by retired state trooper Dirk Neal of Punxsutawney, Pa. The machine had been sitting unraced for three years until Neal asked Whitener, whose Big Frog Motorsports team spent the past week in Punxsutawney working out of Integra Shocks rep Brian Daugherty's shop, to debut it at Lernerville. ... After leading the first seven laps, polesitter Kyle Hardy of Stephens City, Va., settled for the runner-up position, 0.634 seconds behind Whitener. … Back-to-back defending event winner, Max Blair of Centerville, Pa., only completed 34 laps and finished 20th. ... Saturday's RUSH-sanctioned Crate Late Model feature, part of Lernerville’s World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series Firecracker 100 weekend, was slowed by two separate incidents and lasted 26 minutes, with 11 competitors completing all 50 laps. ... The race, honoring the late car owner and father of series director Vicki Emig, has been held previously at Hickory, Mercer and Tri-City speedways. Emig was a Semi-Late and six-cylinder modified car owner from 1969 until his passing in 1990, winning more than 300 features and multiple track championships.

On the move: Levi Crowl of Clear Spring, Md., started 20th and finished seventh.

Winner's sponsors: Whitener drove a Dirk Neal-owned Rocket Chassis sponsored by CRW Home Center, Brackman Chevrolet-Buick and Huey Brothers Inc.

Points chase: Kyle Hardy (582 points) of Stephens City, Va., leads Jeremy Wonderling (554), Joe Martin (531), Kyle Lukon (524) and Michael Duritsky (498).

Current weather: Clear, 81°F

Car count: 54

Fast qualifier: Joe Martin

Time: 18.599 seconds

Polesitter: Kyle Hardy

Dash winner: Kyle Hardy

Heat race winners: Jeremy Wonderling, Kyle Hardy, Mark Whitener, Joe Martin, Max Blair, Michael Duritsky

Consolation race winners: Michael Norris, Levi Crowl, Daryl Charlier

Provisional starters: Bud Watson

Next series race: July 2, Dog Hollow Speedway (Strongstown, PA) $3,000

Editor's note: Results and race details are unofficial.

From staff and series reports

SARVER, Pa. — Results from Pace Performance RUSH Series action for the Bill Emig Memorial, highlighted by Saturday's $10,000-to-win main event:

Feature

Taking the lead on the eighth lap, sixth-starting Mark Whitener of Middleburg, Fla., paced the final 42 circuits and cruised to win the RUSH-sanctioned Bill Emig Memorial presented by Hovis Auto & Truck Supply at Lernerville Speedway on Saturday, earning $10,000.

Saturday's consolation results

(12 laps; top 2 transfer)

First consolation finish: Michael Norris, Nick Davis, Trevor Collins, Colby Beighey, Zach Gunn, Chad Sines, Zachary Kane, Gary Troyer, Steve Scaife Jr., Joe Zulisky, Zach Morrow, Logan Jaquay.

Second consolation finish: Levi Crowl, Jason Genco, Jared Keeney, Ryan Frazee, Andrew Koenig, Chuck Recker, Braeden Dillinger, Bill Kessler, Chuck Kimble, Matt Latta, Robert Rohrer (DNS) Joey Zambotti III.

Third consolation finish: Daryl Charlier, Josh Ferry, Joe Long, Jake Gunn, Brian Kotarski, Joe Pete, Carl Eldridge, Josh Stoica, Tom Duratz, Rob Caffaro (DNS) Noah Brunell, Bud Watson.

Friday's dash results

Finish: Kyle Hardy, Joe Martin, Max Blair, Michael Duritsky, Jeremy Wonderling, Mark Whitener.

Friday's heat results

(10 laps; top three transfer)

First heat finish: Jeremy Wonderling, Kurt Stebbins, Kyle Lukon, Chad Sines, Michael Norris, Colby Beighey, Zach Gunn, Zach Morrow, Zachary Kane.

Second heat finish: Kyle Hardy, Ahnna Parkhurst, Logan Zarin, Nick Davis, Trevor Collins, Gary Troyer, Logan Jaquay, Steve Scaife Jr., Joe Zulisky.

Third heat finish: Mark Whitener, Cory Sines, J.J. Mazur, Jason Genco, Levi Crowl, Chuck Kimble, Joey Zambotti III, Ryan Frazee, Chuck Recker.

Fourth heat finish: Joe Martin, David Pangrazio, Brayton Santee, Matt Latta, Braeden Dillinger, Robert Rohrer, Bill Kessler, Jared Keeney, Andrew Koenig.

Fifth heat finish: Max Blair, Cody Overton, Justin Kann, Joe Long, Josh Ferry, Rob Coffaro, Jake Gunn, Tom Duratz, Carl Eldridge.

Sixth heat finish: Michael Duritsky, John Waters, Chub Frank, Daryl Charlier, Bud Watson, Brian Kotarski, Josh Stoica, Joe Pete, Noah Brunell.