News Director 
Story By: STEVEN OVENS – WOODHULL RACEWAY – WOODHULL, NY – The first of several big announcements regarding the 2019 season at Woodhull Raceway has been released. Crate Late Models are here to stay, with the addition of the RUSH Sanction for 2019 competition.
Rumors swirled at the end of the 2018 season that Crate Late Model racing at Woodhull would end. But with numbers picking up toward the end of the season and a flurry of phone calls and messages from racers in the local area, including at the November rules meeting, Ted White has decided to push all of his Crate Late Model chips to the center of the table.
“These guys have made a commitment to us by building these cars and getting others on board to join the class and we are going to put our full effort behind them for 2019 and likely beyond,” said White last week.
“It’s important for the Late Model racers in our area to know that this isn’t a ‘one more year and we’re done’ kind of deal. Local racers felt that the RUSH sanctioned weekly racing series might help so we are going to give it a shot.”
In years past since making the change from 360 Late Models to Crate Late Models, the track had been unable to secure a sanction from RUSH for their Late Model program. After recent talks with the folks from RUSH at the Syracuse Motorsports Show, a deal was struck to align RUSH with ‘New York’s Toughest Bullring.”
“Vicky is committed to making our program strong from a sanctioning perspective and in the end our racers will win,” noted White.
Crate Late Model racing is here to stay at Woodhull Raceway and 2019 is shaping up to be the best season for this division to date. As the RUSH rules are updated for 2019, an updated rulebook will be uploaded to the Woodhull Raceway rules page. Stay tuned for updates from the ‘tech barn.’
“We’re glad to be able to bring Woodhull under the RUSH banner,” stated RUSH Director Vicki Emig. “Many of their weekly racers have asking for the RUSH sanction at Woodhull the last two years. This will now allow their racers to take part in the weekly RUSH programs. With the RUSH sanction, we expect some other racers to now race at Woodhull which should boost their car count.”
RUSH member racers will now be able to participate at Woodhull on a weekly basis and be eligible for all of the programs including the Sweeney Weekly Series Championship, the Pace Performance “Summer Chase”, and the “Futures Cup” for those eligible racers. Member racers will battle for the “Track Pack Bonus” with $300 going to the driver that accumulates the most RUSH points at Woodhull, $200 for second, $150 for third, $100 for fourth, and $50 for fifth over and above all other Championship monies.
Steve LeBarron, Jason Knowles and Kurt Stebbins look to be pre-season favorites for the 2019 championship. LeBarron has come out the victor for the past two seasons, with the race coming down to razor-thin chases with Stebbins in 2017 and Knowles in 2018.
The annual Arnot Mall Car Show in Horseheads, NY is planned for St. Patrick’s Day weekend, March 15th, 16th and 17th. More information on the mall show and the 2019 schedule and returning sponsors will be forthcoming during the offseason.
