Rush Racing Series Develops “Loyalty Program” For Sportsman In ’21; GM Crate Engine To Be Awarded
News Director 
Story By: MIKE LEONE / RUSH RACING SERIES – PULASKI, PA – After the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a blow to the 2020 Pace Performance RUSH Sportsman Modified together with Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC season, the Series is set to come out of the gates in 2021 with guns a’ blazing.
Not only will the Hovis Auto & Truck Weekly Series Championship see a 36% increase in the point fund from past seasons and an increased point fund for the second year of the Wedge Motorsports “Route 7 Rumble” Series, but now the Series is proud to announce a new “Loyalty Program” presented by new marketing partner Waterstone Mortgage of Hermitage.
One lucky RUSH Modified racer will win a complete race ready Chevrolet Performance 602 Sportsman Modified crate engine package (carb-to-pan) valued at $8,000+ from Pace Performance; this will be the most valuable product to ever be given away in the history of the RUSH Racing Series!
True to its name, the “Loyalty Program” presented by Waterstone Mortgage of Hermitage will reward loyalty. In order to be eligible for the engine giveaway, drivers must be a RUSH member and cannot compete in a non-RUSH sanctioned Sportsman Modified event the same night as a contested RUSH-sanctioned event throughout the 2021 season.
Eligible drivers competing in 25-49% of total completed RUSH events will receive one chance for the engine giveaway; eligible drivers competing in 50-74% of total completed RUSH events will receive four chances; eligible drivers competing in 75-99% of total completed RUSH events will receive eight chances; and any eligible drivers that compete in 100% of the total completed RUSH events will receive 10 chances!
“We’re always looking to be creative and keep things fresh by offering new programs to those that support us,” expressed RUSH Director Vicki Emig. “The 2021 season will mark year number eight for the RUSH Sportsman Modifieds and will be the biggest yet. With the Hovis Weekly Series Championship point fund increasing for the second time, the Wedge Motorsports ‘Route 7 Rumble’ Series increasing, the traditional Manufacturers Night that just saw well over $15,000 of valuable product distributed, and now the addition of the ‘Loyalty Program’ will make 2021 an exciting year.”
The engine package will be drawn at the season finale on October 16 at Lernerville Speedway’s “Steel City Stampede” by a Waterstone Mortgage representative. This will mark the first time since 2015 that an engine has been given away, and never a complete race ready (carb to pan) engine, which is valued at over $8,000! During the inaugural 2014 season, Jeremy Zufall won the engine giveaway presented by Sweeney/Pace, while current RUSH Sportsman Modified racer Kole Holden was the lucky recipient in 2015.
The promotion is made possible by Sara Cipriano, who is a Mortgage Loan Originator at the Waterstone Mortgage Hermitage, Pa. branch. Sara is the mother of 2020 Hovis Auto & Truck Supply “Futures Cup” Champion, Ayden Cipriano. The 14-year-old RUSH Mod racer from Hermitage recorded five top 5s and nine top 10s including a career best third at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway this past season! Ayden also finished sixth in both the Hovis Weekly Series Championship and the Wedge Motorsports “Route 7 Rumble” Series points!
“Sara recently contacted us about getting involved with the Series through Waterstone Mortgage,” explained Emig. “We wanted to add something unique, and felt this yearlong promotion for her was something the racers will really look forward to, and what a way for a loyal racer to end the year by winning a $8,000 package thanks to Waterstone Mortgage of Hermitage! Sara’s dad Wally Stearns was a loyal racer in the Mini Stocks during my ownership of Mercer Raceway Park, and now to have his daughter Sara and grandson Ayden involved with the RUSH Sportsman Modifieds is pretty special.”
Other RUSH corporate marketing partners who joined with Waterstone Mortgage and Pace Performance to complete the Chevrolet Performance 602 “race ready” engine package are the following: Holley Performance Products, MSD Performance, Schoenfeld Headers, and Jones Racing Products, as well as 955 Automotive, Ingram Engines, and Race 1.
For more than 20 years, Waterstone Mortgage has worked with families across the nation, helping them achieve their homeownership dreams. Waterstone Mortgage was founded in 2000 in suburban Milwaukee with a small 3-person team. By 2006, Waterstone Mortgage had grown to 58 employees in two states. In 2013, their corporate team relocated to their current Home Office in Pewaukee- a 56,000-square-foot facility. Over the years, Waterstone Mortgage has won a variety of top workplace awards and gained national recognition for their loan production.
