Max Blair reflects how he built his career from Rush Late Model Series to National stage

Column By:  Jeremy Perry  – RUSH DIRT LATE MODEL  SERIES – PULASK, PA – Long before the national spotlight and the grind of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, Max Blair was just trying to find a way to race. Back in 2008 that opportunity came through the Chevrolet Performance crate engine program in the Northeast under the direction of Vicki Emig and Mike Leone; something Blair doesn’t take lightly when looking back on his career. “It’s the only reason I could ever run my Late Model back then,” acknowledged the 36-year-old Blair. “I don’t even know if I would be racing today if it wasn’t for the crate stuff coming here when it did.” That foundation didn’t just give him a place to race; it gave him a future.

Blair’s early days weren’t filled with brand-new equipment or big budgets. In fact, his first crate car was built from parts of his father, Robbie Blair’s, wrecked cars. “My dad would wreck, and we’d take the best parts and build me something,” he said. “That first year, we won 10 races. Then we made enough money to get better parts, and the next year we won 18.”

That progression of winning, reinvesting, and improving became the blueprint for Blair. Eventually, he earned enough to buy his first car outright. Even then however he wasn’t doing it with top-tier equipment. Blair won the 2008 Northeast Touring Series Championship in a 2001 car, which he continued to race for years.

In the ensuing years, the wins and championships piled up. In 2013, Blair won $13,000 in RUSH Championship point fund monies. After focusing on Super Late Model racing in 2014, Blair returned to RUSH in 2015 and at the time captured what was a Series record $16,500 in championship point fund monies! Despite not racing RUSH full-time from 2016-2020, Blair added $34,600 in championship point fund monies over that five-year stretch.  In total, Blair captured more than $83,000 in championship point fund monies alone from Chevrolet Performance crate engine racing in the Northeast!

While winning RUSH Championships will always be meaningful to Blair, the biggest impact was what it allowed him to do next. “The point money from the RUSH Championships helped me start racing Super Late Models.  That financial stepping stone turned into an opportunity and that opportunity turned into a career.  Literally everything I’ve been able to accomplish would not have happened if I didn’t race crate cars first.”

One of the defining aspects of Blair’s rise was volume. When he committed to the RUSH Series he went all in. “I raced 80-90 times a year,” he said. “That grind of being on the road constantly prepared me for what I’m doing now.”

It wasn’t just about seat time.  Racing the full RUSH Touring schedule meant adapting to new tracks, new conditions, and new competition week after week. That experience still pays dividends for Blair today. “When you’re hitting 15 different tracks a year it prepares you for the regional and national levels. It definitely helped,” explained Blair.

Despite its affordability, Blair is quick to shut down the idea that RUSH Crate Late Model racing is easy. “There’s nothing easy about it by any stretch,” he acknowledged.  “The competition is good anywhere you go. Jumping back into a crate car today isn’t always simple. When you don’t race them often you just don’t get back in and remember how to do it- it’s different, it takes time.” That level of parity is exactly what makes RUSH so competitive.

Blair believes the concept behind crate racing isn’t just successful, it’s necessary. “It’s more affordable and I think it’s the direction racing is going,” he said. “We’ve also seen how fast the RUSH Sprints and Modifieds have grown.”  He offered a sobering reality about Super Late Model racing:  “Ninety percent of the Super Late Model field around here is one hurt motor away from being done for the season.” Tracks like Stateline and Eriez Speedways have sustained strong Super Late Model programs, but Blair sees crate racing as the long-term backbone of the sport.

Even with a demanding national schedule, Blair continues to return to RUSH events and not just out of obligation.

“I like it and enjoy doing it. It’s fun,” he said.  It’s also personal. Blair is the all-time RUSH Tour win leader with 36 victories ahead of Jeremy Wonderling who sits second with 30. “I take a lot of pride in that,” Blair added. But beyond the stats, it’s the people who keep him coming back. “The community for sure,” he said. “I’ve built a lot of friendships. Mikey Wonderling and I have become really close, and guys like Brad Hibbard with Race 1, whom I met through crate racing have become great friends.”

Blair is firm in his belief that weekly racing programs like RUSH are essential to the entire ecosystem of dirt track racing. “If weekly racing goes away, so does the interest,” he said. “The reason that national events draw big crowds is because of the local fans who follow it every week. Without a foundation like RUSH, the sport doesn’t grow- it fades.”

For young drivers considering where to start, Blair doesn’t hesitate. “It’s a great deal, it’s very competitive,” he said. “People think because it’s cheaper you can just spend money and be fast, but that’s not the case.”  In RUSH, talent still matters. And that’s exactly why RUSH continues to thrive under the leadership of Vicki Emig and Mike Leone. “They’ve done a great job policing things and keeping it fair,” Blair said. “That’s why it’s so strong here, compared to other areas.”

“It really means a lot to us that Max is such a strong proponent of the RUSH concept,” expressed RUSH Director Vicki Emig.  “We’ve watched his journey as a young, up and coming racer as part of the RUSH program to win feature events and compete with the best the country has to offer in Super Late racing- we’re proud of him. He was with us when our Northeast Tour races paid just $1,200 to-win all those years ago to capturing Lernerville’s $20,000 win ‘Bill Emig Memorial’. I don’t think either of us could have imagined any of that was possible when we started to develop Chevrolet Performance Crate Late Model racing in the Northeast. His continued support both on and off the track will always be a great asset for RUSH.”

When asked about a defining memory, Blair didn’t point to his first win or championship, but to a turning point. After stepping away to pursue a national Super Late Model opportunity, which ultimately fell through, Blair returned to RUSH full-time in 2015. What followed changed everything.  He swept both of RUSH’s North and South Touring divisions and the earnings from that season helped fund his next move. “That was the that propelled me,” he said. “The money I won from the RUSH Late Model Series in 2015 allowed me to race more Supers the next year. By 2016, he was competing on a much larger super late larger stage and never looked back.

For Max Blair the path to national success didn’t start with big money or top-tier equipment, it started with an opportunity. And for him and countless others that opportunity has come through RUSH. What Vicki Emig and Mike Leone have built with the RUSH Late Model Series is exactly what today’s racers are looking for; fair, competitive, and sustainable racing. Their commitment to enforcing the rules and keeping the playing field level means drivers aren’t forced to outspend the competition just to have a chance to win. Instead, it puts the focus back on driver skill, consistency, and racecraft.

In addition they’ve created substantial opportunities through strong championship point funds, organized high paying Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Touring Series events and consistent promotion that gives drivers exposure both at the track and beyond.  For new drivers or teams looking to get into Late Model racing or even veterans looking for a smarter, more cost-effective place to compete, RUSH offers a proven path, and that starts with the leadership and vision that Emig and Leone bring to the series every single week.