09/07/2026
By: Mike Ackelson
September 6, 2026 - For Immediate Release:
Matus Masters 410 Sprints, Eller Triumphs in EconoMods, and Switzer Emotional in RUSH Stock Car Finale at Tri-City
Franklin, Pa - The 2026 racing season at Tri-City Raceway Park came to a thrilling conclusion on Sunday night with an action-packed program that kept fans on the edge of their seats. In the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply 410 Sprint Car 25-lap feature, newly crowned track champion Bob Felmlee jumped out to an early lead, while Matt Farnham, Derek Hauck, AJ Flick, John Jerich, and Brandon Matus went three- and four-wide behind him. The first caution flew when rookie Caden Minor spun in turn one, setting up a wild restart. Matus, who started seventh, made a spectacular move entering turn one, surging from fourth to first. Moments later, Hauck and Felmlee made contact coming off turn four, sending the 12J into a spin. Hauck managed to keep going without stopping and blended back into the field in fourth. Once the green flag flew again, Matus pulled away in his dialed-in number 13 machine. Behind him, Hauck, Felmlee, Farnham, Jerich, and Flick swapped positions every lap. Flick eventually worked his way into second, but Jerich found speed on the low line, overtook Flick, and began closing in on Matus. A final yellow flag for a Minor spin in turn four set up a tense, two-lap dash. Jerich stayed right on Matus’s bumper as the white flag flew, but Matus held him off to cross the finish line one second ahead, securing his second win of the year on the Venango County half-mile.
In victory lane, Matus reflected on the hard-fought victory. "This is just humbling. You think once you get a win, they'll just come easy, but that's not the case. It's so hard to end your night in victory, you just cherish every time it happens. We were so bad in our heat race going from first to fourth, that's what I get for letting Jeremy Weaver set the car up, but honestly, we didn't change much from the heat race, just tweaked some things and the car just came to life. It was like I was shot out of a cannon. I'm just so happy for my team, crew, and thank you to all the fans." Jerich finished a close second, followed by Flick, Hauck, and Felmlee to round out the top five.
The EconoMods made their first appearance at the track since 2018, bringing a competitive 19-car field for a 20-lap feature. Jeremy Double and Dennis Lunger battled side-by-side off turn two on the opening lap before a caution came out for contact between Sean Murphy and Gary Sullivan. On the restart, Double cleared Lunger to lead lap one, while the rest of the field raced four-wide behind them. Sullivan spun in turn two on lap four to bring out another caution, but Double maintained his lead on the restart as Zack Eller moved into second. By lap eight, Eller pulled alongside Double, officially leading by a mere thousandth of a second just as Carter Bidwell spun in turn one to trigger another yellow. Selecting the inside lane for the restart, Eller took command of the race. A multi-car incident on lap 10 involved Anastasia Vassen hitting the front-stretch sponsor fence due to a mechanical failure, while Shayne Meadows, Derrick Randolph, Bidwell, and Jonathan Davis all tangled in turn one. Vassen was forced to retire, but the others continued. Following a final caution for contact between Lunger and Jacob Eucker, Eller dominated the final eight laps, pulling away to win by two and a half seconds.
An impressed Eller praised the track configuration after taking the checkered flag. "This place is awesome. Never laid eyes on this track until we came earlier this season but got rained out. The track was smooth, has multiple grooves, and is just a lot of fun to compete against a great field of cars like we had tonight. I really hope we get to come back here; this is my kind of track." Double finished second, Arianna Samuelson drove a steady race to take third, with Garrett Calvert and Shayne Meadows completing the top five.
In the Complete Car Care Center RUSH Stock Car 10-lap feature, it initially looked like former track champion Raiddan Wilson would cruise to victory after opening up a seven-car-length lead. However, heartbreak struck on lap two when his engine expired in turn one, bringing out the race's lone caution. This set up a duel between Robert Switzer and Cole Laskey. Switzer took control on the restart and checked out, building a dominant four-second advantage by the time the checkered flag flew.
It was a deeply emotional victory for Switzer, who dedicated the performance to his family. "This means everything. My mom passed away four months ago and all she wanted was for me to race again, so after twenty years I made the move to this. Mom, this win is for you. I love this track, it's my favorite place to race." Laskey finished second, and Wilson was credited with third. The successful night officially brings down the curtain on the 2026 season at Tri-City Raceway Park, with track owners Josh and Krysten Shiffer already looking forward to making further facility improvements for next year.
Hovis Auto & Truck Supply 410 Sprint Car 25 Lap Feature Results: 1. 13 Brandon Matus [7] 2. 3 John Jerich [6] 3. AJ Flick [5] 4. Derek Hauck [3] 5. 6 Bob Felmlee [1] 6. &NY Matt Farnham [2] 7. 47L Dusty Larson [9] 8. 14K Tori Knutson [11] 9. 19M Bodey McClintock [4] 10. 23 Charlie Utsinger [8] 11. 22M Caden Minor [12] 12. 86 Michael Lutz [10]
1st Heat Race Finish: 1. 2 AJ Flick [6] 2. 3 John Jerich [5] 3. 12J Derek Hauck [2] 4. 13 Brandon Matus [1] 5. 47L Dusty Larson [4] 6. 14K Tori Knutson [3]
2nd Heat Race Finish: 1. 7NY Matt Farnham [3] 2. 6 Bob Felmlee [5] 3. 19M Bodey McClintock [2] 4. 23 Charlie Utsinger [4] 5. 86 Michael Lutz [5] 6. 22M Caden Minor [6]
Econo Mod Mania Tour 20 Lap Feature Results: 1. 99E Zack Eller [3] 2. 83 Jeremy Double [1] 3. 9G Arianna Samuelson [10] 4. 12C Garrett Calvert [5] 5. 224 Shayne Meadows [7] 6. 71L Dennis Lunger [2] 7. 47S Gary Sullivan [18] 8. 19 Carl Mckinney [16] 9. 9T Mason Canter [13] 10. 8 Jonathan Davis [4] 11. 31 Seth Bernot [17] 12. 16 Carter Bidwell [12] 13. 24 Derrick Randolph [19] 14. 64 Jacob Eucker [6] 15. 41 Anastasia Vassen [14] 16. 14M Sean Murphy [11] 17. 25 Casey Harmon [9] 18. 46 Kyle Reinwald [15] 19. 4 George Vestel [8]
1st Heat Race Finish: 1. 83 Jeremy Double [2] 2. 8 Jonathan Davis [1] 3. 224 Shayne Meadows [3] 4. 9G Arianna Samuelson [4] 5. 9T Mason Canter [6] 6. 19 Carl McKinney [5] 7. 24 Derrick Randolph [7]
2nd Heat Race Finish: 1. Dennis Lunger [1] 2. 12G Garrett Calvert [2] 3. 4 Geroge Vestal [4] 4. 14M Sean Murphy [5] 5. 41 Anastasia Vassen [6] 6. 31 Seth Bernot [3]
3rd Heat Race Finish: 1. 99E Zack Eller [1] 2. 64 Jacob Eucker [3] 3. 25 Casey Harmon [5] 4. 16 Carter Bidwell [4] 5. 46 Kyle Reinwald [2] 6. 47S Gary Sullivan [6]
Complete Car Care Center RUSH Stock Car 10 Lap Feature Results: 1. 97M Robert Switzer [2] 2. 2C Cole Laskey [3] 3. 77 Raiddan Wilson [1]
Heat Race Finish: 1. 77 Raiddan Wilson [2] 2. 2C Cole Laskey [1] 3. 97M Robert Switzer [3]
By Mike Leone
September 6, 2026 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Franklin, PA) - After three weekends off, the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Dirt Late Model Flynn's Tire/Gunter's Honey Touring Series returned to action on Sunday evening at Tri-City Raceway Park part of the track’s annual “Oil Region Labor Day Classic”. It marked the 11th all-time appearance at the half-mile Venango County, Pennsylvania oval, but first since the 2025 Labor Day weekend event after the Memorial Day weekend event was rained out. In the weather-challenged 2026 season, beautiful weather allowed race #10 to be completed.
Austin Allen is in his third season as a full-time driver on the Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Touring Series and sixth year racing a RUSH Late Model after serving as a crew member on 2017 Series Champion, Bryce Davis. On Sunday night, Allen debuted a new Rocket XR2 Chassis and was the class of the field. Allen won his heat race from third, won the Sunoco Dash, and went out and dominated all 30 laps of the feature for his first career Tour victory worth $4,000! Allen also became the 9th different winner to reach Landrum Performance Springs Victory Lane in 10 Tour races as five-time Series Champion Jeremy Wonderling remains the only repeat winner of 2026.
“Oh man it’s been a long three years- we’ve worked our asses off for this and I’m speechless,” expressed the emotional 29-year-old Canisteo, New York winner. “So much hard work and late nights in the shop; leaning on my friends- Bryce (Davis), Ed Carley, Dave Davis, Jason Knowles, and for all this to pay off- this is as big as it gets for me and is awesome. We’ve had a monkey on our backs all year and two weeks ago decided to get a new XR2. Rocket and Ed Carley had it done last Thursday and here we are in victory lane. I couldn’t be prouder of the work he put in for our team. I’m so happy to finally be on the stage and have my name etched as a winner on the RUSH Touring Series. I kept driving harder and harder giving it all she had; this car could take it and I wasn’t going to let this one slip away to anyone. I was going to drive the wheels off it.”
Allen and Wonderling led the 24-car stating field to green in the 30-lap feature with Allen taking the lead over Wonderling, while Demetrios Drellos and Zack Carley passed Kurt Stebbins for third and fourth respectively. It was three-wide for second on lap two between Wonderling, Drellos, and Carley with Drellos advancing to runner-up; meanwhile Daryl Charlier shot into the fourth position.
Charlier poked under Wonderling looking to grab the third spot on lap five, but wasn’t able to complete the pass. Ninth starting Kyle Zimmerman was able to get by Carley for fifth on lap six. By lap seven, Allen and Drellos began to distance themselves from the field, while Wonderling and Charlier battled lap after lap for third. With the laps ticking off caution-free, Allen caught lapped traffic on lap 11 and had built a lead of 1.7 seconds. Drellos closed in on lap 13 and was right on the leader at the halfway point. Allen though was able to make the right moves in traffic to expand his lead on lap 19
Allen continued to get faster as the race went on and expanded his lead to more than a straightaway in the final laps; however, a spin by Ben Easler, who running 10th, on the last lap brought out the first caution of the event. Easler was chosen as the Close Racing Supply “Tough Break of the Night” recipient and received a $100 CRS gift car. When racing resumed, Rob Coffaro and Jamie Wrightsman tangled to bring out another caution.
When green replaced yellow for the final time, Allen took off in the IllusionCoats Powder Coating “Firing Zone” and beat Drellos back to the finish line by 0.993 seconds to become the 53rd different winner all-time on the Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Tour aboard the Kyle Mullen-owned, Hubertus Service Station/Valley Bar & Grill/Davis Electric/Ed Carley Motorsports/Close Racing Supply/Empire Crushing-sponsored #32.
Drellos, the 2025 3C Graphix Rookie-of-the-Year, was second for the third straight race and earned $2,000. Drellos has finished in the top 10 in all 10 Tour events this season to remain second in points. “Another good points night and its testament to how good we’ve been. Congrats to Austin (Allen) on his first win- that’s awesome. He was really good and the best all night by far. Congrats to their team- they deserve it.”
Zimmerman had an excellent restart going fifth to third to secure his season’s best finish and second top five of the 2026 campaign worth $1,000. Wonderling, who continues to lead the $20,000 to-win Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Tour points, was fourth as his lead continues to shrink after getting beat by Drellos for the fifth time in the last six races. Charlier, who won the 2025 Memorial Day weekend event at Tri-City, was fifth for his season’s third top five.
Stebbins dropped to sixth over Carley. Christian Schneider, the current 3C Graphix Rookie-of-the-Year points leader, was eighth for his eighth straight top 10 finish. Ashton Briggs was ninth as he recorded his first top 10 finish since a fifth in his first Tour start of 2026 back on May 17 at Eriez Speedway. Ryan Hare was 10th and also scored his first top 10 finish since a season best seventh in the 2026 Tour opener back on April 24 at Georgetown Speedway. Hare started 23rd and earned the $100 “Pedal Down” Hard Charger gift card from Big Daddy’s Speed Center as well as a spoiler kit from Ontime Body & Graphic.
Austin Hauser stated the night off being the fastest in Schneider Trucks Hot Laps with a 19.153 and earned $50. Drellos set fast time in FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock” Qualifying over the 28-car field with a lap of 19.220 and earned $100. Winning the $25 FK Rod Ends heat races were Allen, Wonderling, and Schneider. Cory Sines won the last chance B main. Steve Hollabaugh was the first non-qualifier and received a $50 Holley Performance gift card. Allen won his first Sunoco Dash and received a $100 Sunoco Fuel gift card.
Also winning $100 Sunoco Fuel cards were Tour racers Zimmerman and Carley, while Leo Iarrapino, Hare, Dylan Cecce, and Coffaro won the $50 fuel cards all part of the “Fill’er up with Sunoco Bucks” presented by Bazell Racr Fuels.
Landrum Performance Springs, which will award a $5,000 Loyalty Bonus at the season ending event, distributed BOGO certificates, were won by Wrightsman, Chris Hackett, Cody Dawson, Tony Musolino, and Cory Sines
Up next for the Flynn’s Tire/Gunter's Honey Touring Series will be Wi******er Speedway in Wi******er, Virginia for a $5,000 to-win event on Saturday, September 19.
Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Late Model Flynn’s Tire/Gunter's Honey Touring Series Race #10 (Platinum) (30 laps, $4,000 to-win): 1. AUSTIN ALLEN (Mullen 32) 2. Demetrios Drellos (111) 3.Kyle Zimmerman (Stockdale 101) 4. Jeremy Wonderling (3J) 5. Daryl Charlier (Dobnak 42) 6. Kurt Stebbins (26) 7. Zack Carley (2) 8. Christian Schneider (56) 9. Ashton Briggs (11A) 10. Ryan Hare (29) 11. Jason Knowles (4) 12. Logen Lockhart (58) 13. Cody Dawson (36) 14. Zach Gunn (17G) 15. Ben Easler (02) 16. Cory Sines (25s) 17. Jamie Wrightsman (21J) 18. Chris Hackett (Huey 16) 19. Tony Musolino (Dobnak 42D) 20. Rob Coffaro (24c) 21. Brodie Oravetz (91B) 22. Austin Hauser (51) 23. Cody Koteles (Beach 33x) 24. Dylan Cecce (Clark 18*).
DNQ: Steve Hollabaugh (3), Leo Iarrapino (45L), Jason Witherite (24M), Tyler Ellenberger (77E).
Car Count: 28
Feature Margin of Victory: 0.993 seconds
Feature Lap Leaders: Austin Allen (1-30)
Close Racing Supply “Tough Brake of the Night: Ben Easler
Hoosier Tire Western PA/Big Daddy’s Speed Center Hard Charger: Ryan Hare
Holley Performance Group “Nosed Out”: Steve Hollabaugh
Landrum Performance Springs BOGO Certificates: Jamie Wrightsman, Chris Hackett, Cody Dawson, Tony Musolino & Cory Sines
Ontime Body & Graphic “Spoiler Alert” Spoiler Kit: Ryan Hare
Schneider Trucks “Hottest of the Hot” Fastest in Hot Laps: Austin Hauser 19.153
Sunoco Fuel Card Winners presented by Bazell Race Fuels: Kyle Zimmerman ($100), Zack Carley ($100), Leo Iarrapino ($50), Ryan Hare ($50), Dylan Cecce ($50), Rob Coffaro ($50)
FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock” Qualifying (Track record 18.708 by Christian Schneider on 8/29/25) ($100 for fast time): 1. 111D-Demetrios Drellos, 19.220[17]; 2. 4-Jason Knowles, 19.284[3]; 3. 56-Christian Schneider, 19.332[8]; 4. 11A-Ashton Briggs, 19.425[12]; 5. 26-Kurt Stebbins, 19.478[10]; 6. 2C-Zack Carley, 19.506[25]; 7. 32A-Austin Allen, 19.543[2]; 8. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling, 19.569[28]; 9. 21J-Jamie Wrightsman, 19.577[1]; 10. 58-Logen Lockhart, 19.592[21]; 11. 02-Ben Easler, 19.656[27]; 12. 18*-Dylan Cecce, 19.766[26]; 13. 25S-Cory Sines, 19.775[23]; 14. 36-Cody Dawson, 19.790[7]; 15. 101-Kyle Zimmerman, 19.793[24]; 16. 29-Ryan Hare, 19.820[9]; 17. 51-Austin Hauser, 19.872[11]; 18. 33X-Cody Koteles, 19.881[13]; 19. 42-Daryl Charlier, 19.952[16]; 20. 42D-Tony Musolino, 19.984[14]; 21. 24M-Jason Witherite, 19.988[15]; 22. 17G-Zach Gunn, 20.010[22]; 23. 16H-Chris Hackett, 20.027[6]; 24. 24C-Rob Coffaro, 20.535[18]; 25. 3-Steve Hollabaugh, 20.631[19]; 26. 45L-Leo Iarrapino, 20.819[5]; 27. 77E-Tyler Ellenberger, 21.433[20]; 28. 91B-Brodie Oravetz, DSQ (did not scale).
FK Rod Ends Heat 1 (8 laps, Top 6 transfer to A, $25 to-win): 1. 32A-Austin Allen[3]; 2. 111D-Demetrios Drellos[1]; 3. 42-Daryl Charlier[7]; 4. 11A-Ashton Briggs[2]; 5. 58-Logen Lockhart[4]; 6. 91B-Brodie Oravetz[10]; 7. 25S-Cory Sines[5]; 8. 17G-Zach Gunn[8]; 9. 29-Ryan Hare[6]; 10. 3-Steve Hollabaugh[9].
FK Rod Ends Heat 2 (8 laps, Top 6 transfer to A, $25 to-win): 1. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling[3]; 2. 26-Kurt Stebbins[2]; 3. 4-Jason Knowles[1]; 4. 02-Ben Easler[4]; 5. 36-Cody Dawson[5]; 6. 42D-Tony Musolino[7]; 7. 51-Austin Hauser[6]; 8. 16H-Chris Hackett[8]; 9. 45L-Leo Iarrapino[9].
FK Rod Ends Heat 3 (8 laps, Top 6 transfer to A, $25 to-win): 1. 56-Christian Schneider[1]; 2. 2C-Zack Carley[2]; 3. 101-Kyle Zimmerman[5]; 4. 18*-Dylan Cecce[4]; 5. 21J-Jamie Wrightsman[3]; 6. 33X-Cody Koteles[6]; 7. 24M-Jason Witherite[7]; 8. 24C-Rob Coffaro[8]; 9. 77E-Tyler Ellenberger[9].
Last Chance B Main (10 laps, Top 6 transfer to A): 1. 25S-Cory Sines[1]; 2. 17G-Zach Gunn[4]; 3. 51-Austin Hauser[2]; 4. 16H-Chris Hackett[5]; 5. 29-Ryan Hare[7]; 6. 24C-Rob Coffaro[6]; 7. 3-Steve Hollabaugh[10]; 8. 45L-Leo Iarrapino[8]; 9. 24M-Jason Witherite[3]-DSQ (did not scale). DNS: Tyler Ellenberger (77E).
Sunoco Dash (6 laps, $100 Sunoco fuel card to-win): 1. 32A-Austin Allen[1]; 2. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling[4]; 3. 26-Kurt Stebbins[2]; 4. 111D-Demetrios Drellos[3]; 5. 2C-Zack Carley[5]; 6. 56-Christian Schneider[6].
The RUSH Racing Series is brought to you by Hovis Auto & Truck Supply together with Born2Run Lubricants along with the support of Hoosier Tire, Sunoco Race Fuels, Bazell Race Fuels, Insinger Performance, Colussy Chevrolet Flynn's Tire, Gunter's Honey, Rustler Sales & Service, MSD Performance, Holley Performance Products, FK Rod Ends, Capital Contracting Service, Joseph J. Oliva Attorney at Law, Schoenfeld Headers, Jones Racing Products, Landrum Performance Springs, Russ King Racing, 3C Graphix, Velocita-USA, Wieland Metal Services, Real Merchant Services DMV, IllusionCoats Powder Coating, Hoosier Tire Western Pennsylvania/Big Daddy's Speed Center, Close Racing Supply, Keyser Manufacturing/Integra Racing Shocks, Seal-Tite Paving & Excavating, MotoRad, Schneider Trucks, Ontime Body & Graphic, Henry's Headers & Exhaust Systems, D&V Jewelers, AERO Race Wheels, Racing Electronics, Design Creations, and Competition Crate Parts.
E-mail can be sent to the RUSH Racing Series at [email protected] and snail mail to 4368 Route 422, Pulaski, PA 16143. Office phone is 724-964-9300. The RUSH Late Model website is http://www.rushlatemodels.com. Like our page at RUSH Late Model Series and follow us on X (formerly known as Twitter) .
Marsh Heating & Cooling Heat Challenge Winner for the season: Will Receive a Plaque & $100 at the Banquet
Raiddan Wilson 7 wins
Blaze Myers (6)
Brandon Matus (5)
Zach Morrow (5)
William Baker (5)
Marketing Partners
Hovis Auto & Truck Supply, 21st Century Energy Group, RK Virgile Iron & Steel, Complete Car Care Center, Marsh Heating & Cooling, Erie Beer, KEI Klapec Express Trucking, Shambaugh Towing, McCandless Ford, United Community Independence Program, Close Racing Supply, Schaeffer's Oil, BKI Bert Klapec INC, Clarion County Community Bank, McCandless Trailer Sales, Heffren Septic systems, Gates & Burns Reality, Bernards Electrical Service & Troubleshooting, Sunbelt Rental Meadville, MAD Tree Service, Friedhaber's Appliances, PJ'S Excavating & Concrete, Top Notch Tree and Stump Services, V**e Shop & Game Room, Tionesta Builders Supply, First Rate Reality, Log Cabin Restaurant, MAD MAC BBQ, Bish Heating and Cooling, Forbidden Fantasies Adult Cabaret, Triple Sanitation, Franklin Service & Supply and Oil Creek Family Campground, Flea Flickers, Allegheny Toyota, American Legion Post 0334
Tri-City Raceway Park is proudly owned and operated by Josh and Kyrsten Shiffer and is located at 3430 State Route 417 in Franklin, Pennsylvania. The historic half-mile dirt oval offers competitive racing and special events in a welcoming, family-oriented atmosphere.
For the complete 2026 schedule, ticket information, and updates throughout the season, visit www.racetri-city.com and follow Tri-City Raceway Park on Facebook.
Photo Credit to Scott Goodman Photography
