Dean Gibson Sr. Memorial - Pro Stock 54-lap $2,500 to Win
June 13, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Busti, NY)…The Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Dirt Late Model Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Touring Series was finally able to complete the ninth annual “Bill Law Memorial” on Saturday night at Stateline Speedway. After the event was rained out three straight weeks in May, Mother Nature blessed everyone with a beautiful day that saw 43 cars turnout from five different states and a large crowd. It also was the first time in 11 attempts to race this season for the Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Tour that there was no chance of rain. The event paid tribute to the late Law, who had the first Crate Late Model in the Northeast more than 19 years ago. Law was a huge supporter of racing in the region and helped kick-start the racing career of his grandson, Kyle Murray, who has competed over the years in a RUSH Late Model.
Nearly five years ago to the day (June 11, 2021), go-kart graduate Ben Easler won his first career “big car” race in the RUSH Sportsman Modifieds at Raceway 7 at age 14 on his way the Russ King Racing Futures Cup title. Easler would add 10 more RUSH Sportsman Modified wins and a Weekly Series Championship before moving up to the RUSH Late Models in 2024. Easler won his first career RUSH Late Model Colussy Chevrolet Weekly Series event in 2024 and finished 11th in Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Tour points. Last year was a big improvement for Easler as he jumped up to fifth in points, recorded the first three top 5s of his Tour career, and was the recipient of the prestigious Horizon Award at the banquet.
On Saturday night, Easler ran a perfect 30 laps holding off the challenges of Dave Hess, Jr., Jeremy Wonderling and then Austin Allen in the final laps for his first career Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Tour victory worth $4,000! Easler is now the sixth different winner of the “Bill Law Memorial” in nine events and became the season’s fourth different winner in four races.
“I’m at a loss right now- this is surreal and I’m truly choked up,” expressed the 19-year-old Linesville, Pa. racer. “We’ve had so many changes going into this year. So many times we’ve doubted ourselves and I’ve doubted myself, but we pushed through it; now to get a RUSH Tour win- I don’t even know what to say. I have to thank all my guys, mom and dad, Ronnie and my grandma for making this possible along with all my sponsors. None of this would be possible without Russ King; he’s treated me like a son ever since I’ve gotten into this deal.”
Easler and Hess led the 26-car starting field to green; however, the green was short-lived as Ashton Briggs, Randy Hall, and Austin Hauser tangled at the back to bring out the event’s only caution. When racing resumed, Easler darted into the lead over Hess, Allen, and Wonderling. As Easler continued to lead, Hess and Allen ran side-by-side for second on lap nine with Hess holding on. Easler caught lapped traffic on lap 13, while Hess and Allen resumed their side-by-side battle but Hess continued to hold onto the runner-up spot.
Once Hess broke free of Allen, he tracked down Easler on lap 17. Hess tried everything to get by Easler, but that would cost him second as Allen slipped under Hess for second in traffic on lap 24. Allen then closed in on Easler as he appeared to have the fastest car. Easler though didn’t make any mistakes and took the checkered flag first by 0.636 seconds in the Jason Easler-owned, Lakeview Ford/Venture Energy/Angry Duck Graphics/Porc’s Body Worx/Hare Today/Russ King Racing/Swift Factory/Lakeside Lanes/Espyville Heating & Cooling/Happy Hill Farm/Wedge Motorsports-sponsored #02. Easler became the 51st different driver to reach Landrum Performance Victory Lane in RUSH Late Model Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Tour competition all-time.
“I saw the five-to-go and nothing prepares you to run five more perfect laps,” acknowledged Easler. “That’s a good run for Austin Allen in second. I knew Hess was back there for awhile and you have to run every lap perfect with him behind you. My main focus for the entire race was hitting my marks and not missing the bottom. We hit lapped traffic and that was the sketchiest part of the whole deal. I just had to be patient and not overdrive through traffic. I’ve known Dave Hess for a long time. He bought our go-karts when we got out of it, and if you’d ask me who my favorite driver is around here it’s Dave Hess. I’ve been watching him since I was a little kid; to have the opportunity to race with him and beat him- there’s nothing like it!”
Allen matched his career best Tour effort of second from August 9 of last year at Stateline and earned $2,000. Stateline continues to treat Allen well. In his 2024 rookie Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Tour season, Allen recorded a third place finish, which at the time was a career best, and last year won a Colussy Chevrolet Weekly Series event at the Busti, NY facility.
“This is huge,” stated the 28-year-old Canisteo, NY driver. “We’ve kind of struggled at the beginning of the year and just haven’t had luck on our side. It’s good to pull out a second tonight to Ben (Easler), who is a great kid. He’s awesome to be around and is always in a great mood. I would have liked to get my first (Tour) win tonight, but I’m happy to see him get his first. The car was really good and I didn’t realize until the end of the race but my left rear shock was broke. It was a good thing we went green-to-checkered because I probably wouldn’t have had a good restart. We’ll build on this and get ready for the Bill Emig Memorial at Lernerville and hopefully have a good run there for all my sponsors.”
Wonderling earned $1,000 for third, which was his fourth top four finish in four races as the five-time champion continues to lead the $20,000 to-win points. After finishing second last Saturday at Sharon, Hess ran second for the first 23 laps before dropping to fourth at the finish and received a spoiler kit from Ontime Body & Graphic. Daryl Charlier was fifth for the 2024 3C Graphix Rookie-of-the-Year’s third straight top eight finish. Dylan Cecce was a season best sixth over Jason Knowles, Jake Wilbert, Christian Schneider, and Demetrios Drellos.
Last Saturday night at Stateline, Ian Travis won his first career RUSH Late Model feature. On Saturday night, Travis led all eight caution-free laps of the Real Merchant Services DMV Non-Qualifier. The 36-year-old Hinsdale, NY driver earned $200 as he became the 91st different winner in 114 events all-time. Steve Houser was second over Chad Clement, Scott Dellahoy, Jr., and soon to be 72-year-old John Haggerty.
Despite what was a season worst 11th place finish, Kurt Stebbins continues to lead the $3,000 to-win 3C Graphix Rookie-of-the-Year standings. Stebbins started off the night fastest in Schneider Trucks Hot Laps with a lap of 17.141 to earn $50 then added $100 for being fastest overall against the 43-car field in FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock” Qualifying with a lap of 17.219. Stebbins continued his winning ways capturing the first FK Rod Ends Heat Race for $25 as Knowles, Allen, and Hess also won $25 heat races. The twin last chance B mains were won by Steve Dixon and Stephen Blodgett.
Ashton Briggs earned the $100 Hoosier Tire Western PA/Big Daddy’s Speed Center “Pedal Down” Hard Charger for gaining four spots in the feature. Scott Gurdak, who is in his 52nd year of racing at the age of 67, was the first non-qualifier and received a $50 Holley Performance Products gift card for the “Nosed Out” contingency as well the $100 Close Racing Supply Hard Luck gift card.
Easler received a $100 Sunoco fuel card for winning his first Sunoco Dash. Easler received a second $100 Sunoco Fuel card for being one of the lucky recipients of the “Fill’er up with Sunoco Bucks” drawings presented by Bazell Race Fuels. Hammond won the second $100 Sunoco fuel card for Tour drivers, while Dixon, Travis, Wilber, and Hunter Proctor won the $50 Sunoco Fuel cards.
Landrum Performance Springs, which will award a $5,000 Loyalty Bonus at the season ending event, distributed BOGO certificates that were won by Charlier, Allen, Jason Genco, Shawn Little, and Tommy Schirnhofer, Jr.
Up next for the Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Touring Series will be the “Bill Emig Memorial” presented by Sunoco Race Fuels along with support from Seal-Tite Paving & Excavating, Keyser Manufacturing, Integra Shocks, and Joseph J. Oliva Attorney at Law June 25-27 at Lernerville Speedway part of the “Firecracker 100” with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series live on FloRacing. The event will pay $20,000 to-win along with a D&V Jewelers championship diamond ring valued at $8,000 from MotoRad. The Real Merchant Services DMV Non-Qualifier presented by Close Racing Supply will pay $500 to-win. Thirty-five non-qualifiers will also take home a product package valued between $200-$500. There will also be “Uncle Sam’s Grand” $1,000 drawing presented by Weather Capital Sales. Stay tuned for more details.
Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Late Model Flynn’s Tire/Gunter’s Honey Touring Series “Bill Law Memorial” Race #4 (30 laps, $4,000 to-win): 1. BEN EASLER (02) 2. Austin Allen (Mullen 32) 3. Jeremy Wonderling (3J) 4. Dave Hess, Jr. (Anderson 44) 5. Daryl Charlier (Dobnak 42) 6. Dylan Cecce (Clark 18*) 7. Jason Knowles (4) 8. Jake Wilber (Suppa 4s) 9. Christian Schneider (Daugherty 56) 10. Demetrios Drellos (111) 11. Kurt Stebbins (26) 12. John Waters (LeBarron 11) 13. Kyle Zimmerman (Stockdale 101) 14. Allan Hammond (97) 15. Brodie Oravetz (91B) 16. Andy Michael (17x) 17. Jacob Tubbs (89JR) 18. Ryan Hare (29) 19. Bill Holmes III (8) 20. Austin Hauser (51) 21. Ashton Briggs (11A) 22. Randy Hall (Krug 87) 23. Steve Dixon (Keesler 65) 24. Stephen Blodgett (23GB) 25. Jason Genco (Lacki 29J) 26. Austin Fitzgerald (2A). (Note: Ashton Briggs took a Tour provisional & Randy Hall took a Track provisional)
Real Merchant Services DMV Non-Qualifier (8 laps, $200 to-win): 1. Ian Travis (36) 2. Steve Houser (33z) 3. Chad Clement (45) 4. Scott Dellahoy, Jr. (Houser 27) 5. John Haggerty (49) 6. Shawn Little (86) 7. Kassandra Norman (6) 8. Gary Youngs (y26). DNS: Scott Gurdak (Hollabaugh 5G), Andrew Chess (8c), Hunter Proctor (432), Andrew Chess (8c), Brendan Warner (12*), Zack Carley (2), Ed Carley (28), Tommy Schirnhofer, Jr. (8s), Cody Dawson (36).
Car Count: 43
Feature Margin of Victory: 0.636 seconds
Feature Lap Leaders: Ben Easler (1-30)
Close Racing Supply “Tough Brake of the Night: Scott Gurdak
Hoosier Tire Western PA/Big Daddy’s Speed Center Hard Charger: Ashton Briggs (+4)
Holley Performance Group “Nosed Out”: Scott Gurdak
Landrum Performance Springs BOGO Certificates: Shawn Little, Daryl Charlier, Austin Allen, Jason Genco & Tommy Schirnhofer, Jr.
Ontime Body & Graphic “Spoiler Alert” Spoiler Kit: Dave Hess, Jr.
Schneider Trucks “Hottest of the Hot” Fastest in Hot Laps: Kurt Stebbins 17.141
Sunoco Fuel Card Winners presented by Bazell Race Fuels: Ben Easler ($100), Allan Hammond ($100), Jake Wilber ($50), Ian Travis ($50), Steve Dixon ($50) & Hunter Proctor ($50)
FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock” Flight A Qualifying (Track record 16.717 by John Waters on 5/14/22) ($100 for fast time): 1. 26-Kurt Stebbins, 17.219[11]; 2. 4-Jason Knowles, 17.294[4]; 3. 42-Daryl Charlier, 17.419[20]; 4. 02-Ben Easler, 17.503[6]; 5. 4S-Jake Wilber, 17.510[18]; 6. 11A-Ashton Briggs, 17.540[9]; 7. 51-Austin Hauser, 17.575[14]; 8. 101-Kyle Zimmerman, 17.627[10]; 9. 17X-Andy Michael, 17.751[19]; 10. 91B-Brodie Oravetz, 17.758[15]; 11. 36T-Ian Travis, 17.785[16]; 12. 8C-Andrew Chess, 17.793[5]; 13. 97-Allan Hammond, 17.873[17]; 14. 89JR-Jacob Tubbs, 17.987[2]; 15. 65-Steve Dixon, 18.045[3]; 16. 61S-Ward Schell, 18.123[13]; 17. 87K-Randy Hall, 18.156[12]; 18. Y26-Gary Youngs, 18.283[1]; 19. 27-Scott Dellahoy Jr, 18.293[8]; 20. 86-Shawn Little, 18.660[7]; 21. 28C-Ed Carley, NT. 22. 36-Cody Dawson, NT.
FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock” Flight B Qualifying (Track record 16.717 by John Waters on 5/14/22): 1. 32A-Austin Allen, 17.221[4]; 2. 44-Dave Hess Jr, 17.312[3]; 3. 11L-John Waters, 17.510[1]; 4. 56-Christian Schneider, 17.531[9]; 5. 18*-Dylan Cecce, 17.569[20]; 6. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling, 17.602[5]; 7. 111D-Demetrios Drellos, 17.709[8]; 8. 29J-Jason Genco, 17.772[13]; 9. 8-Bill Holmes, 17.804[2]; 10. 12*-Brendan Warner, 17.859[11]; 11. 5G-Scott Gurdak, 17.970[18]; 12. 29-Ryan Hare, 18.296[16]; 13. 6N-Kassandra Norman, 18.353[17]; 14. 2C-Zack Carley, 18.424[6]; 15. 33Z-Steve Houser, 18.702[7]; 16. 49-John Haggerty, 18.737[12]; 17. 432-Hunter Proctor, 18.754[10]; 18. 2A-Austin Fitzgerald, 18.831[19]; 19. 45C-Chad Clement, 18.865[14]; 20. 23GB-Stephen Blodgett, 18.886[15]; 21. 8S-Tommy Schirnhofer Jr, NT.
FK Rod Ends Heat 1 (10 laps, Top 5 transfer to A, $25 to-win): 1. 26-Kurt Stebbins[1]; 2. 42-Daryl Charlier[2]; 3. 4S-Jake Wilber[3]; 4. 97-Allan Hammond[7]; 5. 17X-Andy Michael[5]; 6. 65-Steve Dixon[8]; 7. 51-Austin Hauser[4]; 8. 36T-Ian Travis[6]; 9. 87K-Randy Hall[9]; 10. 27-Scott Dellahoy Jr[10]. DNS: 28C-Ed Carley.
FK Rod Ends Heat 2 (10 laps, Top 5 transfer to A, $25 to-win): 1. 4-Jason Knowles[1]; 2. 02-Ben Easler[2]; 3. 101-Kyle Zimmerman[4]; 4. 91B-Brodie Oravetz[5]; 5. 89JR-Jacob Tubbs[7]; 6. 8C-Andrew Chess[6]; 7. 11A-Ashton Briggs[3]; 8. 61S-Ward Schell[8]; 9. 86-Shawn Little[10]; 10. Y26-Gary Youngs[9]. DNS: 36-Cody Dawson.
FK Rod Ends Heat 3 (10 laps, Top 6 transfer to A, $25 to-win): 1. 32A-Austin Allen[1]; 2. 18*-Dylan Cecce[3]; 3. 111D-Demetrios Drellos[4]; 4. 11L-John Waters[2]; 5. 8-Bill Holmes[5]; 6. 5G-Scott Gurdak[6]; 7. 6N-Kassandra Norman[7]; 8. 432-Hunter Proctor[9]; 9. 33Z-Steve Houser[8]; 10. 45C-Chad Clement[10]. DNS: 8S-Tommy Schirnhofer Jr
FK Rod Ends Heat 4 (10 laps, Top 6 transfer to A, $25 to-win): 1. 44-Dave Hess Jr[1]; 2. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling[3]; 3. 56-Christian Schneider[2]; 4. 29J-Jason Genco[4]; 5. 29-Ryan Hare[6]; 6. 23GB-Stephen Blodgett[10]; 7. 2A-Austin Fitzgerald[9]; 8. 49-John Haggerty[8]; 9. (DNS) 12*-Brendan Warner. DNS: 2C-Zack Carley.
Last Chance B Main 1 (10 laps, Top 2 transfer to A): 1. 65-Steve Dixon[1]; 2. 51-Austin Hauser[3]; 3. 11A-Ashton Briggs[4]; 4. 36T-Ian Travis[5]; 5. 8C-Andrew Chess[2]; 6. 87K-Randy Hall[7]; 7. 61S-Ward Schell[6]; 8. 27-Scott Dellahoy Jr[9]; 9. Y26-Gary Youngs[10]; 10. 86-Shawn Little[8]. DNS: 28C-Ed Carley & 36-Cody Dawson
Last Chance B Main 2 (10 laps, Top 2 transfer to A): 1. 23GB-Stephen Blodgett[2]; 2. 2A-Austin Fitzgerald[4]; 3. 5G-Scott Gurdak[1]; 4. 33Z-Steve Houser[7]; 5. 45C-Chad Clement[8]; 6. 432-Hunter Proctor[5]; 7. 49-John Haggerty[6]; 8. 6N-Kassandra Norman[3]. DNS: 12*-Brendan Warner, 2C-Zack Carley & 8S-Tommy Schirnhofer Jr.
Sunoco Dash (6 laps, $100 Sunoco fuel card to-win): 1. 02-Ben Easler[1]; 2. 44-Dave Hess Jr[3]; 3. 32A-Austin Allen[4]; 4. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling[2]; 5. 42-Daryl Charlier[5]; 6. 26-Kurt Stebbins[7]; 7. 18*-Dylan Cecce[8]; 8. 4-Jason Knowles[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 info@rushracingseries.com and mail to 4368 Route 422, Pulaski, PA 16143. Office phone is 724-964-9300. The RUSH Late Model website is www.rushlatemodels.com. Like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/rushlatemodels and follow us on X (formerly known as Twitter) @RUSHLM
Saturday, June 20, 2026
Dean Gibson Sr. Memorial - Pro Stock 54-lap $2,500 to Win
