The talented Zach Morrow just loves to race!

“I would race anything with four wheels and a motor,” said the Mars driver. “I’d just like to jump into any car and make it go!”

He started in Go-Carts in 2003. In high school he helped Jeff and Nick Jones with their Late Model and eventually took Nick’s No. 27. He met Scott Priester at a job site and began helping him with his Sprint.

Later, he bought some of his spare parts and in 2014 he put a 410 Sprint together, racing it at Lernerville. Then he purchased a “wingless” Sprint and began competing with the Rush Sprint Series, where he captured six main events. Morrow finished third in the champion point race in 2018 and second in 2019.

Now a new venture has developed; he is driving the No. 48 for the famous John Johnson/Colton Flinner Racing Rush Late Model team.

Colton Flinner was competing in two divisions, Super Late Models and Rush Late Models. Flinner decided that he wanted to concentrate on driving the Super Late Model. Morrow is a long-time friend of both Mark and Colton Flinner and they suggested that Johnson put him behind the wheel of the No. 48 Rush car.

Johnson agreed. Morrow maintains the racer at Johnson’s shop in Moon Township.

“I work on the car and use my truck and trailer to haul it to the track. Mark and Colton help me with the set up along with Bob Bentz,” Morrow said.

The first couple of races were a little strange for him.

“It was a whole new learning curve figuring out how big the car is each week ,but the car is fast and we kept getting better!,” he said.

Morrow already has a feature win in that division. Recently, Jack Mohoney asked if he would run his Rush Sprint a few nights.

“If someone asked me to run a Big Block Modified, I would probably do that,” he said. “Although, two divisions are enough. Physically I was okay but mentally tired.”

His goal is to get a championship at PA Motor Raceway where he is now second in points to Daryl Charlier.

People ask him how it is to drive both divisions.

“On the race track you drive them differently. You have to know what the racetrack is doing and read the track but I like having more drive time,” Morrow said.

“In the Sprint, you are crouched in, leaning forward, but in the Late Model you are more in a relaxed position like your street car. There seems to be a blind spot on the left side of the Late Model going into the corner; my sprint has no wing so it is easy to see.”

Some people call him the next NASCAR Kyle Larson, who drives anything and is a winner. He laughs and says I really want to thank John Johnson, Mark and Colton Flinner for this opportunity.

Points leader

Colton Flinner tops the Lernerville Point Chart over Jared Miley by 13 digits. He’s had an excellent season thus far, garnering his first 2021 Super Late feature at Lernerville.

He recently won the PA Motor Speedway Jook George Steel City Classic for Rush Late Models. He defeated Mike Norris and collected $7,010 for the victory in his own racer.

Thrilling victory

Last Sunday, ‘The Wheelman’ Brandon Matus won a thrilling feature at Tri-City Raceway with a last lap pass over Carl Bowser. This enabled him to clinch a career first track championship over Jack Sodeman Jr by one point!

All in the family

Tony Burke and Colin Burke are the only father-son Late Model team currently racing.

Colin said, “All my life, I used to dream of racing with my dad and now I am doing it!”

Tony said, “Not a lot of fathers get to race with their kids. It is pretty neat! I think all moms and dads worry a little bit. Safety is so important to us. We buy good helmets, fireproof gloves, underwear and fire suits. I saw what happened to my brother-in-law Charlie Holben when his racer caught fire.”

Alex and his father Ed Ferree were past competitors along with Bob Wearing Sr and Bob Wearing Jr. Jared Miley raced with his Uncle Ben Miley. Dick and Dan Swartzlander enjoyed their time competing together.

In the Modified class, Rex King and Rex King Jr have a heated battle each week!

“Dad’s been really good here and we have been fighting at this place all year and I love it,” King, Jr. said in the Lernerville Victory Lane. “It’s a dream for me, to race side-by-side with my dad, it seems like every other week here, we battle for the win.”

Carl and Dave Murdick were long time competitors. Ed Lynch Sr and Jr raced in both the Modifieds and Sprints,but Ed Jr preferred the Sprints and his dad the Modified. Dale and Lou Blaney also competed together in the Sprints, but Lou enjoyed Modified racing, too.

The Sprint class has father Brent Matus and his son Brandon Matus contending for the victory. Brandon reflected that racing with his dad has pros and cons.

“While I like racing with him, when the red light stops racing, I immediately start looking for him on the track. I suppose my dad does the same for me!,” Brandon said.

Brent shared, “I like working with him in the garage and traveling and racing at the track. At first, I worried about his safety and good decision-making skills, but now he is an experienced driver and I don’t have to worry anymore.”

Brent Matus also raced with his dad, Jerry Matus. One night the three generations ran together before Jerry retired.

Jack Sodeman Jr enjoyed being on the track with his dad but said, “He beat my butt on the track.”

The humble ‘papa bear’ Sodeman Sr replied, “He was young and inexperienced. I liked to show him the different grooves on the track. But now he is way better than me and the car has much more horse power!”

Andy and Mike Lutz also raced together.

Superb Sprinter

Sprint driver Darin Gallagher is having a superb season in his second year of racing in this class. He has been knocking on that feature win door and it should open for him soon!

Larson wins Knoxville

On the National scene, a jubilant Kyle Larson realized his dream by winning the Knoxville Nationals collecting a record $176,000 by defeating Donnie Schatz.

Local driver Sye Lynch started third in the B-Main that was taking four cars to the main event but experienced mechanical problems. There were close to 100 excellent entrants.

Carol Gamble is a racing columnist for the Butler Eagle