Trading paint on the iconic 3/8 mile Franklin County Speedway track in Callaway is as commonplace as a hot humid day in July, and there is more rough and tumble racing on the horizon, with cash to sweeten the pot.
FCS promoter Langley Austin will up the ante for the July 17th Late Model shootout, dubbed “Summer Heat Wave”, when the field will be full of bounty hunters looking to unseat longtime driver Kyle Dudley, who is currently on a roll in Callaway.
Dudley had a rough start to the 2016 racing season at FCS which included poor performances, crashes and a disqualification that held him out of victory lane. However, on Independence Day weekend he turned the tables to win three Late Model races over the course of two days.
Those three wins were enough for Austin to place a bounty on Dudley’s head for the upcoming July 17th Sunday race. Dudley will be chased by what Austin hopes to be a large number of bounty hunters looking to keep him out of victory lane and take home the track’s cash bounty.
“This will be the second bounty placed on a Late Model Stock Car driver this season,” Austin noted. “Kyle was on his game over the July 4th weekend, winning all three races for that class. When he’s on his game on this track he’s hard to beat, so I’m placing a bounty of at least $500, and up to $2,000 for anyone to come and beat him next weekend.”
Little doubt, cash talks with Late Model drivers at FCS.
It will be an escalating bounty which will pay a guaranteed $500 to anyone who can beat Dudley, no matter the number of entries. 15 entries ups the total to $750, twenty cars runs up the bounty to $1,000, with $2,000 on the line if the car count reaches or exceeds 30 race cars. Those kind kind of numbers should ensure mayhem on the tight FCS oval, and provide an evening of racing to satisfy any racing fan.
“Kyle is on a roll right now, but when these other guys come in looking to dethrone him, it’s going to be a battle,” Austin said.
The last bounty saw driver Dennis Holdren come to Callaway earlier this year and take the cash that was placed on 3-time winner Devin Steele. Austin expects Holdren to return to keep his reputation intact as the top Bounty Hunter.
Another driver expected to be a contender is Ross “BooBoo” Dalton, who was among the fastest competitors during the earlier bounty race before finishing second after falling victim to a weight violation and a cut tire as he was tracking down Holdren.
Another out-of-town challenger could be female driver Amber Lynn who made her first start last weekend and finished second to Dudley on Sunday. Mike Looney, who drives for Patrick County car owner Billy “Watermelon Man” Martin, is always in the mix when he drives at FCS, with a number of checkered flags under his belt in Callaway. Martin, reached by phone on Sunday, said it was still uncertain if his team would be in Callaway this coming Sunday.
The race will follow traditional bounty rules, meaning Dudley has to be competitive, must finish on the lead lap, and must not be wrecked or teamed up on for the bounty to be paid.
A full slate of preliminary races will join the Late Models. First green flag drops at 3:00. Adult tickets are $10, youth (5-12) are $5, with under-5 getting in free.
Bill Turner
