Racing returned to the Franklin County Speedway last Friday night.
After a two-week break that was the result of a change in track management, new manager Tim Wheat put together a race card that had the FCS faithful happy with the Wheat Construction July 4th Celebration, complete with post-race fireworks.
Mike Looney, who had won two straight Late Model Stock Races heading into the management shakeup, took up right where he left off by winning both ends of a pair of 60-lap features.
Driving for the Billy Martin Race Team, Looney had a profitable night in Callaway by taking home $ 2,200 that included a $ 200 bonus for sweeping the twin bill.
“This car was about the best it’s been,” Looney noted after his second win. “The car handled great and we had a good set of tires. We were going to Ace (the North Carolina track where the former management has moved), but it’s 3 hours to drive there. I like coming to Franklin County and it paid off.”
With the bonus money on the line in the second shootout, Looney started toward the rear of the pack. By lap-6 he had made his way to third place and in the rear view mirrors of the two frontrunners on the FCS banked 3/8 mile oval.
Looney moved into second on lap 17 and got the job done to take the lead on lap 28. The only caution of the race came out on lap 39, but on the restart Looney took control and had plenty of separation the rest of the way for his white #87 Chevy Impala.
Other winners Friday night included Brett Suggs in the Rookie U-Car, Casey Cupp in the Street Stock, Robert Gibson in the Mini-Cup, Todd Arrington in the Super U-Car, Ryan Cox in the U-Car and Brittany Cockram in the Mod-4.
Racing returns to FCS this Saturday night with a full slate of events. Green flag is at 7 p.m.
When Martin was asked if his team would return this weekend he emphatically responded, “You bet we will !” Martin was the track champion at FCS in 2012 before turning the driving duties over to Looney.
Bill Turner
