Jared Fryar outdueled Mike Looney in a phenomenal finish while Bubba Pollard made a late race pass on Sammy Smith in the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour AutosByNelson.com 250 at Franklin County Speedway in Callaway, Virginia on Saturday night.
Fryar and Looney swapped the lead multiple times during the final laps in a very physical battle for the win in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour feature with Fryar ultimately prevailing – leading the final three laps of the race and eight total laps. He ultimately made the race winning pass on Looney entering turn three on the race’s last lap.
“That was tough right there,” Fryar said in victory lane. “That was good racing. I tried my hardest to stay off of him right there. I was getting a little free up there and slipped up and just caught his wheel I think and shot us both away. I don’t even know what happened the last lap, just going for it there. I hit him at some point and knocked the toe out and then he hit me off four. Just racing.”
Fryar was both speechless and breathless after the thrilling victory.
“I’m speechless right now,” Fryar continued. “I can’t even breathe. I don’t think I took a breath the last five laps. Just thankful. We worked so hard to get here. This feels so good to be here.”
Fryar entered Saturday night’s race leading the series points over Layne Riggs and extended that lead with his victory at Franklin County.
While Looney had hoped to win, he had no hard feelings with Fryar about their physical battle for the win.
“Man, that was a blast,” Looney said. “I don’t know how you take a car that fast and lose with it. Hats off to Jared and those guys. He drove his tail off. I got to follow him a few laps when he passed me earlier. I could see what he was fighting. That car wasn’t perfect but he drove it to victory lane, so hats off to those guys. We were beating and banging. He gave me a little shot and got me sideways. I was a little mad for a second and gave him a shot back, but I’m really glad he held on to it because I would’ve looked like a donkey’s butt if I dumped him down there. What a show.”
Looney was disappointed with finishing second.
“I’m disappointed for my guys who worked so hard this week,” Looney continued. “I don’t think actually went to work for two days. We lost a lot of time preparing. We knew these CARS Tour regulars are pros man. We used home field advantage for a little while but we knew they’d catch on quick. It didn’t take but 100 laps for them to master this place. I’ve won a bunch out here, but he out-drove me tonight.”
Connor Mosack charged past Bobby McCarty in the closing laps to finish third – tying his career-best CARS Tour finish. Corey Heim rounded out the top-five.
Sammy Smith started on the pole in the Super Late Model portion of the AutosByNelson.com 250, but Bubba Pollard saved his best for last, working his way through the field after a lengthy delay for rain early in the race and picking up his third win of 2020 and his ninth career Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour victory. The win came in his first career start at Franklin County Speedway.
“I knew we had a good shot just because our program’s really good anywhere we go,” Pollard said in victory lane after the race. “This place is fun. We took off there at the beginning of the race before the red flag and rode around. We didn’t know what to expect. I guess the rain got everybody excited because I think I qualified for 100 laps. It was crazy. I’ve never seen anything like it. [Sammy Smith] probably had a better car tonight. We just got around him on a restart and were able to be out front. Never seeing the place, we just brought a baseline setup.”
Smith went on to finish second while Gus Dean, Jake Garcia and series points leader Matt Craig rounded out the top-five.
The Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour returns to action with the CARS Late Model Stock Tour on Saturday, August 29th with the VisitHampton.com 125 at Larry King Law’s Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia.
Results
Late Model Stock – 125 laps
- Jared Fryar
- Mike Looney
- Connor Mosack
- Bobby McCarty
- Corey Heim
- Deac McCaskill
- Layne Riggs
- Jonathan Shafer
- Stacy Puryear
- Nolan Pope
- Jonathan Findley
- Chad McCumbee
- Ronald Hill
- Justin Johnson
- Kyle Dudley
- Matt Cox
- Mini Tyrrell
- Jessica Cann
- Brandon Pierce
- Chris Carroll
- Ricky Gillespie
- Tyler Matthews
Super Late Model – 125 laps
- Bubba Pollard
- Sammy Smith
- Gus Dean
- Jake Garcia
- Matt Craig
- Carson Kvapil
- Kodie Conner
- Justin Crider
- Jeff Batten
- Trevor Noles
