After a less than desirable forecast of rain, snow and bitterly cold temperatures forced the cancellation of the season opening Commonwealth Clash, Franklin County Speedway officials have now set the season opener for this Sunday March 26th.
The Spring Throwdown will now kick of the 2017 season, a season that’s expected to be the biggest in the 48 year history of Franklin County Speedway. With a full schedule of events that span from weekly racing to stops by some of the regions best touring series it’s sure to be a big season.
“We get to hit the reset button,” said track promoter Langley Austin. “We were geared up and ready to get open this past weekend but when you’re staring at the forecast and all you see is snow, rain, sleet and temps ranging from the 30’s to 40’s, you know you’re in for a bad weekend. Instead of trying to force an opening we just went ahead and backed up to punt and we’ll be twice as ready to go next weekend.”
Several competitors have taken advantage of early practice sessions and Austin has been fielding a lot of phone calls and messages from racers who are ready to go racing. The field of cars for most everyone division has increased with many cars expected to be ready in time for the rescheduled season opener.
“Lots of new cars and new drivers who have bought cars this winter and are planning to run this season. We felt really good about our car counts in Late Models, Mini Stocks and U-Cars last season while struggling in Mini Cups and Street Stocks but we feel we’re making strides in all divisions to have some of the best average car counts in this region. The cast of drivers expected to compete for the Late Model and Mini Stock championships this season are among the best of the best this region has to offer.”
In addition to the increased car counts, an increased fan base is expected as well. During the final handful of events in 2016 the fan base grew significantly and with an offseason of upbeat conversations about the facility Austin expects that to grow even more starting next weekend.
“Fans are naturally attracted to Franklin County Speedway anyways. I mean, there’s no better race track to watch a race at anywhere. That’s not an opinion that’s an undisputed fact. Over the course of last year we grew the fan base back steadily and even on some hot sweltering Sunday evening’s last September we were able to bring in some of the biggest crowds in years. We’re excited that this seasons mix of Sunday and Saturday events will bring even greater results.”
With the reset season opener expected to see even larger fields given that more teams and drivers have had time to get their cars ready for opening day. Sunday March 26th at 3pm will begin the 48th consecutive season of racing at Franklin County Speedway. Make plans to attend. Adult tickets $10, kids 5-12 $5 and children under 4 get in free.
