COPPER HILL, VA :: Mike Looney had no intention of going to Daytona, until Wednesday. Looney got word he had financial support to run the UNOH Battle at the Beach and decided he would go down for the race.
“We had no intention whatsoever of going,” Looney said. “Who wants to go to that flat track, beating and banging? It would cost over hundred dollars of diesel fuel to go but someone stepped up and said they’d pay for our sponsors and I’ll go anywhere. We just put a new motor in the car. We’ve never raced there before; our guess is as good as anyone’s.”
Looney’s effort is about as last minute as it gets. He’s throwing a motor into his car last minute … so last minute that he has no worries about working on the car in the parking lot of a Daytona Beach hotel if he has to.
“We ran our Dodge engine at Martinsville and it blew up,” Looney continued. “We had our old Chevrolet motor sitting on the floor so we just put that in. Our guys are going to work shifts around the clock here to get it ready. We don’t have to be down until Sunday morning but I’d like to leave on Friday or Saturday. I’ll unload it in the hotel parking lot and set it up there if I have to.”
Looney is looking forward to racing at Daytona on February 18th despite his concerns about the configuration of the track, set up on the Daytona Superstretch.
“It’ll be cool to race at Daytona,” Looney explained. “I’d love to race at every track. Daytona’s obviously special. It’s Daytona, no explanation needed. I’m not a huge fan of super-flat tracks but I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older, the more difficult a track is, the more it plays in to my hand. These young whippersnappers, it’s hard for them to slow down and save their equipment. I’ve learned you don’t have to go out there like a retard on a field trip every lap.”
Looney says he hasn’t kept up on the whole Late Model Stock vs. straight-rail debate, but he is confident Lynn Carroll will even out the competition and make the race equal for all competitors.
“I’m not sure what rules they have in place,” Looney stated. “Lynn Carroll will put us on an even playing field. By the second practice, if it’s clear the straight rails have a big advantage, he’ll do something. I’m not concerned about it. Lynn’s been at it a long time. At the Limited Sportsman race at Martinsville a few years ago, he was on top of speeds and who had what motor. By race time, we’ll be even. There’s no use in complaining. I just worry about what I’ve got and not what everyone else has.”
Looney’s car will be sponsored by Precision Electrical Company.
RACE22.com will continue to provide coverage leading up to the UNOH Battle at the Beach at Daytona, which will be run on February 18th, with driver interviews and preview stories. So, stick with RACE22.com, the Short Track Authority, as we continue to countdown to Daytona.
