CONCORD , NC – Nov. 29, 2006 – Bill Frye will make a drive for five.
The veteran racer from Greenbrier, Ark. , revealed his intentions when he was honored for his fourth career Mid-America Racing Series (MARS) title during the DIRT Motorsports-owned Late Model tour’s 2006 ‘Night of Champions’ awards banquet on Nov. 18 inside the Clarion Hotel at the Grand Palace in Branson, Mo.
“My plan was to announce my retirement (from driving) if we won the championship,” said Frye, who has been tossing dirt Late Models around the country’s ovals for more than a quarter-century. “But after the season was over me and my wife (Carol) talked about it, and we said, ‘We’re not ready to quit yet.’”
That’s bad news for Frye’s MARS competition but good news for the regional tour, which will have its most prolific champion back for another season in 2007.
Frye entered the ’06 campaign tied atop the alltime MARS championship list with Terry Phillips of Springfield , Mo. , who earned titles in 2000, 2004 and 2005. The longtime rivals – and only champs in MARS history – battled hard in ’06 to be the first four-time king, with Frye capturing the $25,000 championship prize by a mere eight points over Phillips, who earned a $20,000 runner-up check.
Jeff Taylor of Cave City , Ark. , finished third in the MARS standings (worth $14,000), followed by Steve Rushin of Poplar Bluff, Mo. ($12,000) and Billy James of Sikeston, Mo. ($11,000), who also received the series Polesitter Award for earning the most poles this season.
DIRT MotorSports distributed a total of $121,250 to the top-15 finishers in the 2006 MARS standings – arguably the most lucrative points fund for a regional Late Model tour in the country.
Frye, who won four times and racked up eight second-place finishes in the season’s 19 events, had no doubt about what made him a MARS champ for the first time since 2003.
“I wanted it worse than anything,” said Frye, who won twice at Missouri ’s Lebanon I-44 Speedway and single races at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway and West Plains ( Mo. ) Speedway . “That’s how I’ve won races all my life. It always been, I’m gonna work and race harder than everybody else, and that’s what we did this year.”
That wasn’t Frye’s mindset for the previous two seasons, however. By his own admission, his performance slipped. He attributed his drop-off to a combination of factors, including booming business at his ‘GRT by Frye’ speed/chassis shop, family commitments and the physical and emotional drain that invariably results from years of grueling travel.
“The last few years I got lazy, and it showed,” conceded Frye. “We got so busy building cars and doing repairs at the shop, our on-track stuff kinda went on the backburner.
“It didn’t help that my family couldn’t go to all the races with me, and maybe a little burnout from all the racing set in.”
Thoughts of retirement naturally crept into his head, but calling it a career is easier said than done for a short-track lifer like Frye.
“For the last three years I’ve been trying to figure out how I could just quit,” revealed Frye. “It’s not something I could decide overnight. Racing is my livelihood, it’s how I pay my bills, so I had to think real hard about how I could get out (of driving) and keep my business going.
“At first, I decided that if I’m gonna have to keep going to the track to talk to racers, I might as well race too. But after awhile I was getting tired of driving up-and-down the road (to races), so I got ready to take the next step.”
Frye paused, and then continued, “Last winter I decided, I’ll show ‘em I could still win a (MARS) championship (in ’06), then be done. I could walk away while I’m on top and then just build hot-rods.”
Frye didn’t gear up for a final rush in ’06 by purchasing brand-new engines; he stuck with five-year-old pieces he had on hand. But he did flash a renewed personal vigor, which translated into more success on the track.
“I’m not bragging, but I’ve been doing this so long I can run up front by instinct,” said Frye. “But it takes more than that to be a champion, and this year I went back to focusing on my driving, on watching the racetrack, on setting up the car.”
As Frye racked up strong finishes and seized control of the MARS point standings behind the wheel of his familiar Kuntz/Petroff Towing GRT No. 66, his certainty about retiring began to dwindle. The fact that his 11-year-old daughter started accompanying him to most events seemed to put him at ease.
“I could go the track and focus on driving again,” he said. “Racing was fun again.”
Too fun to give up, in fact, so Frye will be back prowling the MARS trail in 2007. He’ll make some changes to ensure that the good feelings he experienced this season will continue.
“I’m gonna back off the business to where we can concentrate on racing,” said Frye. “I’m gonna sell five new cars (rather than as many as 15) a year and I’m not gonna build any new cars during the racing season.”
Except for some UMP and other specials in the Missouri/Illinois/Kentucky/Arkansas area, Frye isn’t going to expand his racing schedule beyond the MARS tour.
“Everybody knows Bill Frye who’s gonna know Bill Frye,” he said. “I don’t need to travel all over to race.
“I just want to concentrate on racing and enjoy life.”
Several special awards were presented during the MARS gala.
* Will Vaught, 20, of Crane, Mo. , was named the 2006 MARS Rookie of the Year. The up-and-coming driver finished eighth in the point standings.
* Jordan Jones, 18, of Beebe , Ark. , was recognized as the Rookie of the Year runner-up.
* Rushin was honored as the Most Improved Driver.
* Brandon McCormick of Lebanon , Mo. , received the Sportsman of the Year award.
* GRT Race Cars of Greenbrier, Ark. , once again got the nod as the tour’s Chassis Builder of the Year.
* Phillips received a new GRT chassis in a drawing among the drivers who had perfect attendance on the MARS tour.
Following a successful 2006 season that saw MARS run 19 events at 10 tracks in three states, tour director Kim Norris announced that the 2007 schedule is shaping up to be even more exciting. She said dates are still be negotiated with track promoters and a complete ’07 sked should be released in the coming weeks.
2006 Mid-America Racing Series Points Fund Awards:
1. Bill Frye/Greenbrier, AR $25,000
2. Terry Phillips/Springfield, MO $20,000
3. Jeff Taylor/Cave City, AR $14,000
4. Steve Rushin/ Poplar Bluff , MO $12,000
5. Billy James/Sikeston, MO $11,000
6. Justin Wells/Aurora, MO $10,000
7. Jeff Floyd/Walnut Ridge, AR $6,000
8. Will Vaught/Crane, MO $5,000
9. Dane Dacus/Arlington, TN $4,000
10. Joey Mack/Benton, MO $3,500
11. Wendell Wallace/Batesville, AR $3,000
12. Brandon McCormick/Lebanon, MO $2,500
13. Jordan Jones/Beebe, AR $2,000
14. Jack Sullivan/Greenbrier, AR $1,750
15. Leslie Essary/Crane, MO $1,500
The veteran racer from Greenbrier, Ark. , revealed his intentions when he was honored for his fourth career Mid-America Racing Series (MARS) title during the DIRT Motorsports-owned Late Model tour’s 2006 ‘Night of Champions’ awards banquet on Nov. 18 inside the Clarion Hotel at the Grand Palace in Branson, Mo.
“My plan was to announce my retirement (from driving) if we won the championship,” said Frye, who has been tossing dirt Late Models around the country’s ovals for more than a quarter-century. “But after the season was over me and my wife (Carol) talked about it, and we said, ‘We’re not ready to quit yet.’”
That’s bad news for Frye’s MARS competition but good news for the regional tour, which will have its most prolific champion back for another season in 2007.
Frye entered the ’06 campaign tied atop the alltime MARS championship list with Terry Phillips of Springfield , Mo. , who earned titles in 2000, 2004 and 2005. The longtime rivals – and only champs in MARS history – battled hard in ’06 to be the first four-time king, with Frye capturing the $25,000 championship prize by a mere eight points over Phillips, who earned a $20,000 runner-up check.
Jeff Taylor of Cave City , Ark. , finished third in the MARS standings (worth $14,000), followed by Steve Rushin of Poplar Bluff, Mo. ($12,000) and Billy James of Sikeston, Mo. ($11,000), who also received the series Polesitter Award for earning the most poles this season.
DIRT MotorSports distributed a total of $121,250 to the top-15 finishers in the 2006 MARS standings – arguably the most lucrative points fund for a regional Late Model tour in the country.
Frye, who won four times and racked up eight second-place finishes in the season’s 19 events, had no doubt about what made him a MARS champ for the first time since 2003.
“I wanted it worse than anything,” said Frye, who won twice at Missouri ’s Lebanon I-44 Speedway and single races at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway and West Plains ( Mo. ) Speedway . “That’s how I’ve won races all my life. It always been, I’m gonna work and race harder than everybody else, and that’s what we did this year.”
That wasn’t Frye’s mindset for the previous two seasons, however. By his own admission, his performance slipped. He attributed his drop-off to a combination of factors, including booming business at his ‘GRT by Frye’ speed/chassis shop, family commitments and the physical and emotional drain that invariably results from years of grueling travel.
“The last few years I got lazy, and it showed,” conceded Frye. “We got so busy building cars and doing repairs at the shop, our on-track stuff kinda went on the backburner.
“It didn’t help that my family couldn’t go to all the races with me, and maybe a little burnout from all the racing set in.”
Thoughts of retirement naturally crept into his head, but calling it a career is easier said than done for a short-track lifer like Frye.
“For the last three years I’ve been trying to figure out how I could just quit,” revealed Frye. “It’s not something I could decide overnight. Racing is my livelihood, it’s how I pay my bills, so I had to think real hard about how I could get out (of driving) and keep my business going.
“At first, I decided that if I’m gonna have to keep going to the track to talk to racers, I might as well race too. But after awhile I was getting tired of driving up-and-down the road (to races), so I got ready to take the next step.”
Frye paused, and then continued, “Last winter I decided, I’ll show ‘em I could still win a (MARS) championship (in ’06), then be done. I could walk away while I’m on top and then just build hot-rods.”
Frye didn’t gear up for a final rush in ’06 by purchasing brand-new engines; he stuck with five-year-old pieces he had on hand. But he did flash a renewed personal vigor, which translated into more success on the track.
“I’m not bragging, but I’ve been doing this so long I can run up front by instinct,” said Frye. “But it takes more than that to be a champion, and this year I went back to focusing on my driving, on watching the racetrack, on setting up the car.”
As Frye racked up strong finishes and seized control of the MARS point standings behind the wheel of his familiar Kuntz/Petroff Towing GRT No. 66, his certainty about retiring began to dwindle. The fact that his 11-year-old daughter started accompanying him to most events seemed to put him at ease.
“I could go the track and focus on driving again,” he said. “Racing was fun again.”
Too fun to give up, in fact, so Frye will be back prowling the MARS trail in 2007. He’ll make some changes to ensure that the good feelings he experienced this season will continue.
“I’m gonna back off the business to where we can concentrate on racing,” said Frye. “I’m gonna sell five new cars (rather than as many as 15) a year and I’m not gonna build any new cars during the racing season.”
Except for some UMP and other specials in the Missouri/Illinois/Kentucky/Arkansas area, Frye isn’t going to expand his racing schedule beyond the MARS tour.
“Everybody knows Bill Frye who’s gonna know Bill Frye,” he said. “I don’t need to travel all over to race.
“I just want to concentrate on racing and enjoy life.”
Several special awards were presented during the MARS gala.
* Will Vaught, 20, of Crane, Mo. , was named the 2006 MARS Rookie of the Year. The up-and-coming driver finished eighth in the point standings.
* Jordan Jones, 18, of Beebe , Ark. , was recognized as the Rookie of the Year runner-up.
* Rushin was honored as the Most Improved Driver.
* Brandon McCormick of Lebanon , Mo. , received the Sportsman of the Year award.
* GRT Race Cars of Greenbrier, Ark. , once again got the nod as the tour’s Chassis Builder of the Year.
* Phillips received a new GRT chassis in a drawing among the drivers who had perfect attendance on the MARS tour.
Following a successful 2006 season that saw MARS run 19 events at 10 tracks in three states, tour director Kim Norris announced that the 2007 schedule is shaping up to be even more exciting. She said dates are still be negotiated with track promoters and a complete ’07 sked should be released in the coming weeks.
2006 Mid-America Racing Series Points Fund Awards:
1. Bill Frye/Greenbrier, AR $25,000
2. Terry Phillips/Springfield, MO $20,000
3. Jeff Taylor/Cave City, AR $14,000
4. Steve Rushin/ Poplar Bluff , MO $12,000
5. Billy James/Sikeston, MO $11,000
6. Justin Wells/Aurora, MO $10,000
7. Jeff Floyd/Walnut Ridge, AR $6,000
8. Will Vaught/Crane, MO $5,000
9. Dane Dacus/Arlington, TN $4,000
10. Joey Mack/Benton, MO $3,500
11. Wendell Wallace/Batesville, AR $3,000
12. Brandon McCormick/Lebanon, MO $2,500
13. Jordan Jones/Beebe, AR $2,000
14. Jack Sullivan/Greenbrier, AR $1,750
15. Leslie Essary/Crane, MO $1,500
