CONCORD, NC - Nov. 15, 2009 - After sitting out last weekend's World of Outlaws World Finals due to a painful facial injury, Chub Frank was certainly in need of some good news.
The veteran World of Outlaws Late Model Series regular got a dose of it – relatively speaking – on Wednesday afternoon.
Frank, 47, of Bear Lake, Pa., visited a specialist near his home and was informed that he would not need surgery for his injuries, which included fractures in his right cheek and orbital bone. He suffered the injuries during the first heat of the WoO LMS Hungry Man Showdown on Nov. 4 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway when an apparent clod of thick, hard-packed clay entered his car's cockpit and smashed into his helmet.
“It's definitely a relief to know I don't need surgery,” Frank said by phone from his race shop on Friday afternoon. “We have a lot of work to do to get ready for next year and I wasn't looking forward to taking time out for surgery.”
According to Frank, the specialist he consulted upon returning from North Carolina looked at his x-rays and determined that “all the bones are lined up and will heal on their own.” He had been told that an operation might be necessary after an initial examination by doctors at a Charlotte-area hospital, where he was transported following the incident.
Frank, who was back at The Dirt Track by midnight the evening of his incident, said the significant swelling he sported on the right side of his face for several days was virtually gone just over one week later. Some bruising and a bloodshot right eye remained as well as slight soreness, but he hasn't been deterred from diving into his off-season preparation.
“It was just a freak deal I guess,” said Frank, who didn't race for the rest of the weekend but was seen socializing in the pit area after each night's action and also attended the 2009 WoO LMS Awards Banquet on Nov. 8 in Concord, N.C. (wearing sunglasses to cover his bruised-and-bloodied eye). “There ain't nothing you can do about it now, so we'll just start thinking about next year. I'm just glad it's over with and I can look forward to getting my stuff ready for what I hope is going to be a better year.”
Frank finished a disappointing seventh in the 2009 WoO LMS points standings, earning a $24,000 points-fund check. He maintained that spot in the final rankings despite having to sit out both halves of the World Finals doubleheader; as a contracted WoO LMS driver unable to compete due to injury, he received 75 ‘hardship' (show-up) points for each program. (The Hungry Man Showdown offered only show-up points to all drivers.)
The injury did bring an inauspicious end to Frank's near-perfect record career starting record on the WoO LMS. When he failed to take the green flag in the Hungry Man Showdown, it marked the first time he did not participate in a tour A-Main since March 14, 2004, at Atomic Speedway in Oak Ridge, Tenn., snapping his consecutive-start streak at 227 races. Frank's single previous WoO LMS A-Main DNS prior to his three misses last weekend came in the sixth event of the tour's 2004 comeback season under the World Racing Group banner.
The only drivers with career WoO LMS starting records entering the World Finals that exceeded or matched Frank's were Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., and Rick Eckert of York, Pa. – the lone racers who have started every series A-Main run since 2004 (a total of 237 races with the completion of the 2009 season) – and Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., who has missed just one Outlaw A-Main (on Feb. 19, 2006).
In an ironic sideline to Frank's injury, Smith and Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y. – two of Frank's closest friends on the WoO LMS – also absorbed blows to the helmet from apparent flying clods of clay during qualifying events for the Hungry Man Showdown at The Dirt Track. But they were more fortunate than Frank – Fuller was left with a cut above his nose and a welt on his cheek after taking a hit during the sixth heat, while Smith was momentarily stunned from a hard impact during a B-Main but escaped with little visible facial damage and a sore shoulder.
Neither Smith nor Fuller required a hospital visit, and both used provisional spots to start the postponed Hungry Man Showdown A-Main when it was run the next day and competed in the World Finals.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Crane Cams (Official Valvetrain), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Fusion Energy Boost (Official Energy Boost), SuperClean (Official Cleaner-Degreaser) and VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors Champ Pans, Eibach Springs, Hoosier Tires, Integra Shocks, Jake's Custom Golf Carts, Ohlins Shocks, Racing Electronics, Quarter Master, Wrisco Aluminum and Bill Pink Carburetors; Crane Cams Engine Builder's Challenge participants Cornett Racing Engines, Custom Race Engines and Pro Power Racing Engines; and Chassis Builder Challenge participants Rocket Chassis and Team Zero by Bloomquist.
The veteran World of Outlaws Late Model Series regular got a dose of it – relatively speaking – on Wednesday afternoon.
Frank, 47, of Bear Lake, Pa., visited a specialist near his home and was informed that he would not need surgery for his injuries, which included fractures in his right cheek and orbital bone. He suffered the injuries during the first heat of the WoO LMS Hungry Man Showdown on Nov. 4 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway when an apparent clod of thick, hard-packed clay entered his car's cockpit and smashed into his helmet.
“It's definitely a relief to know I don't need surgery,” Frank said by phone from his race shop on Friday afternoon. “We have a lot of work to do to get ready for next year and I wasn't looking forward to taking time out for surgery.”
According to Frank, the specialist he consulted upon returning from North Carolina looked at his x-rays and determined that “all the bones are lined up and will heal on their own.” He had been told that an operation might be necessary after an initial examination by doctors at a Charlotte-area hospital, where he was transported following the incident.
Frank, who was back at The Dirt Track by midnight the evening of his incident, said the significant swelling he sported on the right side of his face for several days was virtually gone just over one week later. Some bruising and a bloodshot right eye remained as well as slight soreness, but he hasn't been deterred from diving into his off-season preparation.
“It was just a freak deal I guess,” said Frank, who didn't race for the rest of the weekend but was seen socializing in the pit area after each night's action and also attended the 2009 WoO LMS Awards Banquet on Nov. 8 in Concord, N.C. (wearing sunglasses to cover his bruised-and-bloodied eye). “There ain't nothing you can do about it now, so we'll just start thinking about next year. I'm just glad it's over with and I can look forward to getting my stuff ready for what I hope is going to be a better year.”
Frank finished a disappointing seventh in the 2009 WoO LMS points standings, earning a $24,000 points-fund check. He maintained that spot in the final rankings despite having to sit out both halves of the World Finals doubleheader; as a contracted WoO LMS driver unable to compete due to injury, he received 75 ‘hardship' (show-up) points for each program. (The Hungry Man Showdown offered only show-up points to all drivers.)
The injury did bring an inauspicious end to Frank's near-perfect record career starting record on the WoO LMS. When he failed to take the green flag in the Hungry Man Showdown, it marked the first time he did not participate in a tour A-Main since March 14, 2004, at Atomic Speedway in Oak Ridge, Tenn., snapping his consecutive-start streak at 227 races. Frank's single previous WoO LMS A-Main DNS prior to his three misses last weekend came in the sixth event of the tour's 2004 comeback season under the World Racing Group banner.
The only drivers with career WoO LMS starting records entering the World Finals that exceeded or matched Frank's were Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., and Rick Eckert of York, Pa. – the lone racers who have started every series A-Main run since 2004 (a total of 237 races with the completion of the 2009 season) – and Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., who has missed just one Outlaw A-Main (on Feb. 19, 2006).
In an ironic sideline to Frank's injury, Smith and Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y. – two of Frank's closest friends on the WoO LMS – also absorbed blows to the helmet from apparent flying clods of clay during qualifying events for the Hungry Man Showdown at The Dirt Track. But they were more fortunate than Frank – Fuller was left with a cut above his nose and a welt on his cheek after taking a hit during the sixth heat, while Smith was momentarily stunned from a hard impact during a B-Main but escaped with little visible facial damage and a sore shoulder.
Neither Smith nor Fuller required a hospital visit, and both used provisional spots to start the postponed Hungry Man Showdown A-Main when it was run the next day and competed in the World Finals.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Crane Cams (Official Valvetrain), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Fusion Energy Boost (Official Energy Boost), SuperClean (Official Cleaner-Degreaser) and VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors Champ Pans, Eibach Springs, Hoosier Tires, Integra Shocks, Jake's Custom Golf Carts, Ohlins Shocks, Racing Electronics, Quarter Master, Wrisco Aluminum and Bill Pink Carburetors; Crane Cams Engine Builder's Challenge participants Cornett Racing Engines, Custom Race Engines and Pro Power Racing Engines; and Chassis Builder Challenge participants Rocket Chassis and Team Zero by Bloomquist.
