ROSSBURG, OH – July 24, 2008 – Last year dirt Late Model standout Chub Frank and NASCAR Sprint Cup star Tony Stewart battled for the lead in the ‘Subway 50’ at Eldora Speedway and neither of them emerged as a winner.
The rematch comes this Friday night (July 25) when the World of Outlaws Late Model Series Alltel Ohio Speedweek visits Stewart’s famed half-mile oval. Will one of the hard chargers gain a dose of redemption?
Frank, 46, of Bear Lake, Pa., would certainly relish the opportunity to finish the job in WoO LMS competition at Eldora. The former World 100 winner, after all, was leading last year’s Subway 50 with 10 laps remaining when Stewart’s attempt to grab the top spot with a ‘slider’ in turn four resulted in both drivers spinning into the homestretch wall and out of contention.
Though Frank professes that he long ago put the controversial incident in his rearview mirror, it’s clear that he hasn’t totally forgotten the tangle when someone asks him a simple question: “If Tony Stewart is leading coming out of turn four for the checkered flag this year and you’re alongside him, who’s going to win?”
“The guy that’s running in third place,” Frank quipped with a devilish smile crossing his face.
A veteran racer who enjoys throwing verbal darts to stir the pot, Frank tossed out another one when discussing the likelihood of a second showdown with Stewart on Friday night. Stewart will be there to drive his Old Spice/Bass Pro Shops Rocket No. 20 against the Outlaws after completing his afternoon NASCAR commitments at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“It’s not gonna be the same racetrack as last year so I don’t think Stewart is gonna be anywhere near us,” Frank said with another sly grin on his lips. “It just isn’t gonna happen like it did last year – the rain last year is what got us together where we were at.
“I don’t think there’s gonna be any issues between us. Everybody would just like it to be an issue, but it just isn’t gonna be.”
Stewart, who won the Old Spice Prelude to the Dream on June 4 in his last dirt Late Model start at Eldora, and Frank have talked since the incident left both sulking over their fates. That discussion came less than a month after the tangle, when they competed against each other in a special NASCAR Night event at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.
“(Ken) Schrader was a needler that night,” said Frank, who fielded a dirt Late Model for Schrader at Lernerville. “He was busting Tony’s balls pretty good about our Eldora deal all night.
“At the time (the tangle happened) I was a little upset, but I just moved on to the next race. It’s over and done with. I’ve lost more than the $10,000 that race paid, so I don’t worry about it.”
Frank, who rallied to finish seventh in last year’s WoO LMS event at Eldora despite racing the final circuits with his car’s rear clip bent, said he’ll be more prepared for any potential Stewart assault this year.
“I had never really raced him (before last year’s WoO LMS show at Eldora) so I didn’t know how he raced,” said Frank. “I should’ve known he was going to do everything he could to win the race. That’s all he was there for – to win the race.
“Trust me, if we’re out of the (WoO LMS) point race, I’d be racing the same way. Sometimes when you’re points racing you go for the win, but you might not do crazy things to try to win it.
“Now I know how he races, so it’s not a problem. I don’t plan to be anywhere near him (on Friday), but if we are, we’ll race him just as hard as he races us.”
Frank and Stewart will face plenty of competition in the Subway 50, which promises to boast one of the most talented fields of any WoO LMS event this season.
The all-star roster of WoO LMS regulars will include Frank; defending champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky.; points leader Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky.; 20-year-old Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va.; Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., who nearly made a dramatic run from the rear to win last year’s Subway 50; 2007 Rookie of the Year Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., who captured back-to-back tour wins last week in Williston, N.D., and Gillette, Wyo.; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., who is coming off his first WoO LMS victory of the season in the ‘Wild West Tour’ finale on July 21 in Albion, Neb.; Rick Eckert of York, Pa.; Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga.; John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va.; and 2008 Rookie of the Year contenders Vic Coffey of Leicester, N.Y., Danny Johnson of Phelps, N.Y., and Joe Isabell of Pennellville, N.Y.
Also expected to compete are former WoO LMS champions Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., and Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y.; Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., who won last year’s scintillating Subway 50; Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa; Donnie Moran of Dresden, Ohio; Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis.; and Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning, Mich.
Gates are scheduled to open at 3 p.m., with hot laps set for 6:30 p.m. and racing for 8 p.m.
Tickets are $25 for ages 16-and-over, $12 for ages 12-15, $6 for ages 7-11 and free for kids 6-and-under. Pit passes will cost $30.
For more information on the Subway 50, visit www.eldoraspeedway.com or call 937-338-3815.
The WoO LMS Alltel Ohio Speedweek will also make stops on July 24 at Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville, Ohio; July 26 at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio; and July 27 at Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa.
The top five finishers each night of Alltel Ohio Speedweek will qualify to become the ‘Alltel Ohio Speedweek All-Star,’ making a possible 20 different drivers eligible for the title. Voting for the drivers will begin online at AlltelAllStar.com after the final Alltel Ohio Speedweek event July 27 at Eriez Speedway.
Alltel will have an interactive display at each Speedweek event which fans can visit to meet WoO LMS drivers and receive hero cards and posters.
Additional info on the WoO LMS is available by logging on to www.worldofoutlaws.com.
The rematch comes this Friday night (July 25) when the World of Outlaws Late Model Series Alltel Ohio Speedweek visits Stewart’s famed half-mile oval. Will one of the hard chargers gain a dose of redemption?
Frank, 46, of Bear Lake, Pa., would certainly relish the opportunity to finish the job in WoO LMS competition at Eldora. The former World 100 winner, after all, was leading last year’s Subway 50 with 10 laps remaining when Stewart’s attempt to grab the top spot with a ‘slider’ in turn four resulted in both drivers spinning into the homestretch wall and out of contention.
Though Frank professes that he long ago put the controversial incident in his rearview mirror, it’s clear that he hasn’t totally forgotten the tangle when someone asks him a simple question: “If Tony Stewart is leading coming out of turn four for the checkered flag this year and you’re alongside him, who’s going to win?”
“The guy that’s running in third place,” Frank quipped with a devilish smile crossing his face.
A veteran racer who enjoys throwing verbal darts to stir the pot, Frank tossed out another one when discussing the likelihood of a second showdown with Stewart on Friday night. Stewart will be there to drive his Old Spice/Bass Pro Shops Rocket No. 20 against the Outlaws after completing his afternoon NASCAR commitments at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“It’s not gonna be the same racetrack as last year so I don’t think Stewart is gonna be anywhere near us,” Frank said with another sly grin on his lips. “It just isn’t gonna happen like it did last year – the rain last year is what got us together where we were at.
“I don’t think there’s gonna be any issues between us. Everybody would just like it to be an issue, but it just isn’t gonna be.”
Stewart, who won the Old Spice Prelude to the Dream on June 4 in his last dirt Late Model start at Eldora, and Frank have talked since the incident left both sulking over their fates. That discussion came less than a month after the tangle, when they competed against each other in a special NASCAR Night event at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.
“(Ken) Schrader was a needler that night,” said Frank, who fielded a dirt Late Model for Schrader at Lernerville. “He was busting Tony’s balls pretty good about our Eldora deal all night.
“At the time (the tangle happened) I was a little upset, but I just moved on to the next race. It’s over and done with. I’ve lost more than the $10,000 that race paid, so I don’t worry about it.”
Frank, who rallied to finish seventh in last year’s WoO LMS event at Eldora despite racing the final circuits with his car’s rear clip bent, said he’ll be more prepared for any potential Stewart assault this year.
“I had never really raced him (before last year’s WoO LMS show at Eldora) so I didn’t know how he raced,” said Frank. “I should’ve known he was going to do everything he could to win the race. That’s all he was there for – to win the race.
“Trust me, if we’re out of the (WoO LMS) point race, I’d be racing the same way. Sometimes when you’re points racing you go for the win, but you might not do crazy things to try to win it.
“Now I know how he races, so it’s not a problem. I don’t plan to be anywhere near him (on Friday), but if we are, we’ll race him just as hard as he races us.”
Frank and Stewart will face plenty of competition in the Subway 50, which promises to boast one of the most talented fields of any WoO LMS event this season.
The all-star roster of WoO LMS regulars will include Frank; defending champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky.; points leader Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky.; 20-year-old Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va.; Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., who nearly made a dramatic run from the rear to win last year’s Subway 50; 2007 Rookie of the Year Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., who captured back-to-back tour wins last week in Williston, N.D., and Gillette, Wyo.; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., who is coming off his first WoO LMS victory of the season in the ‘Wild West Tour’ finale on July 21 in Albion, Neb.; Rick Eckert of York, Pa.; Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga.; John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va.; and 2008 Rookie of the Year contenders Vic Coffey of Leicester, N.Y., Danny Johnson of Phelps, N.Y., and Joe Isabell of Pennellville, N.Y.
Also expected to compete are former WoO LMS champions Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., and Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y.; Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., who won last year’s scintillating Subway 50; Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa; Donnie Moran of Dresden, Ohio; Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis.; and Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning, Mich.
Gates are scheduled to open at 3 p.m., with hot laps set for 6:30 p.m. and racing for 8 p.m.
Tickets are $25 for ages 16-and-over, $12 for ages 12-15, $6 for ages 7-11 and free for kids 6-and-under. Pit passes will cost $30.
For more information on the Subway 50, visit www.eldoraspeedway.com or call 937-338-3815.
The WoO LMS Alltel Ohio Speedweek will also make stops on July 24 at Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville, Ohio; July 26 at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio; and July 27 at Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa.
The top five finishers each night of Alltel Ohio Speedweek will qualify to become the ‘Alltel Ohio Speedweek All-Star,’ making a possible 20 different drivers eligible for the title. Voting for the drivers will begin online at AlltelAllStar.com after the final Alltel Ohio Speedweek event July 27 at Eriez Speedway.
Alltel will have an interactive display at each Speedweek event which fans can visit to meet WoO LMS drivers and receive hero cards and posters.
Additional info on the WoO LMS is available by logging on to www.worldofoutlaws.com.
