BEAR LAKE, PA – Sept. 26, 2011 – Chub Frank finally grabbed the big victory he’s been craving on Saturday night at McKean County Raceway in East Smethport, Pa.
Driving his bright-orange Rocket car with a Roush-Yates Chevy engine under the hood, the 49-year-old veteran from Bear Lake, Pa., roared to a lucrative $13,000 triumph in the Northern Tier United Late Model Series ‘Priority Care Race FAN 50’ at a one-third-mile oval located just 90 minutes from his shop.
It was Frank’s third feature win of 2011 but definitely his most important; his previous scores came in weekly shows at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa. In addition, it marked the richest checkered flag for ‘Chubzilla’ since he captured a $20,000 World of Outlaws Late Model Series event in August 2009 at Ohio’s K-C Raceway.
“We needed it real bad,” said Frank, who fields his own race team with assistance from a list of sponsors that includes Corry Rubber, Hino Toyota and Horton Equipment. “Property taxes are due this week, bills need to be paid…a $13,000 win definitely helps in that department.”
Frank certainly earned every cent of his five-figure payoff, turning back challenges from fellow WoO LMS regular Rick Eckert and Dan Stone to register his fourth career ULMS victory. He started fourth and grabbed the lead from his cousin (and former crew chief) Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs on lap five, but both Eckert and Stone got close enough to threaten him. Stone even nosed ahead briefly to lead lap 36.
“Dan had a good race car, but he was out there in no-man’s land,” Frank said of Stone’s bid to use the outside of the oval. “The way the racetrack was, when you got behind somebody the dust would kick out there and it was like racing on marbles. The closer you got to ‘em, the harder it was to pass ‘em.
“Well, when Dan got by me on the outside, I had one of my customers in front of me and I had some trouble getting by him. I finally got into him enough to move him up the racetrack so I could get by him – and then with Dan hung up there on top, I was able to get back ahead of him and hold on to the end.”
Frank crossed the finish line ahead of Eckert. Stone settled for third and Briggs was fourth.
The triumph sent Frank home with a big smile on his face.
“It felt good,” Frank said of his win. “Things have been better the last few weeks. We made some changes on the car and it’s good, and the Roush-Yates motor (which he recently debuted) definitely has helped it.
“And my hand’s really not bothering me too bad,” he continued, alluding to the broken right thumb that he’s been driving with since injuring it in a heat-race tangle during the World 100 at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway on Sept. 10. “It’s not healed up yet, but it’s just kind of sore like a toothache right now. The brace I’m using now when I drive has definitely made a difference.”
Frank said he’s considering traveling to Brushcreek Motorsports Complex in Peebles, Ohio, this weekend (Sept. 30-Oct. 1) for the ‘Billy Bob’ events, but he’ll wait until later in the week to make a final determination. He’ll be spending most of his time this week assembling a new Rocket car that he plans to debut in the next WoO LMS event, on Oct. 6 at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park in Elbridge, N.Y.
For more information on Chub Frank, visit his Web site at www.chubfrank.com.
Chub Frank Racing receives support from many valued sponsors, including Corry Rubber, Lake Shore Paving, Hino Toyota, Sorbera Family Chiropractic, Horton Equipment, All-Star Performance, Slavic Corporation, Custom Race Engines, GW Performance, Integra Shocks, Hoosier Tire and Roush-Yates Racing Engines.