BEAR LAKE, PA – June 4, 2010 – Chub Frank took a giant step forward last weekend at West Virginia Motor Speedway – and nearly won one for his ailing wife Mary in the process.
Just hours after his better half fell ill in the team hauler and was admitted to a nearby hospital for tests, Frank registered a season-best World of Outlaws Late Model Series finish of fourth in last Saturday night's 30-lap 'RaceFest World Championships' A-Main. He was in contention for the win until the final circuits of the event that opened a holiday-weekend doubleheader at the big five-eighths-mile oval in Mineral Wells, W.Va.
Frank, 48, of Bear Lake, Pa., spent Saturday afternoon at the hospital with his wife before returning to the track shortly before the start of hot laps. He proceeded to time eighth-fastest, finish second in a heat race and take advantage of the third starting spot in the A-Main to run near the front of the pack for the entire distance.
There was no storybook ending; Frank's bids to overtake eventual winner Steve Shaver fell short and he fell to fourth in the final rundown after sliding across the track during one unsuccessful challenge. But he was encouraged by his performance.
"It feels good to run up front," said Frank, who recorded his second top-five finish of the 2010 WoO LMS campaign. "We were just a little too tight. If it would've turned getting in, we could've done something there."
He would've given his wife a hospital-bed present – that's what 'Chubzilla' would've done.
"Oh yeah, she'd have been happy," said Frank, whose wife was released from the hospital on Monday morning and feeling much better. "Trust me, she wants me to win. And I'm gonna need to win to pay the (medical) bills."
Buoyed by his strong outing, Frank entered the finale of the 'RaceFest World Championships' on Sunday night (May 30) with high hopes. But he had a disappointing evening, falling to 20th in time trials and finishing 22nd in the 40-lap A-Main after a mechanical issue forced him to retire after just 15 laps.
"We dropped a cylinder and after running it for 10 laps I pulled out because I didn't want to take a chance with the engine," said Frank, who started 14th in his Corry Rubber/HIn Toyota Rocket car. "I think the car was gonna be pretty good though. As soon as I got by Doug Drown I started picking the pace up, but the next lap it broke a cylinder."
Frank, who ended the WoO LMS weekend ranked 10th in the tour points standings (224 points behind leader Josh Richards), also made one non-Outlaw start over the Memorial Day weekend. After the Friday-night (May 28) WoO LMS show scheduled for Bedford (Pa.) Speedway was washed out by late-afternoon thunderstorms, Frank rushed over to Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., and scored a second-place finish in the evening's 25-lap dirt Late Model feature.
The runner-up finish was Frank's first loss of 2010 at Lernerville, where he had been victorious in his two previous weekly-program starts.
For more information on Chub Frank, visit his completely redesigned Web site at www.chubfrank.com.
Chub Frank Racing receives support from many valued sponsors, including Corry Rubber, Lake Shore Paving, Hino Toyota, Crown Drilling, Sorbera Family Chiropractic, All-Star Performance, Slavic Corporation, Custom Race Engines, GW Performance, Integra Shocks and Hoosier Tire.
Just hours after his better half fell ill in the team hauler and was admitted to a nearby hospital for tests, Frank registered a season-best World of Outlaws Late Model Series finish of fourth in last Saturday night's 30-lap 'RaceFest World Championships' A-Main. He was in contention for the win until the final circuits of the event that opened a holiday-weekend doubleheader at the big five-eighths-mile oval in Mineral Wells, W.Va.
Frank, 48, of Bear Lake, Pa., spent Saturday afternoon at the hospital with his wife before returning to the track shortly before the start of hot laps. He proceeded to time eighth-fastest, finish second in a heat race and take advantage of the third starting spot in the A-Main to run near the front of the pack for the entire distance.
There was no storybook ending; Frank's bids to overtake eventual winner Steve Shaver fell short and he fell to fourth in the final rundown after sliding across the track during one unsuccessful challenge. But he was encouraged by his performance.
"It feels good to run up front," said Frank, who recorded his second top-five finish of the 2010 WoO LMS campaign. "We were just a little too tight. If it would've turned getting in, we could've done something there."
He would've given his wife a hospital-bed present – that's what 'Chubzilla' would've done.
"Oh yeah, she'd have been happy," said Frank, whose wife was released from the hospital on Monday morning and feeling much better. "Trust me, she wants me to win. And I'm gonna need to win to pay the (medical) bills."
Buoyed by his strong outing, Frank entered the finale of the 'RaceFest World Championships' on Sunday night (May 30) with high hopes. But he had a disappointing evening, falling to 20th in time trials and finishing 22nd in the 40-lap A-Main after a mechanical issue forced him to retire after just 15 laps.
"We dropped a cylinder and after running it for 10 laps I pulled out because I didn't want to take a chance with the engine," said Frank, who started 14th in his Corry Rubber/HIn Toyota Rocket car. "I think the car was gonna be pretty good though. As soon as I got by Doug Drown I started picking the pace up, but the next lap it broke a cylinder."
Frank, who ended the WoO LMS weekend ranked 10th in the tour points standings (224 points behind leader Josh Richards), also made one non-Outlaw start over the Memorial Day weekend. After the Friday-night (May 28) WoO LMS show scheduled for Bedford (Pa.) Speedway was washed out by late-afternoon thunderstorms, Frank rushed over to Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., and scored a second-place finish in the evening's 25-lap dirt Late Model feature.
The runner-up finish was Frank's first loss of 2010 at Lernerville, where he had been victorious in his two previous weekly-program starts.
For more information on Chub Frank, visit his completely redesigned Web site at www.chubfrank.com.
Chub Frank Racing receives support from many valued sponsors, including Corry Rubber, Lake Shore Paving, Hino Toyota, Crown Drilling, Sorbera Family Chiropractic, All-Star Performance, Slavic Corporation, Custom Race Engines, GW Performance, Integra Shocks and Hoosier Tire.
