Contact: World Racing Group Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director 704-254-7929 * [email protected][email protected]>
Chub Frank Looking For Another Big Win At K-C Raceway When World of Outlaws Late Model Series Visits On Saturday Night (Aug. 23)
Pennsy Star Returns To Ohio Track For First Time Since Capturing Last Fall's $50,000 Dirt Track World Championship
ALMA, OH - Aug. 21, 2008 - Chub Frank will have a smile on his face when he drives through K-C Raceway's pit gate this Saturday night (Aug. 23) for a $10,000-to-win World of Outlaws Late Model Series spectacular.
The sight of the three-eighths-mile oval, after all, will bring back all the happy memories of Frank's last visit to the Buckeye State track - a $50,000 victory in last fall's Dirt Track World Championship 100.
And considering Frank's frustrating recent racing fortunes on the nation's premier dirt Late Model tour, a stop at a track that's treated him well in the past just might be a perfect tonic for his troubles.
"We're looking forward to going anywhere we've had some success," said Frank, who also has a 2001 STARS/Renegade Series triumph at K-C Raceway on his resume. "We need some kind of positive right now, so maybe a track I know I've been good at will get us going in the right direction."
Frank, 46, of Bear Lake, Pa., is mired in a summer-long slump on the WoO LMS. Coming off a career-best season in 2007 that saw him lead the tour in A-Main victories (six) and finish second in the points standings, the popular driver known as 'Chubzilla' has just a single win on his '08 ledger and enters this week's action ranked fifth in the points battle, over 200 points behind leader Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky.
Prior to a fifth-place finish in Wednesday night's WoO LMS event at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn., Frank had gone seven consecutive tour events since his last top-five finish, on July 20 at Belleville (Kans.) High Banks. What's more, since his lone victory on May 18 at Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway, he has uncharacteristically been out of the mix at the front of the field more often than not, registering just five top-five finishes in 22 events.
Frank's doldrums saw him fall from a tie for second in the points standings - just six points out of first - after his triumph to his current status, scrapping just to remain in the top five. For a WoO LMS stalwart who stands as the only driver to improve his final finishing position in the tour's points standings every season since 2004, this development is certainly unacceptable.
"We came into this season hoping to win the championship," said Frank. "We're definitely disappointed to be where we're at now, but all we can do is try to finish the season the best we can."
Frank would like that late-season push to include a strong performance at K-C Raceway, which is acknowledged as one of the raciest tracks on the WoO LMS schedule. The tour did not compete at the track last season because Mother Nature washed out the scheduled late-August show just before qualifying was set to begin, so Frank, his fellow racers and thousands of fans are anxious to return on Saturday night.
"If we could have a night like we had at the Dirt Track (World Championship) last year, we'll be real happy," said Frank, who fields his own equipment with primary sponsorship from Lester Buildings. "We had a good car that night, but the big thing was that everything went our way. We happened to qualify good, we won our heat, we drew the pole (for the feature), and we were good enough at the end to beat Josh (Richards)."
Frank is hopeful that he can tune his Rocket No. 1* to perform over Saturday night's 50-lap as well as it did in last fall's 100-lapper at K-C Raceway.
"We've seemed to go a little better in 100-lap races at K-C than we have in 50-lappers," said Frank, who finished 10th in the last WoO LMS A-Main run at K-C Raceway, a 50-lap show on July 22, 2006, that was run by 2006 WoO LMS champion Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y. "If we can get the setup right and qualify well, then I like our chances there."
Frank will have plenty of competition at K-C, which figures to attract a field bulging with top-notch talent.
Lanigan will bring his points lead to K-C in hopes of taking another step toward his first career WoO LMS title. He's being pursued by defending champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., who lives just over an hour's drive from K-C and has won multiple events at the track during his career, and the Shinnston, W.Va.'s Richards, a 20-year-old who finished second in last year's DTWC at the track.
Other WoO LMS regulars headed to K-C include Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., who won the 2006 DTWC at the oval; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.; Rick Eckert of York, Pa.; Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga.; Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y.; and Rookie of the Year contenders Vic Coffey of Leicester, N.Y., and Joe Isabell of Pennellville, N.Y.
The field will be accented by such names as McCreadie; 2006 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, W.Va., who won a 50-lap event earlier this season at K-C; Steve Shaver of Vienna, W.Va., who finished second in the 2006 WoO LMS event at K-C; Mike Balzano of Parkersburg, W.Va.; Tim Dohm of Cross Lanes, W.Va.; Robbie Blair of Titusville, Pa.; and K-C regulars like points leader Ben Adkins of West Portsmouth, Ohio, Jason Montgomery of Jackson, Ohio, and the Conley family of Wheelersburg, Ohio (father Delmas, 66, and brothers Rod, 46, and R.J., 44).
K-C's gates are scheduled to open at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, with action set to get underway at 7 p.m.
General admission is $27 for adults and $15 for children ages 6-12, with kids 6-and-under admitted free of charge. Pit passes are $35.
For further information, visit www.kc-raceway.com<http://www.kc-raceway.com/> or call the track office at 740-289-4114.
K-C Raceway is located 12 miles south of Chillicothe, Ohio, in Alma, two miles off SR 23 on Blain Highway.
Additional information on the WoO LMS can be obtained by visiting www.worldofoutlaws.com<http://www.worldofoutlaws.com/>.