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Chub Frank Will Talk Dirt-Track Racing At Seneca
Nation Library In Salamanca, N.Y., On Sat., March 10
CONCORD, NC – March 1, 2007 – What is Chub Frank doing during the
one-month break in the 360 OTC World of Outlaws Late Model Series schedule?
The superstar driver known as ‘Chubzilla’ isn’t merely gearing up for
the ‘World of Outlaws March Through Dixie’ that will visit Louisiana,
Mississippi and Alabama the weekend of March 23-25. He’s also spending some
time spreading the word about dirt-track racing to the local community.
Frank, 45, of Bear Lake, Pa., will appear at the Seneca Nation Library in
Salamanca, N.Y., on Sat., March 10, to talk about the grassroots sport in which
he makes his living.
In an appearance sponsored by the Seneca Nation Library and ‘Friends of the
Library,’ Frank will conduct an afternoon presentation titled “Everything
You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About Dirt-Track Racing But Never Had The Chance To
Ask.” He will provide audience members insight into the sport during two
one-hour, question-and-answer periods inside the library.
“The only time I’ve done a question-and-answer-type deal is at the Rocket
(Chassis) School, so this is something new for me,” said Frank, one of the
country’s most decorated and popular dirt Late Model drivers. “But we’ll
have some fun with it and maybe get some people interested in dirt racing.”
Frank, whose race shop near the New York State border is approximately a
half-hour drive from the Seneca Nation Library, will answer questions on March
10 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and again from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. In between, from 2 p.m.
to 3 p.m., he’ll take part in an autograph and photo session, with fans
encouraged to bring die-cast cars, t-shirts and other racing memorabilia for
Frank to sign.
Weather permitting; Frank will also have one of his Lester Buildings,Corry
Rubber, Lake Shore Paving, Corry Laser, Chevrolet Impala SS cars on display.
The Seneca Nation Library is located off Exit 20 of Interstate 86, next to
the Seneca Nation Museum. It is within an hour’s drive of two tracks that will
host 360 OTC WoO LMS events this season: Stateline Speedway in Busti, N.Y.
(Wed., June 27) and Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa. (Sun., July 22).
Following his public appearance, Frank will return to his garage and continue
preparations for the resumption of the 360 OTC WoO LMS. The tour’s ‘March
Through Dixie’ will visit Baton Rouge Raceway in Baker, La., on Fri., March
23; Columbus (Miss.) Speedway on Sat., March 24; and North Alabama Speedway in
Tuscumbia, Ala., on Sun., March 25.
Frank plans to enter the weekend events in the Deep South behind the wheel of
the same Rocket car that was sidelined for the tour’s season opener on Feb. 18
at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., by a heat-race crash. Following
the wreck, his crew pulled out a brand-new car and Frank ran it in the 50-lap
Florida DIRTcar Nationals feature, finishing a respectable ninth despite using a
provisional to start 25th.
“We’re re-skinning the car we wrecked,” said Frank, noting that the
damage the machine sustained at Volusia was relatively light. “It’ll have
the same paint scheme (and Impala SS body) as our new car.”
A solid ninth in the point standings heading into the Southern swing, Frank
is as confident as he’s ever been about his chances of winning the 360 OTC WoO
LMS championship in 2007.
In fact, not only is Frank loaded for bear with his equipment, he’s also
made himself more physically fit for competition. A diet and exercise regime
during the off-season helped him lose more than 30 pounds, forcing him to update
his measurements before purchasing a new racing uniform and prompting jokesters
to call him ‘Slimzilla.’
“I gotta get in shape to keep up with these young guys,” smiled Frank.
For more information on Chub Frank and the 360 OTC World of Outlaws Late
Model Series, visit www.chubfrank.com and www.worldofoutlaws.com.
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‘Chubzilla’ Relieved To Depart With Top-10
Finish In 360 OTC World of Outlaws Late Model Series Season
Opener
BARBERVILLE, FL – February 19, 2007- Chub Frank didn’t start off the 2007
schedule for the 360 OTC World of Outlaws Late Model Series quite the way he
would have liked.
But the driver known as ‘Chubzilla’ will certainly accept his ultimate
result in Saturday night’s tour season opener at Volusia Speedway Park rather
than the scary alternative.
Chub, of Bear Lake, Pa., in his Lester Buildings, Corry Rubber, All Star
Performance, Corry Laser, Slavic Corporation, Farr MotorSports, Lake Shore
Paving, Custom Race Engines, Chevrolet Impala SS, Rocket Chassis #1* made a
strong comeback from a heat-race accident to finish ninth in the 50-lap feature
that kicked off the 360 OTC WoO LMS’s 2007 campaign, salvaging a night that
could have put an early dent in his hopes for a first-ever tour title.
“We’re happy to get out of here with a top 10 after that disaster,”
bottom-lined Chub, referring to the crash that sent him and his crew scrambling
for the remainder of the night.
Indeed, Chub’s primary Lester Buildings/Corry Rubber Rocket No. 1* was
sidelined in a multi-car tangle at the start of the evening’s second heat. His
machine ended up slamming the turn-four inside wall backward.
“Them guys were all banging off each other,” remembered Chub. “I checked
up for the 33 car and got in to him a little bit. We would’ve been O.K., but
the guys behind me kept on the gas and spun me around.
“I hit the inside wall pretty hard, about flipped ‘er over. I don’t know
if there’s that much damage, but it knocked the panhard bar mount off, so it
was easier to just unload the other car because we were gonna have to take a
provisional anyway.”
The car Chub and Co. rolled out of their hauler was a brand-new Rocket mount
that had not yet circled a racetrack. It boasts a Chevy Impala SS body and “different
front-end geometry and suspension,” as well as a paint scheme that will be
visible on all Chub’s equipment for the remainder of the season.
After shaking down the Late Model at the back of a B-Main, Chub used a
provisional spot (he was in line for one thanks to finishing third in last year’s
360 OTC WoO LMS point standings) to start 25th in the 27-car Florida DIRTcar
Nationals A-Main. He cut through half the field in a matter of 10 laps, but he
leveled off and settled for a ninth-place finish in the caution-free event.
“We went soft on tires on the left-rear to try and get up through the pack,”
explained Chub. “It worked for us. I didn’t know the race was gonna go (all)
green, but I don’t think we would’ve ever got up there where we did if we
had hard tires.
“To get a top 10 out of that deal, we’re happy. We didn’t kill ourselves
in the points in the first race, and now we’ll move on to the next race.”
The 360 OTC WoO LMS event closed out a successful Florida DIRTcar Nationals for
Chub, who also scored top-five finishes in the week’s three UMP DIRTcar Racing
Late Model features.
Chub started his Sunshine State action on Monday night (Feb. 12) by advancing
from the 10th starting spot to place fourth in the 25-lap A-Main. He followed
that up with a strong second-place finish to Shannon Babb in the Valentine’s
Day 30-lapper on Wednesday night (from the ninth starting spot), and he won a
heat and finished fifth in Friday night’s 40-lap headliner that ended UMP
action for the week. (Tuesday night’s UMP show and Thursday night’s 360 OTC
WoO LMS program were rained out.)
‘Chubzilla’ entered Saturday night’s 360 OTC WoO LMS program leading the
Florida DIRTcar Nationals UMP Late Model point standings. But he fell short of
the championship in the week-long points battle, which included the results of
the 360 OTC WoO LMS opener because the UMP Hoosier 20/40 tire rule was in effect
for the event.
Chub’s fellow 360 OTC WoO LMS regular, Josh Richards, nipped him for the
Florida DIRTcar Nationals UMP Late Model points title on the strength of his win
in Saturday night’s A-Main.
“I knew Josh had to beat me by three spots for the title, and he got the job
done,” said Chub. “It would’ve been nice to win to pick up a little ‘free
money’ at the end of the year (the points-fund cash will be paid out at the
UMP Awards Banquet), but we’ll still get a little for where we finished.”
Chub couldn’t complain about his week of racing at the half-mile oval.
“We didn’t win a race, but we were good all week,” he said. “We moved
forward – we never started on the front row and went backward, so I’m happy
with that. Anytime you go forward, you gotta be happy.
“And I think we passed a lot of cars, so I’m happy about that too.”
After making the 1,000-plus-mile trek home to western Pennsylvania – where the
deck of his house was awaiting his arrival to clear it of the foot-and-a-half of
snow that fell while he was racing in Florida – Chub said his focus would
shift to preparing for the ‘World of Outlaws March Through Dixie’ scheduled
for March 23-25. The tour will visit Baton Rouge Raceway in Baker, La., on Fri.,
March 23; Columbus (Miss.) Speedway on Sat., March 24; and North Alabama
Speedway in Tuscumbia, Ala., on Sun., March 25.
“We’re gonna go home and have a lot of work to do,” said Chub. “We’ll
put the car that got crashed back together and run it at Baton Rouge with new
colors, and we’ll bring the new one as a backup.”
C.F. Racing PR.
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