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LATEMODELRACER >> DRIVER PRESS RELEASES >> Back-To-Back Runner-Up Finishes In Georgia for Chubzilla
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Message started by LMR on 05/11/11 at 11:25pm

Title: Back-To-Back Runner-Up Finishes In Georgia for Chubzilla
Post by LMR on 05/11/11 at 11:25pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 11, 2011

Back-To-Back Runner-Up Finishes In Georgia Get Chub Frank Back In The Checkered-Flag Mix

BEAR LAKE, PA – May 11, 2011 – With a very successful weekend of World of Outlaws Late Model Series competition in Georgia, Chub Frank made it clear that he’s ready for a return to Victory Lane on the national tour.

The 49-year-old veteran from Bear Lake, Pa., scored back-to-back runner-up finishes last weekend, taking the bridesmaid cash in Saturday night’s ‘Pine Tree 50’ at Swainsboro Raceway and Sunday evening’s 40-lap A-Main at Needmore Speedway in Norman Park. The outings put ‘Chubzilla’ at the brink of snapping his frustrating 59-race winless streak on the WoO LMS.

“This car’s been good,” Frank said of his team’s older Corry Rubber/Hino Toyota Rocket. “I’m happy with how it’s going. We just need to get us a win now.”

Frank was very impressive in Saturday’s show at Swainsboro, charging forward from the 12th starting spot to chase winner Rick Eckert under the checkered flag. He passed Darrell Lanigan for second on lap 31 and crossed the finish line 2.728 seconds behind Eckert.

“I got pushed up high early in race and I found that my car was free enough to drive up there,” said Frank, who timed 12th-fastest and finished third in a heat race at Swainsboro. “The track kept getting rougher and rougher on the top, though, so you really had to be up on the wheel to hold it there. If they could’ve run it in a little better and smoothed it out, maybe I would’ve had something for (Eckert). It just got so rough up there, I just couldn’t stay up there.”

Frank didn’t have to work as hard to get to the front in Sunday evening’s inaugural WoO LMS event at Needmore. He qualified better – fourth-fastest in time trials and second in a heat – and parlayed that into an outside-pole starting spot in the pre-feature draw for position.

Faced with a sun-baked three-eighths-mile oval that developed a single lane of rubber, Frank fell to third behind polesitter Vic Coffey and third-starter Clint Smith at the initial green flag of the A-Main. But after moving up to second on lap 24 when Coffey relinquished the lead due to a spin caused by a tangle with the slower Jill George, Frank held firm in the runner-up slot behind Smith all the way to the finish.

“Well, I knew starting on the outside (in the A-Main) probably wasn’t gonna be the best situation,” said Frank. “In the heat race I got the jump, but in the feature I didn’t even get to spin the tires and Vic got by. I tried to get down, but Clint was already in the hole.”

Pulling off a pass wasn’t in the cards on the one-groove afternoon track, but Frank was happy with his second-place finish. It pushed his weekend earnings to $10,100 – a much-needed financial shot in the arm for his self-owned team.

Frank hailed Tim Fuller for providing some pre-race assistance at Needmore and gave a thumbs-up to Smith, who broke a 122-race, three-year winless streak on the WoO LMS.

“I just want to thank my buddy Fuller,” said Frank. “He lent me a tire. I didn’t have the right right-front tire, and he was starting so far back we kind of swapped out.”

After a pause, Frank also sent out congratulations to Smith. “He’s a buddy of mine, and I’m glad he got his win. It’s been a long time for him. It’s our turn next, though.”

Frank, who ended the weekend ranked fifth in the WoO LMS points standings through nine events (84 points behind leader Rick Eckert), will chase the tour this week to two tracks where he’s enjoyed success in the past. The WoO LMS visits Delaware International Speedway on Thursday night (May 12) and Winchester (Va.) Speedway on Saturday evening (May 14). Frank won Delaware’s WoO LMS event in 2007 and captured the dirt Late Model portion of the Winchester 200 in 1998.

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, All-Star Performance, Slavic Corporation, Custom Race Engines, GW Performance, Integra Shocks and Hoosier Tire.