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Kevin Kovac
CONCORD, N.C. (February 11) - With a career-first World of Outlaws Late Model Series championship now finally off his to-do list, Steve Francis is ready to go for two in-a-row in 2008.
But the road to another title for the 'Kentucky Colonel' has already taken on a decidedly different look.
After mastering the circuit last year in his own equipment to build up the most lopsided WoO LMS championship points margin since 2004, Francis is chasing a repeat with a new team. In November he made the surprising announcement that he was parking his own racing operation in favor of a ride with car owner Dale Beitler of West Friendsville, Md.
Some might call it a risk for Francis to step out of his own stuff when he clearly had gotten it purring along perfectly, but the veteran from Ashland, Ky., doesn't see it that way.
In fact, after running Beitler's familiar No. 19 in several off-season test sessions and 13 events over the past two-and-a-half weeks at Golden Isles Speedway in Brunswick, Ga., and East Bay Raceway Park in Gibsonton, Fla., Francis feels very comfortable with his decision entering this week's 37th annual Alltel DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., where the 2008 WoO LMS schedule kicks off with events on Thursday (Feb. 14) and Saturday (Feb. 16).
"I'm a lot happier and more relaxed than I've ever been," Francis said a couple days ago. "I don't have to worry about running a team and I haven't had to put in so many hours working in the shop, so I've had more time to spend with my daughter and do some other things.
"I think having that mental load off of me is going to help me be more focused on what I have to do as a driver."
Francis, 40, has taken full advantage of the busy early-season dirt Late Model schedule to mesh with his new team, which includes crew chief Kevin Miller, team consultant Robby Allen and Beitler, a 51-year-old businessman who plans to log some serious airline miles this year in order to attend as many of Francis's events as possible.
Of course, it's not like Francis has to introduce himself to the members of his new team.
For starters, he's long known Allen, a well-regarded mechanic whom Francis spent much time with on the road when Allen worked as Rick Eckert's crew chief. Francis's late brother/crew chief, Chris, who passed away in August 2001, also was a close friend of Allen's.
And Francis actually drove for Beitler once before - in 2001, he won a feature at Cumberland, Md. - and told Beitler at the time to keep him in mind if he ever was looking for a driver and wanted to do some serious traveling. In that vein, when Beitler split with Indiana's Steve Casebolt late in the 2007, he called Francis and they struck a deal in a relatively short amount of time.
Francis views Beitler as a perfect owner for him. Beitler's low-key demeanor, his top-notch team, his love of the sport, the technical assistance he provides - combine it all, and it's not so surprising that Francis would mothball his own equipment to chase a second straight title in someone else's stuff.
"We kinda balance each other out," Francis said of Beitler. "I'm pretty intense, and he's kinda level-headed all the time.
"And he's an owner who wants to be there to watch his car race, but he lets everybody do their job. He's kind of the team's resident chef, clean-up man and cheerleader, and he's really knowledgeable about the (American Racer) tires, which has been a big help to me because I'm still learning about them."
Running American Racer tires is probably the biggest adjustment Francis has to make with his move to Beitler's Reliable Painting-sponsored operation. He's run Hoosier tires for years, so the main thrust of his off-season testing was to "make sure I know the tire situation with American Racer."
Francis also will use Cornett Race Engines with Beitler, rather than the Custom powerplants he had in his cars last year. But he'll continue to drive Rocket Chassis Late Models, and he's confident that he'll figure out the right combinations for his new tire and engine programs.
"There's gonna be a little bit of a learning curve for me with the tires," said Francis, who does plan to enter his Valvoline No. 15 in a handful of major events (Circle K Colossal 100, Dirt Late Model Dream, World 100, etc.) with 2006 WoO LMS champ Tim McCreadie behind the wheel. "We might struggle a little early in the season, especially on some of those springtime tracks. But we feel like we should be on kill mode by about the Show-Me 100 (on Memorial Day 100) and then just get stronger for the rest of the season.
"That's about what we did last year. We got everything right with our program about halfway through the year and kept getting stronger."
Francis, who finished second in the 2004 and 2005 WoO LMS points standings before breaking through last year, knows he can't take too long to find his groove with Beitler. The competition among the 10 drivers committed to following the tour in '08 will be intense.
"Winning (another championship) will be as tough to get as the first one," said Francis. "I know Chub (Frank, the '07 points runner-up) is gonna be on kill from the start. Clint (Smith) has everything ready to go. Josh (Richards) is ready to go.
"Everybody is ready. We're gonna have to be ready too."
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
Tickets for the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals are available on-line at www.volusiaspeedwaypark.com.
Fans unable to attend the spectacular week at Volusia can still catch all the action on the DIRTVision Cybercast. For just $29.99 fans can purchase the 'Alltel DIRTcar Nationals Racepass' and watch live streaming video of all 12 nights of racing action from Feb. 5-16. Log on to www.dirtvision.com for more information.
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