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Chub Frank Racing
BEAR LAKE, Penn. (April 21) - Chub Frank experienced something he never had before during Saturday night's Circle K Colossal 100 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.
Unfortunately, it wasn't a first-ever victory in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series event that offered a whopping $50,000 top prize.
Chub had a rough night, riding out a wild series of flips just before the halfway point of the 100-lapper that left his favorite Lester Buildings, Corry Rubber, All Star Performance, Corry Laser, Slavic Corporation, Farr MotorSports, Lake Shore Paving, Custom Race Engines Chevrolet Impala SS Rocket Chassis No. 1* a mangled heap of sheet metal. But he wasn't injured in the hard wreck, which marked the first time in Chub's 30-year racing career that he had gotten upside down.
"I've never been over in my life," the 46-year-old driver from Bear Lake, Pa., said when asked if he had ever previously flipped a race car. "I've been lucky, I guess. I just don't flip."
Chub started the Circle K Colossal 100 weekend strong on Friday night, timing 30th fastest out of 69 cars in qualifying and holding off two-time defending event winner Scott Bloomquist to win the sixth 10-lap heat race. He then drew the 21st starting spot for the A-Main on Saturday.
Disaster struck as Chub was biding his time running 11th on lap 45 of the caution-plagued feature. His car's right side dug into the track between turns three and four, sending it gyrating through the air several times before landing on its wheels in the fourth turn.
"I came in (the corner) on a bad angle," said Chub. "Instead of going in high, I kinda come in a little bit off the cushion and slid to it. But I was in there so hot, the whole right side just caught and bicycled over, and then it just took off.
"It felt like when you're watching a crash on those in-car cameras, when the camera is behind the driver. At one point I was standing on my nose and looking right at the ground, and I'm thinking, 'This ain't gonna be good.'"
While the bodywork and many other parts on Chub's machine were badly damaged, he said that the frame of his car - a mount that has been his personal favorite since he debuted it in September 2006 - appeared to come through the crash surprisingly well.
"We'll see for sure when we get home, but I don't think it's that bad," said Chub, who was credited with a 28th-place finish in the Circle K Colossal 100.
Chub said he wasn't "even a little bit sore" after the crash. He was wearing an R3 head-and-neck restraint system from Safety Solutions, which he began using at the start of the season.
"I have to thank Trevor Ashline of Safety Solutions," said Chub. "He got me hooked up with one of these R3 restraints and I'm glad I had it on."
With the Colossal 100 offering only show-up points toward the WoO LMS championship, Chub remained tied for fifth in the tour's points standings, 56 points out of the lead.
Chub has plans to stay active on an off weekend from the WoO LMS by competing in a pair of Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series events this weekend - on Fri., April 25, at Bedford (Pa.) Speedway and Sat., April 26, at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway.
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