For
Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs his job as crew chief has taken him to the top….again!
Briggs, 33, of Bear Lake, PA and crew chief for World of Outlaws Late
Model Series (WoO LMS) ‘Dirty Dozen’ member Chub Frank, was recently
honored as the 2004 WoO LMS Crew Chief of the Year during the festivities
of the 2004 WoO LMS Awards Banquet that were recently held at Sam’s Town
Hotel/Casino in Tunica, MS. For Briggs it was the second such honor in a
row as Briggs was also the recipient of the 2003 Renegade Dirt Car Series
Crew Chief of the Year. Briggs maintains the Lester Buildings/ Corry
Rubber/Allstar Performance/Nystrom's Auto Sales/Draime Racing
Engines/Rocket Chassis/Pierotti Motorsports/Slavic Custom T-Shirts/Farr
MotorSports/Corry Laser Chevrolet Monte Carlo #1*.
“Surprising! It was very rewarding,” responded Briggs when asked about
receiving the honor. “I was shocked because we ended up sixth in points.
We had a good year but not a fantastic year. It shows the respect people
have for you in that series and I guess more than anything that was good.
Winning the award was very special for everything that we put into it. It
was very fulfilling.”
“I’ll tell you who really made it worthwhile this year, my wife, Shere.
She gives up so much and she never sees me. Long story short I went to the
Renegade deal last year and I had to go up there and had to talk and I
don’t like doing that. So they announced the crew chief award, which was
the first award and I get up there and thank everyone but my wife
(laughs)! So this year, to get the opportunity to redeem myself, they
called my name and I went up there and said listen, last year I won this
award and I didn’t thank my wife so I said, ‘Shere, this award is for you
(laughs)!’”
“And not only that but by winning the award the World of Outlaws gave both
us a cruise for two and $500. I went and thanked Bobby Hartslief myself.
My wife calls it ‘her’ trip! I just can’t get over it that they did that
and made it for two, so now we both van go on the cruise on them.”
Briggs was awarded the Crew Chief of the Year trophy, $500 cash and a trip
for two on a cruise ship.
“Shere sacrifices more than anyone just because I am never home,”
continued Briggs. “She is a great woman and I wouldn’t trade her for
anything.”
And to that end Mrs. Briggs is also proud of her husband and his
accomplishments.
“It makes me feel good, I am really proud of him and he is obviously very
good at what he does,” commented Shere Briggs. “This year’s banquet was a
lot better than last year because he forgot to mention me and he paid for
it all year (laughs)! But, no, he is really, really happy with it and
honored. He is a great husband too! And it’s nice to see him get the
recognition. It’s hard during the summers because I have my summers off
but we have kids so I don’t get to see him too much. But it’s nice to see
everyone acknowledge what he does.”
‘Boom’ and Shere have three children: Rae, Tyler and Katie. Briggs also
owns his own trucking business based in Bear Lake, PA.
One thing is certain, 2004 provided a year that Briggs and driver Chub
Frank won’t soon forget as they took a virtual roller coaster ride all
season filled with the highest highs and lowest lows. This season was a
testament to the professionalism, tenacity and drive that the entire Chub
Frank Racing team has.
The early part of 2004 found Frank, his wife, Mary, family, team and
friends dealing with the devastating loss of the popular driver’s mother,
Janet and the complete loss of his race shop from a fire that swept
through the building destroying nearly all the contents, including 25
years of worth of trophies, awards and memorabilia.
But there have been bright spots. Wins with the World of Outlaws Late
Model Series, MACS and others as well as being inducted into the National
Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame this past August in addition to signing a
major sponsor in Lester Buildings. The highlight of the year and perhaps
most likely his entire racing career suddenly occurred almost a month ago
when he captured dirt Late Model racing’s #1 ‘crown jewel’ event, the 34th
Annual WORLD 100 at Eldora Speedway. “That (World 100) definitely helped a
ton,” interjected Briggs. “That’s one race when you’re out there racing
week in and week out, that’s one you want to say you have won.”
And then there is a matter of a fellow named ‘Chubzilla’.
“He’s a good guy,” stated Briggs when asked about Frank, who also happens
to be a cousin. “I’ll tell you, he can do more with a racecar than anybody
I know. His car doesn’t have to be perfect, he’s a great driver and he
understands his car and if it’s not right he will adjust to it. I think it
goes back to the way we were raised. He’s given me opportunities the last
two or three years to run a car every now and then. He’s just a good guy.”
After assisting Chubzilla win four Renegade Dirt Car Racing Series
championships, Briggs feels right at home with the WoO LMS.
“It was definitely a great experience this year,” said Briggs. “We look
forward to running it again next year. It’s an awesome deal and will only
get better in time. It definitely stepped our program up.”
“And I have a lot of respect for the other teams that we work with. From
everyone we work with like Chad and Joe with (Mark) Richards, they put a
ton of hours in, Shane McDowell puts a ton of hours in, (Scott)
Bloomquist’s crew, I mean everyone puts a ton of hours in.”
“It’s just been a rewarding deal all the way around this year, despite
what happened earlier.” |
