Chub wins Buckeye 50 At Sharon Speedway





*Late-Race Surge Propels Chub Frank To Victory In WoO LMS 50 At Sharon Speedway*


Photo By Rick Schwallie


July 29, 2007
Hartford, OH — By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director It might have taken Chub Frank a while, but he found the fast line just in time on Saturday night at Sharon Speedway. Completing a stirring late-race charge, Frank overtook Jeremy Miller for the lead on lap 45 en route to winning the World of Outlaws Late Model Series ‘Buckeye 50.’
Frank, 45, of Bear Lake, Pa., was running a seemingly non-threatening fourth with less than 10 laps remaining, but he found a second wind to glide past WoO LMS points leader Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., Donnie Moran of Dresden, Ohio, and Gettysburg, Pa.’s Miller in a four-lap span and score his tour-best fifth victory of the season. “I wasn’t holding back, because you couldn’t relax out there,” said Frank, who earned $10,225 for his 12th career win on the WoO LMS. “I was just trying to find a lane that was fast and size up where those guys (ahead) were having problems.” Frank’s triumph on a night that had its start delayed over two hours by rain brought him the points championship of the three-race National Interstate Speedweek, which also visited Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway and Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. Frank, who pocketed a bonus of $1,125 for the mini-series title, finished seventh in the first two events.

Of course, a late-race tangle with NASCAR star Tony Stewart knocked Frank out of the lead on Friday night at Eldora Speedway. He couldn’t help thinking of that near-miss after gaining redemption at Sharon. “This doesn’t make me forget what happened last night,” said Frank. “It’ll make the drive home better, but I’m still not happy about last night. We could’ve won two in-a-row, and even I’d have finished second last night, it would’ve made the point deal a lot tighter.” Driving the same Lester Buildings Rocket car that had its rear clip bent in the Eldora encounter with Stewart, Frank, who sits third in the WoO LMS points standings, pulled away after taking the lead. He crossed the finish line 1.420 seconds ahead of the 44-year-old Moran, who steered his MasterSbilt mount by Miller for second place coming off turn four to take the white flag. Miller, who led laps 2-44, settled for third place in Charles Buckler’s Rocket. It was the best WoO LMS finish of the 36-year-old’s career. Completing the top five was Francis, who started from the pole position and led the race’s opening lap in his Valvoline Rocket, and Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., in the gottarace.com Rocket. Frank needed virtually the entire distance to unlock the secret to negotiating the difficult three-eighths-mile, which was left soft and choppy in spots by the rain that arrived just before time trials were scheduled to start. “What I learned was that when you tried to race really hard was when you got in trouble,” said Frank, who started fourth. “I got up to second right at the start, but when I started racing them hard I got passed early on and fell back to fourth. “Then I got a rhythm where I could run a good line. What we were doing was arching out the back straightaway and catching the edge of the (inside) uke tire to miss that rut getting in. I just kept moving the uke tires in with the bumper. “I figured I knock the bumper off it, but it was worth it.” Frank needed a dose of good fortune, however, to get in position for the win after passing Moran for second on lap 44. It came in the form of the race’s sixth and final caution flag, on lap 44 for a spin in turn four by Rick Eckert of York, Pa. At that point, Miller held more than a half-straightaway edge on Frank and was rolling toward his first-ever WoO LMS victory. “I would’ve never run (Miller) down without the caution,” said Frank. “He had the race won.” Frank still wasn’t certain of his prospects for passing Miller, but he had a plan for the restart. “He was running the outside, and he was making it work,” Frank said of Miller. “But I watched Moran get underneath him in those ruts, so I started using those ruts because anytime you have a hole in the racetrack, it’s traction. It’s just a matter of whether you can get through them or not. “Well, if I hooked the rut (entering turn three) with the left front, it would give me traction and I could stay in it. I was able to get beside (Miller) gong down the back straightaway and crossed him to the infield to get the lead.” Miller was no match for Frank over the final six laps. His car simply wasn’t the same as it had been for the entire race. “I really didn’t want to see the caution,” said Miller, who started from the outside pole. “Before that I was in a good routine, the tires were hot, and the car was working. But I was getting worse, and when that caution came out I guess the tires cooled down some and I was done. “I just got loose. You needed to be good and tight getting into three so you could drive straight through the ruts instead of hitting them sideways and bouncing. Well, the last five laps I couldn’t do that no more. I was hitting ‘em sidways and bouncing all around. “I had a 44-lap race car,” he mourned. Though Miller suffered a tough defeat in WoO LMS action for the second time in eight days – he led the July 20 event at Virginia Motor Speedway before mechanical trouble knocked him out – he maintained a positive attitude. “It’s a little disappointing, but in the same sense we got beat by some professionals who are pretty darn good,” he said. “We just do it on the weekends for fun, and these guys do it for a living. There’s a reason they’re the World of Outlaws.” Finishing in positions 6-10 was Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., who ended National Interstate Speedweek trailing Francis by 36 points in the WoO LMS standings; Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., who qualified through the B-Main after a flat tire in his heat caused him to spin and get t-boned hard in the driver’s-side door by Robbie Blair of Titusville, Pa.; Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y.; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., who pulled out a backup car for the night after experiencing engine woes during hot laps; and Doug Horton of Bruceton Mills, W.Va. Thirty-eight cars entered the event. Robbie Scott of Shinnston, W.Va., earned $100 for his first career National Interstate Insurance Fast Time Award with the WoO LMS. He recorded a lap of 15.539 seconds in the qualifying session, which began at 9:18 p.m. after the track was run in. Heat winners were Moran, Fuller, Lanigan and Jeremy Miller, and the B-Mains were captured by Clanton and Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill. The stars of the WoO LMS will now have a three-week break to gear up for the final rush to the season-ending ‘Outlaws World Finals’ on Nov. 1-3 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. WoO LMS action resumes with the $20,000-to-win ‘Scorcher 100’ on Aug. 21-23 at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn.



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