Silver Car

CHUBZILLA’S 25th CELEBRATION WILL UNVEIL “THE SILVER CAR”

June 28th , 2003

SPECIAL REPORT FOR CHUBZILLA SUPPORTERS*

By Doc Lehman

“It’s been a long time I guess and I didn’t think it was that long until somebody mentioned it,” observed Chub Frank, who drives the Corry Rubber/Corry Laser/Nystrom's Auto Sales/Carrera Shocks/Draime Racing Engines/Rocket Chassis/Pierotti Motorsports/Farr MotorSports Chevrolet Monte Carlo #1*. “It went by too quick and I’d like to start over knowing what I know now.”

Frank was responding to a question relating to his 25th anniversary as a dirt track racer and his upcoming anniversary celebration at Stateline Speedway on Thursday July 3 as the Renegade Dirt Car Racing Series will be appearing and many of “Chubzilla’s” friends and family will gather for the occasion to cheer on their favorite driver and reflect on two and a half decades of working hard and winning.

To further commemorate the occasion Frank will race at Stateline, his home track, in a special silver-edition of his #1* Rocket Chassis, something to mark the occasion and something the NASCAR brethren utilize. It was a very reluctant Chub Frank who finally agreed to the special silver car, not that he had much choice as wife Mary, family, friends and crew, and especially long-time pals Steve Schnars, Mike Farr and Ron Slavic, wouldn’t have it any other way. In fact, the insisted and probably would have done it behind Frank’s back if they could have gotten away with it.

So just how did this silver-car project come about?

“Well, I'm not real sure but to my recall Steve Schnars, a very good friend of Chub's that lives in California and who grew up with Chub called me from the PRI Show in December,” related Mike Farr, a shock specialist at Carrera Shocks. “He mentioned that this year was Chub's 25th season and Chub needed to do something special for it and we discussed it with Ron Slavic and somehow it went from there. However, we were not getting many positive responses from Chub. So we kind of went over his head to Chub's wife Mary and got her involved to get Chub to do it and that worked (laughed)!”

“ So Performance Bodies, Dave Poske, Steve Baker of Rocket Chassis and John Flinner were contacted and now it is all at Chub's waiting to be installed for Stateline Speedway when it s supposed to be unveiled. Slavic is also doing a special T-shirt and who knows what else knowing Ron.”

While the initial idea was to keep the special car a secret from the public until the Stateline race, word leaked out and swept across the country among Chubzilla fans. The response has been tremendous.

“Yes, but its not just fans at Stateline that we have heard about this,” said Farr. “Fans from all over at Eldora were stopping by the Slavic/Chubzilla apparel trailer and asking about it. We've received e-mail and even a lot of his product sponsors have already requested photos of The Silver Car, so yes we are all pleased with the exposure it has received.”

There is no doubt that Frank is one of the nation’s most well-liked and respected dirt Late Model racers and his legion of fans go back a long way.

“We grew up together in Sugar Grove and Chub was one year ahead of me in school,” explained Steve Schnars, life-long buddy to Frank who works in law enforcement in California. “Chub is the kind of person that is very successful at what ever they put their mind and energy toward. Chub and I have been friends for as long as I remember and I respect him for his dedication, determination, and class. The fact he is now CHUBZILLA is icing on the cake. I am proud of him regardless of his on-track success and recognition. Chub was always very driven to succeed, most of us just didn't realize at the time how big his goals were and how much he was willing to sacrifice in ‘lifestyle comforts’ to accomplish them.”

Frank is a down-to-earth kind of person who values old fashioned things like friendship. And he returns loyalty.

“Steve and I have been friends since we grew up together,” recalled Frank. “He’s two or three years younger than me but we always hung out together. Back when we were in high school I guess we were hanging out. We just have always been friends. He’s coming home for this deal at Stateline but the problem is he always comes back home when I’m working and that makes it a little tougher, but he understands.”

“As for (Mike) Farr, oh, I don’t know about him, sometimes I’d like to kill him (laughs)! He’s actually helped me out a lot and not only with just the shocks. I’ve known him when I was growing up because he raced at Stateline and Eriez but when we were first starting out he was one of the first ones to help us out with product stuff. I’ve always known him basically my whole life and wherever he goes shock-wise, I go.”

“The last couple years he has been involved in the PR part of it for us and making sure we’re doing everything right as far as sponsors and stuff. I couldn’t have done the last couple years without him.”

One aspect of Frank’s career that is probably the most pivotal is the strong support he gets from his wife, Mary, an important factor in Chub Frank Racing.

“Well, she’s been around since ’85 and she’s been through all the rough stuff and the good stuff (laughs)!” said Frank. “It’s just great to have someone there to support you and she has. Otherwise it gets real tough sometimes. She’s a big part of the team and I couldn’t do it without her.”

In addition to special merchandise that is now available to mark the 25th season, just the fact that the silver car has attracted so much overwhelming attention proves the popularity and impact that Chub Frank has in the sport.

“I think it's a great tribute to the fans that have watched Chub evolve into a nationally ranked racer,” said Schnars. “It is very special to those baby boomers that remember Chub as the pack car driver when he was 12-13 years old! I honestly believe that the fans will realize that this project is Chub's way of thanking them for their support and cheers over the past 25 years.”

“Well, I've known Chub since the early 1980s and it simply amazes me what he's been able to accomplish with so little help up until the 2001 season doing just about everything out of his own pocket,” added Farr. “To survive 25 years at the competition level Chub has chosen is just simply unbelievable to me but he has done it. Chub has always been able to get so much more out of nothing even back when he raced at Eriez and Stateline 25 years ago.”

With the original plan by Schnars, Farr, Slavic and others being to race “the Silver Car” at Stateline on July 3 and the WORLD 100 at Eldora Speedway in September, Frank has other ideas, out of necessity, but more fans are likely to get to see the car in action this week.

“That’s not the only places that thing will be run,” revealed Frank. “I don’t know what those guys are thinking but they must be smoking something because I’ll be running it at Wayne County and probably Sharon too because there is no way to get around that. I’m not running it Thursday and then race all weekend and not have a car if you know what I’m saying.”

“They think I’m only running it twice but I’ve got to run it more than that because I don’t have enough days to change the body back and I don’t have anything else to back it up, car-wise. I’ve got one with a big motor and one with a little motor and wherever I’m going during Ohio Speedweeks, whichever motor I need for that particular night I’ll run, so you might see it somewhere besides Stateline and Eldora.”

So it’s been 25 years since Chubzilla first started dirt track racing and one has to wonder how it feels to have been doing it that long.

“I feel old (laughs)!” jokes Frank

When he first started out way back in 1978 did he think he would still be plying his trade these many years later?

“No, I might have thought I’d be racing but not doing it for a living, let’s put it that way,” responded Frank. “It wasn’t intentional starting out to do it as a living but after awhile I thought, what the hell, I like it and enjoy it and you’ve got to like what you do for a living I guess.”

To check out all the new Chubzilla 25th Anniversary merchandise visit Chub Frank’s website under merchandise or stop by the Chubzilla/Slavic souvenir trailer at the race tracks or Chub’s trailer in the pits.

.* This article appears in the July 1, 2003 editions of Area Auto Racing News & RPM Racing News.

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Chub Frank Racing

Rt.1 Box 146

Lottsville Niobe Rd.

Bear Lake, PA 16402