World of Outlaws Late Model Series

Chub Frank Shoots For Another Turnaround Victory At Muskingum County Speedway This Saturday Night (July 31)

ZANESVILLE, OH - July 28, 2010 - Can lightning strike twice for Chub Frank at Muskingum County Speedway?

Thats what the veteran driver from Bear Lake, Pa., will be hoping for this Saturday night (July 31) when the World of Outlaws Late Model Series returns to Ronnie Morans three-eighths-mile oval in central Ohio.

Frank, 48, was the winner a very happy and relieved winner of last years WoO LMS stop at the semi-banked track. He snapped a frustrating 15-month, 62-race winless streak with the victory, which also marked his first-ever triumph in more than a decade of special-event appearances at Muskingum County.

We needed that win (at MCR) last year more than anybody can believe, said Frank, fondly recalling the tracks 2009 WoO LMS event that was run on Aug. 20 after being postponed one month by rain. We were really struggling, and when you struggle your confidence gets down and you just keep falling behind. You need wins to make everybody feel better and put some money in the bank account, which we definitely needed last year and still need right now.

Indeed, Frank rolls back to Muskingum County in search of another slump-busting score in the $10,000-to-win Pepsi 50. He won the WoO LMS Buckeye 100 at Ohios K-C Raceway that immediately followed last years event at MCR but hasnt reached Victory Lane since, saddling him with a losing streak that reached 37 races after he finished seventh in the opening night of Ohio-Pennsylvania Speedweek on Tuesday (July 27) at Central PA Speedway in Clearfield, Pa.

Frank hit paydirt in last years WoO LMS show at Muskingum after going back to basics by borrowing a 2005-vintage Rocket chassis from western Pennsylvania racer Chad Valone and assembling it with his own parts. Hes not exactly duplicating that plan of attack this year, but he has brought out a new car well, a car new to him for Ohio-Pennsylvania Speedweek in hopes of shaking him out of his doldrums. Frank recently purchased a 2009 Rocket chassis from Pennsylvanian Bob Close that was driven successfully last season by young talent Gregg Satterlee of Rochester Mills, Pa., and plans to enter it in all of this weeks Outlaw events.

When I found out Close didnt want (the car) I said, Ill take it, said Frank, who assumed ownership of Valones 05 machine after his win outburst last year and just sold it this month to an upstate New York crate Late Model racer. I knew it was a good car Satterlee won a lot of races and ran good in some Outlaw shows with it so I figured wed put it together and try it.

Frank won a weekly dirt Late Model feature on July 23 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., in his first start with the former Satterlee mount, and on Tuesday night at Central PA he started from the pole position and led the first five laps of the 40-lap A-Main before fading. He thinks he has a potential winner under him, but the hard-nosed owner-operator knows he also needs some breaks to go his way like in his big Muskingum County moment 11 months ago.

The car was good last year (at MCR) and we did everything right to get in position to win we drew the right time-trial number, qualified good and redrew the outside pole for the feature, said Frank. But my tires were probably a factor in how we ran and really, we picked them by mistake. We didnt have the tires we wanted to run ready, so we put a different tire on than everybody else. We were softer (on compound choice) and it made a big difference.

It just goes to show you that everythings got to go your way to win these things.

Frank controlled last years 40-lap A-Main at MCR, a track that had always proved problematic for him. He concedes that he didnt sign in that evening with an especially good feeling that his fortunes were about to turn around.

Ive never really run all that good at Muskingum, so when we won it was kind of a surprise, said Frank, who through 29 WoO LMS events this season was ranked ninth in the points standings with four top-five and 14 top-10 finishes. I dont dislike Muskingum; I ran there quite a bit with the STARS (Renegade) Series for a bunch of years, and its always been a pretty racy place. But its just been one of those tracks that we couldnt get a handle on until last year.

Im just hoping we can run the same way there (this Saturday night) and get on the same kind of roll again.

Frank is part of the powerful traveling WoO LMS band that will invade Muskingum for the third consecutive season. Hell be joined by former champions Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., who won the tours 2008 event at MCR, Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., and Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., as well as Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga., Rick Eckert of York, Pa., Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., Russell King of Bristolville, Ohio, rookie sensation Austin Hubbard of Seaford, Del., Brent Robinson of Smithfield, Va., and rookie Jill George of Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Muskingums talented field is also expected to include the track owners son and grandson dirt Late Model superstar Donnie Moran of Dresden, Ohio, and his 15-year-old son Devin, who was victorious recently at the oval. Others with plans to compete include Rick Boom Briggs of Bear Lake, Pa., Gregg Satterlee of Rochester Mills, Pa., Bart Hartman of Zanesville, Ohio, Robbie Blair of Titusville, Pa., Doug Drown of Wooster, Ohio, and Doug Dodd of Cambridge, Ohio.

Saturdays program will see pit gates open at 2 p.m. and the spectator gates unlocked at 4 p.m. Racing is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

General admission is $25, with kids 6-11 admitted for $5 and children 5-and-under free of charge. Reserved seats are available in the top two rows of the grandstand for an additional $5, and pit passes will be $40.

Further information is available by logging on to www.themuskingumcountyspeedway.com or calling 740-403-6298.

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), STP (Official Fuel Treatment), SuperClean (Official Cleaner-Degreaser), VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel), DirtonDirt.com (Hard Charger Award) and Chizmark Larson Insurance; in addition to contingency sponsors Eibach Springs, MSD Ignition, Ohlins Shocks, Pink Carburetors, Pro Power Engines, Quartermaster, Rocket Chassis, R2C Performance and Wrisco Aluminum.