SAVANNAH, GA – A first turn, first lap squeeze play was the
difference between winning and losing, as Chub Frank of Sugar Grove, PA led wire-to-wire
for his third United Dirt Track Racing Association Pro DirtCar Series career win Saturday
night at Oglethorpe Speedway Park.
Frank held off Jimmy Mars of Elk Mound, WI to pick up the $10,000 victory in the 50-lap main event driving the Mac Trailers Rocket/Draime Monte Carlo, and became the eighth different winner in the first nine events in the 2001 UDTRA Pro DirtCar Series season. Mars started his Parker Store MasterSbilt/Pro Power Monte Carlo from the pole position with Frank along side. In the first turn of the first lap, Frank squeezed down on Mars, who had to get hard on the brakes and spun.
Mars collected Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN, but nobody else in the 24-car field made contact and both Mars and Bloomquist restarted the race in their assigned positions. Frank made the same move on the restart, a move that he credited for the win.
"I knew it was going to be tight – very tight – in the first turn, and I knew I had to get there first," Frank said. "It was the difference between winning the race and losing the race."
The victory moved Frank up to the fourth spot in the UDTRA Pro DirtCar Series point standings. Frank, who is also the defending STARS series champion, said as much as he would like to compete for the UDTRA title, economics would probably have him chasing another STARS title.
"We’ve been running well with the UDTRA Pro DirtCar Series, but we’re probably going to have to run for the STARS title again this season because my crew works regular jobs, and it’s impossible for them to get away to travel the UDTRA deal," Frank said. "But, if somebody would give me a crew and a car to drive for some of the races, I might consider it."
Randle Chupp of Knoxville, TN finished third in the Biscotti’s Restaurant Rocket/Draime Monte Carlo. Billy Moyer of Batesville, AR finished fourth in the Petroff Towing/J&J Steel Rayburn/Clements Grand Prix. The 1997 UDTRA Champion had to make some passes on the tough ½ mile clay oval and his finish moved him up to third spot in the points chase.
UDTRA point leader Rick Eckert of York, PA finished fifth in the Raye Vest Rocket/Cornett Mustang, and Bloomquist took the sixth spot in the Miller Brothers Coal Warrior/Custom Mustang, the first top ten finish of the season for the defending and four-time UDTRA Champion.
Steve Francis of Ashland, KY brought his Valvoline/Mopar Performance Rocket/Stanton Dodge home in the seventh spot to remain second in points, but fell behind Eckert in the point standings by 36 points.
Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, FL finished eighth in the Dunn-Benson Ford Rocket/Eatmon Mustang, with ninth going to 1996 UDTRA Champion Freddy Smith of Knoxville, TN in the Christenberry Trucking and Farms GRT/Custom Monte Carlo. Terry English of Benton, KY rounded out the top 10 in the AAA Fence Rayburn/Runyan Monte Carlo.
After the restart, Bloomquist stepped to the outside groove to challenge Wendell Wallace of Batesville, AR for the fourth spot. Wallace held on to the position, and Moyer also moved under Bloomquist for the fifth spot.
Mike Gault of Gaffney, SC and Dale McDowell of Rossville, GA tangled in turn one on the second lap to bring out the second of four caution flags in the race. Gault retired his Bantam Chef GRT/Clements Grand prix for the evening, and McDowell parked his Larry Shaw Race Cars Larry Shaw/Hatfield Grand Prix four laps later.
Frank led the field down for the restart followed by Mars, Chupp, Wallace, and Moyer. On the fourth lap, Eckert passed Bloomquist for the sixth spot, and by the tenth lap, Frank had pulled out to a six car-length lead over Mars. The tenth lap also saw Moyer putting pressure on Wallace for the fourth spot.
At the halfway point, Moyer worked his way under Wallace for fourth coming off the second turn. Frank still held a six car-length lead over Mars, who had six car-lengths on Chupp. Moyer was quickly closing in from the fourth spot on Chupp.
The third caution flag came out on lap 30 when Randy Korte of Highland, IL stalled his Mid-Continental Fuels Larry Shaw/Hatfield Monte Carlo in turn four. The top ten for the restart were Frank, Mars, Chupp, Moyer, Wallace, Eckert, Bloomquist, Francis, Pearson, and Smith. By lap 35, Moyer once again began showing his nose under Chupp racing for the third spot.
On lap 42, Wallace slowed off the pace from the fifth spot, and brought out the fourth and final caution of the race, when he stalled his JFR Graphics GRT/Russell Baker Grand Prix in turn four. In the six lap dash to the finish, Mars could not mount a challenge on Frank to the checkered flag.
Ray Cook of Brasstown, NC was the JE Pistons Hard Charger of the Race after starting his English Mountain Spring Water GRT/Cornett Mustang 22nd, and finished 14th. Mars won the JE Pistons Bonus Award with a first heat win, and Wallace collected the $50 Scott Performance Wire Bonus Award with a third heat race win.
The other two 12-lap Borla Performance heat race wins were taken by Frank and Moyer. Dan Schlieper of Pewaukee, WI won the 12-lap Renegade Transporters 1st Consolation Race in the Performance Roofing Systems Rayburn/Pro Power Monte Carlo. Bobby Oglesby of Bloomingdale, GA won the Polaris ATVs 2nd 12-lap Consolation Race in the Nichols Enterprises Barry Wright/Clements Monte Carlo.
The next event of the UDTRA Pro DirtCar Series is Saturday night with a 50-lap $10,000-to-win main event at Fayetteville Motorsports Park in Fayetteville, NC. The schedule of events will have the pit gate opening at 1 p.m., grandstand gates opening at 4 p.m.; hot laps are scheduled for 6 p.m., with qualifying and racing to follow.
For ticket and race day information call 1-888-724-1591 or (910) 867-0873. To get to Fayetteville Motorsports Park, take I-95 to exit 44 (Snow Hill Rd. Exit) 1.7 miles NW on Claude Lee Rd., then 1.8 miles east on Doc Bennett Rd.
(Article by Roby Helm)
(Photo by Ron Skinner)
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 9 AT OGLETHORPE
SPEEDWAY PARK IN SAVANNAH, GA ON 4/20/01:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CAR LAPS $ WON
1. 2 1* Chub Frank Sugar Grove, PA Chev. 50 $10,600
2. 1 28m Jimmy Mars Elk Mound, WI Chev. 50 $6,100
3. 4 114 Randle Chupp Knoxville, TN Chev. 50 $3,000
4. 5 21 Billy Moyer Batesville, AR Pont. 50 $3,100
5. 7 24 Rick Eckert York, PA Ford 50 $2,600
6. 6 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN Ford 50 $2,750
7. 9 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY Dodge 50 $2,200
8. 11 1 Earl Pearson Jr. Jacksonville, FL Ford 50 $1,400
9. 16 00 Freddy Smith Knoxville, TN Chev. 50 $1,200
10. 8 96 Terry English Benton, KY Chev. 50 $1,700
11. 17 s9 Dan Schlieper Pewaukee, WI Chev. 50 $1,600
12. 19 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN Pont. 50 $950
13. 20 44 Clint Smith Senoia, GA Ford 50 $900
14. 22 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC Ford 50 $1,475
15. 14 95 Bill Godowns Jr. Louisville, GA Chev. 50 $850
16. 15 c5 Bob Robertson Evans, GA Chev. 50 $825
17. 3 6m Wendell Wallace Batesville, AR Pont. 44 $1,450
18. 21 00k Randy Korte Highland, IL Chev. 29 $750
19. 18 22o Bobby Oglesby Bloomingdale, GA Chev. 26 $700
20. 13 18 Shannon Babb Decatur, IL Chev. 5 $700
21. 12 17m Dale McDowell Rossville, GA Pont. 5 $700
22. 24 89 Marshall Green Dalton, GA Chev. 4 $700
23. 10 17g Mike Gault Gaffney, SC Pont. 1 $850
24. 23 166 Joe Izzo LaSalle, IL Chev. 0 (DQ) $700
