Frank Kimmel
| Franklin James Kimmel | |
|---|---|
 Kimmel racing in ARCA in 2006 |
|
| Nationality | American |
| Born | April 30, 1962 |
| Related to | Bill Kimmel, Sr. (father) Will Kimmel (nephew) |
| 2012 Automobile Racing Club of America | |
| Debut season | 1990 |
| Current team | Kimmel Racing |
| Car no. | No. 44 |
| Former teams | Tri-State Motorsports |
| Starts | 349 |
| Wins | 74 |
| Poles | 40 |
| Best finish | 1st in 1998, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '07 |
| Previous series | |
| 2006 | International Race of Champions |
| Championship titles | |
| 1998, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '07 1986,'87 1989 |
ARCA RE/MAX Series (9 Times) Charleston, IN Speedway Track Champion Louisville (KY) Motor Speedway Track Champion |
| Awards | |
| 1992 | ARCA RE/MAX Series Rookie of the Year |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 race(s) run over 4 year(s) | |||||||
| Best finish | 54th – 2002 | ||||||
| First race | 1999 Pepsi 400 (Michigan) | ||||||
| Last race | 2002 Pocono 500 (Pocono) | ||||||
|
|||||||
| NASCAR Nationwide Series career | |||||||
| 1 race(s) run over 1 year(s) | |||||||
| Best finish | 94th – 2001 | ||||||
| First race | 2001 Pepsi 300 (Nashville) | ||||||
|
|||||||
| NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career | |||||||
| 12 race(s) run over 8 year(s) | |||||||
| Truck no., team | No. 44 (ThorSport Racing) | ||||||
| Best finish | 44th – 1996 | ||||||
| First race | 1995 Ford Credit 200 (Louisville) | ||||||
|
|||||||
| Statistics current as of November 12, 2011. | |||||||
Franklin James Kimmel (born April 30, 1962 in Clarksville, Indiana) is an American stock car driver/owner. He drives the #44 Ansell Gloves/Menards Ford in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. Kimmel has won the ARCA championship nine times, including eight consecutive. He won the championship in 1998 and also won the 2000 through 2007 championships.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Personal
Frank Kimmel was born in Clarksville, Indiana on April 30, 1962. His father Bill Kimmel Sr. was 3 time ARCA race winner.[2] Frank resides in Borden, Indiana [3] with his wife Donna. He has 2 children Holly, Frank Jr.[4] He also has 2 years of college education. Frank likes to be involved in the community he participates in school events and he coaches youth sports.[4]
[edit] Early career
Kimmel made his first career start racing street stock at the age of 15. Seven years later he moved to late models Before racing in ARCA, Kimmel won three championships racing Late Models.[5]
[edit] ARCA
Frank's first ARCA race came in 1990. His first full season was 1992, driving the #02 Indiana Steel Co. Pontiac. Kimmel was consistent and was able to claim Rookie of the Year honors. Frank won his first race at Toledo Speedway in 1994.
He is the only nine-time champion in the Re/Max Series and the only driver to win eight championships in a row (2000–2007). As of the end of the 2008 season, he is second on the all-time win list with 74 victories. None of those victories have come at Daytona. He also has 207 top-5 finishes and 258 top-ten finishes in 349 starts.[1] Kimmel became the first ever ARCA Re/Max Series driver to be assigned a seat in the IROC (International Race of Champions) Series in 2006.
As of 2006, the crew chief on Frank Kimmel's team is his brother, Bill Kimmel Jr.[3] For 2008, the Kimmel brothers will leave Tri-Star Motorsports to form their own team, known as Kimmel Racing. The team initially ran a Dodge with the support of Cunningham Motorsport and sponsorship from Riverside Auto at Daytona before joining forces with Ford Racing for the remainder of 2008.
On August 2, 2008 Kimmel was seriously injured in a 3 car crash on lap 68 at Pocono Raceway, suffering a partially torn sphincter and pulled groin; he was taken to the hospital for observation overnight.[1] Though lacking a title sponsor for the entire year of 2008, Frank and team were able to pull out a 2nd place finish in points by a margin of 50. The loss of the championship was not the surprising part of that year but rather the surprise was how close Kimmel Racing was to winning a tenth title.
Following the 2011 ARCA Racing Series season, Kimmel left the Kimmel Racing team, and will drive for ThorSport Racing in the ARCA Racing Series in 2012.[6]
[edit] NASCAR
He has made seven starts in the NASCAR Winston Cup (now NASCAR Sprint Cup) Series,[7] six of these starts with Travis Carter Motorsports in 2002.[8] He so far found little success in the series. His best finish to date was a 26th place finish at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He had one Busch Series start.[7] Through 2010 he had had two Top-10 finishes from twelve Craftsman Truck Series starts.[7] and will be running the 2011 Camping World Truck Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway for ThorSport Racing.[6]
[edit] IROC
Kimmel was invited to participate in the 2006 edition of the International Race of Champions, IROC XXX. Kimmel was the first ever ARCA Re/Max Series driver to be assigned a seat in IROC.
That season, he placed seventh in points[9] with a best finish of third in the first race[10] of the four-race IROC season.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ a b http://www.arcaracing.com/content/view/5833/2/
- ^ http://www.arcaracing.com/content/view/992/136/
- ^ a b RoundAbout Entertainment Guide - Harley-Davidson of Cincinnati 150
- ^ a b http://www.frankkimmel.com/Default.asp?ActionID=1
- ^ Racing beat - Truckers News
- ^ a b "ThorSport Racing Expanding to ARCA Series with Frank Kimmel in '12". ThorSport Racing PR. Iowa Speedway. 11 November 2011. http://www.iowaspeedway.com/aspx/AboutSpeedway/News.aspx?id=1027. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
- ^ a b c Frank Kimmel Career Statistics - Racing-Reference.info
- ^ Frank Kimmel 2002 Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info
- ^ a b IROC Standings and Statistics for 2006 - Racing-Reference.info
- ^ Frank Kimmel's IROC Results at Daytona International Speedway - Racing-Reference.info
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Frank Kimmel at Racing Reference
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tim Steele |
ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series Champion 1998 |
Succeeded by Bill Baird |
| Preceded by Bill Baird |
ARCA Re/MAX Series Champion 2000–2007 |
Succeeded by Justin Allgaier |
