Joe Frasson
| Joseph "Joe" Frasson | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mr. Joe Frasson at Darlington Speedway, circa 1970s | |||||||
| Born | September 3, 1935 Golden Valley, Minnesota, U.S.A. | ||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 107 races run over 10 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 22nd – 1970 NASCAR Grand National season | ||||||
| First race | 1969 Motor Trend 500 (Riverside International Raceway) | ||||||
| Last race | 1978 American 500 (North Carolina Motor Speedway) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
| Best finish | 120th – 1982 NASCAR Busch Series season | ||||||
| First race | 1982 Miller Time 300 (Lowe's Motor Speedway) | ||||||
| Last race | 1982 Miller Time 300 (Lowe's Motor Speedway) | ||||||
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Joseph "Joe" Frasson (born September 3, 1935 in Golden Valley, Minnesota, USA) is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series) driver with four finishes in the top five and nineteen finishes in the top ten.[1] His Winston Cup Series spanned between 1969 and 1978; with an abortive attempt at participating in events for the Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series in 1982.
Frasson's anger management issues caused him to frequently lose his temper when he failed to qualify in NASCAR Cup Series races. His fierce and independent attitude during his NASCAR career would preclude the need for corporate sponsors and being a part of a multi-vehicle organization. Having a rather gruff appearance, he was not apologetic to NASCAR media present at the race, and he showed an element of rudeness that people in the Southern United States stereotypically pictured people from the Northern United States as being.
Career
He has experienced 30,378.3 miles or 48,889.1 kilometres of racing and an overall career windfall of $148,930 ($695,715.86 when adjusted for inflation).[1] Frasson was a runner-up for the 1970 NASCAR Rookie of the Year award (the winner was Bill Dennis).[1] In addition to this, he was also a competitor at the 1971 Daytona 500.[1] During his NASCAR career, Frasson was believed to be the favorite on the short tracks with an average finish of 19th place while road courses left him worse off in the standings with an average finish of 33rd place.[2]
Frasson's wild finish at the 1976 Daytona 500 would become the piece de resistance of his 19 finishes in the "top ten." The racing eventually took a heavy burden on his finances because of his absolute devotion to being a "pure short track racer." Frasson was friends with Marion Cox and once drove his vehicle to race; where he would move up the pack to an impressive finish. Being a critic of today's NASCAR, he refers to the current racing style as 'Oh, don't you bump that car in front of you. We'll fine you and bar you!', preferring the days when drivers appreciated the glass of wine at the post-race ceremonies instead of their multimillion-dollar paychecks.[3] Frasson was believed to hire temporary crew members for the early part of the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season; particularly at the 1973 World 600.
His primary vehicle throughout his career was his #18 Buick; which was owned, operated, and sponsored by himself.[4] Frasson has driven Chevrolet and Dodge vehicles as his secondary racing vehicles and has appeared 14 times at Talladega Superspeedway.[5]
References
- ^ a b c d Joe Frasson racing career information at Racing Reference
- ^ NASCAR Statistics for Joe Frasson at Driver Averages
- ^ There's no 'Minnesota nice' for Joe Frasson at Brainerd Dispatch
- ^ #18 Joe Frasson complete NASCAR information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
- ^ Joe Frasson NASCAR Cup Series results at Talladega at Race Database