Frank Kimmel

Infobox racing driver
name = Franklin James Kimmel

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pixels = 180px
caption = Kimmel racing in ARCA in 2006
nationality = American
date of birth = Birth date and age|1962|4|30
place of birth =
related to = Bill Kimmel, 3-time ARCA Champion (father)
current series = Automobile Racing Club of America
first year = 1990
current team = Kimmel Brothers Racing
car number = 44
former teams = Tri State Motorsports (#49)
starts = 349
wins = 71
poles = 40
fastest laps =
best finish = 1st
year = 1998, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '07
prev series = NASCAR Sprint Cup
NASCAR Nationwide Series
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
IROC
prev series years = 1998, 2001, '02
2001
1996,'97,'98,2003
2006
titles = ARCA RE/MAX Series
(9 Times)
Charleston, IN Speedway Track Champion
Louisville (KY) Motor Speedway Track Champion
title years = 1998, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '07
1986,'87
1989
awards = ARCA RE/MAX Series Rookie of the Year
award years = 1992

Franklin James Kimmel (born April 30, 1962 in Clarksville, Indiana)owns and drives the #44 Ford in the ARCA Re/Max Series. He has won the ARCA championship nine times as of 2007 and is the defending champion in the series. He won the championship in 1998 and also won the 2000 through 2007 championships.http://www.arcaracing.com/content/view/5833/2/]

Personal

His father, Bill Kimmel Sr., was a three-time race winner in the ARCA serieshttp://www.arcaracing.com/content/view/992/136/] .

As of 2006, Frank Kimmel resides in Borden, Indiana.

Early career

Kimmell started racing street stock at 16 at 22 he moved to late models Before racing in ARCA, Kimmel won three championships racing Late Models. [ [http://www.etrucker.com/apps/news/article.asp?id=54560 Racing beat - Truckers News ] ]

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 2007 season, he is second on the all-time win list with 71 victories. None of those victories have come at Daytona. He also has 207 top-5 finishes and 258 top-ten finishes in 349 starts. 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. [http://www.roundaboutmadison.com/Inside%20Pages/Kentucky%20Speedway/KySpeedway69.html RoundAbout Entertainment Guide - Harley-Davidson of Cincinnati 150 ] ] 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 over night. [http://www.arcaracing.com/news.cfm?contentid=6958]

NASCAR

He has made seven starts in the NASCAR Winston Cup (now NASCAR Sprint Cup) Series [http://www.racing-reference.info/driver?id=kimmefr01 Frank Kimmel Career Statistics - Racing-Reference.info ] ] , six of these starts with Travis Carter Motorsports in 2002 [ [http://www.racing-reference.info/drivdet?id=kimmefr01&yr=2002&series=W Frank Kimmel 2002 Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info ] ] . 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. He has had two Top-10 finishes from twelve Craftsman Truck Series starts.

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 [http://www.racing-reference.info/raceyear?yr=2006&series=I IROC Standings and Statistics for 2006 - Racing-Reference.info ] ] with a best finish of third in the first race [http://www.racing-reference.info/rquery?id=kimmefr01&trk=029&series=I Frank Kimmel's IROC Results at Daytona International Speedway - Racing-Reference.info ] ] of the four-race IROC season.

References

External links

* [http://www.frankkimmel.com Frank's Official Website]
* [http://www.racing-reference.info/driver?id=kimmefr01 NASCAR and IROC driver's statistics at racing-reference.info]