Frank Kimmel

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Frank Kimmel
NationalityUnited States American
BornFrancis James Kimmel
(1962-04-30) April 30, 1962 (age 59)
Clarksville, Indiana
Related to
Will Kimmel
ARCA Racing Series career
Debut season1990
Starts503
Wins80
Poles45
Best finish1st in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2013
Championship titles
1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2013ARCA Racing Series
Awards
1992ARCA Permatex Super Car Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series career
7 races run over 4 years
Best finish54th (2002)
First race1998 Pepsi 400 (Michigan)
Last race2002 Pocono 500 (Pocono)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish94th (2001)
First race2001 Pepsi 300 (Nashville)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
14 races run over 10 years
2013 position48th
Best finish44th (1996)
First race1995 Ford Credit 200 (Louisville)
Last race2013 Ford EcoBoost 200 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 2 0
Statistics current as of September 20, 2014.

Francis James Kimmel (born April 30, 1962) is a retired American stock car racing driver. He competed primarily in the ARCA Racing Series, from 1990 through 2016. Kimmel has won the ARCA championship ten times, including eight consecutive. He won the championship in 1998 and also won the 2000 through 2007 championships, and again in 2013.[1]

Kimmel is currently the general manager for KBR Development, which fields the No. 28 Chevrolet in the ARCA Series.[2] From after the end of his driving career in 2017 through 2019, he returned to Venturini Motorsports (the team he drove for part-time in 2015) as a crew chief and a driving coach for their drivers, such as Leilani Munter, Gavin Harlien, and Hailie Deegan.

Personal[]

Frank Kimmel was born in Clarksville, Indiana on April 30, 1962. His father, , was a three-time ARCA race winner.[3] Frank resides in Borden, Indiana[4] with his wife Donna. He has two children Holly and Frank II.[5] He also has two years of college education. Kimmel is involved in his community, participating in school events and coaching youth sports.[5]

Early career[]

Kimmel made his first career start racing a 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.[6]

ARCA[]

Kimmel's 2013 championship car at Road America

Kimmel's first ARCA start was 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 ten-time champion in the ARCA Racing Series and the only driver to win eight championships in a row (2000–2007). Kimmel became the first ever ARCA Racing Series driver to be assigned a seat in the IROC (International Race of Champions) Series in 2006.

As of 2006, the crew chief on Kimmel's team is his brother, Bill Kimmel Jr.[4] In 2008, the Kimmel brothers left Larry Clement Racing to form their own team, known as . 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 injured in a 3 car crash on lap 68 at Pocono Raceway, suffering a concussion.[5] He was taken to the hospital for observation overnight.[7] 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. As a result of his performance, Ansell and Menards joined forces with him the following season, a partnership that continues to this day.

Following the 2011 ARCA Racing Series season, Kimmel left the Kimmel Racing team, and drove for ThorSport Racing in the ARCA Racing Series starting in 2012.[8]

On June 30, 2013, under crew chief Jeriod Prince, Kimmel tied Iggy Katona's record for most wins in the ARCA Racing Series, winning his 79th career victory at Winchester Speedway.[9] On October 4, 2013, he clinched his tenth ARCA Racing Series championship at Kansas Speedway.[10] Kimmel went on to win the race, surpassing Katona to become the all-time win leader in ARCA Racing Series history.

For the 2014 season, Kimmel moved to Win-Tron Racing, retaining his No. 44.[11] His final start came in 2016.

Kimmel holds ARCA records in a number of categories, including starts, wins, and poles.

On December 20, 2019, hired Kimmel as team general manager.[12]

NASCAR[]

Kimmel made seven starts in the NASCAR Cup Series,[13] five of those coming with Travis Carter Motorsports in 2002.[14] He found little success in the series. His best finish to date was a 26th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He had one Busch Series start.[13] Through 2010 he had had two top-10 finishes from twelve Craftsman Truck Series starts.[13] and ran the 2011 and 2013 Camping World Truck Series season finales at Homestead-Miami Speedway for ThorSport Racing.[8]

IROC[]

Kimmel was invited to participate in the 2006 edition of the International Race of Champions, IROC XXX. Kimmel was the first ever ARCA Racing Series driver to be assigned a seat in IROC.

That season, he placed seventh in points[15] with a best finish of third in the first race[16] of the four-race IROC season.[15]

Motorsports career results[]

NASCAR[]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Nextel Cup Series[]

NASCAR Nextel Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 NNCC Pts
1998 Travis Carter Enterprises 23 Ford DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL CLT DOV RCH MCH POC SON NHA POC IND GLN MCH
31
BRI NHA DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT TAL DAY PHO CAR ATL 65th 70
2001 46 Ford DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV MCH POC SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT
DNQ
MAR
DNQ
TAL PHO CAR HOM ATL
DNQ
NHA N/A 0
2002 Haas-Carter Motorsports 26 Ford DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX
33
MAR
40
TAL
35
CAL RCH
42
CLT
26
DOV 54th 292
46 Ford POC
43
MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT MAR
Haas-Carter Motorsports 66 Ford ATL
DNQ
CAR PHO HOM
2007 Fast Track Racing Enterprises 71 Ford DAY
DNQ
CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV POC MCH SON NHA DAY CHI IND POC GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT MAR ATL TEX PHO HOM 71st 0
Daytona 500[]
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
2007 Fast Track Racing Enterprises Ford DNQ

Busch Series[]

NASCAR Busch Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NBSC Pts
2001 HighLine Performance Group 8 Chevy DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX NSH
11
TAL CAL RCH NHA NZH CLT DOV KEN MLW GLN CHI GTY PPR IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM PHO CAR HOM 94th 135

Camping World Truck Series[]

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 NCWTC Pts
1995 AAG Racing 1 Chevy PHO TUS SGS MMR I70 LVL
23
BRI MLW CNS HPT IRP RCH MAR NWS SON MMR PHO 87th 94
1996 00 Chevy HOM
9
PHO POR TUS CNS HPT
30
BRI MLW LVL
12
I70 IRP FLM GLN NSV
12
RCH NHA MAR NWS MMR PHO LVS
DNQ
44th 502
1997 WDW TUS HOM
DNQ
PHO POR EVG I70 NHA TEX BRI NZH MLW LVL CNS HPT IRP FLM NSV
DNQ
GLN RCH MAR SON MMR CAL PHO 85th 168
68 Chevy LVS
33
1998 00 Chevy WDW HOM
16
PHO POR EVG GLN TEX BRI MLW NZH CAL IRP NHA NSV HPT LVL RCH MEM GTY MAR SON MMR PHO LVS 88th 115
1999 69 HOM PHO EVG MMR MAR MEM BRI TEX GLN MLW NSV NZH MCH NHA IRP GTY HPT RCH LVS LVL
DNQ
TEX CAL 110th 70
2001 73 Chevy DAY HOM MMR MAR GTY
18
DAR DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN NHA IRP NSH CIC NZH RCH SBO TEX LVS PHO CAL 97th 109
2003 Spraker Racing Enterprises 69 Ford DAY DAR MMR MAR CLT DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN GTW MCH IRP NSH BRI RCH NHA CAL LVS SBO TEX MAR PHO HOM
28
117th 79
2004 K-Automotive Motorsports 29 Ford DAY
8
ATL
30
MAR MFD CLT
13
DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN GTW MCH IRP NSH BRI RCH NHA LVS CAL TEX MAR PHO DAR HOM 50th 344
2011 ThorSport Racing 44 Chevy DAY PHO DAR MAR NSH DOV CLT KAN TEX KEN IOW NSH IRP POC MCH BRI ATL CHI NHA KEN LVS TAL MAR TEX HOM
DNQ
120th 0
2013 ThorSport Racing 13 Toyota DAY MAR CAR KAN CLT DOV TEX KEN IOW
21
ELD POC MCH BRI MSP IOW CHI LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM
24
48th 43

Winston West Series[]

NASCAR Winston West Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 NWWSC Pts
46 Chevy PHO LVS TUS MMR CAL IRW LAG KAN
1*
EVG CNS IRW LVS IRW 42nd 185
Ford PHO LVS CAL KAN
22
EVG IRW LVS 53rd 97

ARCA Racing Series[]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Racing Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ARSC Pts
02 Pontiac DAY TOL
19
TAL MCH ISF TOL DSF
18
76th -
DAY ATL TOL
4
MCH
6
TAL
7
MCH ISF TOL
9
DSF
26
28th 930
DAY
16

3

4

20
TOL
19

3

5
MCH
34

9

10

20

21

10

9

6
ISF
28

3
DSF
20

8

4

6
5th 4935
02 Chevy DAY
6

9

31

23

11
MCH
2

12

26
5th 4480
Pontiac
11

21

17
TOL
3

3
KIL
11
ISF
5
DSF
22
TOL
5

2

4

Olds DAY
22

7

3

2

20
TOL
1

4

2
KIL
17

4

16

2

2

2
2nd 5455
Chevy
3

7

38

12
Buick
6
ISF
8
DSF
6

Olds DAY
6

18

5

7

3

23

8

26
KIL
2

7

19

22

35
DSF
4

3

5
5th 5005
Chevy ATL
3

7

27

14
Pontiac
21
02 Olds DAY
29
8th 3105
46 Pontiac
7

1

2

2

4

1
MCH
10

2

2

1
Chevy
2
02 Pontiac
22

31
DSF
4
46 Chevy DAY
6

4

7

3

3

4

2

35
DSF
8

3

33

10
ISF
4

2
2nd 5470
Pontiac SLM
3

17
TOL
25

7

3

1

2

2
Chevy
6

3
SLM
1

1

27
MCH
1

2

1
TOL
1

3

23

1

1
ISF
2

1
DSF
3

1

28

4

6
TAL
7

3
1st 6155

31

4
SLM
4

2

20
MCH
8
POC
1

28

4
BLN
1
POC
2

18

3

1

2
WIN
20
DSF
22

21

6
TAL
2

3
2nd 5275

33
SLM
2

18

29
KIL
1
FRS
1
MCH
13
POC
5
TOL
1
KEN
6
BLN
2
POC
3

1

1
KEN
12
DSF
1

1

7
TAL
13

24
1st 4980

3

11
SLM
1

3

3

1

1

1
TOL
1

3
1st 7080
Ford
2
GTY
1
KEN
1

1
KAN
2
MCH
30

5
KEN
1

2
POC
3
NSH
1

6

3
TAL
18

3

3

35

1
SLM
1

1

2
KAN
1
POC
9
MCH
32
TOL
1

2
KEN
2

3
POC
13
NSH
1
ISF
1

1

1
CHI
3

1
TAL
3

3
1st 6175
DAY
5

5

2
SLM
2
TOL
1

2

1

1
KAN
3
MCH
3
LER
1

2
POC
3
NSH
31
ISF
1

1
DSF
5
CHI
1

22
TAL
4

21

2
1st 6145
DAY
2

4
SLM
1

20
TOL
10

3
KAN
2
POC
9
MCH
10

1
BLN
1
KEN
5

2

2
LER
1
NSH
3
ISF
2
TOL
1
DSF
1
CHI
31

23
TAL
27
1st 5930
2005 DAY
2

7
SLM
7

1
TOL
2

4
MIL
1
POC
2
MCH
1
KAN
3
KEN
4
BLN
4
POC
1

7
LER
1

29
MCH
19
ISF
1
TOL
1
DSF
1
CHI
9

25
TAL
5
1st 6000
2006 DAY
10

3
SLM
25
WIN
1

28
TOL
3
POC
16
MCH
19
KAN
1
KEN
2
BLN
2
POC
1

10

13
MCH
27
ISF
2
MIL
3
TOL
2
DSF
31
CHI
5
SLM
2
TAL
1
IOW
32
1st 5480
2007 DAY
5
USA
7
NSH
10
SLM
22
KAN
15
WIN
3

12
TOL
4
IOW
1
POC
7
MCH
13

7
KEN
10
POC
25
NSH
3
ISF
1
MIL
1
GTW
12
DSF
5

6
SLM
2

2
TOL
5
1st 5705
2008 44 Dodge DAY
5
2nd 5210
Ford SLM
4
IOW
3
KAN
20

10

13
TOL
12
POC
26
MCH
3

2
KEN
4
BLN
3
POC
32
NSH
19
ISF
1
DSF
1
CHI
11
SLM
1

10
TAL
6
TOL
3
2009 DAY
11
SLM
7
CAR
11
TAL
5
KEN
5
TOL
13
POC
14
MCH
12

9
IOW
7
KEN
8
BLN
12
POC
5
ISF
9
CHI
5
TOL
4
DSF
2
NJE
9

4
KAN
4
CAR
2
3rd 5260
2010 DAY
25

12
SLM
8

6
TAL
11
TOL
4
POC
5
MCH
5
IOW
6

3

7
BLN
5

4
ISF
12
CHI
4
DSF
15

21
SLM
9
KAN
7
CAR
6
4th 4785
2011 DAY
10
TAL
2
SLM
3
TOL
9

6

7
POC
8

9
WIN
8
BLN
8
IOW
7

12

10
ISF
7

6
DSF
6
SLM
5
KAN
9

21
3rd 4630
2012 ThorSport Racing Toyota DAY
23
MOB
17
SLM
2
TAL
7
TOL
2
ELK
4
POC
6
MCH
7

11

7
IOW
5
CHI
3
IRP
1

4
BLN
2
ISF
1

9
SLM
4
DSF
C
KAN
6
2nd 4810
2013 DAY
4
MOB
5
SLM
6
TAL
1
TOL
3
ELK
1
POC
3
MCH
3

7
WIN
1
CHI
9

5

2
BLN
3
ISF
4

3
DSF
7
IOW
10
SLM
3
KEN
9
KAN
1
1st 5735
2014 Win-Tron Racing Toyota DAY
2
MOB
5
SLM
3
TAL
8
TOL
14
NJE
5

7
MCH
7
ELK
11

9
CHI
10

3

20
BLN
6
ISF
4
MAD
4
DSF
3

24
KEN
11
KAN
21
4th 4725
2015 Venturini Motorsports 25 Toyota DAY
5
MOB SLM TOL
11
NJE POC
11

2
CHI
5
WIN IOW IRP
15
BLN
3
ISF
13
DSF
7

23
KEN KAN 13th 2010
15 TAL
14
2016 Team Stange Racing 46 Ford DAY
5
NSH SLM TAL TOL NJE POC MAD WIN IOW IRP BLN ISF DSF 66th 370
Cunningham Motorsports 22 Ford SLM
13
CHI KEN KAN

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

International Race of Champions[]

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

International Race of Champions results
Year Make 1 2 3 4 Pos. Pts
2006 Pontiac DAY
3
TEX
8
DAY
8
ATL
7
7th 40

References[]

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-10-15. Retrieved 2007-10-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "KBR Relocating, Hires Kimmel As General Manager". Speed Sport. December 20, 2019. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-07-18. Retrieved 2007-07-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b RoundAbout Entertainment Guide - Harley-Davidson of Cincinnati 150 Archived 2007-05-14 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-12-03. Retrieved 2010-04-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ "Racing beat - Truckers News".
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-08-08. Retrieved 2008-08-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b "ThorSport Racing Expanding to ARCA Series with Frank Kimmel in '12". ThorSport Racing PR. Iowa Speedway. 11 November 2011. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
  9. ^ "Looking back at big ARCA race weekend".
  10. ^ "Kimmel clinches 10th ARCA Racing Series title". Rotoworld. NBC Sports. October 4, 2013. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
  11. ^ Kerchner, Mike (December 22, 2013). "Short-Track Roundup: ARCA champion Frank Kimmel changing teams". Autoweek. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved 2014-01-22.
  12. ^ "KBR Relocating, Hires Kimmel As General Manager". Speed Sport. December 20, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Driver Frank Kimmel Career Statistics - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info.
  14. ^ "Driver Frank Kimmel 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b "IROC Results for 2006 - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info.
  16. ^ "Driver Frank Kimmel's IROC Results at Daytona International Speedway - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info.

External links[]

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
Preceded by
Chris Buescher
ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards Champion
2013
Succeeded by
Mason Mitchell
Retrieved from ""