Frank Kimmel

BIOGRAPHY

Frank Kimmel spent years watching his father and brothers race and jumped at his first opportunity to get behind the wheel of a racecar. In 1977, Frank started his first race at the Fairgrounds Motor Speedway in Louisville, Kentucky. He was just 15 years old at the time, sneaking into the pits. While his first outing was uncustomary – Frank raced in blue jeans and clutched the car going into the corner when he meant to brake – it was the start of a storied career in motorsports.

Frank's career immediately began to take shape when he partnered with Buddy Rouck to win the championship at Charlestown Speedway in Charlestown, Indiana in 1986 and again in 1987. That year, Frank would claim duel championships, as he also won top honors at Kentucky Motor Speedway in Whitesville, Kentucky before selling the championship car to Terry Shirley of Seymour, Indiana.

In 1990, Frank went on to claim another championship – winning the title at Louisville Motor Speedway for Terry Shirley. In addition to his regular schedule, Frank made what would be his first of countless starts in the ARCA series, driving for Jack Wallace.

In 1992, Frank returned to driving for Terry Shirley, making his first full time attempt in ARCA, finishing fifth in the points and winning Rookie of the Year honors. Two years later, Frank's first win in ARCA came at Toledo Speedway. He finished the year as the runner-up to the ARCA champion.

The next several years offered Frank a partial schedule – driving the short tracks and winning three races in 1996. His success opened the door for a return to full time driving for team owner Larry Clement in 1997. Together they won another race and finished second in the points championship.

In 1998 Frank's prowess became known as he scored his first ARCA Series championship with a record nine wins.

In 1999, Frank began working with his brother, Bill Jr. as the latter accepted an offer to become Frank's crew chief. The duo excelled together, winning six races and the ARCA championship in 2000. Bill Jr. was also rewarded with Crew Chief of the Year honors for the first time. The dream team continued their domination of the Series for the following seven years, winning 48 more races, seven more championships and seven more Crew Chief of the Year honors for Bill Jr.

During that time, Frank was invited to participate in the International Race of Championships (IROC) Series. "Being part of the IROC series was one of the biggest highlights of my career," said Frank. "Those guys are the best of the best and to have been part of it, even for a year, was an incredible honor."

In 2008, Frank and Bill walked away from an organization where they had won eight consecutive championships to start Kimmel Racing. Leaving the most successful organization in the ARCA series history may have seemed like a bold decision to many outside the Kimmel family, but to Frank and Bill it was the obvious next step. "We decided we needed to build for the future," said Bill. "After Frank retires from driving, Kimmel Racing will still be here – hopefully with either of our sons in the car."

Winning three races and finishing second in points, as Kimmel Racing did in 2008, would seem like a respectable debut year for a new team, but sponsorship was at a lull and the future of Kimmel Racing was already in jeopardy at the close of the race season. "There were quite a few initial obstacles," said Bill. "The timing for Kimmel Racing could not have been worse. The economy was in decline and we really had no idea how hard it would be to attract sponsors."

However, the initial struggles of the team couldn't dampen the brothers' desire to build a race team that would continue to flourish for many years to come. Moving forward with Kimmel Racing, to Frank, was always the best decision.

At the start of the 2009 season, the team's search for sponsorship had continued without success and the team prepared for a partial schedule. Frank had all but given up hope of racing for his 10th championship, when out of the blue – his prayers were answered. Two new sponsors –Ansell Gloves and Menards – were coming into the series and had their choice of teams to support. Fortunately for Bill and Frank – Kimmel Racing was their pick.

"This sponsorship program reenergized the entire Kimmel Racing organization," Kimmel said. "The support of Ansell Gloves and Menards allows us to continue to pursue our goals of attempting to earn another ARCA Racing Series Championship."

Thanks to Ansell and Menards, Kimmel Racing's immediate goals for the 2010 season – win races, a 10th championship and top the all time win record in ARCA – are now within reach.

Frank is a native of Clarksville, Indiana and currently resides in Borden, Indiana with his wife, Donna, and children Holly and Frank II. When not involved in running the ARCA Racing Series, he spends his time helping his son with his street stock car, scoring championships in the past two years at Salem Speedway. Frank also heads up a new venture, the Frank Kimmel Street Stock National Series, bringing the popular street stock race cars to speedways such as Kentucky Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Rockingham Raceway Park.