Bristol Motor Speedway
Jason Frankel captures IMCA's weekly crown
By Bill Martin
IMCA J&J Steel Late Models
Jason Frankel
Two wins on the final weekend and a track championship bonus helped make Jason Frankel of Quincy, Ill., the weekly champion in IMCA’s J&J Steel Late Model division. His first career crown came in a tight contest with Todd Cooney of Des Moines, Iowa, the 1997 and 2002 champ. Completing the top five were Ray Guss Jr. of Milan, Ill., Mike Murphy of Colona, Ill., and three-time champ Darrel DeFrance of Marshalltown, the 1993, 2006 and 2007 titlist.
Frankel earns a $5,500 share of the $21,300 point fund to be paid to top 20 drivers in final standings. He won a dozen features and picked up 19 bonus points along with the track title at Quincy Raceway. Frankel also topped the standings at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa. Cooney collected 14 checkered flags on the year, including his career 100th, along with 15 bonus points at Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City.
Guss led all drivers in the division with 15 feature victories. Murphy had six wins and was champion at Davenport Speedway and Quad City Raceway in East Moline, Ill. DeFrance won five times and was track champion at the Iowa State Fairgrounds Speedway in Des Moines.
National rookie of the year is Mike Garland of DeWitt, a two-time feature winner and 10th overall in the unofficial national standings.
Cooney topped the Smiley’s Racing Products State standings for Iowa for the fourth time, while Murphy scored his career first state title in Illinois.
Also winning track titles were Terry Neal of Ely at Jackson County Speedway in Maquoketa, Dale Hackwell Jr. of Washburn at Independence Motor Speedway, Jay Johnson of West Burlington at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Corey Zeitner of Omaha, Neb., at Shelby County Speedway in Harlan, and Luke Goedert of Holy Cross, Iowa, at Dubuque Speedway and Farley Speedway.
The 2008 Late Model point season ran from April 25 through Aug. 24. Track officials have until noon Sept. 22 to notify IMCA of corrections affecting their top 15 before standings become official. National standings are based on drivers’ best 20 finishes out of their first 55 starts. Bonus points, equal to the average weekly car count at tracks holding a minimum of 10 sanctioned events, are awarded to track champions.
The higher average is used to award bonuses when drivers win more than one track title; pro-rated bonuses are given at tracks where fewer than 10 weekly events are held.
