VINCENT FRANKS
necessary capital, opened the completed facility
in August, 1990.
While the addition of new concrete at the start-
ing line a few years ago in addition to plans for
more concrete this fall, there have been 27 years
of heavy racing laid on that surface. The kind of
racing that gives a strip char-
acter, makes it tricky.
Vincent said, in no uncer-
tain terms, growing up at US-
36 has played an instrumen-
tal part in his driving style.
“Yeah, you bet! I guess it kind
of rounds you out as a driver
more. You’re used to really
having to tune your car and
it’s a little more difficult than
at these radial tracks where
they put ten barrels of glue
down so it makes it a little
easier sometimes.
“It’s definitely well rounded
me as a driver, as far as that
goes. You’ve really got to cut
a good light there, so if you
do have to pedal, you’ve got a good head start.”
It was also in Osborn where Vincent earned
what he calls his most memorable win, last fall’s
season finale. Everything that could go wrong
prior to the race did, leaving him with a wounded
motor and a week to get it fixed.
“I had just,” he said, “two weeks before, went to
Tulsa and hurt our other motor, broke a rod in it,
and I put together a motor in a week and put it
in the car and got it all ready to go and we went
down and won the race.”
While hoping to one day race in a national
series, Vincent is content where he’s at. He’s a suc-
cessful 235 racer with tons of potential, a bright
young man with a lot of upside. And if all else fails,
he’s a heck of a track prepper according to his dad.
“It’s fun at times, but at other times, it can be
pretty stressful,” Vincent said of his working rela-
tionship with his dad. “We’re definitely a lot alike.
We butt heads a lot, if you can imagine that, like
a typical father-son deal. It’s really fun. I’ve been
blessed to be able to do that and work with him
a lot and spend a lot of time with (him). I’ve re-
ally enjoyed that since I’ve been able to help him.
“It’s definitely challenging
at times, though. We both
have our opinions on things
and now that I’m older, I do
most of the drag strip stuff
usually. I’ll get the track
ready, do all the track prep,
and he’ll just kinda helps
when needed and fills in. It’s
been fun. Definitely hard at
times, though.”
When it comes to the facil-
ity that has provided nearly
three decades of entertain-
ment for Midwestern race
fans and may be in the pro-
cess of giving us another “Re-
member that kid…” moment,
Mike said his track is more
than just a place where cars make laps.
“We’re kinda like the neighborhood bar that
everyone loves, you know? Everybody comes and
has a really good time.”
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Issue 121
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