All in the Family

From keeping sponsorship onboard to raising kids and maintaining a family, Frank Kimmel has a lot on his plate every day – even before he straps himself into his Ford Taurus and tells his brother how to make it run faster.\nKimmel, 45, is the driver of the #46 Tri-State Motorsports Ford in the Automobile Racing Club of America Re/Max Series. Kimmel has taken the title of champion of the series eight times –\nthe most for any driver anywhere in a national stock car series, including famous drivers like Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty. Many race fans feel Kimmel has the talent to race in the upper divisions, but the opportunity for a full-time ride hasn’t yet arrived.\n“By the time I really started doing well (in ARCA) I was in my 30s, which was pretty old for their standards now,” said Kimmel. \nThe series, a stepping stone for many young drivers, doesn’t get the hype the stars of NASCAR receive, but for Kimmel, racing is racing. \n“[ARCA] is just a good place to be and a place we can afford to race,” said Kimmel, who has recently seen a cutback in his primary sponsorship from the National Pork Board.\nLast Sunday, Kimmel, winner of 68 career ARCA races, and the rest of the ARCA series visited Winchester, Ind.’s Winchester Speedway. During the 200-lap event, Kimmel started in sixth place and ended in third after a myriad of problems – from engine issues to being involved in an early wreck – kept him out of victory lane.\n“So other than all that,” said Kimmel with a grin, “It was a pretty \ngood day.”\nFamily has always been a big part of Kimmel’s self-run racing operation. Frank’s brother Bill is the crew chief and team leader of the #46. Now, Frank’s son, Frank Kimmel II, “Frankie,” is following his father’s racing footsteps into his own career.\nFrankie, a high school sophomore in southern Indiana, started his first race at Winchester on Sunday during a support series 50-lap event. His father soon found that “pretty good day” turning into a fantastic one. Using a last-lap pass, Frankie took home the victory in a car painted like one his father once drove – red and black with a large “68” on the side. It was quite a relief for a father who had been on pins and needles while watching the race from atop an infield building.\nBut the elder Kimmel doesn’t want that nervousness to hold his son back.\n“If you shy away from not putting yourself out there, you’re not going to do very good,” Kimmel said. “(Frankie) did a great job today, and it was very rewarding. There’s going to be frustrating days, but that just makes the good days even that much better.”\nKimmel’s fatherly pride and concern for Frankie become evident when he speculates about where his son’s career is headed.\n“If he wants to race, that’s fine, but I want him to go to college and get a degree,” said Kimmel, who himself finished only two years of college. “He’ll always have this racing background.”\nBreeding talent is something Kimmel has developed a knack for in his racing operations, said Frankie, who also serves as his dad’s rear-tire changer.\n“We have guys in college, out of high school and (ones) that didn’t graduate, and this team is a good start for them to get into racing,” said the younger Kimmel.\nThe elder Kimmel seems to be content with where he is these days. There’s no hint of a ‘what could have been’ in his demeanor, no desire for anything more than what he’s got in front of him. After all, making a living by doing what he loves, watching his son succeed and having his family there to take it all in seems to be working out pretty well for Kimmel.\n“We’re pretty blessed, that’s for sure,” Kimmel said.