ALTAMAHAW, North Carolina (April 6, 2011) – – After being forced to sit out the 2011 USARacing Pro Cup Series season-opener at New Smyrna (Fla.) Beach Speedway last month due to mechanical gremlins, A.J. Frank was bounded and determined to make up for it this past weekend at Ace Speedway in the White’s International Trucks 250 presented by Dave’s Discount Furniture.
Not originally planned to participate in this event with his normal Odle Motorsports organization, a late-minute deal was put together in collaboration with MPM Marketing and Teddy Jones Racing to put Frank in the seat of the No. 56 with support from personal sponsors Speedco and Lucas Oil.
Knowing that their would have to be some serious last minute preparation on his No. 56 Chevrolet, Frank was prepared to do what ever was necessary in the interest of racing.
During practice, the team would fiercely work to adequately setup and prepare their Chevrolet bow-tie for competition. With only 25 laps or so fulfilled in practice, the group knew that they had a solid race car beneath them – they just needed luck to stay on their side.
In qualifying, Frank bolted his machine to the sixth fastest time overall, putting him on the outside of row number three. Not fazed by the time trials performance, Frank was hoping to strut his stuff during the White’s International Trucks 250 presented by Dave’s Discount Furniture. A quiet but competitive race saw Frank hover in the top-five but flawless pit stops by his Teddy Jones Racing team not to mention devotion on-track by Frank propelled him across the start finish line third, racking up another podium finish to his USAR resume. “There are a lot of people to thank for this finish,” offered Frank. “Speedco, Lucas Oil, USAR, my family, friends and God. The willingness to do whatever it takes to drive thrived my ambition on and off the track at Ace Speedway. We weren’t 100 percent prepared when we arrived, but I feel the time that we utilized during practice – proved to be a benefit allowing us to cross the “T’s” and dot the “I’s” ensuring that we would have a crystal clean race.” He continued, “we played it smart, knowing that we had a lot invested and it paid off with a good finish.”
Round three for the USARacing Pro Cup Series is set for April 16 at Dillon (S.C.) Motor Speedway.
In 79 USARacing Pro Cup Series starts, A.J. Frank has amassed 26 top-fives, 45 top-10s, 387 laps led and 16,854 laps run during his career. He has five runner-up finishes with his most recent second-place outing occurring at Iowa Speedway in 2010.
Join A.J. Frank on Facebook by visiting, Facebook.com/ajfmotorsports. Visit the USARacing Pro Cup Series on the web at, USARProCup.com. For additional input on Speedco Truck Lube & Tire, please click to, Speedco.com.
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