Mon, 13 Dec 2010, 11:50 AM Another Remarkable Season for DeFrank

Courtesy of DeFrank & Sons Racing

Jim Sr. in the lanes with the Super Stock Cobalt.

For more than a decade, Pacific Division racer Jimmy DeFrank has consistently finished at or near the very top of the Super Stock points in the region, eight times marching home to Thousand Oaks, Calif., with the season title for the division in hand and thrice closing the deal on the ultimate prize: the Super Stock world championship.

However, after racing to his most recent Super Stock title the year prior, the 2010 season wasn't about points for the DeFrank & Sons camp, led by Jimmy's father, Jim Sr., and complemented by mom Loraine; brother Tony; Jeff Taylor; Steve Decker; Tom Kerr; Davey Allison and his crew chief, Willie "The Legend" Evans; and a generous and varying assortment of more friends and family members. On the heels of a hard-fought, championship-winning 2009, the family approached the next season of competition with a simple pair of goals in mind, to enjoy racing and make the most of time with all of those family members and friends at the racetrack.

"It was a dream come true to see that No. 1 on the car, but it's a bit funny because it is more fun to be racing and chasing that No. 1 than actually wearing it. However, there was certainly a lot less pressure and fewer stomach aches in 2010," said DeFrank, who is also the Chief Operating Officer at the family's Chatsworth, Calf.-based business, California Car Cover Company.

"We began the year with a plan of not going after the points, and we made the final decision just before Indy because we had a very busy work schedule planned, and work comes first. I was a bit sad not to be up there in the points or to be scraping and scrapping at the end of the year, but God has blessed us with many of those opportunities in the past, and perhaps He will allow us to do that again someday.

"For us, the championship this year came by winning the U.S. Nationals, which we are still so excited about. What a blessing and a dream come true."

DeFrank has been a regular competitor at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis since he began racing in 1995, but a win light in the final round was elusive until the 2010 event, where he wheeled his California Car Cover Co. SS/BS Cobalt to the 12th national event victory of his career.

Jeff Taylor (left) and Jimmy flanked by friends from CFE.

Finally achieving success at the most prestigious event on the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series tour was the highlight of DeFrank's season in his Super Stocker, and it capped off a tremendous collection of performances at NHRA national events that included four other final-round appearances: at the season-opening Winternationals in Pomona, the Jegs Pacific SPORTSnationals in Fontana, the FRAM Autolite Nationals in Sonoma, and the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd.

The season started strong for the multi-category racer. Not only was he a final-round finisher at the history-making 50th anniversary NHRA Winternationals, but he also drove his B/SA '69 Camaro to the semifinals in Stock Eliminator at the event. By the time summer rolled around, DeFrank was primed for another spectacular outing, and it came during the Western Swing when he collected his first Stock Eliminator Wally and nearly doubled but was stopped in the Super Stock final at Sonoma's Infineon Raceway.

The near-miss of obtaining a widely coveted double-up at a national event did not register as a disappointment for the DeFranks, who were overjoyed to see their concerted efforts come to fruition in the Stock category.

"We tried to focus on Stock even more this year and give the Camaro more attention so that it would be closer to the Cobalt [in performance]," said DeFrank. "I have raced Super Stock longer and still have a lot to learn, and I have even more to learn in Stock, so I did try to increase focus when racing Stock, and I tried to be more aggressive.

"We seemed to learn something at every single race, just as we do every season. This season, I learned how to put more of an importance on Stock and try to improve there from past races, and I've learned so much from just listening and watching some of the greatest racers in our categories, such as Jeff Taylor and Peter Biondo."

Taylor was among DeFrank's supporters on the national event trail, offering guidance and a fine example (Taylor notched his 40th career win with a triumph in Super Stock at the NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis).

"Sometimes I can screw some stuff up at the races, and when I am starting to do something dumb, Jeff Taylor will point to my eyes and tell me that they just need me from there down, meaning, 'Don't think too much and screw this up, Jimmy. Just drive'. It always makes me laugh," DeFrank chuckled.

Competing in just a handful of divisional events left the team without a true shot at the national championship in either category and all but eliminated the possibility of another division title, and this season, that was just fine with them. DeFrank is perfectly content with the accomplishments of the season both on and off the racetrack, including the successful launch of the California Car Cover Company's own Premium Car Care line of products, Golden Shine.

"We had a nice year, and we really had a blast," he said. "The biggest challenge was not going after the points chase because we have done it every year that I've raced, and we have been fortunate to even have that opportunity. It was such a huge decision for us, but it was the right one for 2010.

"My dreams and aspirations for the 2011 racing season and beyond are to first enjoy the time with my dad and family and try to win some races. I would absolutely love to win some more national events - and perhaps even another championship one day, if that is in the plans of The Man Upstairs. We'll be racing the same cars next year, and I'm also looking forward to getting behind the wheel of our Ford Mustang Cobra Jet in Stock Eliminator; what an awesome car and company to be associated with.

"Our racing career has surpassed my dreams; that is for sure. Winning Indy was so special, and we feel very complete having done that. Now we need to continue to improve our national event performance, and hopefully, we will do that in 2011."