Frank Kimmels's Road to Daytona: Influences & Experiences

Frank Kimmel, nine-time ARCA Racing Series champion and driver of the No. 44 Ansell/Menards Toyota Camry for ThorSport Racing in 2012, is a fixture around the garage. Known to many of the rookies as "the one to ask" when it comes to learning the ropes, the veteran driver has the experience - and the win column - to back it up.

Going into Daytona International Speedway for his 21st ARCA appearance on the famed superspeedway in next Saturday's Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200, he reflected on what made him the racer he is today.

"The biggest influence in my life on the race track, hands down, was my dad, Bill Kimmel Sr.," said Kimmel. "Years of working on his cars in his garage - through the '60s. He was an awesome dirt and asphalt racer, and he taught my brother Bill and I both everything we know."

"He won three races in 1978, and he always had the determination to never give up. The best lesson he taught us was that you just have to finish the race. Prepare the race car the way it should be, get to the track, make the right decisions throughout the event. After all, a guy can have a perfect race and with 20 to go, make a stupid mistake. He was a money racer and had to race every lap. Even to this day, that sits with me. We'll have breakfast somewhere before Daytona every year, and he'll tell me the same thing. 'You know what we've got to do down there...finish the race. Make sure you finish that race, Frank.'

Kimmel's racing career may have been shaped primarily by his dad, but these days, he'll stick to the local tracks to cheer him on in person.

"My Dad won't come to Daytona normally, but he'll be in Salem and Winchester, plus all the dirt tracks," he said. "He's a racer at heart, so we get to hear a lot of feedback. When we don't run well, he wants to know why, where, who, and how. In his mind, we're the smartest things in the race car. Sometimes I just have to laugh and tell him that we may still have things to learn! He's super competitive, and I guess I get that from him."

His own career was shaped by others that first year racing in the ARCA Racing Series. 

"My very first race was Toledo in 1990 for Jack Wallace - he still does all of our lettering for the internal race cars," Kimmel said. "We made it by the skin of our teeth and that was awesome. Bob Dotter Sr. was a great influence - very smart, understood as a money racer that you've got to make the main show. Bob Keselowski Sr. - a heck of a racer and fought until the end every race. These guys all taught me that you have to understand the purse and the way to make your money. They showed me the ropes of not getting knocked out of the race by stupid mistakes. Benny Parsons was my hero, along with Iggy Katona - they could be in the back of the pack and still get to the top three or four by the end of the day."

During the 2012 season, Kimmel knows the rookies will find him on pit road to ask questions. 

"A lot of guys come to me and ask questions throughout the season; what we're doing, how we're doing it. This generation of racers grew up focused on the racing side of the business, so it's always helpful to teach new aspects to them about sponsors and the marketing. I'm super grateful for where I've come from, and it's nice to know I'm respected in the garage. The feeling is mutual - I respect all the racers who set foot on the track next to the No. 44. We're all blessed."