Frank E. Schneider (August 11, 1926 – November 11, 2018) was an American stock car, modified, midget, and sprint car racer. He had one NASCAR Grand National Series victory at Old Dominion Speedway in 1958 driving a 1957 Chevrolet. He also won the 1952 NASCAR modified title, where it is suspected that he scored at least 100 wins.nascar.com article on NJ drivers Schneider earned his nickname "The Old Master" for his ability to master anything with wheels.
Early life Frank E. Schneider was born on August 11, 1926 in Maplewood, New Jersey. His father, Frank Sr, was employed at Western Electric in Newark at the time. Frank was the oldest of five children, Eleanor, Lorraine, Robert, and Charles are his younger siblings. He left home when he was 16 and he started racing cars when he was 21.
Racing career Schneider began his career on June 15, 1947, by winning $70 ($ when considering inflation) for driving his streetcar to a seventh-place at Flemington Speedway.Biography at legendsofnascar.com, Retrieved July 20, 2007 Schneider is believed to have won at least 750 races in the next thirty years including a NASCAR Cup race at Old Dominion Speedway in Virginia. He routinely raced in several classes at eight races per week. He reportedly scored at least 100 wins again in 1958. Schneider won the Langhorne National Open, the country's top event for Sportsman and Modified racers in 1954 and 1962. In 1963, he won four track points championships—Middletown, Harmony, Reading, and Nazareth—in a car he bought for $1,000 ($ when considering inflation).
Schneider scored his last feature win on July 31, 1977, at the 1/2-mile dirt track Nazareth Speedway. Although he competed in almost all 50 states, the Bahamas, and Canada, Schneider raced most of his career at the Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, New York; Reading Fairgrounds Speedway and Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania; and Flemington Speedway and Harmony Speedway in New Jersey.The Morning Call The Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame inducted Schneider in 1992 as part of its inaugural class. He was recently voted driver of the century by Area Auto Racing News.
Schneider's career is the subject of the video "The Old Master: Frankie Schneider".Online Store Schneider died at the age of 92 on November 11, 2018.
Motorsports career results NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Grand National Series NASCAR Grand National Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 Pts Ref 1949 Frankie Schneider - Ford CLT DAB HBO LAN HAM6 MAR HEI NWS 26th 100 1950 – – - DAB CLT LAN MAR CAN VER DSP MCF CLT HBO DSPHAM11 DAR LAN NWS VER MAR WIN HBO 80th - 1951 DAB CLT NMO GAR HBO ASF NWS MAR CAN CLS CLB DSP GAR GRS BAI HEI AWS MCF ALS MSF FMS MOR37 ABS DAR CLB CCS LAN CLT DSP WIL HBO TPN PGS MAR OAK NWS HMS JSP ATL GAR NMO 1952 Clark-Warwick 88 Oldsmobile PBS4 DAB11 JSP3 NWS18 MAR9CLB4 ATL CCS LAN DAR DSP CAN HAY FMS HBO CLT MSF NIF OSW MON MOR PPS MCF AWS DAR CCS LAN DSP WIL HBO MAR NWS ATL PBS 37th 931 1953 - 8 Jaguar PBS DAB HAR NWS CLT RCH CCS LAN CLB HCY MAR PMS RSP LOU FIF LAN12 TCS WIL MCF PIF MOR ATL RVS LCF DAV HBO AWS PAS HCY DAR CCS LAN BLF WIL NWS MAR ATL 1957 Hugh Babb 45 Chevy WSS CON TIC DAB CON WIL HBO AWS NWS LAN CLT PIF GBF POR CCF RCH MAR POR EUR LIN LCS ASP NWP CLB CPS PIF JAC 20th 2516 Hubert Westmoreland 44 RSP CLT MAS POR HCY NOR LCS 2 GLN KPC LIN OBS MYB Frankie Schneider 62 DAR NYF AWS CSF SCF LAN CLB CCF CLT MAR NBR CON NWS GBF 1958 Hubert Westmoreland 2 FAY DAB CON - - Frankie Schneider 62 FAY WIL HBO FAY CLB PIF ATL CLT MAR ODS OBS GPS GBF STR NWS BGS TRN RSD CLB NBS REF LIN HCY AWS RSP MCC SLS TOR BUF MCF BEL BRR CLB NSV AWS BGS MBS DAR CLT BIR CSF GAF RCH HBO SAS MAR NWS ATL
References
"The Old Master, the Frankie Schneider Story" The Old Master
External links
Eastern Motorsports Press Association