Francis James Kimmel (born April 30, 1962) is an American former stock car racing driver. He competed primarily in the ARCA Racing Series, from 1990 through 2016. Kimmel is the most successful driver in ARCA history, winning the ARCA championship ten times; first in 1998, then the 2000 through 2007 championships, and again in 2013. Kimmel also holds the all-time record for race wins in the ARCA Racing Series with 80.
Kimmel is currently the crew chief for Jason Kitzmiller and CR7 Motorsports, which fields the No. 97 Chevrolet in the ARCA Series. From after the end of his driving career in 2017 through 2019, he returned to Venturini Motorsports (the team he drove for part-time in 2015) as a crew chief and a driving coach for their drivers, such as Leilani Münter, Gavin Harlien, and Hailie Deegan.
Personal Kimmel was born in Clarksville, Indiana on April 30, 1962. His father, Bill Kimmel, Sr., was a three-time ARCA race winner. Frank resides in Borden, Indiana with his wife Donna. He has two children Holly and Frank II. He also has two years of college education. Kimmel is involved in his community, participating in school events and coaching youth sports.
Early career Kimmel made his first career start racing a street stock at the age of fifteen. Seven years later, he moved to late models. Before racing in ARCA, Kimmel won three championships racing Late Models.
Motorsports career ARCA
Kimmel's first ARCA start was in 1990. His first full season was 1992, driving the No. 02 Indiana Steel Co. Pontiac for Wallace Racing. Kimmel was consistent and was able to claim Rookie of the Year honors. Kimmel joined Shirley Racing in 1993, still driving in the No. 02. Kimmel won his first race at Toledo Speedway in 1994 en route to finishing second in the points that year.
Kimmel would join Steve Rauch Racing in 1996 on a part-time schedule and transitioned from the No. 02 to the No. 46. Despite being part-time that year, Kimmel won three races and finished eighth in the points. He would return to full-time in 1997 in the No. 46, winning one race en route to finishing second in the points.
In 1998, Kimmel joined Clement Racing, driving the No. 46 Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet. Kimmel found immediate success, winning nine races en route to his first ARCA championship. After finishing second in the points in 1999, Kimmel won eight championships in a row (2000–2007). During this streak, Kimmel broke Iggy Katona's record for the most championships in ARCA Series history. He became the first ever ARCA Racing Series driver to be assigned a seat in the IROC (International Race of Champions) Series in 2006.
In 2006, the crew chief on Kimmel's team was his brother, Bill Kimmel Jr.RoundAbout Entertainment Guide - Harley-Davidson of Cincinnati 150
In 2008, Kimmel left Clement Racing after ten seasons, where he won 63 races and nine championships. Kimmel would form his own team with his brother Bill, known as Kimmel Racing in the No. 44. The team initially ran a Dodge with the support of Cunningham Motorsport and sponsorship from Riverside Auto at Daytona before joining forces with Ford Racing for the remainder of 2008.
On August 2, 2008, Kimmel was injured in a three car crash on lap 68 at Pocono Raceway, suffering a concussion. He was taken to the hospital for observation overnight. Though lacking a title sponsor for the entire year of 2008, Kimmel and his team won three races and were able to pull out a second-place finish in points by a margin of 50. The loss of the championship was not the surprising part of that year but rather the surprise was how close Kimmel was to winning a tenth title. As a result of his performance, Ansell and Menards joined forces with him the following season, a partnership that continued until the end of his racing career.
Following the 2011 ARCA Racing Series season, Kimmel left the Kimmel Racing team, and drove for ThorSport Racing in the ARCA Racing Series starting in 2012.
On June 30, 2013, under crew chief Jeriod Prince, Kimmel tied Iggy Katona's record for most wins in the ARCA Racing Series, winning his 79th career victory at Winchester Speedway. On October 4, 2013, he clinched his tenth ARCA Racing Series championship at Kansas Speedway. Kimmel went on to win the race, surpassing Katona to become the all-time win leader in ARCA Racing Series history.
For the 2014 season, Kimmel moved to Win-Tron Racing, retaining his No. 44. His final start came in 2016.
Kimmel holds ARCA records in a number of categories, including starts, wins, and poles.
On December 20, 2019, KBR Development hired Kimmel as team general manager.
NASCAR Kimmel made seven starts in the NASCAR Cup Series, five of those coming with Travis Carter Motorsports in 2002. He found little success in the series. His best finish to date was a 26th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He had one Busch Series start. Through 2010 he had two top-ten finishes from twelve Craftsman Truck Series starts. and ran the 2011 and 2013 Camping World Truck Series season finales at Homestead-Miami Speedway for ThorSport Racing.
IROC Kimmel was invited to participate in the 2006 edition of the International Race of Champions, IROC XXX. Kimmel was the first ever ARCA Racing Series driver to be assigned a seat in IROC.
That season, Kimmel placed seventh in points with a best finish of third in the first race of the four-race IROC season.
Motorsports career results
Career summary SeasonSeriesTeamRacesWinsTop 5Top 10PolesPointsPosition1990ARCA Permatex SuperCar SeriesWallace Racing20000N/A76th1991ARCA Permatex SuperCar SeriesWallace Racing5014093028th1992ARCA Permatex SuperCar SeriesWallace Racing210612049355th1993ARCA Hooters SuperCar SeriesShirley Racing19079044805th1994ARCA Hooters SuperCar SeriesShirley Racing2111015154552nd1995NASCAR SuperTruck SeriesAAG Racing100009487thARCA Hooters SuperCar SeriesShirley Racing210712050055th1996NASCAR Craftsman Truck SeriesBlack Tip Racing4001050244thARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde SeriesSteve Rauch Racing1531012131058th1997NASCAR Craftsman Truck SeriesWegner Motorsports1000016885thARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde SeriesSteve Rauch Racing2211318154702nd1998NASCAR Winston Cup SeriesTravis Carter Enterprises100007065thNASCAR Craftsman Truck SeriesBlack Tip Racing1000011588thARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde SeriesClement Racing2291619361551st1999ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde SeriesClement Racing2131214152752nd2000ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde SeriesClement Racing2061113349801st2001NASCAR Busch SeriesHighLine Performance Group1000013594thNASCAR Craftsman Truck SeriesSonntag Racing1000010997thNASCAR Winston West SeriesClement Racing1111018542ndARCA Re/Max SeriesClement Racing251021221170801st2002NASCAR Winston Cup SeriesHaas-Carter Motorsports6000029254thLarry Clement RacingNASCAR Winston West SeriesClement Racing100009753rdARCA Re/Max SeriesClement Racing22101819661751st2003NASCAR Craftsman Truck SeriesSpraker Racing Enterprises1000079117thARCA Re/Max SeriesClement Racing2271919661451st2004NASCAR Craftsman Truck SeriesK-Automotive Motorsports3001034450thARCA Re/Max SeriesClement Racing2261518559301st2005ARCA Re/Max SeriesClement Racing2381620160001st2006International Race of ChampionsARCA40140407thARCA Re/Max SeriesClement Racing2341315254801st2007ARCA Re/Max SeriesClement Racing2331117057051st2008ARCA Re/Max SeriesKimmel Racing2131114152102nd2009ARCA Re/Max SeriesKimmel Racing210814052603rd2010ARCA Racing SeriesKimmel Racing200714147854th2011ARCA Racing SeriesKimmel Racing190317046303rd2012ARCA Racing SeriesThorSport Racing1921016048102nd2013NASCAR Camping World Truck SeriesThorSport Racing200004348thARCA Racing SeriesThorSport Racing2141521457351st2014ARCA Racing SeriesWin-Tron Racing200814047254th2015ARCA Racing SeriesVenturini Motorsports110452201013th2016ARCA Racing SeriesTeam Stange Racing2011037066thCunningham Motorsports
NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Nextel Cup Series NASCAR Nextel Cup 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 Pts Ref 1998 Travis Carter Enterprises 23 Ford DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL CLT DOV RCH MCH POC SON NHA POC IND GLN MCH31 BRI NHA DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT TAL DAY PHO CAR ATL 65th 70 2001 Larry Clement Racing 46 Ford DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV MCH POC SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLTDNQ MARDNQ TAL PHO CAR HOM ATLDNQ NHA N/A 0 2002 Haas-Carter Motorsports 26 Ford DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX33 MAR40 TAL35 CAL RCH42 CLT26 DOV 54th 292 Larry Clement Racing 46 Ford POC43 MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT MAR Haas-Carter Motorsports 66 Ford ATLDNQ CAR PHO HOM 2007 Fast Track Racing Enterprises 71 Ford DAYDNQ CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV POC MCH SON NHA DAY CHI IND POC GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT MAR ATL TEX PHO HOM 71st 0
Daytona 500 Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish 2007 Fast Track Racing Enterprises Ford DNQ
Busch Series NASCAR Busch 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 Pts Ref 2001 HighLine Performance Group 8 Chevy DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX NSH11 TAL CAL RCH NHA NZH CLT DOV KEN MLW GLN CHI GTY PPR IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM PHO CAR HOM 94th 135
Camping World Truck Series NASCAR Camping World Truck 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 Pts Ref 1995 AAG Racing 65 Chevy PHO TUS SGS MMR POR EVG I70 LVL23 BRI MLW CNS HPT IRP FLM RCH MAR NWS SON MMR PHO 87th 94 1996 Black Tip Racing 00 Chevy HOM9 PHO POR EVG TUS CNS HPT30 BRI NZH MLW LVL12 I70 IRP FLM GLN NSV12 RCH NHA MAR NWS SON MMR PHO LVSDNQ 44th 502 1997 WDW TUS HOMDNQ PHO POR EVG I70 NHA TEX BRI NZH MLW LVL CNS HPT IRP FLM NSVDNQ GLN RCH MAR SON MMR CAL PHO 85th 168 Wegner Motorsports 68 Chevy LVS33 1998 Black Tip Racing 00 Chevy WDW HOM16 PHO POR EVG I70 GLN TEX BRI MLW NZH CAL PPR IRP NHA FLM NSV HPT LVL RCH MEM GTY MAR SON MMR PHO LVS 88th 115 1999 69 HOM PHO EVG MMR MAR MEM PPR I70 BRI TEX PIR GLN MLW NSV NZH MCH NHA IRP GTY HPT RCH LVS LVLDNQ TEX CAL 110th 70 2001 Sonntag Racing 73 Chevy DAY HOM MMR MAR GTY18 DAR PPR DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN NHA IRP NSH CIC NZH RCH SBO TEX LVS PHO CAL 97th 109 2003 Spraker Racing Enterprises 69 Ford DAY DAR MMR MAR CLT DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN GTW MCH IRP NSH BRI RCH NHA CAL LVS SBO TEX MAR PHO HOM28 117th 79 2004 K-Automotive Motorsports 29 Ford DAY8 ATL30 MAR MFD CLT13 DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN GTW MCH IRP NSH BRI RCH NHA LVS CAL TEX MAR PHO DAR HOM 50th 344 2011 ThorSport Racing 44 Chevy DAY PHO DAR MAR NSH DOV CLT KAN TEX KEN IOW NSH IRP POC MCH BRI ATL CHI NHA KEN LVS TAL MAR TEX HOMDNQ 120th 0 2013 ThorSport Racing 13 Toyota DAY MAR CAR KAN CLT DOV TEX KEN IOW21 ELD POC MCH BRI MSP IOW CHI LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM24 48th 43
Winston West Series NASCAR Winston West Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pts Ref 2001 Clement Racing 46 Chevy PHO LVS TUS MMR CAL IRW LAG KAN1* EVG CNS IRW RMR LVS IRW 42nd 185 2002 Ford PHO LVS CAL KAN22 EVG IRW S99 RMR DCS LVS 53rd 97
ARCA Racing Series (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)