Jack Vincent "Jay" Frank (August 20, 1918 – April 4, 1965) was an American

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

. He won the

American Automobile Association American Automobile Association (AAA) is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 million members in the United States and Cana ...

(AAA) sanctioned Stock Car National Championship in 1950.

Early life

Frank was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

on August 20, 1918. Frank served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Racing career

Early career

Frank relocated to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

shortly after returning home from the war. In 1946 he began racing in California Roadster Association (CRA) sanctioned events, where he competed against others such as Troy Ruttman and Jim Rathmann. Frank achieved his first feature-race victory during the 1948 CRA season, at Carrell Speedway. Frank switched between various West Coast racing bodies before returning to Chicago in 1949 to compete in Andy Granatelli's Hurricane Racing Association (HRA). Frank also competed in

International Motor Contest Association The International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) was organized in 1915 by J. Alex Sloan, and is the oldest active auto racing sanctioning body in the United States. IMCA is headquartered in Vinton, Iowa, and features several classes and ...

(IMCA) sanctioned events during the 1949 racing season.

AAA Stock Car career

1950: National Champion

Frank started and finished fifth in the inaugural race of the AAA Stock Car National Championship. Myron Fohr won the event, held at the

Milwaukee Mile The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectat ...

on July 9, 1950. The following race of the season also took place at Milwaukee on August 24. Frank started on the pole. He lost the lead during the first lap, and developed mechanical issues. Dropping out with hub failure on the 46th lap of the 100-mile event, he finished 22nd, as Norm Nelson went on to win the race. On September 4, Frank dominated the third race of the season. Starting second alongside Fohr at the Du Quoin Fairgrounds, Frank took the lead on the opening lap; by the 25th lap he had lapped the entire field, excluding Fohr, who soon had to pit. Frank held the lead for the entirety of the 100-lap event. At the fourth event, a 200-miler held at Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta on September 10, Frank held the lead with 18 laps to go when he blew a tire, sending him into the pits. Billy Carden passed him, going on to win. Frank was able to finish the event in fourth, immediately behind third placed finisher Nelson. The finish left the two drivers in contention for the championship heading into the final event of the season. Nelson led in points, and Frank needed to win the final event to have a chance at winning the title. On September 17, at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Frank won the race and the AAA National championship. Starting on pole after setting a new record time during qualifying, Frank finished a lap ahead of second-placed Walt Faulkner. Nelson proved unable to provide a challenge, blowing an engine.

1951

Frank returned for the following season, truncated and taking place exclusively on the Milwaukee Mile. He entered an Oldsmobile 88 into the season opening event, held July 15, 1951. He won the pole for the event and finished third, leading six laps. The remaining two races of the season took place on back-to-back days, August 23 and 24. Frank finished eighth in the season-ending event, unable to challenge the leaders.

Post-driving career

After his retirement from driving, Frank owned and operated a series of car-washes.

Death

Frank was killed the night of April 4, 1965, after being hit by a passing truck while attempting to help a motorist whose car had caught fire on the

Hollywood Freeway The Hollywood Freeway is one of the principal freeways of Los Angeles, California (the boundaries of which it does not leave) and one of the busiest in the United States. It is the principal route through the Cahuenga Pass, the primary shortc ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Frank, Jay 1965 deaths 1918 births Racing drivers from California Racing drivers from Illinois United States Army Air Forces officers USAC Stock Car drivers