Mini Stock's Coleman is eying title

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 19, 2001

In nearly 19 years of racing in the Mini Stock class, Frank Coleman has been on the doorstep of a championship more times than he cares to recall.

It seems when he gets close, something happens to snatch the crown from his grasp.

In 1999, after leading the points standings much of the season, Coleman's car faltered on two consecutive nights, forcing the Citrus County Speedway driver into a final showdown with Jim Smith. Coleman finished 12 points shy.

Two years before, Coleman said, he lost the title to George Neumann on the next to last week of racing.

As he enters the final four weeks of this season, Coleman says he thinks his moderately comfortable 27-point edge over Mark Sowell could, at last, bring him the crown he covets. If it doesn't, chances are Coleman never will have another shot.

Next year, he plans to run a limited schedule so he can devote more energy to his new cabinet business and spend time with his family.

"Keeping a car ready to race week after week takes up more effort and time than I'm able to give anymore," Coleman said. "Lately, it seems I've been out there because I felt I needed to rather than racing because I wanted to."

For Coleman, who grew up the son of a well-known South Florida short track veteran, being at the speedway on Saturday nights seemed like the perfect pastime when he started racing in 1983.

In the years since, he has missed only a handful of events. But he admits that his enthusiasm for running a 32-week season has been on the wane the past couple of years.

"I've always loved the racing part of it," Coleman said. "It's the other things like track politics and infighting that gets tiring.

"The one thing that keeps me coming back are the friends I've made over the years," he said.

Coleman has braced himself for the possibility that racing will not be such an enjoyable pastime the next few weeks as he battles to keep his points advantage.

Though his yellow No. 20 machine consistently is among the quickest cars, Coleman's championship hopes are pinned more on his ability to finish races than to win them.

"At this point, I have to be conservative and not take unnecessary chances," he said.

"Mark has been running very well lately, so it's important for me to finish as close to him as I can. I wouldn't be surprised if the championship comes down to the last race."

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