6/15/2019
Lucas Oil Speedway Spotlight: New car, new number and improved results for Cody Frazon in Street Stock division
WHEATLAND, Missouri - As Lucas Oil Speedway reaches the midpoint of the Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series schedule on Saturday, one of the eye-opening stories of the season has been a driver with a new car and new number.
Cody Frazon is a solid fourth in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Street Stocks points race with three top-five finishes. The 29-year-old from Lamonte, Missouri has found his way to contender's status in a Shark Chassis with the number 04 on the side.
"My number of choice was always 73. It's what I raced with in B-Mods, Stocks and Hobby Stocks," the 29-year-old Frazon said. "But this car, I drive for somebody else and when we sat down to talk about driving I told him my number was bad luck and I was ready for a change."
At dinner with car owner Kurt Ewing, Frazon asked Ewing's son, Blaine, to pick a new number.
"He picked 04 and that's what we went with," Frazon said.
It's all working out pretty well. Frazon's next goal is to pick up a feature victory at Lucas Oil Speedway, with Saturday night's Midseason Championships presented by the Bolivar Herald-Free Press and NMI/VMG Marketing, the next chance. The Street Stocks will headline the program, with $750 to win the 25-lap feature.
Frazon said the new car, built by veteran Street Stock racer Marc Carter of Warrensburg, has been a key to his improved performance in 2019, which also has seen him pick up a feature win at Double X Speedway in California, Missouri.
"The car is a lot lighter, about 300 pounds lighter than my last car," Frazon said. "I'm able to get the weight and balance where I need it. It's very reactive to changes. The changes that I make, the car seems to like them or dislike them very easily where the other car was cumbersome in that regard."
Frazon is like most who race in the Street Stock division, with a full schedule of working for a living during the day and preparing his car in the evenings. A graduate of the University of Central Missouri, he's a manufacturing engineer at an air compressor company in Sedalia.
"It's definitely a balance of time," Frazon said. "I pretty much go to work, come home and work on the race car and go to bed. I have a couple of buddies I work out of the same shop with. Nathan Vaughan runs at Central Missouri Speedway, where he has two wins the last two weeks, and Jeff Hardy who runs a Pure Stock. We kind of help each other to keep everything maintained and keep everybody going."
Other than the four-year break to focus on college, racing has been in Frazon's blood since he was 12 and first drove a Hobby Stock at the LA Raceway in Lamonte. He said his parents were worried about his safety and were reluctant to sign off, but family friend Danny Everts, who's since passed away, finally convinced them to let young Cody race.
"One day we showed up at the race track and (Everts) had a driving suit for me and he talked my mom and dad into letting me race," Frazon said. "He kind of got me started. Then me and my dad (Steve) built a car together and it's been me and him most of the time since then."
Ewing Farms, with Kurt and Robin Ewing, is Frazon's major sponsor this season. Frazon said Blaine Ewing is a big help in the pits each week. Other sponsors include Heritage Fabrication, Lucas Oil, Gecco Graphics Worldwide in Warrensburg, Brilliant Graphix in Harrisonville, Shark Chassis and Yeoman Race Engines.
"It's been a good, consistent year," Frazon said. "I didn't have any plans to run for points at any track, but I wanted to start at Lucas and hammer it out for a few weeks to see how it went. Now I think we're going to try and finish it out. If we could knock down a top-five in points and get a couple of feature wins, I would be pretty satisfied."
Gates open at 4 p.m. Saturday with hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:05. Fans arriving early can get photos and autographs on the midway as drivers will have their cars on display from 4:30-5:45 p.m.
Also for the fans, to commemorate Father's Day Weekend, Scott Furniture of Osceola is donating a chair to be given away in a drawing during intermission. The chair will be on display at the Protect the Harvest display on the midway. Dads can sign up there for a chance to win, compliments of Scott Furniture.
Ticket prices:
Adults (16 and over) $12
Seniors (62 and over)/Military $9
Youth (ages 6-15) $5
Kids (5 and under) FREE
Family pass $30
Pit pass $30
For questions about tickets or camping for any event at Lucas Oil Speedway, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or via email at Nichole@LucasOilSpeedway.com.
Complete Lucas Oil Speedway event information, archived race recaps, previews and driver features, along with ticket information and 2019 schedule can be found by visiting LucasOilSpeedway.com.
Lucas Oil Speedway is located at Highways 83 and 54 in Wheatland, Missouri. A campground with shower and bathroom facilities is also available. With its entrance located just outside the pit gate this sprawling scenic camping facility will continue to enhance the racing experience at the Diamond of Dirt Tracks.
Click LucasOilSpeedway.com for more information and detailed directions to the speedway or call the Track Hotline at (417) 282-5984.
In addition, fans can get social with Lucas Oil Speedway by following @LucasSpeedway on Twitter, clicking "Like" at www.facebook.com/LucasOilSpeedway and on www.youtube.com/LucasOilSpeedway
About Lucas Oil Speedway
Lucas Oil Speedway is considered by fans, drivers and industry insiders to be one of the top five racing facilities in the nation. Located in Wheatland, Missouri, approximately an hour from Springfield, Missouri, and just an hour and a half from the Kansas City metro area, the "Diamond of Dirt Tracks" lives up to its title.
Twenty-One VIP Luxury Suites, HD Jumbo-Tron Screen, Stadium Style Musco Sports Lighting, a Bose Sound System, Go-Kart Slick Track, The Diamond Bar, Track Treasures Gift Shop, the best track food in the country and paved pits are a few of the spectacular amenities setting the Diamond of Dirt apart. This year marks the ninth season for the Liquid Quarter Mile Drag Racing Lake, "Lake Lucas." New for 2017 was all-purpose built Off Road facility featuring the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series as well as a host of other regional events.
Lucas Oil Speedway's dirt oval track plays host to some of the largest and most-popular events in the Midwest with national and regional touring series appearing frequently including: The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, POWRi Midget National Series, Lucas Oil Pro-Pulling League, United States Modified Touring Series, ASCS Sprint Cars and the Lucas Oil MLRA.
In addition to the special events, the Lucas Oil Speedway Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series features the Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Models, Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds, O'Reilly Auto Parts Street Stocks and the Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods.
2019 Official Lucas Oil Speedway Marketing Partners
Bill Roberts Chevrolet-Buick
"The Official Truck" of Lucas Oil Speedway
Article Credit: Lyndal Scranton
