Francis James Kimmel (born April 30, 1962) is an American formerstock car racing driver. He competed primarily in theARCA Racing Series, from 1990 through 2016. Kimmel is the most successful driver in ARCA history. He has won the ARCA championship ten times, including eight consecutive. He won the championship in 1998, the 2000 through 2007 championships, and again in 2013.^[1] Kimmel also holds the all-time record for race wins in the ARCA Racing Series with 80.

Kimmel is currently the crew chief forJason Kitzmiller andCR7 Motorsports, which fields the No. 97Chevrolet in the ARCA Series.^[2] From after the end of his driving career in2017 through2019, he returned toVenturini Motorsports (the team he drove for part-time in2015) as a crew chief and a driving coach for their drivers, such asLeilani Münter,Gavin Harlien, andHailie Deegan.

Kimmel was born inClarksville, Indiana on April 30, 1962. His father,Bill Kimmel, Sr., was a three-time ARCA race winner.^[3] Frank resides inBorden, Indiana^[4] with his wife Donna. He has two children Holly andFrank II.^[5] He also has two years of college education. Kimmel is involved in his community, participating in school events and coaching youth sports.^[5]

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 racingLate Models.^[6]

Kimmel's first ARCA start was in 1990. His first full season was 1992, driving the #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 atToledo 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 joinedClement Racing, driving the No. 46Advance 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 brokeIggy 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 theIROC (International Race of Champions) Series in 2006.

In 2006, thecrew chief on Kimmel's team was his brother, Bill Kimmel Jr.^[4]

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 asKimmel Racing in the No. 44. The team initially ran a Dodge with the support of Cunningham Motorsport and sponsorship from Riverside Auto atDaytona before joining forces withFord 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.^[5] He was taken to the hospital for observation overnight.^[7] 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 andMenards 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 forThorSport Racing in the ARCA Racing Series starting in 2012.^[8]

On June 30, 2013, under crew chief Jeriod Prince, Kimmel tiedIggy Katona's record for most wins in the ARCA Racing Series, winning his 79th career victory atWinchester Speedway.^[9] On October 4, 2013, he clinched his tenth ARCA Racing Series championship atKansas Speedway.^[10] 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 toWin-Tron Racing, retaining his No. 44.^[11] 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.^[12]

Kimmel made seven starts in theNASCAR Cup Series,^[13] five of those coming withTravis Carter Motorsports in 2002.^[14] He found little success in the series. His best finish to date was a 26th-place finish atCharlotte Motor Speedway. He had oneBusch Series start.^[13] Through 2010 he had two top-ten finishes from twelveCraftsman Truck Series starts.^[13] and ran the 2011 and 2013 Camping World Truck Series season finales atHomestead-Miami Speedway forThorSport Racing.^[8]

Kimmel was invited to participate in the 2006 edition of theInternational 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^[15] with a best finish of third in the first race^[16] of the four-race IROC season.^[15]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

^* Season still in progress
¹ Ineligible for series points

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

• Frank Kimmel driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Frank Kimmel crew chief statistics at Racing-Reference
• Frank Kimmel owner statistics at Racing-Reference

• Living people
• 1962 births
• People from Washington County, Indiana
• Racing drivers from Indiana
• NASCAR drivers
• ARCA Menards Series drivers
• International Race of Champions drivers
• People from Clarksville, Indiana
• Sportspeople from Clark County, Indiana
• Coca-Cola 600 drivers

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