Larry Frank, winner of the 1962 Southern 500 in one of the most surreal finishes in NASCAR history and a longtime Greenville [SC] businessman, died Tuesday [Jan 5th]. He was 80. A native of West Virginia, Frank was a Golden Gloves boxer and ex-Marine who took to racing like a duck to water. He raced motorcycles as a young man, according to wife Margaret Frank, and had a successful career in midget and sprint car racing. From 1956 through 1966 he competed on the NASCAR Grand National [now Sprint Cup Series] circuit ‘Â as the big-league was known then — running 103 events with 10 top-five finishes and 32 top-10. His best year was in 1962 when he finished 14th in points and won the only race of his career at Darlington International Raceway. Frank was convinced he had won though he finished the race on two blown tires and coasted to a stop. As he walked back to the garage, Frank passed legendary driver Junior Johnson celebrating in victory lane. Drivers David Pearson and Marvin Panch also thought they had won. “I had a lap lead on the field, and the scorers lost a lap,” he said in stories published by The Greenville News . “We knew we had won it before we left the race track,” Frank said. “The NASCAR scoring was pretty radical then. There had been a lot of mistakes, and it was pretty much confusion. But Bob Colvin (the track president) caught me after the race and said there was no way Junior won. He said, ‘We’ll straighten it out. You won the race.’ ” Protests were filed and late that night Frank was called at a motel in Florence and told he was the official winner. He picked up his trophy the next day. The official finish order was Frank, Johnson, Panch, Pearson and Petty. “They took a picture with the trophy sitting on the hood of the car,” Frank said. “But it still wasn’t like being in victory lane.”
Frank lived in North Carolina for a time, his wife said, then moved to Greenville where he opened a body shop. When the shop burned to the ground more than 30 years ago, he rebuilt Larry Frank’s Auto Body Shop on Fork Shoals Road. Margaret Frank said her husband was diagnosed with lymphoma six months ago and essentially beat it but never regained his strength. “He was a tough old bird with a tenacious attitude and spirit,” she said. “He was well-respected, well-thought of in the community.” Along with his wife at their home in Piedmont, Frank was also survived by sons Larry and Rob and two grandchildren, she said. She said Tuesday night that funeral arrangements were incomplete.(Greenville News)(1-6-2010)
