Published: April 06, 2009 08:24 am      

Chouteau’s Fraileys have seen lots of success at Outlaw Motor Speedway

MUSKOGEE – The

racing program at Outlaw Motor Speedway has its own version of a NASCAR race team.

Chouteau’s Randy Frailey may not be a Joe Gibbs or Rick Hendrick in stature, but at the oval south of Muskogee, he casts a very visible shadow, supporting a four-car team that’s very popular among the fans. With a son and a younger brother joining the elder statesman in the

driver’s seat here each week, it’s truly a racing family affair.

In addition to driving his own car, Randy, AKA, the "Junkyard Dog," has in his garage his son, Jeran, "Junkyard Pup", and his brother, Allen, "Uncle Bumper". They drive in the Modified Division.

The fourth member of the clan is J.D. Jackson – an "adopted" member of the family – who drives a 360 Modified. And, waiting in the wings to join the group is young Jacoby Frailey – not quite old enough to drive with the big boys (he’s six) – who is learning the art of racing, driving a midget car. He’s Allen’s son.

The Fraileys are well-known and respected in Chouteau, where they call home and where their

family business is

headquartered, and in the Mayes County and Eastern Oklahoma areas.

They operate Frailey Salvage in Chouteau and Frailey Recycling in Tulsa. The companies have been in the family since Randy’s father, Bill, founded the company in 1948.

Like the Gibbs and Hendrick operations, the Frailey’s work very closely together on their race cars. In the garage during the week and in the pits on race night, their single-minded goal is to make each of the cars they race the very best they can be.

And, the similarities with NASCAR don’t end there. Just as their

counterparts on the Sprint Cup circuit, their

togetherness ends when they pull the seat restraints tight and drive onto the track.

During a race, it’s every Frailey for himself. "We don’t cut each other any slack during a race," said Randy, 49. "We’re family; we work on each other’s car and we pit side-by-side, but that’s where it ends. When we race, we’re

competitors, after the same thing, a checkered flag." Jeran, 26, agrees.

"Dad doesn’t hold back for me and I don’t hold back for him, and I know Allen feels the same, but sometimes I wonder," he says. "Allen’s driving style is well documented,

especially when it comes to me. How do you think he got his nickname?

"He got it because if you don’t get out of his way, he’d run over your butt," Randy says. "Me, Jeran, or anyone else, he treats everyone the same. I wouldn’t say he’s a rough driver; let’s just say he’s aggressive.

"It seems this way because we’re so close, but on the surface Allen has probably tangled with Jeran more than any other driver. Following one of his bumping adventures at Salina, one of our friends, Mike Cates, came to me and told me he had the perfect name for Allen, ‘Uncle Bumper.’"

Allen, 45, readily admits there is some truth in what his kin say about his

driving.

"Oh yes, some of it is true," Allen says. "I have probably bumped them a time-or-two, but they deserved it.

"If they’re in my way, I’ll move them over. They were probably driving like they were out on a Sunday afternoon drive. From

time-to-time I have to remind them where they are."

Jeran says, with a sheepish grin, he lives for the day of retaliation. Randy adds that he will let his son take care of things, "I’m too old to get caught up in things like that."

As the season unfolds, the Fraileys admit to being on a mission, to out-run rival Rick Skaggs.

The Bixby driver won a track-record 18 features last year and the division’s point championship.

"He’s good, he has a hot car, he’s on a roll," Randy says. "But we’re out to beat him."

Skaggs and Randy were locked in a one-two battle with Jeran in contention in last year’s point battle until mid-season. At that point, a devotion to business

curtailed their racing for several weeks.

"The price of scrap metal was declining and we had to devote seven days a week to the business," Randy said.

"We didn’t want to miss racing, but it was a have-to situation. But this season we’re committed to race here every week."

That commitment makes their many legions of fans happy. Dozens show their support each week, wearing a "Junkyard Dog" T-shirt.

Racing in the season opener a couple of weeks ago was anything but

spectacular for the Fraileys. None of them

finished the feature.

Randy’s car overheated while Jeran had drive shaft problems. Allen was involved in a minor

accident just four laps into the race.

"We’ll be back this week, that is if I can get my engine put back together, Jeran can get his drive shaft problem solved and Allen can rebuild his car," Randy said. "Engine pieces are all over the garage floor. We tore it down to see what was causing my heating problem."

"Who tore it down?" Jeran asked. "I did and Allen helped. Dad just watched." Allen said he helped because he wanted to see what Randy had. "I was spying, I might copy some Randy has in his car.

"He might have to put his own engine back together so we can get our cars ready," Jeran said. "I’d like to see that (Randy rebuilding his engine)," Allen added.

Racing has been a part of Randy’s life since "I was old enough to drive. We’d load up and race all over the south, Midwest,

anywhere there was a race.

"Because of our

business, OMS is the only track we’ll race unless there is a nearby special we can get to on a Saturday."

Jeran has been racing since he was 13, first

driving midgets and then graduating to the larger cars, driving mainly at Salina. Racing is a hobby for the Fraileys.

"We enjoy entertaining fans, that’s why we race," Randy says, adding, "of course, winning is the

reason we all drive race cars, but win or lose, we race to have fun and to entertain.

"Fans are the life-blood of our sport. They are the most important part of

racing. Racing is the cheapest from of

entertainment. Dollar-for-dollar the sport has more to offer than any other form of entertainment, especially at OMS and in our area.”



Story courtesy of Outlaw Motor Speedway.