Three-time World Champion drag racer Jimmy DeFrank is set to make his debut in the American Drag Racing League’s revolutionary new SuperCar Showdown division but he won’t need to worry about horsepower. The Chatsworth, California, veteran will take the wheel of the dominant machine in the new division during the upcoming ADRL CarSafe.com Gateway Drags IV at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois, on June 1-2.

DeFrank is close friends with Bo Butner, another past World Champion whose new supercharged Ford Cobra Jet Mustang streaked to the first two titles of the SuperCar Showdown in Baytown, Texas, and Bristol, Tennessee, before scoring a runner-up finish at the most recent ADRL tour event in Maple Grove, Pennsylvania. However, Butner planned a Caribbean vacation with his girlfriend, (and fellow SCS racer), Randi Lynn Shipp, well before the 2012 season began. Enter DeFrank.

“I really, really want to race in the SuperCar Showdown”, said DeFrank, “and I told Bo if there was any way I could get to do it, I was ready. When he told me he couldn’t attend the Gateway Drags, I almost begged him to drive his car for the weekend. He agreed and I am really excited about it”.

Three-time World Champion drag racer Jimmy DeFrank is set to make his debut in the American Drag Racing League’s revolutionary new SuperCar Showdown division but he won’t need to worry about horsepower. The Chatsworth, California, veteran will take the wheel of the dominant machine in the new division during the upcoming ADRL CarSafe.com Gateway Drags IV at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois, on June 1-2.

DeFrank is close friends with Bo Butner, another past World Champion whose new supercharged Ford Cobra Jet Mustang streaked to the first two titles of the SuperCar Showdown in Baytown, Texas, and Bristol, Tennessee, before scoring a runner-up finish at the most recent ADRL tour event in Maple Grove, Pennsylvania. However, Butner planned a Caribbean vacation with his girlfriend, (and fellow SCS racer), Randi Lynn Shipp, well before the 2012 season began. Enter DeFrank.

“I really, really want to race in the SuperCar Showdown”, said DeFrank, “and I told Bo if there was any way I could get to do it, I was ready. When he told me he couldn’t attend the Gateway Drags, I almost begged him to drive his car for the weekend. He agreed and I am really excited about it”.

The SuperCar Showdown division has already attracted many of drag racing’s best pilots. The drivers who competed in the first three 2012 ADRL SCS programs account for no less than six World Championships and thirty-seven National Event victories. DeFrank is one of the most decorated of all SuperCar Showdown entrants having claimed three NHRA World Titles in Super Stock Eliminator, nine Divisional championships and twelve victories in an amazing thirty-seven National Event final round appearances. Yet, the thirty-four year-old Californian will be competing in unfamiliar territory in the SuperCar Showdown.

“Believe it or not”, admitted DeFrank, “I’ve never raced against a ‘Pro Tree’ starting system. I’ve paid attention to the SCS events this year and I’m well aware reaction time plays a crucial role in this new class and that will be on my mind. I’ve made some test runs in Bo’s Mustang earlier in the season but the car was not running as fast as it is now and it wasn’t performing those giant wheelstands at the time, either”.

Known for competing in General Motors products, DeFrank found a major difference between his familiar ’69 Chevrolet Camaro and Butner’s powerful new Mustang Cobra Jet, noting, “My Camaro usually just yanks the front end pretty high when it launches from the starting line but Bo’s Mustang was so smooth during the takeoff. It’s a brand new production car and it felt like one“.

The SuperCar Showdown features open competition among production vehicles from all automobile manufacturers worldwide with engines, chassis and even tires remaining in factory trim. The most recent winner on the 2012 ADRL tour, past Pro Stock Eliminator World Champion Chris Holbrook, holds the SuperCar Showdown performance records at 5.75 seconds and 120.33 miles per hour for the eighth-mile distance but those numbers could be in jeopardy with an amazingly cool and dry forecast for the Gateway Drags IV. “If the weather predictions come true, this could be a serious horsepower war between the teams”, said DeFrank, “and I’ll have Bo’s crew and equipment on hand to help me take advantage of all his resources”.

Along with being excited about the potential to perform well in competition, DeFrank was just anxious to be a part of the class. “It’s really all everybody has been talking about this year”, said DeFrank with obvious enthusiasm in his voice. “I keep hearing about how well the ADRL races are run, how great the racers are treated and how amazing the response to the new class has been from the fans. I’m not kidding. I’m really pumped up for this!”.

DeFrank is a member of one of drag racing’s most prolific families. He runs the California Car Cover Company, (http://calcarcover.com), with his mother, Loraine, and his father, (and renowned drag racing champion), Jim. His brother, Tony, is another championship-winning driver and handles the company when his parents and sibling are attending major events. “Our company has grown from simply designing and selling car covers to being a major outlet for thousands of automotive and racing products”, said DeFrank. “It takes a lot of effort to run the business but it will be worth he effort to leave things to Tony and be a part of this new Super Car Showdown program. I’m really excited about this deal!”.

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