The drive at 65: Frank Fleming heading to Florida for Modified Tour opener at New Smyrna Speedway
Every February, Frank Fleming takes a trip to New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
For several years, that vacation included racing a Modified during the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway, but it's been more than a decade since Fleming last competed. That will change Saturday when Fleming joins the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour field for the New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200 (7:30 p.m. ET on FloRacing).
'I'm down there every year,' said Fleming, who has made more than 30 Modified Tour starts dating back to 1986 but none since 2019. 'I said, 'Well shucks, I go to New Smyrna every year, that needs to be my first race (of 2025).' So, we got the car done, and we're going to New Smyrna.'
Modified racing fans in the Southeast are familiar with Fleming. The 65-year-old has spent decades racing at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and was a regular competitor with the now-defunct NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour.
RELATED: Frank Fleming's career statistics
He even made 10 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts from 1988-91 at tracks across the Southeast, including venues like Darlington Raceway, Daytona International Speedway, Hickory Motor Speedway and South Boston Speedway.
However, Fleming hasn't done much racing the last few years while he focused on his business, Frank Fleming Body Shop & Collision Center in Mt. Airy, North Carolina.
In business since 1985, in 2021 Fleming decided he wanted to move his operation to a better location. That meant stepping away from driving race cars for a few years while he purchased and renovated a new building for his business.
'I'd been in the same location since 1985,' Fleming explained. 'I decided I wanted to move my business into a better location and a better building. I bought a building and in '21 and '22 I was (renovating) the building. I've been in the building two years now.'
Once he got his new location up and running, Fleming decided he wanted to have a little fun and go racing again. So, he dusted off his old chassis, which required a few updates courtesy of PSR Products and Phil Stefanelli, and went racing.
'I had no idea I'd ever start racing again,' Fleming said. 'Here I am.'
After making a few starts across the Southeast in 2024, Fleming found himself in need of a new engine. He purchased a new spec engine from Roush Yates Engines for the 2025 season. The first race for that new engine will be at New Smyrna, where he hasn't raced since 2011.
'If I'm going to spend the money on this motor, I want to go run (with the Tour),' Fleming said. 'I like the NASCAR (Modified) Tour races.'
Despite not driving a race car for a few years, Fleming hasn't been away from racing. He's spent nearly every summer weekend at Bowman Gray, helping his brother Chris and nephew Jordan when they compete in the track's headlining Modified division.
Just last weekend Chris scored the biggest victory of his career when he won the Cook Out Madhouse Classic, an invitation-only Modified event held the day before The Clash at Bowman Gray.
The win was huge not just for Chris, but the entire Fleming family.
'It really made me happy for Chris,' Fleming said. 'I had a great racing career; I had a lot of people that helped me. I was in a lot of good cars. He never had the opportunities that I had back 20, 30 years ago. Chris is 61 years old, and he is at his best right now. I was at my best in my 30s and 40s.
'It makes me happy for him. I want our family name to stay in racing. Chris is in the best equipment that he has ever had in his life.'
Just like Frank was there to help and support Chris during the Cook Out Madhouse Classic, Chris will be at New Smyrna to help and support Frank on Saturday.
Chris will serve as Frank's crew chief during the Modified Tour opener, and the team will also have help from legendary Modified driver and New York native Jan Leaty, who spends his winters in Florida every year.
RELATED: Watch highlights from the Cook Out Madhouse Classic
The race at New Smyrna is one of four Modified Tour events Frank plans to enter this year. He also hopes to race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Richmond Raceway and Martinsville Speedway.
At 65, Frank knows the odds of a win this weekend aren't high. But his goal is to be competitive and, hopefully, race inside the top 10 Saturday night at New Smyrna. Anything beyond that would be a bonus.
'I'm 65 years old, but I'm still healthy and I love to race,' Fleming said. 'I would love to go to New Smyrna and qualify in the top 10. I think that's possible. The top 15 anyway. A top-10 finish would probably be good for me. A top-five finish is possible if circumstances fall right.
'There is a slim chance that I could win it. I did say slim chance. A 65-year-old man can't do what a 30-year-old man can. I know that. But anyway, I'm going to go down and have some fun.'
The one thing Fleming doesn't want to do in his return to New Smyrna is end it like the last time he raced there in 2011.
'I crashed my car and tore it all to pieces,' Fleming said. 'Every time I go, I think about that. I want to go down there and have a good race this time. If I don't ever go back again, then I had a good race there.'
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