Frankie Herr made his feelings known to his car-owner, Bill Devine, in the third race of the 2021 season at BAPS Motor Speedway.
The Super Sportsman legend knew he was closing in on the end of his career. Worse, he wasn’t having fun and said as much to Devine. “I’m not having fun. I hate it. It’s not fun to me. I will give it 110 percent this year, but I’m not having fun.”
That didn’t stop Herr, 58, from living up to his word. Not only did he lead the competitive Super Sportsman division in wins with five, he earned the 28th championship of his storied and long career.
But Herr needed to shake things up if he was going to stay in the seat. It seemed like he got what he needed in the offseason when Devine decided to stay in the game by leaving the Super Sportsman ranks and taking the Carlisle, Pa., driver into the 358 Sprint Car division in 2022.
“I’m just about done racing, and I didn’t want to continue running one track,” Herr said. “I wanted to run the Grove, Lincoln … I want to tour around and run different racetracks. If the Sportsman would do that, maybe I wouldn’t have changed my mind.
“When I told my owner that I wasn’t having fun doing what I was doing, I thought he would be done. He’s like, ‘I’m not done. I want to race, I work to race, and I want you to be my driver. Can we Sprint Car race?’ I was like, ‘We probably could.’”
Continued Herr, “I’m not a 410 racer by any means, so I thought I could be competitive in a 358. I don’t want to do any more point racing. I want to go and have fun.”
This isn’t the first time Herr has ventured into the Sprint Car ranks. He had success in the division during the early 1990s and made another appearance in a 358 Sprint Car during the 2013 campaign.
Herr has three 358 wins at Williams Grove. In 1993, he won the combined Williams Grove/KARS title and returned in 2013 to finish third in the standings while also competing in a Super Sportsman.
Since his last 358 Sprint Car stint, Herr has continued his Super Sportsman career at BAPS Motor Speedway and even competed in Nicole Bower’s 410. Now that he is back in a 358 Sprint Car, he has a new set of challenges.
“The cars are definitely different, but driving wise, you pick up on it,” Herr said. “You get behind the wheel, and it’s just a racecar.
“The thing is that you’ve got to learn what you are racing with. I know the Sportsman guys, so I know who I’m racing with. In the 358s, you don’t know the guys’ habits. You have to learn that being a new driver in the division.”
It will be challenge, but it’s one Herr is eager to embrace. And he will do it without being under the microscope of success.
See, Herr is a star in the Super Sportsman ranks. With notoriety and success comes expectations, which can grow tiresome when you don’t visit Victory Lane. It gets to the point when a top five isn’t good enough.
“Every time I get in a Super Sportsman, people expect me to win,” Herr said. “I want to do that, and I want to win in a 358, too, but if you run second or third in a Sportsman, it’s like, ‘What happened?’
“I want to have fun, and I don’t want it to be a point deal or competitive deal where I have to win all the time. I’m not looking to take all of those chances that I did earlier in my career. I have two nice cars, and I don’t want to be building more all of the time.”
No doubt Herr will have a different demeanor during the upcoming season. He will be more relaxed with a little more excitement in his step.
It’s not just running at a different track or taking on a new division. Herr will be around different people and gets a chance finish out his career as a driver and a fan.
“There is nothing better than the racing community,” Herr said. “I’ve been racing all of my life, and I’ve met the best people in racing. Honestly, I would like to go to the races and enjoy myself while I’m there and watch the 410s and enjoy that part of the deal. At BAPS, I couldn’t enjoy anything. I don’t watch Street Stocks, Late Models, or Legends. They don’t interest me.
“Bill knew early last season I wasn’t having fun, and I thought at the end of the year that he might say we were done. He’s like, ‘No way.’ He called me three days later and got me excited again.
“I don’t know if I will race a year or two. I don’t know if I will race five more years. If I go 358 Sprint Car racing and it’s not fun anymore, I’m not going to do it and will do something else. If it’s fun, I will be there.”