JIM FRONTZ AND SCOTT BIDWELL ON E MOD TITLE TRACK AT TRI-CITY
by Brian Spaid

June 14, 2003 

                Frontz and Bidwell versus Rhebergen and Steadman. That headliner is not from the World Wrestling Federation. Instead, it is the battle that is shaping up for the 2003 E Mod track championship at Tri-City Speedway.

                The clear favorites are driver Brent Rhebergen of Clymer, NY, and his car owner Bruce Steadman of Centerville, Pa. Combined, the duo has 26 career wins at the Venango County half-mile oval, and they are the defending track champions.

                Yet, two tough nights of racing this season by Rhebergen and Steadman allowed driver Jim Frontz of Cambridge Springs, Pa., and his car owner Scott Bidwell of Saegertown, Pa., to score their first two wins at Tri-City and sweep into the point lead. On May 11, Rhebergen suffered a rare mechanical breakdown. Then, on May 18, Rhebergen was involved in a heat race crash. On each night, Frontz was celebrating in victory lane.

                Heading into this weekend’s action, Frontz, 38, currently leads the E Mod standings with 564 points followed by two-time York Triathlon E Mod Series champion Jeff Taylor (538) and Rhebergen (516). And Rhebergen is closing on the lead duo after two consecutive feature wins.

                “It would be the greatest accomplishment of my career,” said Frontz about winning the track title. “It’s going to take a lot of consistency to stay ahead.”

                Frontz knows how tough racing can be. He toiled for five years in drag racing before he acquired a Limited Late Model in 1994. After spending five seasons in that division, he moved into the E Mods in 1999. Within the year, he was racing for Bidwell.

                “The championship would justify my racing career,” added Frontz, who works as a journeyman tool and die maker French Creek Valley Tool in Cambridge Springs. “I took a lot of flak when I first started dirt track racing. I picked a tough class to start out in not even knowing if I could drive on dirt. I’m slowly relieving the pressure off myself with better runs. People don’t talk negative about me anymore, and I know I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well.”

                Over time, Frontz has become a force in the E Mods. Since he started driving for Bidwell, he won his first six career features. The initial win came at Mercer Raceway Park in 2000. Then, he grabbed three wins at Raceway 7, one each of the last three seasons. His other wins were the two this season at Tri-City.

                “I’ve always had tough luck at Tri-City,” said Frontz, who was the 2002 Hard Luck Award winner. “To win those races was a major accomplishment because we beat the track itself. For me, it’s a nemesis. Tri-City is a fast track, but there are guys that run well everywhere else and run last at Tri-City. That’s because you have to learn how to set your car up for a changing track surface.”

                Bidwell, 31, is happy with Frontz behind the wheel. A car owner since 1997, Bidwell started out in the Pro Stocks, also called Pure Stocks, with driver Dwayne Pond at Raceway 7. Two seasons in that division led to the E Mods in 1999.

                One night, Frontz was involved in a hard crash, and he asked Bidwell for a chance to drive his car. Bidwell relented and they’ve been together ever since.

                “Jim’s a great driver,” said Bidwell, who is wheelchair-bound after a severe neck injury he suffered as a teen football player. “He’s easy on equipment. He doesn’t take chances when it’s unnecessary. We’ve got a good motor program too. We don’t overturn the engines, so they last a lot longer. We’ve got four motors available to us this season.”

                A math teacher at Saegertown High School, Bidwell loves racing, and he finally achieved one goal when Frontz won at Tri-City in May.

                “I’ve been around racing all my life, and it fits right into my schedule with teaching. Jim makes racing a lot of fun, and we tried for a long time to win at Tri-City. We’ve tried a lot of different setups on the car, and we’re finally putting it all together.”

                Bidwell supplied Frontz with a Pierce chassis, which carried Rhebergen to all his victories at Tri-City over the last three seasons. In fact, Rhebergen and other drivers continue to help Bidwell and Frontz with chassis advice.

                “Brent and Bruce have been good to us,” said Bidwell. “Our wins this season were great, but I’m not fully satisfied with them because we didn’t beat Brent on the track. When we beat him outright, we’ll reach our ultimate goal.”

                Bidwell would like to win the title just as much as Frontz too.

                “We’re going to be tough to catch if we keep finishing first, second or third. But, don’t get me wrong, because we want to win as many as we can.”

                So far, Bidwell, Frontz and their well-sponsored Pierce No. 3J appear to be a formidable combination against Rhebergen and Steadman. And the season is only starting to heat up.

                Bidwell and Frontz’s sponsors include Fame Manufacturing, Saegertown Hardware, and Smith NASCAR Collectibles of Saegertown, French Creek Valley Tool, Bauscher’s Gulf Service and Finck Tire of Cambridge Springs, Maloney Tool & Mold, Vivian Shimmel Builders, Talbar Tool, The Bolt Place, Barrickman Radiator and Little Valley Restoration, of Meadville, Lezzer Lumber of Cranberry, Butch’s Pub and Rick Johnson Electric of Blooming Valley, Hoover Graphics of Waterford, Treigler Racing Engines of McKean, and All-ways Racing of Clymer, NY.