Frank Cook

Frank Cook grew up in Texas and has never lived anywhere else.

He became interested in cars and performance in the early 1950’s soon after high school, winning his first drag race in Cedar Hill, Texas in his 1955 Chevy running in B stock.

In 1957 Frank bought a new Chevy Bel-Air 2-door and ran in Super Stock class with his 270 hp Corvette engine. He raced at many tracks including Caddo Mills, Circle, Cedar Hill, Lake Waco, Prairie Hill, Whitehouse and Interstate 20.

In 1965 Frank & fellow California Pools employer Bob Miller bought a Chevy powered fuel altered Roadster and raced all the division 4 tracks. The car ran low 10’s at 140mph.

In 1968 Cook and Miller bought a dragster and put the injected fuel Chevy in it. They were charter members of the South Central A/Fuel Dragster Association. This group raced all over the Southwest and Frank & Bob won several Championships.

Cook was awarded NHRA Sportsman driver of the year in 1974, then moved to Blown Alcohol Funny Car with sponsorship from Racing Fuels Inc. in the famous Drag-On Vega.

The all American Funny Car Series, founded in 1978, was a group of about 15 Blown Alcohol Funny Cars who booked races all over including the NHRA WCS races. Frank and new partner Chuck Lander enjoyed immediate success in 1978 winning 10 of 13 races run. They went on to win two more AFC Championships, four NHRA Division 4 Championships, and Cook was named Driver of the year three more times.

In 1989 Leroy Hess enlisted Frank to drive the Hess & Cagle Gunnite Express Top Fuel Dragster. Cook was runner up to Gene Snow at the very first race he ran at Rockingham NC, and with Dave Settles as crew chief he went on to grab low qualifier at the Cajun Nationals in Baton Rouge LA.

The next weekend he won the Motorplex Top Fuel T-Shirt race and went to the semi finals several times in 1989.

Frank Cook is a true pioneer of Division 4 Drag Racing and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990.