RIP Frank Grossi

Jeff Stout · 08-22-2019, 12:12 PM

My one and only Division win was against Frank in Sacramento in 1995. Frank asked me in the lanes to not be in a hurry as he needed time. Next thing I knew he was firing motor up and I just finished checking tire pressure. I rushed to get in car and get to water box. After I talked to him about not being in a hurry and we had a good laugh about it. RIP

Kevin McKenna · 08-22-2019, 12:46 PM

Very sad news. As other have noted, a very nice man and a heck of a racer.
For those who remember, he beat Rick Houser in the 1983 World Finals (last race at OCIR) for his only national event win. RIP

Floyd Staggs · 08-22-2019, 12:55 PM

Go with God, Neighbor.
Prayers to the family.

nhramnl · 08-22-2019, 01:47 PM

Sad to hear. Frank was pretty legendary as a member of the California contingent of serious Super Stock racers. May you rest in peace, Frank.

Race Clean · 08-22-2019, 05:46 PM

As good as they get
R.I.P. Frank

MRE 7171 · 08-22-2019, 06:48 PM

Harvey Lawson introduced me to Frank at Orange County International Raceway and said they were building a 1969 SS/EA Camero together like in 1982, Frank was a gentleman too the end, his kind words, generosity and sense of humor never wavered toward me, I will miss our racing each other and that friendly smile, thanks for being my friend, ps Kevin I remember that 1983 win at Orange County, I was doing good at that race until I raced Frank in the quarter final, now Frank is up there with Harvey again, God Speed my friend, Fred Moreno

Abe Loewen · 08-22-2019, 07:05 PM

Thanks Dan for starting this. Frank was as good a friend as anyone could have. I'm going to miss him a lot. He had great humor, wit and he was always at least one step ahead of you. I was with him when he won Columbus in 99. He loved racing.

Albert Lee · 08-22-2019, 09:18 PM

Godspeed my friend!

Al Corda

DG7050 · 08-22-2019, 11:08 PM

Thank you Dan for starting this thread. The heart warming comments from so many friends are much appreciated. We will be sure his wife Sharon, daughter Amy and son Kevin see everyone's memories of him.

Frank is the twin brother of my dad Jim sr. They were partners in a farming business that my brothers Jim jr and Sante all starting working on as early as 10 years old. I started out making 50 cents an hour, Jim a bit more. We worked long hours 7 days a week which allowed Jim to build a 427 1972 Camaro at 16 years old and me a V8 Vega at 14. Frank and my dad raced in the 1960's but had given it up for family and business. It didn't take long for both of them to get the bug again, that's when Frank partnered with Harvey Lawson on his candie apple SS/EA 1969 427 Camaro. His Camaro was covered in Car Craft magazine which declared it the most beautiful Camaro in the world. My dad soon built a 1967 Camaro stocker for Jim. Frank gave me a 1984 Cutlass stocker to get me going. This was the beginning of an incredible life full of great friendships among our racing family.

Fortunately, Frank and my dad had one last trip to Indy last year. He hated to miss any races and always raced with class. Drag racing brought him joy even when he couldn't make it to the track in the last year of his life.

A Celebration of Life will be on Saturday, August 31st 10:00 am at Draper Mortuary in Ontario CA. Everyone is invited to come out a share memories of Frank with family and friends.

Darin Grossi

Jimmy D · 08-23-2019, 10:37 AM

Thank you for posting this Dan. Frank deserves all of the time and kind words in this thread. Darin, thank you for sharing some history and also the service day/time.

Frank Grossi was a great racer and above that, a wonderful person and friend. I am so thankful that we got to share so many family, particularly racing memories with Frank. There can be many many pages written on Frank's character and the man he was as well as his great sense of humor. The man that Frank was and the life he lived is reflected in his entire family, from wife Sharon to son Kevin, daughter Amy, Frank's twin brother Jim and each of his sons - Jim, Darin and Sante. Each of the Grossi family members are among the most amazing people I have ever been blessed to know and call friends. I hope and pray that we have the opportunity to share many more great conversations and memories together and that we will always speak about Frank and remember him also.

Could write pages about Franks great sense of humor but this one story has been on my mind the most this past few days. We all attended a race in Houston Texas in the late 1990's - Frank, Big Jim, Jimmy, my dad, myself and other friends from southern California. We made a visit to one of our favorite places, Dairy Queen. There were a few of us in each (2) rental vehicle as we drove through the drive-through. I was riding with Frank in the second car when he rear-ended my dad in the drive-through line and started to push him forward, my dad proceeded to place his rental car in reverse and push back and the two cars started smoking the tires against each other and then filled the drive-through window and the whole dairy queen with tire smoke. Hilarious to see grown 50 year old men do this...certainly not as funny for those inside the DQ! LOL After the burnouts we pulled up to the window to get our orders and yet again it was my turn to buy as I lost another bet to Frank! As stated earlier in this thread, Frank was always one step ahead and unfortunately I did not realize this until several years had past and all bets were lost to Frank haha. The bill was around $20, I handed the person at the drive-through a $100 bill to get change and Frank took off and yelled out the window "keep the change" and peeled out and left. It was worth every laugh and fun time with Frank & family.

God Bless you Frank and your family always. You will always be missed and always thought of.

Jimmy DeFrank & Family.

08-22-2019, 12:12 PM	#1
Jeff Stout VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: phoenix Posts: 1,486 Likes: 66 Liked 704 Times in 281 Posts	Re: RIP Frank Grossi My one and only Division win was against Frank in Sacramento in 1995. Frank asked me in the lanes to not be in a hurry as he needed time. Next thing I knew he was firing motor up and I just finished checking tire pressure. I rushed to get in car and get to water box. After I talked to him about not being in a hurry and we had a good laugh about it. RIP

08-22-2019, 12:46 PM	#2
Kevin McKenna Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 194 Likes: 0 Liked 32 Times in 7 Posts	Re: RIP Frank Grossi Very sad news. As other have noted, a very nice man and a heck of a racer. For those who remember, he beat Rick Houser in the 1983 World Finals (last race at OCIR) for his only national event win. RIP

08-22-2019, 12:55 PM	#3
Floyd Staggs VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Cucamonga, CA Posts: 1,522 Likes: 156 Liked 229 Times in 99 Posts	Re: RIP Frank Grossi Go with God, Neighbor. Prayers to the family. __________________ Floyd Staggs 787 SST

08-22-2019, 01:47 PM	#4
nhramnl Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 507 Likes: 8 Liked 358 Times in 83 Posts	Re: RIP Frank Grossi Sad to hear. Frank was pretty legendary as a member of the California contingent of serious Super Stock racers. May you rest in peace, Frank.

08-22-2019, 05:46 PM	#5
Race Clean Member Join Date: Aug 2017 Posts: 159 Likes: 18 Liked 129 Times in 53 Posts	Re: RIP Frank Grossi As good as they get R.I.P. Frank

08-22-2019, 06:48 PM	#6
MRE 7171 Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2018 Posts: 58 Likes: 41 Liked 95 Times in 24 Posts	Re: RIP Frank Grossi Harvey Lawson introduced me to Frank at Orange County International Raceway and said they were building a 1969 SS/EA Camero together like in 1982, Frank was a gentleman too the end, his kind words, generosity and sense of humor never wavered toward me, I will miss our racing each other and that friendly smile, thanks for being my friend, ps Kevin I remember that 1983 win at Orange County, I was doing good at that race until I raced Frank in the quarter final, now Frank is up there with Harvey again, God Speed my friend, Fred Moreno

08-22-2019, 07:05 PM	#7
Abe Loewen Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Regina Sask. Canada Posts: 87 Likes: 0 Liked 37 Times in 15 Posts	Re: RIP Frank Grossi Thanks Dan for starting this. Frank was as good a friend as anyone could have. I'm going to miss him a lot. He had great humor, wit and he was always at least one step ahead of you. I was with him when he won Columbus in 99. He loved racing.

08-22-2019, 09:18 PM	#8
Albert Lee Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 253 Likes: 145 Liked 258 Times in 49 Posts	Re: RIP Frank Grossi Godspeed my friend! Al Corda

08-22-2019, 11:08 PM	#9
DG7050 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2018 Posts: 54 Likes: 62 Liked 115 Times in 31 Posts	Re: RIP Frank Grossi Thank you Dan for starting this thread. The heart warming comments from so many friends are much appreciated. We will be sure his wife Sharon, daughter Amy and son Kevin see everyone's memories of him. Frank is the twin brother of my dad Jim sr. They were partners in a farming business that my brothers Jim jr and Sante all starting working on as early as 10 years old. I started out making 50 cents an hour, Jim a bit more. We worked long hours 7 days a week which allowed Jim to build a 427 1972 Camaro at 16 years old and me a V8 Vega at 14. Frank and my dad raced in the 1960's but had given it up for family and business. It didn't take long for both of them to get the bug again, that's when Frank partnered with Harvey Lawson on his candie apple SS/EA 1969 427 Camaro. His Camaro was covered in Car Craft magazine which declared it the most beautiful Camaro in the world. My dad soon built a 1967 Camaro stocker for Jim. Frank gave me a 1984 Cutlass stocker to get me going. This was the beginning of an incredible life full of great friendships among our racing family. Fortunately, Frank and my dad had one last trip to Indy last year. He hated to miss any races and always raced with class. Drag racing brought him joy even when he couldn't make it to the track in the last year of his life. A Celebration of Life will be on Saturday, August 31st 10:00 am at Draper Mortuary in Ontario CA. Everyone is invited to come out a share memories of Frank with family and friends. Darin Grossi Last edited by DG7050; 08-22-2019 at 11:12 PM.

08-23-2019, 10:37 AM	#10
Jimmy D Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Chatsworth, CA Posts: 62 Likes: 1 Liked 17 Times in 3 Posts	Re: RIP Frank Grossi Thank you for posting this Dan. Frank deserves all of the time and kind words in this thread. Darin, thank you for sharing some history and also the service day/time. Frank Grossi was a great racer and above that, a wonderful person and friend. I am so thankful that we got to share so many family, particularly racing memories with Frank. There can be many many pages written on Frank's character and the man he was as well as his great sense of humor. The man that Frank was and the life he lived is reflected in his entire family, from wife Sharon to son Kevin, daughter Amy, Frank's twin brother Jim and each of his sons - Jim, Darin and Sante. Each of the Grossi family members are among the most amazing people I have ever been blessed to know and call friends. I hope and pray that we have the opportunity to share many more great conversations and memories together and that we will always speak about Frank and remember him also. Could write pages about Franks great sense of humor but this one story has been on my mind the most this past few days. We all attended a race in Houston Texas in the late 1990's - Frank, Big Jim, Jimmy, my dad, myself and other friends from southern California. We made a visit to one of our favorite places, Dairy Queen. There were a few of us in each (2) rental vehicle as we drove through the drive-through. I was riding with Frank in the second car when he rear-ended my dad in the drive-through line and started to push him forward, my dad proceeded to place his rental car in reverse and push back and the two cars started smoking the tires against each other and then filled the drive-through window and the whole dairy queen with tire smoke. Hilarious to see grown 50 year old men do this...certainly not as funny for those inside the DQ! LOL After the burnouts we pulled up to the window to get our orders and yet again it was my turn to buy as I lost another bet to Frank! As stated earlier in this thread, Frank was always one step ahead and unfortunately I did not realize this until several years had past and all bets were lost to Frank haha. The bill was around $20, I handed the person at the drive-through a $100 bill to get change and Frank took off and yelled out the window "keep the change" and peeled out and left. It was worth every laugh and fun time with Frank & family. God Bless you Frank and your family always. You will always be missed and always thought of. Jimmy DeFrank & Family.