The King of the Can win for Frank Del Nero marked several firsts. First factory stock win. First win at Penn Can Speedway. First win on dirt since 1997. In victory lane, while being interviewed, he took a zip tie out of his pocket.
Frank handed the mic back to the announcer and turned toward his girlfriend of 10 years, Britan Cokely. He proceeded to put that zip tie on Britan’s finger.
“I said, ‘I have been trying to tell you something for a long time — I have a zip tie in my pocket, and I want to zip it to your finger — I want you to be mine forever,’” Frank, of Cresco, Pennsylvania, said. “It just happened organically — I had nothing rehearsed.”
The crowd cheered wildly.
“I’m just a guy who uses zip ties for everything,” said Frank. “I knew she would embrace my weirdness. We are both one-of-a-kind people, and she stood by me all these years despite my being weird.”
The two first met online, and then Frank invited Britan to an American Legion pig roast he was running. At first glance, he knew Britan was right for him. She was a chef by trade and jumped right in to help when she saw Frank struggling in the kitchen. The duo still cooks at barbecues and pig roasts, specializing in events that have least 75 attendees and up to 500 people attending. They cooked for fellow racer and longtime friend Grant Hilfiger two weeks ago.
At the races, Frank calls her, ‘Britcrew’ — the one-woman crew for the one-man race team.
“The first time I brought her to the races, she was right there to help,” Frank said. “You name it — she does anything physically possible on our race cars. When I was in the lead for King of the Can, I was thinking how thirsty I was for this win. I wanted to win the King of the Can forever. I’m 54 years old now, and I had to do it for our one-man, one-woman show.”
Britan didn’t know Frank was going to propose at Penn Can Speedway. After he put the zip tie on her finger she said, “By the way, yes, I will marry you, but you’re supposed to get my answer before you put the ring on.”
Frank Del Nero donned a king’s outfit in victory lane, sitting on a gold toilet, with plunger in hand. Afterward, Frank and Britan finished the royal ceremonies.
“We stopped at Burger King on the way to the track,” said Frank. “Brit grabbed one of those paper crowns for kids and put it on her head. I guess it was destiny that we would win.”
The Outside Groove Executive Editor has covered motorsports since 2000. His many awards include the 2019 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Jim Hunter Writer of the Year and the 2013 Russ Catlin Award for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism.
