Forum: Oklahomatidbits.com General Forum (go)
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First off Louisiana had NO entires again.  Dang.  Guess I'll have to live through others here....

RacinBoys.com for live broadcasts all day!!!!

OK, midget aces Dave Darland, Shane Cottle, Davey Ray and Brad Kuhn make up the first two rows of tonight's A main.  Then it gets interesting....

Tony Stewart goes off inside row 3 with Illinois up and comer Justin Allgaier of Springfield in his second Chili Bowl A starting outside.  Justin drives just about anything already and I'm not sure of his age  Maybe 20 or 21.  Dirt Late Models, ARCA Speedway cars, sprints and midgets -- a star in the making???  Maybe!

My pick to win after watching him Thursday is JJ Yeley and he starts row four.  After a nasty flip while running away with his heat race -- didn't see a reason why either, he was in the middle of the track and didn't hit anything -- he came from the back twice to win peliminaries and then came from the back to a third place finish in a 25-lap A main to lock into tonight's 50-lap A main.  The car is a Bondio #47X.  They already have at least 2 Chili-Bowl wins with Corey Kruseman who will start 14th in a B main.  JJ's the man tonight!

Wild card:  The first Broken Arrow driver in qualifying is Donnie Ray Crawford who starts tenth in the A main.  The teenager-rookie had a great Tulsa Shootout two weeks ago where he won two classes and finished second in a 130-car Multi A field behind fellow Okie Kevin Bayer (who starts 3rd in a F main tonight).  This is Donnie's kind of racing.  While I've printed his name dozens of times as a mini-sprint winner from tracks like Port City, Will Rogers and I-44, his first ASCS starts this past year were something too and now he has one of the best rides at the Chili Bowl.  Watch out for Donnie, one of the best hopes -- but certainly not the only one -- the locals have!

Another is definitely Brady Bacon -- another Broken Arrow racer -- who will have to come from row 2 of the C main.  When you're talking THESE 260 cars and you're in the top 48, you've already had a great week!

Back to the A though, another rookie Gary "Bubba" Altig from Illinois who won Tuesday's Rookie Night, locked in to the 11th starting position last night.  Darland got the jump on Altig at the start last night but Stewart and Matt Neely were the only drivers able to get by him over the 25-lap A main.  Looks like a another real deal there as well! He starts beside another guy with tons of open wheel experience as well as his NASCAR starts, Jason Leffler.

Think midwest guys know how to drive midgets?  How about nine of the 12 A-main lock-ins coming from either Illinois or Indiana and they sweep the first three rows!

Former ASCS drivers and current 360 Sprint Car racers are well represented this year too though.  Kansan Jason Martin who will start the year off as a 24-year old going for the World of Outlaws' Rookie of the Year title, goes from the pole of the first B main.  Memphis has representation in that race as well as Olive Branch, Mississippi racer Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. starts the B from 13th.  Top SIX make the A-main!  The other B has OKC's Wayne Johnson -- a former ASCS National Champion -- on the front row along with national sprint stars Terry McCarl and Danny Lasoski in the field as well as 2005 Chili Bowl winner Tracy Hines who starts beside Johnson from the pole.  Johnson went from the F main to the A as a Chili Bowl rookie last year!

Others include Missouri's Joey Montgomery (C main) & Jesse "The Rockett" Hockett (C main), Nebraska's Billy Alley (E main), Okies Foster Landon (E main), World of Outlaw star Daryn Pittman (F main) & another former ASCS National Champion Zack Chappell (H main), another Kansas WoO rookie candidate Tony Bruce, Jr. (G main), and Texan and defending ASCS Sooner Region champ Sam Hafertepe, Jr. who will also start the year with the WoOs as well (H main).  

Can't talk about the Memphis area without mentioning their most famous racing family with a tremondus Chili Bowl history, the Swindells from Germantown, Tennessee.  Sammy starts his drive for five (for those who don't know, he's won the Chili Bowl four times!) from 9th starting position in the 2nd C main.  My pick for hard-luck driver so far is Sammy's son Kevin Swindell who had a very fast #39 on Thursday night.  He easily won his heat from 4th starting place but then was collected twice in his subsequent qualifying races by other's problems.  He then gets clipped in his B main on the first lap, gets a flat and the crew's not ready to change it for some reason.  He catches a caution but it's too late.  He's already one lap down.  He drives from the back to fifth place on the track but will start 11th in an E main as a result of being one-lap down.  If anyone can repeat his famous father's alphabet soup drive to win this thing this year then Kevin may have the best shot at doing so!

The first Texan from qualifying?  Ronnie Burke, Jr. from League City.  Anybody got some background for me on Ronnie?  He starts 7th in the first C main so he made 55th in qualifying out of 267 cars.  So far, he's beat out over 200 of the best drivers in the country!  One of our panhandle open-wheel & modified young gun stars Conner Pullen from Amarillo rolls from the front row of an E-main (it starts today with twin K mains!).  Top 4 tranfer from the Ks through the Es.  Then only the top THREE transfer from a D and then the top FIVE from the C.  Southern States Midget Champion Aaron Kirk from Conroe goes off in a F main as does Temple's Paul White -- the former USAC Silver Crown champ.  Houston's AJ Foyt IV and Roland Ayo in the same G main, Sunnyvale's Hafertepe in that H and Kaufman's Johnny Murdock in an I main along with rookies Doug McCune (J main) from Fort Worth, John Ricketts from Burleson (K main), Brian Carter (K main) from Frisco (Stanford country!) and Matt Dewitt (K main) from Houston round out the Texas starters.  No Gary Wright this year.  GW's made an A main or two before.
 
Arkansas has two drivers.  One is Kurt Blackaby from Bentonville in an I main.  The other is Farmington's Rafe Essary who runs the OCRS and WOW some in Missouri and Oklahoma.  Rafe ran well on Tuesday's "rookie" night and was challenging for the lead of the A main when his motor blew.  He starts on the front row of a J main as a result.

Want to see more of the future of Oklahoma racing?  Look at the front row of the 2nd D main!  Newcastle's 14-year old Trey Robb and Collinsville's 17-year old Dustin Morgan.  Robb won a D last year and was the youngest Saturday Chili Bowl feature winner ever at age 13.  Morgan's having a much better Chili Bowl so far this year than last.  Already mentioned Crawford and Bacon along with veterans Johnson, Pittman and Landon but there's also former OCRS champion Mike Goodman (C main) from Tulsa who won a Saturday B and won Chili Bowl Rookie of the Year last year.  Great year for Okies at the Chili Bowl last year!  Some others lining up this year include: Evan Sewell (C main), Jenks, Jonathan Beason (C main), Broken Arrow (again), Leon Bacon (D main) (Brady's dad!), Broken Arrow, Matt Sherill (D main), Tulsa, Matt Covington (D main), Glenpool, Cody Brewer (E main), Choctaw, Jasiel Randolf (E main), Tulsa, Bayer (F main), Broken Arrow & Michelle Decker (G main), Guthrie.  Being the home state, there's even more naturally including Dex Eaton (I main), Owasso &  legendary Shane Carson (I Main), Yukon and several rookies including two more from Broken Arrow.  (Told ya!, there's something in the water there!)

And lets not forget those Modified guys!!!  Randy Timms of OKC is up to a G main start this year.  He lines up 11th and needs to get to at least 4th!  Tri-State Speedway's 2006 Spooker modified winner Chad Wheeler of Muskogee starts from the pole of the 2nd H main!!  Wheeler's a Chili Bowl rookie but he's run the Shootouts before.  And next but certainly not least, Eddie Martin of Stilwell.  The only one of the three who had to run on Tuesday's rookie night.  His fifth place finish in a B main that night -- because it was rookie night -- starts him back in fifth spot of the first J main.  The winner of the A main that night by the way, is starting 11th in the big race tonight (Altig) so, I'd say there were a pretty good crop of "rookies" there and Eddie never drove a sprint car, midget, min-sprint or go-kart for that matter.  He's always been a Modified-Late Model-Street Stock guy.  Good luck to all three! 

Speaking of Late Model guys, Michigan's Jeep Van Wormer starts 4th in a D main, Iowa's Brian Birkhoffer starts ninth in a F main and the defending race champion Tim McCreadie from New York state starts 10th in the other F main.  McCreadie had nothing but problems on Thursday night but his car owner gets a provisional of some kind so he may make the A anyway, not sure....

Want more diversity?  Drag racer Cruz Pedregon is back (12th in a E main!).  Billy Pauch Jr. from New Jersey -- the son of the famous east coast big block modified and sprint car racer starts fifth in a D main.  Want guts?  Pennsylvania's Ray Bull scared the crap out of some (us anyway!) when he went flipping wildly up the track entrance ramp on Thursday.  Thank's to track officials for keeping that area clear of folks because it sure looks crowded over there sometimes from across the track.  Bull runs an F today.  And how about California's Wally Pankratz who flipped hard after taking the checker flagged on Thursday night after making a B main.  Wally's not a spring chicken anymore (I can't find his age anywhere!) but he's tough!  That wreck knocked him out but they repaired the car and he was back out for his B!!!!  He goes from a F main as well.  His 36-year old daughter Randi Pankratz starts from the pole of a G.   She led 22 laps of Tuesday's A feature for Chili Bowl rookies before finishing fifth but she's got some USAC midget experience out west too.

Remember, live brodacst on RacinBoys.com starts shortly and it's free to register!!!!

It would be great to see an Okie win this year - especially if that person is Wayne Johnson.  I think Wayne has proven time and time again that he is an extremely talented driver.  If given great equipment he has proven that he can compete successfully in any series.  Sometimes he has proven it without very good equipment.  His professionalism, persistence and perseverence is unmatched.

Last year's performance in the Chili Bowl was a prime example.  He had never driven a midget before, if I remember correctly, and he had the crowd and announcers on their feet with a stellar performance.

And, let's not forget that great finish in the 2006 Knoxville Nationals.  Eighth place finish was phenomenal all things considered.   The car was litterally built just days before the Nationals and he was the only one of the top finishers that had a low budget.  He had virtually no back up parts if memory serves me correctly.

All he needs for 2007 to be a competitive force is a good sponsor a/k/a money!!  He would be a huge assest to any business or professional person wanting to promote his/her business.

Eddie Martin finishes 2nd in his J so he's still alive. He has to race with Gary Lee Maier in the next one and he starts right behind him. Gary Lee is fast just had a bad flip while surging into the lead on the first lap of his heat Thursday. The car literally stuck in the fence.

Maybe Eddie can follow Gary Lee to the front!

Martin finishes 4th in I!!! Will start 16th in H!!! Never heard Maier's name called in the race once they started. Reading, PA ladt racer Michelle Miller -- one of the Miller Sisters racing team that comes every year -- won that H!

Eddie has to race her, Sam Hafertepe, Tom Bigelow and 12 others in that next one! Going to be tough to say the least to get to 4th again!

Okie Dex Eaton's car cut off while he was leading in that I.

Chad Wheeler's H will be right after Eddie's H and Chad starts from the pole.

Good 2nd I main for Oklahoma too!

Another Miller sister from Pennsylvania -- Tracy Miller -- won but Chett Gehrke (from Broken Arrow -- where else?) came from the J to finish 2nd!!! Shane Carson third!!! Those three will join Chad Wheeler's H main.

Eddie's H next!

The top four from this first H will get to race Wheatland's Randy Timms, Guthrie's Michelle Decker and Rocket Chassis house driver from the WoO Late Model ranks Josh Richards )Kid Rocket!!) from West Virginia among others in that first G.

Eddie Martim's run ends as he misses top 4 in the H. At least he got 30 more laps of Chili Bowl experience for next year though. Dad Mike Miller made it to the G, daughter Michelle did not.

Chad Wheeler on the track!

Along with Tuttle's Edwin Wilson and Talala'a Zach Chappell.............

Wheeler Wins!

A Samantha Taylor from Washington got the final transfer spot. Broken Arrow's Chett Gehrke was on the move again but came up one spot short (5th) after starting 14th. He passed at least 26 cars in his three races.

That last one was a lead swapping battle too.

Randy Timms on the track. Needs 7 spots!!!

Michelle Decker had a good G main.  Finished 2nd.  California's David Prickett came from 12th to grab the 4th and final transfer spot on the last lap.

Never heard Timms's name called after the green dropped.  Don't know hat happened.

The Okie Mod guys are down to Wheeler and he's up next.

Eliminate Wheeler and Foyt after that one.

Wally's girl, Randi Pankratz made a F with a third.  Indiana's Brady Short who won big money in Florida's big wingless sprint show last February was thye car on the omve at the end and made 2nd.  Billy Boat grabbed the final transfer.

They join PJ Jones, Kevin Bayer, Daryn Pittman, Brian Birkhoffer and Paul White in the second F.

First F on the track.  Aaron Kirk, Wally Pankratz, Tim McCreadie, Ray Bull and Michelle Decker on the track.

[b]Late word that Randy Timms who did finish 5th in his G[/b] is in this race as Kasey Kahne has scratched from this year's Chili Bowl!

Kirk and another car were battling for transfer spots and took each other out.  That moved Michelle Decker who started in the back into 4th and into an E main!

I don't think McCreadie took to the track.  He gets a provisional so he will hot lap with the cars later.

Now eliminate Timms, Kirk and the rest.

Advance PJ Jones, Kevin Bayer, Jeff Henry and Andy Martin from the second F.

Pittman (first Chili Bowl in 6 years), Birkhoffer, White and B. Boat are done

Correction.  Good news for Texans.  Kirk got scored in fourth after all.  He's in, Decker's out.  But now since they just finished the first E main, he's out again.  So is Kevn Swindell who was trading the transfer spot with F feature winner Darren Hagan from California.  Hagan got the spot Swindell was 5th.

Cody Brewer from Choctaw finished 2nd so adavnce him to the D main! 

Mod fans are down to Conner Pullen in this next E main!

Another Correction.  Bayer didn't make it.  He was second for a long time but must have lost spots at the end. 

E mains are done.  PJ Jones miss-timed a slide job and took Conner Pullen out of a transfer spot so the only car left with any significant local Modified time that I know off is 14-year old Sprint Car racer Trey Robb who starts on the pole of the 2nd B main.

Missouri's Brad Loyet won that 2nd E.  The announcers are saying that Andy Martin from Pennsylvania advanced from the last starting spot to transfer but I ain't sure -- there were multiple 21 cars in that race.  PJ Jones grabbed the last spot.

Okie Cody Brewer advanced from the first E main to a D.  California driver Darren Hagen is on a roll.  Started 6th in his F and won.  13th in his E and adavnced to start 16th in the first D.

Donnie Ray Crawford gets top five finish in Chili Bowl A main!!!

It's Tony "Smoke Johnson" Stewart winning his 2nd Chili Bowl!!!!!

Yeley, 2nd
Allgaier, 3rd
Cottle, 4th
Crawford, 5th
Boyles, 6th
Windham, 7th
McCreadie, 8th

Anyone have a clue how the rest finished....

Not sure.  Wayne flipped late.  He wasn't hurt.

Lonnie Wheatley will have it posted on www.chilibowl.com very soon.