2019 Chili Bowl Nationals wrap-up

The championship of the 2019 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire was settled with a thrilling last lap pass for the lead by Christopher Bell on his Keith Kunz Motorsports (KKM) teammate Kyle Larson.

Larson had grabbed the race lead from pole position starter and fellow KKM driver Logan Seavey on lap 20, but was unable to hold off Bell, who took the checkered flag just a car length ahead of Larson.

California’s Justin Grant finished third, with the “Macho Man,” Brady Bacon fourth, Zach Daum fifth and Tyler “Sunshine” Courtney sixth and the Hard Charger Award after he passed sixteen cars during the feature.  

The top ten ‘A’ main finishers were rounded out by Brad Sweet, CJ Leary, Seavey, and Tanner Thorson.  Favorites Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Shane Golobic did not finish the event.

350 cars and drivers took part in the event during the six nights and officials recorded 75 flips during the six nights with all the drivers able to walk away.  Bell who joined Kevin Swindell as the only three-time consecutive winners of the prized Golden Driller, closed out the event with the final recorded flip as he turned over his Toyota-powered Spike while he spun his victory donuts.

Crowd favorite and five-time event champion Sammy Swindell’s 2019 Chili Bowl run ended when he failed to advance out of his “C’ feature, while “The People’s Champ,” Dave Darland was disqualified from the ‘B’ feature when he ignored directions from track officials.

2005 Chili Bowl champion Tracy Hines failed to finish his ‘B’ feature and retired NASCAR star Kasey Kahne who plans a big slate of open-wheel races during 2019 was disappointed when his machine did not finish his ‘E’ feature.  

Surprising many midwestern fans with their strong performances were California racers Robert Dalby who advanced from the ‘C’ feature and Colby Copeland who advanced form the ‘B’ feature. Copeland finished fourteenth and Dalby 20^th.

The 34^th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire will be held January 13^th through the 18^th 2019. Hope to see you there next year!

Chili Bowl 2019 – night five

Friday night’s preliminary feature at the 33^rd annual Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire was all Justin Grant as he captured the 25-lap feature from the pole position. Grant who earlier won his qualifier race, battled Tanner Thorson the entire race which was run without a caution, at a pace that many observers believed was a Chili Bowl record for the distance.

Grant’s victory his third consecutive preliminary night win broke the stranglehold of Keith Kunz Motorsports (KKM) which had won all the preliminary races before Friday night. Finishing third behind Grant and Thorson was Chad Boat while fourth place fell to NASCAR star Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with KKM’s Tucker Klaasmeyer fifth.

Notable performances during the night came from Kevin Thomas Jr. and Spencer Bayston, both of whom suffered misfortune in the heat races and did not finish. Thomas Junior won his ‘C’ feature race to advance into the ‘B’ feature in which he finished third to start 22^nd in the ‘A’ main featured and he moved up to finish 14^th at the drop of the checkered flag.

Bayston finished second behind Thomas Jr. in their ‘C’ feature and finished fourth in his ‘B’ feature and started the ‘A’ man in 24^th position. Over 25 laps Bayston worked his way up to finish ninth to win the night’s hard charger award.

350 cars made an appearance on track during the five nights of competition and on the final night every car and driver gets a chance to race once more. Racing in Tulsa Oklahoma begins at 10 AM Saturday morning with the ‘O’ main, then advances backwards through the alphabet to the crowning of the 2019 Chili Bowl champion at the end of the 55-lap ‘A’ main.

Chili Bowl 2019- night four

The fourth preliminary night A-main feature at the 33^rd annual Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire was eventful from beginning to end. The first start was aborted when the midget of Joe Miller came to a stop in turn one. Pole sitter Danny Stratton in the Andy Bondio machine tried a little too hard to push the start and starter Roger Slack set Stratton back one row which moved defending champion Christopher Bell to the pole position. The third attempt to start the 25-lap finale was again called back when the car of Andrew Deal rolled to a stop in turn one.

Once the field was turned loose, Bell raced away to a comfortable advantage over Jerry Coons Jr., Strattion, Shane Golobic and Ryan Bernal in the Kevin Swindell entry. By running the low line through turns one and two and the high line on the cushion through turns three and four, Bell built a lead of 1.6 seconds before the caution flag flew on lap 7 when Thomas Meseraull tangled with another car and his 7R machine suffered a crushed tail tank but was able to continue.

When the green flag re-appeared Bell drove away from Coons as the cars of Golobic Bernal. CJ Leary and Stratton fought for third place. Once again Bell built a big lead of 1.7 seconds before the yellow flag flew again on lap 12. When racing resumed Bell streaked away again to a lead of 2.5 seconds when the field slowed again for Jake Morgan’s crash in turn four that eliminated the #19 car from the race.

Once the field was back to up to speed, on lap 20 Merseraull’s machine took a series of vicious flips into turn three that also caught up the cars of Tracy Hines and Kyle Cummins. The latter pair were able to continue, but “T-Mez” was done for the night. The last few laps of racing were wild as Golobic challenged Bell several times through turns three and four for the race lead but was unable to make the pass stick. 

At the finish the top four finishers were Christopher Bell, Shane Golobic, CJ Leary and Danny Stratton. This finish continues the Keith Kunz Motorsports (KKM) domination of the 2019 Chili Bowl was four KKM cars claiming all four preliminary night wins thusfar.

Chili Bowl 2019 – night three

The start of Wednesday’s 25-lap A-main preliminary night feature at the 33^rd annual Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire featured two-time winner Rico Abreu on the outside of the front row alongside young Cole Bodine. 

Abreu in his #97 Safelite Auto Glass-sponsored Keith Kunz Motorsports Toyota powered machine fell to third at the drop of the green flag behind Blake Hahn as Bodine, who is not related to the NASCAR Bodine family shot into the lead in NOS Energy Drink Clauson-Marshall Racing entry.

On lap two, Abreu shot past Hahn, grandson of Chili Bowl founder Emmett Hahn, to secure second place and moved to the cushion and chased down leader Bodine and took the lead on the seventh lap on the low side through turn four. From there Rico cruised the top, as former winner Tim McCreadie, World of Outlaws sprint car star David Gravel and Bodine battled for second place.

At the checkered flag it was Rico Abreu followed by Gravel and Bodine with Californian Jake Swanson finishing fourth after starting the race in seventeenth position. Swanson was not the race’s biggest mover however, that honor went to Ryan Smith who improved eighteen positions from his 23^rd starting spot.

The the heartbreak of the night award went to Pauls Valley Oklahoma’s Steven Shebester, who was leading the second B feature when the engine in Ray Williams’ gorgeous City Vending machine expired three laps from the finish.

Chili Bowl 2019 – night two

Night two of the 2019 33^rd annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire in Tulsa Oklahoma were spiced up with the 20-car 20-lap Vacuworx Invitational Race of Champions. 

Tanner Thorson in Clyde Lamar’s Arai-sponsored #3C midget went wire-to-wire from his outside front row starting position to win over Keith Kunz Motorsports’ (KKM) Kyle Larson and his KKM teammate Christopher Bell who had started fifteenth. Ryan Bernal in Kevin Swindell’s #39 finished fourth and JJ Yeley fifth.

The night’s 25-lap A feature was captured by Kyle Larson in the KKM McDonald’s sponsored machine. Larson powered past early leader Zach Daum on the high side down the back stretch on lap five went to the cushion and motored away as Daum fought off the challenge of Sam Hafertepe Junior. 

Following a caution flag period with  25 laps completed for Larry Wright’s blown engine, Daum held off the charge of Jonathon Beason up from his tenth place starting position in his Hard Eight Racing entry as Larson drove away to a one-second advantage at the drop of the checkered flag.

2018 United States Auto Club (USAC) Light up the World Beverages Western States Midget champion Michael Faccinto used the low groove around the Tulsa Expo Raceway to finish in fourth place with Hafertepe Jr. fifth.

2018 USAC National sprint car champion Tyler “Sunshine” Courtney wound up with a disappointing sixth-place finish after he ran fourth for much of the race. Announcer and racer Dillon Welch placed seventh with NASCAR rising star and former USAC midget rookie of the year Alex Bowman finished ninth.

Author’s note: Kudos to Southwest Airlines and Avis Rent A Car for their excellent customer service provided during the author’s eventful trip from the West Coast to Tulsa.

Mike McLish’s 1968 Camaro

At first glance a visitor might dismiss this wide, low 1968 Chevrolet Camaro on display in the Flowmaster Mufflers booth at the 2018 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) as just another Camaro. But this Camaro built for owner Mike McLish by the Cotati Speed Shop in Santa Rosa California really is unique.

While a custom Art Morrison frame with Corvette ZR-1 suspension parts Brembo brakes and Forgeline wheels is not all that unusual, the powerplant is what really sets this car apart. The engine is an all-aluminum fuel-injected Donovan 410-cubic inch block built by Gaerte Engines of Rochester Indiana that has a unique racing history. 

It was with this engine that Brian McLish (Mike’s son) won the sprint car portion of the 2012 Gerhardt Classic at Madera Speedway and the 2012 United States Auto Club (USAC) Western Classic Racing Series pavement title. 

The detuned 750-horsepower engine, which now runs on gasoline instead of methanol, is connected to a six-speed sequential gearbox and differential from Australia’s Holinger Engineering.

After the SEMA show, Mike McLish intends to use his all-steel Camaro which was on the cover of the December 2018 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines magazine, in Ultimate Street Car Association event and for track days.   

All photographs by the author