What’s it like in there? 

A night at the Chili Bowl

Fans who haven't been frequently ask the author what it is like for a crew working on a midget race car at the famous Chili Bowl in Tulsa Oklahoma. To help answer that question, the author embedded with a crew for one evening at the 34^th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals presented by General Tire. 

The team the author choose to follow on the third qualifying night for 2020 is the happy folks who work on the gorgeous #22x is owned by Ray Williams. The car's primary sponsorship is provided by his family business, City Vending of Fort Worth, Texas, which is in its 58^th year of vending services in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex area. 

Ray is a second generation racer - his father raced sprint cars, top fuel funny cars and top fuel drag boats, For several years, Kevin Ramey drove for Ray Williams, followed by Payton, Ray's son through the 2018 season. 

Based on the draw earlier on Wednesday afternoon, driver Steven Shebester from Mustang Oklahoma was scheduled to start the Stanton SR 11 powered Triple X chassis machine from the fourth position in the fourth of eight 8-lap heat races.

The City Vending Chili Bowl volunteer crew comprised of Williams’ and Shebester’s friends and family - Rusty, Wes, George, Len, Gina, Susan, T Dale and Mellissa – all were very warm and welcoming as the author observed and they answered every silly question.

Shebester drove for Williams last year at the Chili Bowl and the “Red Rocket,” as the car is affectionately known, blew its engine as Steven was leading his qualifier race which ended the team’s efforts at the 2019 Chili Bowl. For 2020, Williams upgraded to the Stanton powerplant.  

At the end of the first lap of the heat race, Shebester had slipped to fifth place, but quickly rebounded back to fourth position when the yellow caution flag flew on lap two. When the green flag reappeared, the #22x worked the low and middle sections of the race track but was unable to move forward and when the checkered flag flew the order was Jesse Colwell, Colby Copeland, Blake Hahn and Shebester.

As he started and finished in the same position, Shebester did not earn any bonus passing points in the heat race.

After the race Steven noted that the car was a bit free on exit. He noted that he ‘got hung on the high side until the first caution, then moved down, but there were not a lot of passing opportunities.” Car owner Williams remarked that he “hoped the track stays like this and we get to the qualifier race, rather than having to run the C-main races.”

While they waited for the lineups to be posted by the Chili Bowl officials, the crew cleaned up the car and used a grinder to clean up and unseal the rubber on the rear tires, but later mounted two new rear tires and moved the right rear wheel in towards the center of the car. 

Shebester and the #22x was scheduled to roll off from the eighth position in the first qualifier race. The starting field for the 10-lap race was stout, as it included five-time Chili Bowl champion Sammy Swindell, Rico Abreu, back to back winner in 2015 and 2016, 2006 Chili Bowl champion Tim McCreadie, and Blake Hahn.      

While the City Vending crew was working on the race car, the Chili Bowl track crew had worked on the high side of the track surface and watered the surface before the surface was rolled in by the track's push trucks. 

At the drop of the green flag it was evident that the #22x did not the forward bite and drop of other cars in the race, and Shebester adjusted his driving style but as he dove into the third turn on lap 2, he ran into the back of another ace and spun to a stop.

Shebester restarted the red City Vending Special at the tail of the field, but despite experimenting with various lines, could only advance to ninth place behind the winning quartet of Hahn, Clinton Boyles, Swindell and Abreu.

As the crew waited for the seeding for their next race of the evening, they changed the rear tires with a new left rear tire and moved in the right rear wheel in a bit further with 6-1/2 inches of stagger (the difference on diameter between the two rear tires) and raised the nose the car.  

As the crew finished their preparation, the line-up for night’s B-main races, with the Steven and the Red Rocket scheduled to start ninth in the second B-main race. Unlike the earlier races in the evening, racers are not looking to accumulate points; in the B main, if the car does not finish in the top four, the night is over, then the team waits for their draw for Saturday night.

At the start of the 15-lap race, Shebester caught a break as two racers ahead him in the field collided in the second turn which sent the #40 of Eric Wilkins in the wall and eliminated the #50 of Daniel Adler. The retirement of these two cars moved the #22x up to seventh place for the restart. While the field circulated under the caution flag, the #2L of Landon Simon had electrical or mechanical troubles rolled to a stop and could not restart.

When the green flag flew again with 15 laps to go, Shebester on the bottom of the track engaged in a three-car battle for fifth place, but lap ten Steven moved to top groove of the track. On lap 13, the #2T of Keith Martin hooked the turn one wall which moved Shebester into fifth place, but unfortunately, he could not close the gap to threaten for fourth place, and at the finish the cars of Tyler Thomas, Parker Price-Miller, Karsyn Elledge and Chase Jones advanced to the tail of the night’s A-main race as  the Red Rocket finished one position short of advancing.  

Their night done, the crew returned to their pit area and got the car ready for the following day’s maintenance, which included re-mounting all four wheels off the car. As they worked, everyone kept one eye on the big screen television with the the A-main feature race on track while they talked about the evening’s races and enjoyed a few adult beverages.

No one in the pit area seemed depressed, as everyone knew that the team had given their best effort and fell just a bit short on this night - everyone had a good time and the car rolled into the trailer.    As Ray Williams told the author “we may not win every race, but we’ve never lost a party,”

As with any racing operation, the City Vending team relies of the support of vendors and sponsors. In addition to the vendors mentioned earlier, the car is equipped with an Ultrashield full containment seat, Simpson belts, and a Max Papis Innovations steering wheel. The City Vending Special uses Schure Built Suspensions shock absorbers, Wilwood brakes, Rod End Supply heim joints, Keizer Aluminum wheels and a Winters rear end.

The powder coating of the chassis was provided by Eagle Powder Coating and Fabrication, and the wrap designed and applied by Five 1 Seven Designs. The City Vending #22x also carries associate sponsorship from Performance Transmissions, Paul Cook Racing, EJ’s Towing, Verhey Farms, and Melray Oil and Gas.   

Postscript: The Williams crew spent Thursday cleaning and shining up the Red Rocket in preparation for Saturday afternoon as the car has been seeded into one of the E Main races based on points earned Wednesday night.

All photos by the author 

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.

How competitive was the Chili Bowl?

A snapshot of championship diversity

 

 

 

 

By now, most racing fans know that Christopher Bell a member of the powerful Keith Kunz Motorsports/Toyota Racing Development team successfully defended his title as the 2018 Chili Bowl Nationals champion. Bell took the victory after his teammate and fellow NASCAR star Kyle Larson suffered an engine failure midway through the 55-lap feature race.

KKM Toyota -powered Spike chassis entries won three of the four 2018 Chili Bowl preliminary night features and Bell’s win is KKM’s fourth consecutive Chili Bowl win since 2015. KKM was dominant on Saturday as in addition to claiming the feature win, all three steps of the podium went to KKM drivers – Rico Abreu was second and Spencer Bayston was third.

With such domination by one team, some may ask the question with 345 entries in 2018, how competitive and diverse is the Chili Bowl? Consider the starting field for the first of two C-Main 15 lap features which included Tanner Thorson the 2016 USAC (United States Auto Club) National Midget Champion and  2017 National Midget Driver of the Year, 2008 ARCA stock car champion Justin Allgaier who finished third in the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity series, and Steve Buckwalter, who has over 30 wins on the tough ARDC (American Racing Drivers Club) midget circuit and was their 2010 series champion.

That trio was joined by multi-time ASCS (American Sprint Car Series) Northwest division champion Roger Crockett, three-time POWRi midget series champion Zach Daum, World of Outlaws late model series champion and 2006 Chili Bowl champion Tim McCreadie, and multi-time USAC Southwest sprint car champion RJ Johnson.

As if that is not a tough enough field, it also included two-time USAC National Sprint Car champion Brady Bacon, Sprint Car Challenge Tour (SCCT) sprint car series star Colby Copeland, CJ Leary who won four USAC National sprint car features in 2017 USAC/CRA multi-time winner Jake Swanson, three-time King of West sprint car champion Kyle Hirst and USAC National Sprint car series star Thomas Meseraull who was the 2004 BCRA (Bay Cities Racing Association) Midget series champion.  

Of the twenty cars and drivers in the first C-Main race, only the top six advanced to the tail of the first B-main race – Thorson, Allgaier, local driver Ace McCarthy who races with the POWRi series, Daum, Bacon and Leary. Of those six drivers only one -Tanner Thorson-was able to advance to the night’s 55-lap feature where he finished fourth behind his three former teammates, as for 2018, Thorson drives for the Dooling-Hayward Motorsports/Richard Childress Racing team.  

 

 

Justin Grant wins Chili Bowl night four

 

Friday night was Vacuworx night at the 32nd annual Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa Oklahoma. Coming into the night the Keith Kunz Motorsports (KKM) team was undefeated with three straight preliminary night wins for Kyle Larson, Rico Abreu and Christopher Bell.

The KKM team fell one spot short on  Friday night as Justin Grant driving for the Clauson-Marshall team won the 25-lap with Spencer Bayston the reigning USAC midget driving champion finishing second ahead of POWRi regular Andrew Felker who started the race from eleventh place. NASCAR Monster Energy Cup series star Kasey Kahne finished fifth.

 

Felker has quite a comeback story at the 2018 Chili Bowl as he crashed his car in practice on Monday after less then a lap of practice and it required complete disassembly before the frame was straightened, then the car was rebuilt. 

Grant who reigned as the 2007 Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) season champion continued another trend for the week as he earlier won his heat race and qualifying race, along with other strong contenders Chad Boat, Alex Schutte, Dave Darland and Damion Gardner, who finished fourth in the night’s A feature. Boat led the first four laps of the feature yielding to Gardner who led until lap turn two of lap seventeen when Grant took the lead with an outside pass in turn two.

The Chili Bowl Nationals winds up tonight with the 55-lap feature race.

Keith Kunz Racing three for three!

 

 

With Christopher Bell's sweep of the Thursday night Chili Bowl Nationals preliminary night as he won his heat race, qualifying race and the 25-lap feature, Keith Kunz Racing (KKR) is for three for three with preliminary night feature wins so far this week at Tulsa Expo Raceway.

 

Bell built a lead of nearly five seconds at time during the John Christner Trucking feature race, but second place Shane Golobic closed to as close as one second in the closing laps, but got no closer. Third place was captured by Chase Johnson driving for Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) President Del Morris with veteran Tracy Hines fourth and Indiana's Caleb Armstrong fifth.

 

Ryan Bernal driving for Clauson-Marshall Racing started the featured 17th and finished sixth. Two other drivers started the A-Main after starting from the D-Main - both Tanner Thorsen and Michael Pickens both had trouble in their heat races and raced hard to make up for their earlier troubles.  

 

 

Rico Abreu wins the second night

of the 2108 Chili Bowl Nationals

 

 

Two-time Chili Bowl Nationals champion Rico Abreu made a triumphant return to racing last night as won the Hard Rock Casino qualifying night A-feature in thrilling fashion. Abreu who had been of a race car since a hard crash at the USAC Four Crown Nationals at Eldora battled Tyler Thomas as the two drivers battled slide jobs throughout the 25 lap feature.

 

Kevin Thomas Jr. finished third with Sammy Swindell fourth edging Chris Windom with whom Swindell battled most of the last half of the race. Abreu won his beat race and his qualifying race and started the feature from the front row.

 

The night's most serious accident occurred on the final lap of the second 10-lap qualifying race when leader Brady Bacon flipped and his car became stuck in the catch fence. The dedicated Chili Bowl track crew worked diligently to extract the car from its precarious position with minimal damage. Bacon was unhurt and returned for his B-feature and advanced into the night's A feature where he finished 13th.

 

A $50,000 bonus offered for

the 2018 Chili Bowl Nationals

 

 

 

Winning the Golden Driller at the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire is one of the hardest prizes to earn in any form of motorsports. With an entry list that exceeds 300 cars, just to make the 24-car Saturday night A-Feature is an accomplishment in and of itself. It would be even tougher to win the Chill Bowl from the back, but in 2018 drivers will have 50,000 reasons to try.

For the 32nd edition of the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals any driver who wins their preliminary night while using a seat from the Joie of Seating, they are in the running to take the Joie of Seating $50,000 Challenge. Following the “BC Forever” Pole Dash, the race pole sitter will be offered the choice to drop to the tail to start the A main event.

If the pole sitter doesn't take it, then next eligible preliminary night winner with a Joie of Seating seat will be offered the choice, and so forth until the list of eligible preliminary night winners is exhausted, so potentially four drivers could be offered the chance to say yes to the $50,000 Challenge.

Randy LaJoie, a two time NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion, began manufacturing seats in 1996 in order to produce what he felt was a safer, and much more custom fitted seat.  "On this deal, I am promoting my company because I want these drivers to be as safe as possible, but at the same time I want to add something fun, and give a driver a chance to make a little extra money. With the track crew they have, a guy can come through the field so it should be exciting to watch."

More details will be released by LaJoie as the Chili Bowl Nationals scheduled for January 9 through the 13th 2018 draws closer.

Information and graphics provided by the Chili Bowl Nationals

Brady Bacon names finalists for Baton Award

Three finalists have been named for the first annual Brady Bacon Baton Award which will select a young up and coming driver whom Bacon foresees as a future racing star bound for greater glory. The identity of the winner will be revealed on November 11 as part of the 2017 Racers Reunion Banquet in Irving Texas.

Bacon, the two-time United States Auto Club (USAC) sprint car champion from Broken Arrow Oklahoma who began racing at age five and throughout his career Bacon has excelled in midgets, sprint cars and championship cars on both dirt and asphalt race tracks across the country.  With over twenty years of experience in building, working on and racing open-wheel racing cars has provided Brady a unique perspective to identify and evaluate future racing talents. The three finalists for the 2017 Brady Bacon Baton Award are Giovanni Scelzi, Logan Seavey and Tyler Thomas.

 

Giovanni Scelzi 

 

Giovanni Scelzi started his racing career at a young age in micro sprints on local California tracks when he was just 6 years old. Those early experiences and the mentorship of his older brother Dominic and his father, four-time National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racing champion Gary Scelzi, has clearly helped the 15-year-old driver’s career.  After he notched a remarkable 24 feature wins and two track championships during the 2010 season, the following year, as a nine-year old, Scelzi moved up to the restricted micro sprint class and won another track championship.

In 2015 Giovanni led all 25 laps to claim the “A” class winged micro sprint main event and the “Golden Driller” at the famed Speedway Motors Tulsa Shootout held at the Expo Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 2016 Giovanni made the jump to full-sized sprint cars and collected eight victories and his first career California Speedweek championship. During the season, “Gio” claimed the King of Kings Speedway title and recorded a total of twelve top 10 finishes in 17 winged sprint car races and was voted the 360 Rookie of the Year by the North American 410 Sprint Car Poll voting panel.

This season, Giovanni has focused on the King of the West - NARC 410 winged sprint car series with the Dennis Roth Motorsports team and as of this writing leads the championship chase. Scelzi has not restricted his racing to just the state of California, as he scored a clean sweep at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa driving for BDS Motorsports with the Sprint Invaders series along with  three top five finishes in three American Sprint Car Series National series starts.

 

Logan Seavey celebrates

his Hockett/McMillin win

 

The next Brady Bacon Baton candidate, Logan Seavey, also hails from the Golden State. While Scelzi lives in the central California town of Fresno, Logan comes from the historic Gold Country town of Sutter in the northern part of the state.   Seavey began racing outlaw karts in 2002 at the ripe young age of 5 years old and won his first race when he was 6 years old behind the wheel of his box stock kart.

In 2007, just his fifth year behind the wheel, Seavey won his first championship, claiming the Box Stock title at the famed Cycleland Speedway in Chico California. Since then Logan has added five more outlaw kart championships that include back-to-back championships in the Red Bluff Outlaws Winter Indoor Series in 2015 and 2016 and the 2015 QRC Speed Sport Challenge.

2017 has been a breakout year for Logan, as he has scored two victories in the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League with victories in the ‘Camfield Memorial’ race at Macon Speedway in Macon Illinois and at Lincoln Speedway in Lincoln Illinois on the final night of Illinois Speedweek.

 

As of this writing, Seavey leads the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League championship chase with nine top five and nine top ten finishes to go along with his two victories.  Last month, Logan had a dream weekend  as he won all three nights of the seventh annual Hockett/McMillin Memorial race in the Daum Motorsports 5D with the POWRi Lucas Oil WAR (non-wing) Sprint Car League.  

 

 

Tyler Thomas in action

at the Chili Bowl

 

The third Brady Bacon Baton finalist, Tyler Thomas has been a standout for the last several years with the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League. Thomas from Collinsville Oklahoma began racing at just four years of age and recorded five championships on the Regional and Club level with 28 wins before he moved to Micro Sprints in 2009.  Tyler quickly put together 9 wins for his first season and quickly moved to the Ecotec Midget division in 2010 and won 6 of the 8 races in which he competed.

In 2011, Tyler debuted in the POWRI Midget Series, and he became the youngest driver to win a POWRI main event at the age of 15. 2012 and 2013 saw Thomas record more wins and podiums to finish 5th and 4th respectively in the POWRI National Midget standings. Last year Thomas added another win and 10 top-5 finishes

After he started his 2017 season with a strong fifth place finish in his preliminary night feature and a 17th place finish in the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa Oklahoma, Tyler has scored three POWRi Lucas Oil National victories at Macon Speedway and Jacksonville Speedways in Illinois and Valley Speedway in Grass Valley Missouri. Thomas won the Sooner Midget Nationals with the Lucas Oil POWRi West Midget League at Red Dirt Raceway in Meeker, Oklahoma, and Tyler with the Brian Thomas #91T midget currently stands 12th in the USAC national midget points.  

The presentation of the Brady Bacon Baton Award is just one of the many exciting events on tap for the 2017 Racers Reunion in Irving Texas on November 11.  In addition to the special tribute to our nation’s veterans for Veterans Day, the banquet will feature as a special guest, three-time Indianapolis 500-mile race winner, the legendary Bobby Unser who will share stories of his many racing victories and times as a racing commentator for ABC Sports. 

 

 

Also scheduled for the eighth annual Racers Reunion are programs that will examine the first 50 years of the International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) and the life of pioneering Hall of Fame drag racer, Bobby Langley, and the USAC Hall of Fame induction of the legendary Texas racer Lloyd Ruby.

Tickets for the eighth annual Racers Reunion Banquet, which in addition to the feature presentations includes an afternoon guest speaker, autograph session and an afternoon of bench racing with a large collection of vintage race cars and memorabilia are available at http://www.radiusnation.net