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Los Angeles, CA. - If it's early January
it must be time for the O'Reilly Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in
Tulsa, Oklahoma. The annual indoor midget racing classic, the
equivalent of the NFL Super Bowl, started in 1987 as the brainchild
of current promoters Lonnie Edwards and Emmett Hahn. The 21st annual
Chili Bowl expanded dates are Tuesday, January 9 through Saturday,
January 13. Pre-entry fee per car is $150 and post-deadline entries
are $200. A record field of 281 cars entered the 2007 event, topping
the old record of 260 last year.
There were so many entries in 2007 promoters for the first time
added a fifth night on Tuesday as a pre-qualifying racing night for
new entrants/rookies. Heats, C, B and A main (25-laps) for the 79
cars assigned to Tuesday competition. Rules allowed the first 15
finishers in the Tuesday A main to advance to Wed., Thur. or Fri.
night racing (five competitors to each of the three subsequent
nights). All other competitors would load up their cars-their 2007
Chili Bowl was finished. Promoters again secured sponsors for
each night of racing--Warren Caterpillar (Tues.), Creek Nation
Casino (Wed.), Bass Pro Shops (Thur.) and Oklahoma Dodge Dealers
(Fri.). Drivers assigned per night were 68
Wednesday, 69 Thursday and 64 Friday, plus the five drivers per
night from the Tuesday
pre-qualifying competition. Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A. J.
Foyt agreed to serve as 2007 Chili Bowl Grand Marshal.
What makes the Chili Bowl so attractive to fans around the nation is
the fact that it kicks off the new racing season and takes place
during winter when all racing teams are available before their own
circuits begin racing. Therefore, drivers from NASCAR, USAC, World
of Outlaws sprints, dirt late model circuits, NHRA and nearly all
midget racing associations around the USA compete as do some drivers
from other nations. Also, there is no worry about rain-outs because
the Chili Bowl takes place indoors in a huge, block-long building,
the Tulsa Expo Center, home of "The Golden Driller" large
statue outside the building
in tribute to the area petroleum industry. The quarter-mile clay
track is laid out at one end of the building and it holds up for two
and three wide racing during the week with frequent massaging by the
track crew. All race team haulers and racing pits are inside the
building. Rain, hail or snow do not stop Chili Bowl racing. The
facility is sold out and SRO crowds of 12 to 15,000 are common in
recent years. When I attended the 1991 and 1992 Chili Bowl four-day
events you could still buy grandstand seats a month before the
event. That is not the case currently, even though more grandstand
seating has been erected since the 1990s.
Chili Bowl 2007 entered drivers came from 28 states and two
countries, Australia (2 drivers) and Canada (1 driver). Eight cars
were entered without drivers listed. The top ten states by driver
representation were Calif.-61 (about 20% of the total drivers),
Okla.-30, Ind.-27, Ill.-26, MO.-18, Ariz.-16, Tex.- 13, Colo.-12,
Wis.-10 and Penn.-9. Other represented states (alphabetically with
number of drivers in parenthesis) were Ark.-(2), GA.-(1), IA- (4),
Kan.-(7), Mich.-(1), Miss. (1), N.Dak.-(1), Neb. (7), Nev. (1), N.J-(2),
N.Y-(5), OH.-(3), S.Dak.-(1), Tenn-(3), UT-(1), VA-(2), Wash.-(3)
and W.VA.-(1). Drivers of note this year include from NASCAR: Tony
Stewart, Kasey Kahne, J. J. Yeley, Jason Leffler, Tracy Hines and
Bobby East. WoO sprint car vets include Sammy Swindell, Danny
Lasoski, Daryn Pittman, Randy Hannagan and Terry McCarl. Indy 500
veterans are Billy Boat, A. J. Foyt IV and P. J. Jones. NMRA drag
racer Cruz Pedregon entered his own midget. USAC is represented by
numerous current and past champions and feature winners from Silver
Crown, sprint car and midget series.
There are 32 different midget chassis builders represented in the
impressive field. The ten constructors with the most cars in the
field are Stealth with 86 cars, Spike with 54, Ellis-22, Beast-17,
F5-14, Bullet-13, TCR-10, Eagle-7, Maxim-7, and Buzzard-6. Two
constructors (Stealth and Spike) with 140 cars between them, account
for half the field. Some entrants did not specify a chassis on their
entry form. Other chassis builders with multiple cars in the field
include Beaberbilt, Bishop Machine, Andy Bondio, Cobra, Edmunds
Autoresearch, Keith Kunz, Holler, Rick Stewart, and Twister. There
are 13 one-off cars in the field.
There are 33 different engine builders represented at the 2007 Chili
Bowl according to entry blank information. Some car owners did not
specify their engine. The ten engine builders with the most engines
in the field are Esslinger Engineering with 52, Joe Fontana 46, Earl
Gaerte 44, Chevy (by various builders) 18, Ford (various builders)
13, Gary Stanton Mopar 13, Hawk 12, Pontiac 9, Mopar 8 and LRP 6.
Other builders with multiple engines entered include Autocraft (3),
Barnes (2), Brayton Engineering (5 total--in Buick, Chevy or Mopar
form), Don Ott (4), Ed Pink Ford (5 total--4 Ford and 1 Mopar), Pro
Flyer (2 total in Buick and Ford livery), SB2 Chevy (4), Sesco (5),
Stewart Van Dyne (4), Wirth (5 total-3 Mopar and 2 Chevy).
Solo engines came from Buick, Dyno Tech,
NZ1, Rennesport V4, Scat V4, Twister Ford and Toyota.
The 20 past Chili Bowl Saturday night A-mains have been won by 15
different drivers and seven of the past winners (who account for 12
of the 20 victories) are entered again this year. They are four-time
Chili Bowl champion Sammy Swindell, two-time winners Dan Boorse and
Cory Kruseman, and solo winners Billy Boat, Tony Stewart, Tracy
Hines and Tim McCreadie, the surprising 2006 Chili Bowl winner/dirt
stock car veteran. Father/son teams include Sammy and Kevin Swindell,
17, plus Billy and Chad Boat, 14. Father/daughter team Wally and
Randi Pankratz are entered as well. Other younger generation drivers
from racing families are Matt Sargent, of San Jose, CA, David
Prickett, of Fresno, Casey Shuman (son of Ron) and P. J. Jones (son
of 1963 Indy 500 winner Parnelli). Lowest car number is 0 and the
highest car number is 500.
The 2007 Chili Bowl entry list includes a growing contingent of
female drivers. The ten female drivers include sisters Tracy and
Michele Miller (Penn.) Jessica Zemken, a 20-year old CB rookie (N.Y),
Michelle Decker (Okla.), Trish Dover (Neb.), Kaylene Verville
(Ariz.), Samantha Taylor (Wash.) and Californians Randi Pankratz,
Shannon McQueen and Audra Sasselli, a multiple feature winner and
championship contender in USAC Ford Focus midgets. Oldest drivers
entered are many-time BCRA midget champion Floyd Alvis, 72, from
northern California, and Indy 500 veteran Tom Bigelow, 67, from
Wisconsin. The youngest driver is Chad Boat, who turned 14 on May 30
and has been racing midgets, 360 sprint cars and ASA Speed Trucks at
Arizona and California tracks. Other young guns of note are
teens Brady Bacon and Dustin Morgan. Billy Wease, the 2006
Thanksgiving Night Midget Grand Prix winner will race the No. 12ws
Beast/Chevy owned by his father Bill.
USAC/CRA 410 Sprint Car Series drivers entered a strong contingent
of 16 drivers-Cory Kruseman, Damion Gardner, Rip Williams, Mike
Spencer, Charles Davis,Jr, Danny Sheridan, Josh Ford, Rickie Gaunt,
Troy Rutherford, Johnny Rodriguez, David Cardey, Alan Ballard, Greg
Bragg, Matt Mitchell, Garrett Hansen and Tony Everhart. It's great
to see Rodriguez able to return to racing following his November
2006 flip at the Perris Oval Nationals that caused eye problems that
ended his racing season. He will drive the # 7R Mark Priestley/Wiley
Miller Bullet/Stanton Mopar in Tulsa. Absentees from the 2007 CB
entry list include past winner Jay Drake and USAC veteran Aaron Fike.
STRONG TEAMS: Several teams have come to Tulsa with strong multi-car
teams. They include Wilke-PAK Motorsports with Dave Darland, Kasey
Kahne, '05 USAC National Midget champ Josh Wise and '06 USAC
National Midget champ Jerry Coons, Jr in Spike/Stanton Mopars. Andy
Bondio has Cory Kruseman and J. J. Yeley in his Bondio/Barnes
entries. Tony Stewart Motorsports has Stewart, Levi Jones, Tracy
Hines and Josh Richards in Spike/Chevy by Hawk entries. Pace Bros.
Racing (cars 4 and 44) has Bobby East, Terry McCarl, Shane Cottle
and Don Droud, Jr. Keith Kunz has Damion Gardner, P. J. Jones,
Donnie Rae Crawford, Connor Pullen and Chris Windom in his fleet of
Bullets with Esslinger and Fontana engines. Mike Sala has Robby
Flock, Michael Trimble and Troy Rutherford with three chassis
(Spike, Eagle and Stealth) and Wirth Mopar or Chevy engines. Lehmann
Racing # 31cars) entered six cars. Four car teams are those of
Scooter Ellis and Cliff Blackwell (# 27a, b, c and d).
Likely winner of the 50-lap A main Saturday, the 2007 CB champion,
will come from the following list of 12 drivers--Cory Kruseman, J.
J. Yeley, Jerry Coons, Jr, Dave Darland, Sammy Swindell, Tony
Stewart, Josh Wise, P. J. Jones, Kasey Kahne, Danny Lasoski, Tracy
Hines or Tim McCreadie. My picks for podium finishes are Kruseman,
Yeley and Coons with Darland my dark-horse for a first-time winner
at the Chili Bowl. Both Yeley and Darland are overdue for a Chili
Bowl Saturday night A-main triumph to add to their impressive racing
resumes. CB rookie of the year should be Terry McCarl. Hard charger
is anyone's guess. For those who cannot attend the 21st Chili Bowl
in person, listen to it live on the Internet on www.Racinboys.com.
To view it on VHS or DVD look for the annual ad from Greg Stephens
offering his professional video account of every lap of
every race. Greg captures all the action.
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