From Lonnie Wheatley, image courtesy of David Cochran
TULSA, Okla. – A total of 256 competitors from 28 different states as well as New Zealand, Australia and Canada have battled it out atop the QuikTrip Center’s ¼-mile Tulsa Expo Raceway clay oval over the past four nights at the 24th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals.
And now the stage is set for Saturday’s Rockstar Energy Drink slate of championship feature events that includes 20 races.
After initial hot lap sessions at 11:15 a.m., the day’s official racing action begins at 12:00 noon with the “K” Main. Twin “J” Mains, twin “I” Mains, twin “H” Mains, etc., will follow, ultimately culminating with Saturday night’s 50-lap Chili Bowl championship main event.
A dozen drivers have already earned starting berths for Saturday’s finale including Tuesday night Warren CAT winner Zach Daum, Wednesday night River Spirit Casino winner Kevin Swindell, Thursday night Bully Dog winner Darren Hagen and Friday night E3 Spark Plugs winner Cory Kruseman along with the second and third-place winners from each night.
The remaining twelve feature positions will be determined by Saturday’s hearty serving of an alphabet soup of feature events.
Those already locked in include, listed in order of past Chili Bowl championship feature starts:
#5 Jerry Coons, Jr. (Tucson, AZ) – 11th start in 14 tries and his seventh in a row, last year’s fourth-place finish is the best of three top-tens.
#21k Cory Kruseman (Ventura, CA) – 9th start in 14 tries and first since 2006, wins in 2000 and 2004 were among six podium finishes from 1999 to 2006.
#17b Brad Kuhn (Avon, IN) – 5th start in 9 tries and fifth in a row, a third-place finish last year trumped his fourth-place run in 2006.
#71 Cole Whitt (Alpine, CA) – 3rd start in 6 tries for the 18-year-old, improved from 13th in 2008 to 8th in 2009.
#13 Danny Stratton (Indianapolis, IN) – 2nd start in 7 tries, rallied from a “D” Main to finish 7th in 2004.
#39 Kevin Swindell (Germantown, TN) – 2nd start in 6 tries, was 6th in 2008 and was contending for a preliminary win last year until a late-race incident marred his Bowl experience.
#88nz Michael Pickens (Auckland, New Zealand) – 2nd start in 2 tries, finished sixth as a Chili Bowl rookie in 2005 and makes it two-for-two in feature starts after globetrotting to a runner-up finish on Tuesday night.
#5d Zach Daum (Pocahontas, IL) – 1st start in 5 tries, the 18-year-old cracked the field by winning Tuesday’s feature after missing last year’s championship finale by just a pair of positions.
#3 Darren Hagen (Riverside, CA) – 1st start in 5 tries, climbs to “A” Main after ending in a Saturday “B” Main last year.
#1T Tony Roney (Herculaneum, MO) – 1st start in 4 tries, the darkhorse contender of this year’s Chili Bowl just further proves that it can be done.
#39c Shane Golobic (Fremont, CA) – 1st start in 3 tries, outshines teammate/car owner and National Midget Driver of the Year Bryan Clauson who starts six rows deep in a Saturday “B” Main, at least in preliminary action.
#19nz Brad Mosen (Auckland, New Zealand) – Made it in his first time to become the first rookie to crack the feature field since Donnie Ray Crawford bested three rookies in the 2007 main event with a fifth-place run. Mosen is part of the fearsome Kiwi contingent that also includes Pickens.
Following Friday night’s main event, the winners from each night drew to determine starting positions with Hagen pulling the number one for the pole position. Kevin Swindell will start on Hagen’s outside shoulder, with Daum inside row two and Kruseman outside row two.
The second-place finishers drew for positions five through eight, with the third-place runners drawing for nine through twelve.
The balance of Saturday’s Rockstar Energy Drink feature lineups were determined according to preliminary night finishes in the order of the winner’s draw (Thursday, Wednesday, Tuesday, Friday).
Sammy Swindell has his work cut out for him in his effort to become the first back-to-back winner in Chili Bowl history as he starts his day inside row three of the First “C” Main after getting caught up in a wreck while leading in the final laps of Thursday night’s main event.
Saturday’s Rockstar Energy Drink Championship Saturday feature lineups at the 24th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals are as follows:
A Main (50 Laps):
3 Darren Hagen (Riverside, CA) – 39 Kevin Swindell (Germantown, TN)
5d Zach Daum (Pocahontas, IL) – 21k Cory Kruseman (Ventura, CA)
5 Jerry Coons, Jr. (Tucson, AZ) – 1T Tony Roney (Herculaneum, MO)
88nz Michael Pickens (Auckland, NZ) – 71 Cole Whitt (Alpine, CA)
39c Shane Golobic (Fremont, CA) – 13 Danny Stratton (Indianapolis, IN)
17b Brad Kuhn (Avon, IN) – 19nz Brad Mosen (Auckland, NZ)
B Main 1 Transfer 1 – B Main 2 Transfer 1
B Main 1 Transfer 2 – B Main 2 Transfer 2
B Main 1 Transfer 3 – B Main 2 Transfer 3
B Main 1 Transfer 4 – B Main 2 Transfer 4
B Main 1 Transfer 5 – B Main 2 Transfer 5
B Main 1 Transfer 6 – B Main 2 Transfer 6
B Mains (20 Laps – Top 6 Transfer to A Main)
B Main 1:
1st Shane Cottle (Kokomo, IN) – 75b Brent Beauchamp (Fairland, IN)
49 Brad Sweet (Grass Valley, CA) – 30 Chad Boat (Phoenix, AZ)
91x Kasey Kahne (Enumclaw, WA) – 25 Steve Buckwalter (Royersford, PA)
69 A.J. Fike (Galesburg, IL) – 2b Levi Jones (Olney, IL)
11 Tracy Hines (New Castle, IN) – 14jr Matt Streeter (Galt, CA)
39b Bryan Clauson (Noblesville, IN) – 44 Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE)
44d Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) – 11a Andrew Felker (Carl Junction, MO)
C Main 1 Transfer 1 – C Main 1 Transfer 2
C Main 1 Transfer 3 – C Main 1 Transfer 4
C Main 1 Transfer 5 – C Main 1 Transfer 6
B Main 2:
11w Tim McCreadie (Watertown, NY) – 17 Chris Windom (Canton, IL)
39i Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, CA) – 4 Bobby East (Brownsburg, IN)
401 Daniel Adler (East Carondolet, IL) – 51 Mike Hess (Springfield, IL)
2T Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, CA) – 99 Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK)
36 Jonathan Beason (Broken Arrow, OK) – 49jr Bobby Michnowicz (Torrance, CA)
05h Jesse Hockett (Warsaw, MO) – 86c David Camfield, Jr. (Decatur, IL)
3w Brandon Waelti (Sun Prairie, WI) – 49k Trevor Kobylarz (Birdsboro, PA)
C Main 2 Transfer 1 – C Main 2 Transfer 2
C Main 2 Transfer 3 – C Main 2 Transfer 4
C Main 2 Transfer 5 – C Main 2 Transfer 6
C Mains (15 Laps – Top 6 Transfer to Corresponding B Main)
C Main 1:
86 Shane Hollingsworth (Lafayette, IN) – 05c Tim Crawley (Benton, AR)
35T Tyler Robbins (Collinsville, IL) – 9J Jason Meyers (Clovis, CA)
1 Sammy Swindell (Germantown, TN) – 8 Randi Pankratz (Atascadero, CA)
05s Casey Shuman (Tempe, AZ) – 05 Brad Loyet (Sunset Hills, MO)
14aj Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) – 4x Dave Darland (Lincoln, IN)
73 Josh Ford (Oxnard, CA) – 55 Alex Bowman (Oro Valley, AZ)
6 David Gough (Machesney Park, IL) – 32 Tyler Walker (Encino, CA)
D Main 1 Transfer 1 – D Main 1 Transfer 2
D Main 1 Transfer 3 – D Main 1 Transfer 4
D Main 1 Transfer 5 – D Main 1 Transfer 6
C Main 2:
12jr Josh Pelkey (Peoria, AZ) – 3F Casey Riggs (Shelbyville, IN)
5k Jimmy Light (West Springfield, PA) – 24 Rick Eckert (York, PA)
14c Shane Cockrum (Benton, IL) – 84x Colton Heath (Marysville, WA)
71k Jay Drake (Val Verde, CA) – 51J R.J. Johnson (Phoenix, AZ)
15h Scott Hatton (Roscoe, IL) – 88 Johnathon Henry (Stockton, CA)
75 Billy Pauch, Jr. (Frenchtown, NJ) – 6b Keith Bloom (Anderson, CA)
56 Shane Hmiel (Pleasant Grove, NC) – 17T Justin Grant (Ione, CA)
D Main 2 Transfer 1 – D Main 2 Transfer 2
D Main 2 Transfer 3 – D Main 2 Transfer 4
D Main 2 Transfer 5 – D Main 2 Transfer 6
D Mains (15 Laps – Top 6 Transfer to Corresponding C Main)
D Main 1:
37m Johnny Rodriguez (Elk Grove, CA) – 55b Joey Moughan (Springfield, IL)
14w Matt Westfall (Ludlow Falls, OH) – 11k Brett Anderson (Belleville, IL)
47 Garrett Hansen (Manhattan Beach, CA) – 19 Colby Copeland (Roseville, CA)
91au Brad Cox (Gunnedah, AUS) – 007 Cole Carter (Brownsburg, IN)
8x Donnie Ray Crawford (Broken Arrow, OK) – 0x Greg Bragg (Visalia, CA)
12k Tyler Edwards (Ventura, CA) – 6x Dylan Peterson (Sioux Falls, SD)
7e Caleb Armstrong (New Castle, OK) – 92w Billy Wease (Noblesville, IN)
E Main 1 Transfer 1 – E Main 1 Transfer 2
E Main 1 Transfer 3 – E Main 1 Transfer 4
D Main 2:
91k Kevin Bayer (Bixby, OK) – 17w Josh Wise (Riverside, CA)
91J P.J. Jones (Torrance, CA) – U1 Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK)
7b Joe Boyles (Greenwood, MO) – 67 J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, AZ)
68 Jonathan Hendrick (Fortville, IN) – 76 Kellen Conover (Sumner, IL)
75z Dusty Zomer (Brandon, SD) – 19r Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, CA)
F5 Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA) – 3c Cale Conley (Vienna, WV)
2 Davey Ray (Rockford, IL) – 35 Travis Berryhill (American Canyon, CA)
E Main 2 Transfer 1 – E Main 2 Transfer 2
E Main 2 Transfer 3 – E Main 2 Transfer 4
E Mains (10 Laps – Top 4 Transfer to Corresponding D Main)
E Main 1:
0 Glenn Styres (Ohsweken, ONT) – 51s Danny Sheridan (Santa Maria, CA)
1tx Paul White (Temple, TX) – 7a Dakoda Armstrong (New Castle, IN)
2x Nic Faas (Huntington Beach, CA) – 07 Randy Hannagan (San Jose, CA)
5* Ray Allen Kulhanek (Magnolia, TX) – 55k Nick Knepper (Belleville, IL)
11b Scotty Weir (Marion, IN) – 47x Mike Spencer (Temecula, CA)
78 Nick Wean (Phillipsburg, NJ) – 51c Brent Camarillo (Camarillo, CA)
F Main 1 Transfer 1 – F Main 1 Transfer 2
F Main 1 Transfer 3 – F Main 1 Transfer 4
E Main 2:
87b Stuart Snyder (Lincoln, NE) – 1au Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA)
27 Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK) – 9h Russ Harper (Indianapolis, IN)
7 Austin Brown (Millstadt, IL) – 19w Wes Gutierrez (San Martin, CA)
05L Danny Lasoski (Higginsville, MO) – 37b Daniel Robinson (Wayne City, IL)
23T Tanner Swanson (Kingsburg, CA) – 11c Chett Gehrke (Broken Arrow, OK)
54 Evan Pardo (Gatesville, TX) – 21 Daryn Pittman (Owasso, OK)
F Main 2 Transfer 1 – F Main 2 Transfer 2
F Main 2 Transfer 3 – F Main 2 Transfer 4
F Mains (10 Laps – Top 4 Transfer to Corresponding E Main)
F Main 1:
4b Ronnie Burke, Jr. (League City, TX) – 37T Josh Grady (Farmington, NM)
16 Jimmy Winkler (Parkville, MO) – 4s Hunter Schuerenberg (Sikeston, MO)
45c Chris Coker (Greenville, TX) – 15n David Prickett (Fresno, CA)
73s Cole Smith (Plainfield, IN) – 57b Johnny Heydenreich (Indianapolis, IN)
75p Cruz Pedregon (Brownsburg, IN) – 85 Patrick Bruns (Champaign, IL)
11s Chris Sheil (Englewood, CO) – 87jr Troy Rutherford (Ojai, CA)
G Main 1 Transfer 1 – G Main 1 Transfer 2
G Main 1 Transfer 3 – G Main 1 Transfer 4
F Main 2:
17e Tanner Berryhill (Tulsa, OK) – 27c Tony Elliott (Warsaw, IN)
7s Shannon McQueen (Bakersfield, CA) – 37 Matt Mitchell (Yorba Linda, CA)
71x Henry Clarke (Villa Park, CA) – 91s Jeff Stasa (Kingman, KS)
16F Aaron Fiscus (Sun Prairie, WI) – 87c Rich Camfield (Decatur, IL)
22 Brian Camarillo (Camarillo, CA) – 10 Will Pierce (Lees Summit, MO)
15d Andrew Deal (Caney, KS) – 15m Mat Neely (Robinson, IL)
G Main 2 Transfer 1 – G Main 2 Transfer 2
G Main 2 Transfer 3 – G Main 2 Transfer 4
G Mains (10 Laps – Top 4 Transfer to Corresponding F Main)
G Main 1:
6r Jody Rosenboom (Rock Rapids, IA) – 19T Tanner Mullens (Andale, KS)
99k Kyle Rayburn (Pueblo, CO) – 24T Jasiel Randolph (Tulsa, OK)
25k Steve Knepper (Belleville, IL) – 60s Wink Schweitzer (Bakersfield, CA)
10x Alissa Geving (Penngrove, CA) – 86J Josh Most (Red Oak, IA)
118 Kyle Steffens (St. Charles, MO) – 12h Rick Hendrix (Palmdale, CA)
67h Harris Brooks (Houston, TX) – 16b David Budres (Beloit, WI)
H Main 1 Transfer 1 – H Main 1 Transfer 2
H Main 1 Transfer 3 – H Main 1 Transfer 4
G Main 2:
12 Nathan High (Goodyear, AZ) – 3J Julee Jamison (Highlands Ranch, CO)
35m Matt Sherrell (Owasso, OK) – 59 Dex Eaton (Owasso, OK)
37x Jason Grady (Farmington, NM) – 10p Scott Pierovich (Alamo, CA)
97 Jon Stanbrough (Avon, IN) – 96 Cody Brewer (Choctaw, OK)
11J Justin Melton (Flower Mound, TX) – 89h Andrew Hannula (Matawan, NJ)
6d Lex Burritt (Redding, CT) – 56d Kevin Olson (Machesney Park, IL)
H Main 2 Transfer 1 – H Main 2 Transfer 2
H Main 2 Transfer 3 – H Main 2 Transfer 4
H Mains (10 Laps – Top 4 Transfer to Corresponding G Main)
H Main 1:
40 Jason Leffler (Long Beach, CA) – 11xc Steve Newman (Breckenridge, CO)
9d Sean-Mikael Dodenhoff (Bakersfield, CA) – 84 Joey Fabozzi (Norco, CA)
39L Billy Lawhead (Tulsa, OK) – 2a J.C. Bland (Springfield, IL)
15b Danny Burke (Houston, TX) – 9 Joey Saldana (Brownsburg, IN)
7d Michelle Decker (Guthrie, OK) – 6c Brian Carter (Concord, NC)
23 Tadd Holliman (Beaver Lake, NE) – 88d Rusty Dukes (Fair Grove, MO)
I Main 1 Transfer 1 – I Main 1 Transfer 2
I Main 1 Transfer 3 – I Main 1 Transfer 4
H Main 2:
25a Aaron Ott (York Springs, PA) – 92 Jake Rosario (Guthrie, OK)
7m Kevin Ramey (Fort Worth, TX) – 7jr J.D. Black (Grain Valley, MO)
89 Cody Darrah (Red Lion, PA) – 73i Austen Wheatley (Lake Stevens, WA)
13x Andrew Elson (Carmel, IN) – 8k Bud Kaeding (San Jose, CA)
99J Eric Todd (Falcon, MO) – 31e Evan Sewell (Tulsa, OK)
4F Chad Frewaldt (Kansas City, KS) – 2J Jackie Burke (Houston, TX)
I Main 2 Transfer 1 – I Main 2 Transfer 2
I Main 2 Transfer 3 – I Main 2 Transfer 4
I Mains (10 Laps – Top 4 Transfer to Corresponding H Main)
I Main 1:
89jr Todd McVay (Lees Summit, MO) – 7c Pat Schudy (Springfield, MO)
11h Garrett Hood (Concordia, KS) – 57k Bubba Altig (Mechanicsburg, IL)
47jr Ron Bach (Santa Paula, CA) – 14k Channing Zierolf (Houma, LA)
73x Greg Edenholm (Malibu, CA) – 25m Derrick Myers (Stonington, IL)
19k Klint Angelette (Thibodaux, LA) – 14 Tony Rossi (Brighton, CO)
17k Austin Mero (Kingsburg, CA) – 25z Chris Zrinski (Forked River, NJ)
J Main 1 Transfer 1 – J Main 1 Transfer 2
J Main 1 Transfer 3 – J Main 1 Transfer 4
I Main 2:
19s Patrick Stasa (Kingman, KS) – 6m Justin Mallo (Cheyenne, WY)
60 Eric Sandage (Alexander, AR) – 1d Dennis Rodriguez (Camarillo, CA)
90 Toni Lutar (Richmond, BC) – 00 Pete Davis (Pleasanton, CA)
36F Frank Flud (Broken Arrow, OK) – 10w George White (Fort Worth, TX)
04 Cap Henry (Bellevue, OH) – 31b Bruce Douglass (Ventura, CA)
7rs Matt Gilbert (Shawnee, KS) – 33s Austin Smith (Chino Hills, CA)
J Main 2 Transfer 1 – J Main 2 Transfer 2
J Main 2 Transfer 3 – J Main 2 Transfer 4
J Mains (10 Laps – Top 4 Transfer to Corresponding I Main)
J Main 1:
71T Tim Pyle (Portland, OR) – 18 Floyd Alvis (San Carlos, CA)
85J Matt Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) – 38n Kyle Neal (Ewing, IL)
31v Victor Davis (Ventura, CA) – 19n Nick O’Neal (Wagoner, OK)
6e Rafe Essary (Stilwell, OK) – 11r Ryan Cole (Porter, OK)
61 Chad Pitts (Little Rock, AR) – 2g Terry Goodwin (Laveen, AZ)
82 Eric Johnson (Rockford, IL) – 11xs Donovan Peterson (Brookings, SD)
K Main Transfer 1 – K Main Transfer 3
K Main Transfer 5 – K Main Transfer 7
J Main 2:
73e Billy Balog (Chippewa Falls, WI) – 12J Jay Mounce (Downs, IL)
5m Zach Cougill (Greenwood, IN) – 7J Clint Todd (Lynchburg, MO)
0z Johnny Murdock (Dallas, TX) – 44x Forrest Slater (Alabaster, AL)
15J Jeff Wimmenauer (New Whiteland, IN) – 58 Cole Peard (Quincy, CA)
83 Kurt Blackaby (Bentonville, AR) – 91 Donnie Trent (Honey Brook, PA)
11x Ricky Williams (Clinton, OH) – 12d Dusty Heistand (Manheim, PA)
K Main Transfer 2 – K Main Transfer 4
K Main Transfer 6 – K Main Transfer 8
K Main (10 Laps – Finishers 1,3,5 and 7 Transfer to J Main 1; Finishers 2,4,6 and 8 Transfer to J Main 2)
K Main:
2R Riley Adair (Tulsa, OK) – 51x Ronnie Gardner (Norco, CA)
57 Kevin Studley (Plainfield, IN) – 56x Curtis Bailey (Bartlesville, OK)
27 Brock Lemley (Bellingham, WA) – 27d Nick Chivello (Manteca, CA)
93x Brian Harvey (Durant, OK) – 111 Ryan Durst (Lincoln, NE)
33 Scott Fennell (Littleton, CO) – 27b Joe Bob Lee (Cache, OK)
40h Andy Huston (Roseville, IL) – 15 Tim Siner (Dupo, IL)
83x Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. (Royersford, PA) – 76k Michael Koontz (Bloomington, IN)
8e Murray Erickson (Odessa, TX) – 50 Ted Kirkpatrick (Waterloo, IL)