Chili Bowl Rookie

By Dan Zimmermann
Hawkeye Ovals Chili Bowl Correspondent

I have been home now for 24 hours and have been able to fully digest my first Chili Bowl experience. It is just that, an experience. Sure, there are races going on but the weeklong festivities are much more than just a race. It is a chance to escape the reality of winter for a few days of being with friends from all over the US and beyond. The trade show is large and diverse. It is a great way to spend any leftover Christmas money. The pits are open for those who buy pit passes and I would highly suggest purchasing one. It is the most unique pit experience in racing.

Our hosts for the weekend were Bob McCutchan and Scott Chilcutt. I know I speak for all in our group, we can’t say enough how much we appreciated their hospitality and transportation back and forth from the Quik Trip center. We were able to run into several friends that we normally only see at the Knoxville Nationals or at other racing events during the year. The event has the feeling of a Knoxville Nationals for midgets. Wherever we went, we saw people wearing their racing shirts. Our hotel was full of Chili Bowl fans. One of the best parts of the trip was seeing friends and making new ones.

We left Iowa on Thursday morning with an Arctic blast sending us down I-35. We have only had one measurable snow in Iowa until last week. Of course the second one had to occur the night before we left. Fortunately the 30 mph winds helped blow the snow off of the interstate so we were able to safely arrive in Tulsa. Excitement was at a fever pitch when we arrived in the parking lot. I had an idea of how large the Quik Trip center was but seeing it in person was much more than I could have imagined. The complex the building sits on is also most enormous with a ¾ mile dirt track, water park, baseball stadium, and other pavilions spread around the facility. Inside the Quik Trip center was eye opening to say the least. The track itself sits on about 1/3rd of the floor space. The stands can hold an impressive amount of people. The news estimated 15,000. I’m not sure how accurate that is but I know there are a lot of people there from all over. I was very impressed with a couple other aspects of the Quik Trip center. The place stays very clean, they are very conscious of cleanliness and it was noticeable how well the maintenance crew took care of the facility. The second was the diverse options for eating and drinking that are available there. Prices are similar to what you would pay at a fair. The food was good and you could pretty much find about anything you would be hungry for. I would also suggest paying for pit passes. No place else can you enjoy a beverage of your choice and be front and center with the cars and race teams. There are a few deals to be had on t shirts in the pits. It is a great feeling to add to the racing shirt collection in January!

The racing is the main attraction of course and the Chili Bowl features wall to wall action. To channel my inner Steve Evans, the Chili Bowl is full contact auto racing. The MMA of motorsports and the race track in the Quik Trip center is the octagon. Bumps, spins, crashes, and flips are part of the action. The weekend’s most spectacular flip was performed by Blake Hahn in his Friday heat race. The track was especially tacky in the heats and Blake launched himself off of turn 2 and ended up coming to a stop in turn 3. At one point he completed two mid air flips without touching. The course workers were there quickly and somehow his team miraculously fixed the car in time for one of the C features. Unfortunately for Blake, he would turn the car over in the C feature as well. Joey Moughan went over a right rear and his car tumbled into the catch fence. His roll cage was bent and we hadn’t heard if he was ok. Hopefully he is as it took a while to get his car into a safe position. Before the A main rolled off on Saturday night, 64 cars had gotten upside down. Levi Jones made that 65 on the first lap of the A main after going over a right rear.

Of course great racing is also present and the best races in my opinion were the A qualifiers. The drivers were going all out for those all important starting positions in the A main. The track crew does a great job keeping the track in racing condition. A tractor pulls a sprayer around between heats to keep the racing groves moist and limit the amount of dust that is flying. Earl Baltes would be proud. Wheel banging and bumper crunching slide jobs are part of the excitement. Like any racing, tv can’t really do justice to the amount of action on the track. The cars can reach some pretty serious speed on the Tulsa bull ring. I was impressed by Rico Abreu who was making his first Chili Bowl A main start. I know he had made quite an impression in Australia and he was certainly a hit in Tulsa. He will certainly have a great career in sprint cars and midgets. Fellow Californian and Chili Bowl rookie Richard Vanderweerd was also impressive winning the first B feature. He was the only rookie to make the A main on Saturday night.

Like most big races, the twin B features on Saturday night would feature serious racing for transfer spots and some ruffled feathers in the pits after the races were over. The first B main, Kevin Ramey was running solidly in 2nd place. Coleman Gullick was in the rear of the pack and looped his car in turn 4. Instead of coming to a stop, he tried to do a 360 which went wrong and he drove right into Ramey’s path. Ramey punted him in the rear bumper which caused him to stall. Because he required a push, Ramey was sent to the rear with only a handful of laps left. Obviously upset, Ramey looked to vent his frustrations on Gullick. However the other Klatt entry of Bobby East was in the race and Ramey whacked him instead of Gullick as they had similar tail tanks. The second B main featured similar revenge tactics that were taken up a notch. Excitement was in the air as Jac Haudenschild was on the outside pole. On the initial start, Daryn Pittman stalled coming to take the green. While we were watching that, Haud scattered Indy Race Parts in turn one. Unfortunately he was unable to make repairs and did not make the call for the restart. Brady Bacon and Zach Daum battled for the lead when contact in turn one and two send Bacon on his lid. Back on 4 wheels, Bacon drove into the rear of Daum’s teammate Mike Hess on the restart which sent the 5h spinning and ultimately tipped over. Hess may not have known at the time of the initial incident but he wasn’t going to go quietly. On the next restart he cross checked Bacon in turn 3 sending the Wilke car backwards. Pressure is high to make the A main and it certainly showed on Saturday night.

The A main was a Swindell battle. Sammy gave it his all but could not make a pass for the lead. With 3 laps to go, Sammy got into a lap car down the front stretch that sent his tail end skyward. He fortunately returned the rear tires to the track but that incident eliminated any chance of a pass for the win. The A main was lengthened to 55 laps to honor Donnie Ray Crawford. News of what happened to Donnie started circulating on social media Saturday morning. A sadness was felt by everyone who was part of the event whether they knew Donnie or the Crawfords. Immediately honorariums were put into place. Brian Brown racing contributed $555 for the leader on lap 55 of the A main. The opening ceremonies held several tributes to Donnie. Donna Hahn read a touching poem about Donnie. We were treated to a video of his victory interview from his 2011 Chili Bowl prelim victory. Matt Ward and Blake Hahn carried a banner in honor of Donnie as the driver’s states were being introduced. Matt Ward also drove Donnie’s car in the parade laps before the feature. I can’t imagine what was going through his mind but I know he was very honorable in driving that car. I think all of us in the building carried emotions of sadness during this part of the event. We are all praying for the Crawfords and offer our sincere condolences.

My first Chili Bowl won’t be my last. I think everyone who is an open wheel dirt racing fan should attend this event at some point. Seeing this quality of racing in January is a great way to make winter less painful. The event staff does a tremendous job and being around racing friends whether you know them or not is one of the great parts of the Chili Bowl.

Spicy Hot

by Hawkeye Ovals Chili Bowl Correspondent Dan Zimmermann

The Bus House Gang is making its first en masse voyage to the Chili Bowl this year. A few of us have made the trek to Tulsa in the past but this is the first year we have a large group headed south out of Iowa. I’ve been attending sprint car races since 1978 but for some reason, this is the first time I’ve went to the Chili Bowl. I’m sure it won’t be the last and I’ll probably be kicking myself for waiting this long to go. For those of us who are rookies, we have heard about what the Chili Bowl is like. We have seen the pictures and watched the races on tv. However, I don’t think we will be able to grasp the enormity of what the Chili Bowl really is. I’ll attempt to bring my view of the Chili Bowl from a first time fan’s perspective including a few photos from our journey. Our gracious hosts for the weekend are Scott Chilcutt and Bob McCutcheon. Hopefully they take some pity on us after their Sooners gave our Hawkeyes a butt kicking in the Insight Bowl. Football is in the rear view mirror now and the only bowl that really matters starts in a handful of days.

The Chili Bowl is a big melting pot, not only of competitors from many racing disciplines but fans from across the country who are dying for some racing. It is hard for me to fathom a racing event with 260+ competitors. I’ve seen the pictures of the pit area with the haulers all parked indoors. I can’t wait to be able to walk through the pit area and soak in the atmosphere. I only wish all my racing friends could be with us on this trip. We know you all will be with us in spirit. The racing at the Chili Bowl is as intense as any race in the world. Luck plays a huge role in a drivers result. The numerous spins, crashes, and flips can ruin an otherwise perfect evening. There will be top flight drivers mired in D, E, F, mains or worse come Saturday night. There will be surprise drivers making the A main and we’ll ask ourselves, how the hell did so and so make the A feature?? I’m excited to see Kyle Larson, Steve Buckwalter, and Tony Stewart wheel their midgets around the bull ring. I can’t wait to watch 10+ hours of racing come Saturday! I’ll try to capture the spirit of the thing and keep things within the boundaries of good taste (had to get a couple Slap Shot references in here). I have made an attempt to rank the top 50 entries coming into the Chili Bowl. Use this information in your fantasy pool at your own risk. To my facebook buddies, I’ll have regular photo updates so check those out. I can’t wait to get the car headed south, lets go racing!!!

BHG Spicy Hot Power Rankings:
1. Sammy Swindell, 2. Kevin Swindell, 3. Tony Stewart, 4. Bryan Clauson, 5. Kyle Larson, 6. Dave Darland, 7. Jerry Coons Jr, 8. Levi Jones, 9. Michael Pickens, 10. Chris Windom, 11. Steve Buckwalter, 12. Darren Hagen, 13. Brad Sweet, 14. Jon Stanbrough, 15. Cory Kruseman, 16. Tracy Hines, 17. Brady Bacon, 18. Shane Cottle, 19. Brad Loyet, 20. Damion Gardner, 21. Nick Knepper, 22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr, 23. Thomas Meseraull, 24. Donnie Ray Crawford, 25. Jason Leffler

TGIF?

I originally wrote this Sep 29, 2011 and it appeared in the December issue of Flat Out. This came from a converstaion I had with a fan during the week of the nationals, and some notes I handed to John McCoy in August. Sounds like he liked my ideas....

Friday night of the Knoxville Nationals has seen a few format changes over the years. Since the race became a four day show in 1975, the Friday show has always been a event for the “non-qualifiers” who were 51st in qualifying points or worse. The idea was to give the slower cars a chance to compete for a little more money, build the car count, and it gave teams a chance to improve their starting position (somewhat) for the Saturday finale. The winner of the Friday Non-Qualifier A-Main has always been award the eleventh starting position in the Saturday C-Main.

But the fans were not happy to pay to see the slower cars only, so tobring more of the bigger names to compete the idea of the Mystery Feature was born in 1979, and then the Race of States was added in 1981. But when some teams refused to race in the special event races in fear of tearing up a car the night before the high paying race the Mystery and States races were tossed aside and the invention of the “Scrambles” was given to us in 1993. The Scrambles was for the top 10 in points of the A, B, and C Mains and gave those cars a chance to “scramble” or improve their starting position on Saturday night by awarding more points and forcing the bigger names to race on Friday. In 1996 the World Challenge was added. This past year promoter Ralph Capatani changed it up again doing away the Scrambles in favor of a Race of Champions. The Champions race was for past Nationals winners, past Knoxville track champions, and champions of other series’ and events across the country over the past year. This was a good event, but with it being a “reverse draw” where you had to give your number to another driver it worked out to be a fun race to watch, but to think those same drivers would be willing to do this again is absurd.

So many race fans complain that the Friday ticket is expensive for only five races on the night and it really has no effect of the outcome on Saturday night and is meaningless. It’s a sham, and a way for Knoxville to force you to see a race that no one cares about. Those are all comments I hear nearly every year throughout the week of the Nationals. And let’s face it, the car count at the Nationals isn’t going to grow, so we don’t even have that many cars to put in to a Non-Qualifiers show. So what does Knoxville do with the Friday show at this point? I have some ideas.

One easy solution is to divide the field up on three nights instead of two. 30-35 cars each night wouldn’t water the field down that much. And you run four heats instead of five each night, we would still see good racing.

A more complicated idea is to lock in a lower number than 50 cars from Wednesday-Thursday in to Saturday. Make Friday night mean something and still reward those who do well on their qualifying night. My idea is to only lock in the top 16 in points for Saturday and reward them with taking Friday night off. Everyone else, roughly 80 cars, come back Friday to re-qualify or maybe race for a new night of points and keeping the best of your two totals. Or you could run a split show. Carry over their qualifying times and sort them into a odd and even program of 4 odd heats, 4 even heats, 2 B-Mains, and 2 A-Mains with the top two in each A-Main transferring to the Saturday A-Main in positions 17-20. This would make good racing as everyone is trying to claw their way into the “big dance” on Saturday night, the carrot is dangling for all who come. And the cars finishing 3rd and on back in the Friday A-Main can determine the B, C, D, E on Saturday by finishing order, or points.

And while we’re at it, let’s make the Saturday C-Main 18 or 20 laps instead of 15 to give some drivers a chance to run the alphabet. The days of Doug Wolfgang passing 20 cars in 15 laps in the C-Main are over.

I personally like the 50 laps for the Saturday championship. I think it would be more interesting if you couldn’t change tires though. Let’s run harder tires that last longer and don’t allow as much horsepower to be transferred to the ground and put more emphasis on the skill of the driver.