The 24th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals at Tulsa Expo Center is not only one of short track racing's premiere events, but also quickly becoming one of the best showcases of American auto racing talent on par with the 24 Hours of Daytona and other prestigious events.
A typical theme for the Chili Bowl is the mass number of gifted Californians who make the haul each year. Over 60 of the 260+ Midgets in the pits for this event have drivers who either hail from California or were raised in California.
Tuesday night was the first of four qualifying nights, and Californians Tyler Walker, Greg Bragg, and Matt Streeter all tasted victory in heat race competition. In Streeter's heat race, the top-four finishers were in fact all from California.
18 year-old Shane Golobic of Fremont, who I ranked as the number one driver under 18 years old in 2007 as a columnist for MUD-Racing.net, is living up to his expectations. Driving for West Sacramento native Bryan Clauson, Golobic led the charge of seven Californians in the feature with a third place finish. Walker ran in the top-three all night before a mistake by another racer cost him a good run. Future starts Keith Bloom, Jr., 17 and former Silver Dollar Speedway spec sprint standout, and Roseville's Colby Copeland, also had good runs.
On Wednesday night, Bryan Clauson, Brad Sweet, and Cole Whitt all were heat race winners. Not only do they all hail from California, they are among the top-ten names in all of open-wheel racing these days. Clauson was recently named Midget Driver of the Year after a 20 win season. Whitt wrapped up the night with a second place finish in the feature; Sweet came home fifth.
Tonight's qualifier includes standout Californians such as Darren Hagen, Tanner Swanson, Kyle Larson, Jason Leffler, Damion Gardner, Jay Drake, and P.J. Jones. That group alone possesses an amazing amount of ability behind the wheel. You could almost build an entire Chili Bowl feature around the California entries and save space for midwest stars Brad Kuhn and Brad Loyet to fill it in.
Check out the action at www.racinboys.com or www.chilibowl.com This truly is one of the greatest racing events today.
January 14, 2010
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