Chili Bowl Practice Groups 12-23 Rundown
Chili Bowl Practice Groups 12-23 Rundown
With more than 350 entered for the Chili Bowl, fans need to decide which racers have the best opportunity to make it all the way to the Final.
Practice sessions 12 through 23 at the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, OK, on Monday feature a fast contingent of World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series drivers, including Brad Sweet, David Gravel, and Sheldon Haudenschild. The smart money says many of the drivers in this list will make the A-Main on Saturday night.
Session 12
No. 9P Parker Price-Miller (Kokomo, IN)
Straight off of a series win in the USA vs. Western Australia Speedweek, Price-MIller returned to the states with only a day to spare before the Chili Bowl starts.
No. 73K Kyle Hirst (Paradise, CA)
Hirst is competing in his first-ever Chili Bowl this year. He is the 2016 champion of the NARC/King of the West series and won his first Outlaws race late in 2017 during the Western Swing, opening night of the Gold Cup at Silver Dollar Speedway.
Session 13
No. 73S Sheldon Haudenschild (Wooster, Ohio)
The younger Haudenschild, or “ Little Wild,” will join the Clauson-Marshall team for the 2018 Chili Bowl fresh off of claiming the rookie of the year title in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series.
Session 14
No. 7BC Tyler Courtney (Indianapolis, IN)
“Sunshine” spent the last couple of weeks in New Zealand getting in extra practice for America’s biggest Midget race. He won over Kyle Larson, Michael Pickens, and some stout native talent at Baypark Speedway on Dec. 28.
No. 73X Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, OK)
McDougal was the story last week in the Tulsa Shootout. He won three of the four Features, which was a feat no one had come close to in the history of the event.
Session 15
4A Chad Boespflug (Carmichael, CA)
Boespflug finished sixth in the USAC National points championship, and he hopes to carry that momentum into his second Chili Bowl.
Session 16
57B Bill Balog (Beaver Dam, WI)
The “North Pole Nightmare” traveled south to compete in the Chili Bowl, and he’s hoping Santa Claus has one more present in his bright red bag.
Session 17
No. 57BC Giovanni Scelzi (Fresno, CA)
The younger Scelzi brother was nabbed by Clauson-Marshall Racing for his first Chili Bowl now that he’s turned 16. In great equipment like that, no one will be surprised if he makes it all the way to the Finale.
No. 7 Shannon McQueen (Bakersfield, CA)
McQueen was the first female driver to win a USAC Midget race in 2007 and was the first to win the USAC Western Championship in 2012.
Session 18
No. 1G Holly Porter (Delhi, Canada)
Porter just finished her first year with Styres Racing. During the 2017 season, she secured the Ohsweken Track championship. This will be Porter’s third Chili Bowl attempt.
Session 19
No. 17W Shane Golobic (Fremont, CA)
Golobic is yet another driver in this year’s Clauson-Marshall camp. Golobic is coming off of two huge back-to-back third-place finishes in the Turkey Night Grand Prix and the Junior Knepper 55.
Session 20
No. 39 Michael Pickens (Auckland, New Zealand)
Pickens followed Courtney and Larson back to the United States to compete in the Chili Bowl after a stellar performance in his home country during the last couple weeks. Last year, Pickens picked off the field to win three Sprint Car features and had a best finish of second in a Midget.
Session 21
No. 11 Katlynn Leer (Moulton, Iowa)
Leer is returning for her second Chili Bowl Nationals and aims to win it at least once during her career.
No. 45H Harli White (Lindsay, OK)
The Chili Bowl will always be an important time for White because it coincides with one of the most emotional stages of her life. Just before the 2012 edition of this race, Donnie Ray Crawford was murdered by his grandfather in a shooting. The late Crawford holds a special place in White's heart after saving her from a fiery crash in 2008. White is running for fellow American Sprint Car Series driver Johnny Herrera.
No. 63D Brad Sweet (Grass Valley, CA)
Sweet finished second in the World of Outlaws Sprints championship this year with amazing consistency. He finished in the top 10 in 72 of 84 races, only falling behind series champion Donny Schatz by two top 10s. Sweet is no stranger to Midgets; he won the 2009 USAC championship.
No. 76G David Gravel (Watertown, CT)
While Sweet took second because of consistency, Gravel finished third due to his win count. He grabbed 18 Outlaws races in 2017 including the final night World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Session 22
No. 4P Paul McMahan (Nashville, TN)
McMahan has left the ranks the Outlaws as a full-time driver, but that does not mean he is done racing.
No. 27K Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, AL)
Thomas excelled throughout 2017 and secured his first Indiana Speedweeks win in USAC Sprints.
Session 23
No. 63 Tanner Thorson (Minden, NV)
Thorson is a three-time winner of the National Midget Driver is the Year. Last year, he also won the Indiana Midget Week on the road to the USAC title. In the 2017 Chili Bowl, Thorson won the Hard Charger Award after moving from 22nd up to fourth in the Feature.
No. 76M Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK)
The two-time USAC Sprint Car champion had a great 2017, closing the season with wins at Arizona Speedway and Bakersfield Speedway.