While Larson was obviously happy to score a win, it was clear that he wasn‘t thrilled with the racing surface. “Just a bummer of a race track,” he proclaimed. “I‘m sure they will get it figured out for the rest of the week so it is a better experience for the fans.”
Recapping what had transpired, Larson says, “Shane and Meseraull and I got to battling there for a couple of laps and, thankfully, I got out front because it got single-file right after that caution. I would have liked to have had more fun and diced it up, but I guess it is good to be the leader when it takes rubber like that.”
WEDNESDAY
Everyone was a bit haggard when they returned to Tulsa Expo Raceway, and fans certainly hoped they could see the number of cautions begin to subside. Five-time champion Sammy Swindell was in action, along with popular two-time winner Rico Abreu. Also on the roster were World of Outlaws king Brad Sweet and newly-minted POWRi title holder Jake Neuman.
The fact that Rico Abreu ran away and hid was one story, but Daniel Robinson‘s on track antics may have stolen the show. Passing Swindell in his qualifying round, Robinson made it clear he was not encumbered by arm restrains, as he extended his arm out of the right side of his car and proclaimed that Sammy was indeed number one. It was decidedly out of the ordinary.
The good news on this night was that the final two heat races produced the most forward movement. Rico Abreu won his heat from the outside of the third row, while Alex Bright, assigned to Tom Malloy‘s car, captured his heat race from fifth. While Rico is no stranger to the spotlight, Bright is also a former preliminary night winner. But on this evening, Abreu was unstoppable and amazingly scored his sixth qualifying night win in the last seven years.
Brad Sweet, who started on the inside of the fifth row would climb to the runner-up spot, underscoring his talent but also indicative of a vastly improved racing surface. Both Bright and Sweet understood the importance of finishing second and their battle for position was entertaining. In the end Bright prevailed.
Sweet was naturally a bit disappointed, but he knew he was still in good shape in the scheme of things. “You really want to get to second,” Brad said. “That is a big transfer spot. We tried to race each other clean and I just made one little mistake. I wish I could have that back, but at the end of the day they gave me a good race car and we have something to look forward to Saturday night.”
Bright naturally relished the chance to sit back and relax over the next few days. “I started making some mistakes,” Alex said. “And he (Sweet) lit the fire under my ass and I had to work hard to get by him. Then I knew I just had to calm down and not make mistakes, and that‘s what I did.”
Rico loves winning with every fiber of his being, and it shows. Keith Kunz and Pete Willoughby could only laugh in victory lane, recalling his tumble in the Race of Champions. Both men admitted that their charge just had to do that at least once a Chili Bowl but, given it was out of his system, they figured he would be fast from there on.
Reliving the race, Rico knew quickly he had things in hand. “I always judge my pace off of lapped traffic,” he says. “I knew if someone was going to beat me, they were really going to have to minimize their mistakes because I felt my car was pretty flawless.”
As for the big prize, Abreu exuded plenty of confidence. “The way my car felt tonight, I feel it doesn‘t matter what the track is going to be like.” Rico was also happy with his efforts and the overall performance of the team. “I struggled a little this summer racing with those guys,” he said, “and I feel that they have really found something with their cars. They brought in two new employees and they have different minds and different angles, and I feel like their chemistry is stronger than it has ever been. Even in outdoor stuff at the end of the season, they got some speed in their cars. This is just hungry people working hard and that‘s what makes KKM the best organization to work for.”
THURSDAY
If drivers and teams are allowed time to develop their cars, much the same can be said for a race track. The widely-shared notion was that, as things were progressing, the track would get a bit wider and support multiple-groove racing. When a race track is difficult in modern parlance it is deemed to be technical. It is a phrase that, frankly, has merit. The task incumbent on all drivers is to search for the fast way around and have a deft touch with the wheel and throttle to accomplish your goal.
One thing for certain, and it plays out time and time again, is that no matter how a track plays out over the course of the night someone will complain, and the best somehow always get to the top.
When it comes to the Chili Bowl, few have been better than Christopher Bell. The three-time champion would be joined by 2020 USAC sprint car champion Brady Bacon, ASCS top dog Sam Hafertepe Jr., and former USAC midget champions Spencer Bayston and Logan Seavey.
When the heat races were in the bag, the biggest mover was wily veteran Steve Buckwalter. Given how much effort the Royersford Rocket puts into the sport, it was good to see him rewarded by earning the pole for the feature event.
Buckwalter would lead the first five laps before giving up the point to Bayston, but Bell was lurking. Steve‘s night would end when he made contact with Brady Bacon, who had a slider fall a bit short of the mark. While Bell was enjoying his time at the head of the field, Buddy Kofoid had moved from inside of the fourth row to the runner-up spot.