TULSA, Okla. — Like clockwork, the annual benchmark of 100-plus entries into the Chili Bowl Nationals arrives just after the serving of turkey, be it on plate or track, revealing to the world the first round of Golden Driller hopefuls.
Sitting at 107 entries, the list is already a melting pot of teams, drivers and talent, with Sammy Swindell being the first event champion to enter the January event. Joined by 15 other feature starters, the list of Chili Bowl entrants, as usual, is an interesting mix of vocations and event rookies.
In the world of sprint car racing, names like Joey Amantea, Devon Dobie, Brant O’Banion and several others carry years of experience and success, but for the first time, they’ll take their shot at midget racing’s toughest event.
Spectating one year ago after racing in the Tulsa Shootout for the first time, Wout Hoffmans, who has spent most of the summer racing in the United States, is also on the list of 24 event rookies. He is the first driver from the Netherlands to enter the Chili Bowl Nationals.
A storyline that everyone knew was coming will finally become reality in January as 14-year-old Cale Coons takes on the Chili Bowl Nationals for the first time. The son of the legendary Jerry Coons Jr., the USAC SpeeD2 Midwest Thunder Midget Rookie of the Year will drive for Chili Bowl Owner Champion, Joe Dooling, in the Dooling – Curb Agajanian, No. 63.
Returning with Matt Seymour Racing are Oklahoma’s Hank Davis and Pennsylvania’s Tim Buckwalter. Delivering the underdog story of the event with his preliminary night victory this past season, Davis would take the green Saturday from the right of the front row. Delivering both Seymour entries into the big dance after a seventh-place finish in the B-Feature, Buckwalter hard-charged his way from 23rd to ninth.
The current list of Chili Bowl entries shows 99 drivers from 83 cities across 23 states and three countries (United States, Australia, Netherlands), with eight entries listed as TBA with the team listed in place of the hometown and state.
Current Entries
0J – Kevin Carl – Port Neches, TX
0 – Ryder Laplante – Calera, OK
P1 – Paul White – Waco, TX
1 – Sammy Swindell – Germantown, TN
1HD (R) – Tommy Colburn – New Berlin, WI
1Z – Justin Zimmerman – Athens, TX
2B – Tanner Berryhill – Bixby, OK
2D – Matt Sherrell – Owasso, OK
2F (R) – Casey Friedrichsen – Arthur, IA
2ND – Jeb Sessums – Burleson, TX
2W – Tony Bruce Jr – Liberal, KS
2Z – Zach Blurton – Quinter, KS
3 – Shayle Bade – Lincoln, NE
3N – Jake Neuman – New Berlin, IL
3V – Jim Vanzant – Prescott, AZ
4D – Corey Day – Clovis, CA
4H (R) – Caleb Padgett – Madisonville, TX
5D (R) – Michael Stewart – Canberra, Australia
5F – Danny Frye III – St. Peters, MO
5U – Michael Faccinto – Hanford, CA
7DK – Darren Kauffman – Waynesboro, PA
7U – Chase McDermand – Springfield, IL
8 – Alex Sewell – Broken Arrow, OK
09 (R) – Scott Lawrence – Concord, NC
9 – Emilio Hoover – Broken Arrow, OK
9B – Brian Schwabauer – Hastings, NE
10 (R) – Ryker Pace – Collinsville, OK
10X – Trevor Serbus – Olivia, MN
13 (R) – Elijah Gile – Phoenix, AZ
14E – Joseph Wray IV – Bartlett, TN
14F – Jeffrey Newell – Tulsa, OK
14J – Jody Rosenboom – Rock Rapids, IA
14X (R) – Andy Pake – Felton, MN
15 – J.J. Yeley – Charlotte, NC
15C – Carter Chevalier – Andover, MN
15D – Andrew Deal – Caney, KS
16R – Kyle Jones – Kennedale, TX
17B – Josh Baughman – Odessa, TX
19 – TBA – (Hayward Motorsports)
19U – Pierce Urbanosky – North Richland Hills, TX
20 – Tadd Holliman – Murray, NE
20C – C.J. Sarna – Brea, CA
20G – Noah Gass – Mounds, OK
22C (R) – Corey Brink – Sturgis, SD
22J – Zach Hampton – Mooresville, IN
22P (R) – Brant O’Banion – Parker, SD
22T – Don Droud Jr – Lincoln, NE
22X – Steven Shebester – Mustang, OK
23D (R) – Devon Dobie – Wapakoneta, OH
23K – Kyle Simon – Covington, OH
23P – Preston Lattomus – Lewes, DE
24S (R) – Rodney Westhafer – Mechanicsburg, PA
25 – Jacob Denney – Galloway, OH
25M – Alex Bright – Collegeville, PA
26C (R) – Corbin Rueschenberg – Mesa, AZ
26J (R) – Jacob Harris – Vidor, TX
27 – Keith Rauch – Denver, CO
27B – Jake Bubak – Arvada, CO
27G (R) – Steve Gresham – Seymour, IN
28J (R) – Joe Perry – Billings, MT
29 – Tim Buckwalter – Douglassville, PA
29S – Hank Davis – Sand Springs, OK
33 (R) – Stanley Kreisel – Warsaw, MO
35 – Tyler Robbins – Collinsville, IL
40 – Max Adams – Loomis, CA
42K – Kevin Battefeld – Lewistown, IL
44 – Colton Hardy – Phoenix, AZ
44A – Adam Andretti – Brownsburg, IN
44B – Branigan Roark – Lincoln, MO
44X – Wesley Smith – Nixa, MO
46 – Kenney Johnson – Bethany, CT
48G (R) – George Loux – Maiden, NC
48N (R) – Wout Hoffmans – Boxmeer, (Neth.)
49 – Dillon Welch – Carmel, IN
50 – Daniel Adler – St. Louis, MO
51 – Curtis Jones – Tulsa, OK
51B – Joe B. Miller – Millersville, MO
51M – TBA – (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)
53R – Sean Robbins – Collinsville, IL
54C (R) – Chance Hull – Burleson, TX
55D – Nick Drake – Mooresville, NC
55T (R) – Trevor Cline – Mooresville, NC
56 – Mitchell Davis – Auburn, IL
56J – TBA – (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)
57A – Daniel Robinson – Benton, IL
63 (R) – Cale Coons – Greencastle, IN
75 – Mario Clouser – Chatham, IL
75X – TBA – (SpeedQuip Motorsports)
77U – Carson Hocevar – Portage, MI
81C – Colten Cottle – Kansas, IL
83 – Will Armitage – Athens, IL
83M – Rylan Gray – Greenfield, IN
85 – Jerry Coons Jr – Tucson, AZ
88J (R) – Joey Amantea – Mt. Pocono, PA
91K – TBA – (Swindell-Bertrand Motorsports)
95 – Chris Andrews – Tulsa, OK
97X – Xavier Doney – Odessa, MO
98P – Ryan Padgett – Anadarko, OK
116 – Claud Estes – Godley, TX
118 – Scott Evans – Rhome, TX
121 – Steve Glover – Rochester, NY
251 – Johnny Brown – LaCoste, TX
938 (R) – Bradley Fezard – Bonnerdale, AR
X – Charlie Louden – Camden, AR
TBA – (Jody Rosenboom)
TBA – (Jody Rosenboom)
TBA – (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)