TULSA, Okla. — Brent Crews put on a show during the opening night of the 39th annual Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink at the SageNet Center.
Driving Paul May’s No. 71m Toyota-powered midget, Crews was the night’s passing master while battling back from a heat race flip to finish fourth in the 30-lap main event.
“It was a fast race car. I want to thank the Good Lord above for guiding me and directing me around the race track,” said the 16-year-old North Carolina native. “It was a treacherous top and I was able to run it pretty smoothly compared to most. I had a lot of drive and a lot of Toyota power behind me. I can’t thank Paul May and his guys enough for making this car so fast.”
Crews won the C main after starting third and raced from 13th to capture his B main. That set him up for a 17th-place start in the feature.
“It was fast around the top and I was able to go to the bottom on the last lap and pass cars as well,” Crews related. “The versatility of this car is definitely to be studied and this guys are working hard.
“Happy to be here. From flipping in the heat race to fourth in the feature is pretty cool.”
Crews described the challenges of lapped traffic.
“It’s fun for sure. The most tough is when one is on the bottom and one is on the top and you have to find a way to pass them and not waste your time, especially starting that far back,” he said. “Trying to find a way to slide through the middle without giving someone the right rear is definitely difficult.”
