TULSA, Okla. — For a second consecutive year, Logan Seavey is leaving SageNet Center as a Chili Bowl Nationals champion.
Polesitter Buddy Kofoid initially took control of the race, while the driver of the No. 39 Kevin Swindell-prepared midget attempted to gain ground on Kofoid. When Michael Pickens took a tumble in turn three on lap one and set the field up for a complete restart, Seavey took his shot.
The No. 39 midget launched into the lead, with Kofoid hot on his tail. The No. 67 Keith Kunz Motorsports driver slid Seavey to take the position away and led a lap before the second caution came out.
On the restart, Kofoid was put back to second, while Seavey was moved to first.
“I took the lead and completed a lap and almost a second one, and then the yellow came out. So I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll be the leader.’ Then they said they were going back to lap four and that my transponder wasn’t working. Then they got it fixed and said I was going to be in second,” Kofoid explained after the race. “Little bummed about that.”
After that pivotal call, the race never left Seavey’s capable hands for the remaining circuits of the 55-lapper, especially once it became bottom dominant in the latter half of the race.
But regardless of the circumstances, Seavey will take home his second Golden Driller.
“Our car was good enough early to keep him behind me, and then the rubber came, so at that point all I had to do was stick to the bottom and don’t screw up,” Seavey said.
The California native also explained that one of the fittings broke in his car early in the race and fuel was leaking onto his feet during the feature, which explains why the first thing he did once parking his car in turn three was take off his shoes.
“I was just glad it didn’t catch on fire or anything crazy. If I wasn’t leading or anything like that, I probably wouldn’t have finished the race — maybe not the smartest decision of my life, but when you’re racing for a Driller, it’s hard to pull off,” Seavey said.
He noted that they did almost run out of fuel, since the line was leaking for the majority of the race.
At the end of the day, it’s hard to ignore the statement Seavey made inside SageNet Center this week, winning Monday’s Invitational Race of Champions, his preliminary feature on Friday and earning his second Chili Bowl victory.
“We come here to beat ’em bad, we want to smash ’em, we don’t just want to win by a couple car lengths — rubber makes it a little harder. But we want to show these guys that we’ve got the best car here and we’re going to win these races for hopefully a long time,” Seavey said.
Kofoid came in second, marking his highest finish at the Chili Bowl. Previously, his best finish was fourth in 2022.
“Compared to last year, it’s a night and day difference for sure,” Kofoid said. “Proud to never get up, to forget about last year and put our best foot forward — we were right there.”
Corey Day completed the podium, starting and finishing third.
Meanwhile, Daison Pursley put on quite the show and earned the Hard Charger award by running 20th to fourth in the A main after starting his day buried in a D main. Hank Davis finished fifth.
Feature Results (30 Laps)
1. Logan Seavey, 2. Buddy Kofoid, 3. Corey Day, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Hank Davis, 6. Shane Golobic, 7. Tanner Carrick, 8. Spencer Bayston, 9. Michael Faccinto, 10. Jake Swanson, 11. Emerson Axsom, 12. Ryan Timms, 13. Chase Johnson, 14. Kale Drake, 15. Colby Copeland, 16. Briggs Danner, 17. Andrew Felker, 18. Karter Sarff, 19. Tanner Thorson, 20. Cannon McIntosh, 21. Chase Briscoe, 22. Kameron Key, 23. Steven Snyder Jr., 24. Michael Pickens