TULSA, Okla. – California micro sprint ace T.J. Smith will pilot a second car for Mitch Elliott Motorsports at the upcoming Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals, Jan. 13-18.
Smith, 30, will pair with teammate Cory Elliott for the week-long midget car classic, which takes place on a temporary fifth-mile dirt oval constructed inside the River Spirit Expo Center in Tulsa, Okla.
The Fresno, Calif., native will drive the No. 11s Capital E Trucking-backed, Esslinger-powered Spike.
Michael Faccinto was originally scheduled to drive the team’s second entry, but landed another opportunity with Dave Mac Motorsports, opening the door for Smith to return to the Chili Bowl for the first time in three years.
With two decades of racing experience under his belt, Smith brings a bevy of micro sprint laps – as well as selected USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series appearances – to the table as he preps for his fifth Chili Bowl appearance.
Smith, a three-time California Speedweek champion in non-winged micro sprint action, has never made the Saturday A-main at the Chili Bowl but is hoping to turn his luck around this year with the help of the Elliott family.
“Cory and I have raced together … probably six or so years now, on and off between the micro and other places,” Smith noted. “We ran almost three years against each other in the micro. And then the last few years, I’ve watched from the outside as they’ve run the midget stuff and we’ve run the sprint car stuff. But (running for the Elliotts) had been discussed about a month ago, just after Michael (Faccinto) had found out that he were going to run the other car (with Dave Mac Motorsports). Cory had mentioned that that seat was going to be open and we talked about putting something together.
“Once I put some fires out here and there as far as my situation, I let Cory know that I could run for them if they were still interested, and we got it all set up to go forward.”
Elliott is looking forward to having one of his longtime friends and rivals alongside him for the Chili Bowl Nationals, making for an all-California pairing as the duo looks to represent for the West Coast faithful.
“We want to go there and have a good run, but going with T.J. to the Chili Bowl will make a pretty good trip for us, I believe,” Elliott noted. “I’ve raced for years with him in micros, midgets, pretty much everything. And I told my dad from the beginning that if we couldn’t get Faccinto, I wanted to get T.J., because those guys are my buddies and I want to give him a shot.
“I’m really looking forward to having him and hope we can make some noise together.”
Smith’s best prior run at the Chili Bowl came in 2011, when he drove for Shannon McQueen and got all the way to the B-main on Saturday night before being bounced from contention.
With the strength the Elliott team has, Smith is confident he’ll have a shot to improve on that mark.
“If everything goes as well as it can, we should have a chance,” Smith noted. “I think with their equipment, their guys and their setup knowledge, as long as I’m on my A game, I think it’s a high possibility we could have a car in the A-main on Saturday. Winning something like that is huge, especially with the competition that’s there and the guys that do it every year.
“Being that Cory and his dad run a more locally-owned, family-based team, I think that a good goal for us would be to run around the A-main on Saturday or be in the B-main on Saturday,” he added. “If we could get somewhere in there, I would be extremely happy.”
Beyond that, Smith simply hopes to enjoy the week with the Elliotts and take the experience in.
“I’ve known the Elliott family for a while now, like I said, and they’re great people,” Smith said. “I’ve enjoyed racing against them and around them and I can only imagine now being able to go race with them. Knowing that they’re a local family that races full time and they have really good equipment, it’s a great opportunity for me to just go back and have fun while I try and do well and make a bit of a name for both myself and them as a team.
“I think it’s a win-win situation for both sides and can’t wait to get down there.”
SPEED SPORT’s Chili Bowl coverage is presented by MyRacePass, the official timing and scoring app of the 2020 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. Fans can download the MyRacePass app on their phones to follow all the action during the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. For more information on MyRacePass, visit www.myracepass.com and use the hashtag #GetTheApp on Twitter!
