TULSA, Okla. – Tanner Carrick captured his first Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals qualifying night victory as the driver of the Keith Kunz Motorsports-Curb/Agajanian No. 98 conquered Monday’s Cummins Qualifying Night.
The victory allowed Carrick to lock in to his first Chili Bowl Nationals feature. It was win No. 30 at Tulsa Expo Raceway for car owner Keith Kunz.
Carrick rode in third the first 20 laps as Mitchel Moles and Jerry Coons Jr. battled for the race lead. They swapped the lead three times, with Moles gaining the advantage on Coons following a restart on lap 19.
Moles looked to have the race in hand before a misstep on the cushion through the fourth turn sent the No. 07w tumbling down the front straightaway on lap 21.
That put Carrick in the lead and he held the top spot for the remainder of the feature. He crossed the line 1.225 seconds ahead of runner-up Tyler Courtney, but that’s where Carrick’s good luck ended.
After he took the checkered flag, Carrick flipped his No. 98 into turn one.
“I went through the finish line and when I went to use the brake pedal, there were no brakes,” Carrick said. “By that time it was too late and I plugged it into the fence.”
Despite the bad luck post-race, Carrick is excited to secure a starting position in his first Chili Bowl feature.
“This is a huge win,” Carrick said. “I’ve struggled here the past few years. We’ve always been fast, but we didn’t have the finishes to show the speed that we’ve had. My whole goal this weekend was just to lock into Saturday, and I didn’t want to do it by running second.”
Courtney’s runner-up finish allowed him to lock into his sixth Chili Bowl championship feature in as many years. Chase Johnson finished third to complete the podium.
World of Outlaws star David Gravel was fourth, with UMP modified ace Nick Hoffman coming home an impressive fifth.
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