Thursday Night Results - January 13, 2011
Sammy Swindell Scores Thursday Prelim Win at Chili Bowl!
Lonnie
Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (January 13, 2011) Sammy Swindell served up a good reminder
of exactly why he ranks as the only five-time winner in Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals
history by mastering Thursday nights Suburban Chevrolet Qualifying field at the
QuikTrip Centers Tulsa Expo Raceway. The
star Sprint Car shoe from Germantown, TN, raced into the lead from the pole position at
the outset and led all 25 circuits on the third of four qualifying nights at the 25th
Anniversary Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. I
was actually just kind of cruising along there, trying to make decent laps and not make
any mistakes, Swindell explained of the victory drive. I definitely wasnt hustling it, but
the penalty is a little bigger if you do make a mistake being cautious. It worked out, I played it right and got the win. It
marked Swindells second score of the week aboard the Esslinger-powered John
Christner Trucking/Soapsports.com No. 1 Spike after topping Tuesday nights Third
Annual Vacuworx International Race of Champions, duplicating the path that he took to an
unprecedented fifth Golden Driller trophy in 2009. While
Swindell locked into a record 18th Chili Bowl championship finale with the
triumph, Arizona native Jerry Coons, Jr., and Illinois Steve Knepper secured
Saturday feature starting bids as well with second and third place finishes, respectively. Coons,
who challenged Swindell a time or two along the way, makes his 12th
championship feature start on Saturday and eighth in a row while Knepper broke into the
finale for the first time in six Chili Bowl tries. Fast
throughout the night, Knepper earned the front row outside starting position alongside
Swindell. Swindell shot into the lead at the
drop of the green flag, with third-starting Coons taking second from Knepper upon
completion of the opening round. With
Coons, Knepper and Steve Buckwalter in tow, Swindell reached traffic by the eleventh
round. After getting held up briefly, which
allowed a Coons challenge for the point, he actually increased his lead over the ensuing
laps while picking off backmarkers one-by-one until the races first caution flew
after 18 laps for a Casey Riggs spin in turn four. After
top-ten contender Wayne Johnson was squeezed into the backstretch wall and forced pitside
on the restart, another pair of cautions interrupted the final circuits. Swindell was unphased, cruising the top side of
the track masterfully to secure yet another win with Coons taking runner-up honors in the
2B Racing/Glenn Styres Fontana-powered Ohsweken Speedway/Rochester Americans No.0 Beast. After
exchanging a couple of sliders with Buckwalter in the first half of the race, Kneppers
best Chili Bowl effort to date culminated with a third-place run aboard the
Esslinger-powered T.B.C./Illinois Refinishing No. 55k Spike. Im
still fairly new to this lapped traffic game, you get behind Sammy Swindell and Jerry
Coons, Jr., and just watch the art happen, Knepper commented. You just kind of try to pick a line where
they just picked and try to duplicate it. Buckwalter
missed a lock-in by one position by taking the checkered flag fourth in Ott Chevy-powered
Elite Chassis/Buckwalter Roofing No. 25, with Shane Golobic surviving a last-corner slide
for life from Jason Leffler to round out the top five in Douglas Bocks
Esslinger-powered Bicycle Inc. of Fort Worth No. 26 Spike. Leffler
settled for sixth, with Levi Jones, 17th-starter Tracy Hines, Andrew Deal and
21st-starter Tim McCreadie completing the top ten. After
Corey Tucker Racing rep Levi Roberts was the only Chili Bowl rookie contender to make an
A Main starting grid over the first two nights (14th on Wednesday),
CTR stable mate Tyler Courtney was one of three rookies among Thursday nights
feature grid along with Dalten Gabbard and Seth Motsinger.
Courtney fared the best by matching Roberts 14th place
finish, with Gabbard in 20th and Motsinger in 24th. Coons,
Riggs, Deal, Blake Hahn, Garrett Hansen, Leffler, Buckwalter and Wayne Johnson topped heat
race action for Thursday nights 62-car field, with Johnson, Swindell, Courtney and
Shane Cockrum winning the qualifying races. The
heat race win for Hahn, 16-year-old grandson of Chili Bowl co-promoter Emmett Hahn, came
in his first competitive laps aboard an open Midget after claiming two Golden Drillers in
Micro Sprint Car action at the Tulsa Shootout two weeks ago. Brian
Carter won the first C Main, while Casey Shuman rebounded from heat race chaos
to rally from the tail of the field to victory in the second C Main. Shuman
heroics continued in the second B Main with a run up to the fourth and final
transfer. It was a spot he only held after
locking wheels with Mike English exiting the final corner and crashing into the wall and
over the finish line, marking the second time in as many nights a Loyet Motorsports No. 05
entry crossed the finish line in unconventional fashion after Damion Gardner flipped
across for second in the Wednesday main event. Shuman
and company thrashed to make the call for the feature, with the Rattlesnake Bend native
picking off another 13 cars with a badly-bent chassis to finish eleventh in the A
main, running his total for the night to 30 positions gained in feature action. Hines
bounced back from a qualifying race incident to win the first B main before
racing to eighth, with rookie shoe Motsinger holding on to win the second B
Main. Thursday
Nights Suburban Chevrolet Qualifier Results from the 25th Annual Lucas
Oil Chili Bowl Nationals: Heat Races (8 Laps Top
40 in passing points to A Qualifiers; Balance to twin C Mains)
Heat 1: 1. #0
Jerry Coons Jr., Tucson, AZ; 2. #86 Shane Hollingsworth, Lafayette, IN; 3. #26 Shane
Golobic, Fremont, CA; 4. #2A Travis Berryhill, American Canyon, CA; 5. #85 Jonathan
Hendrick, Fortville, IN; 6. #33 Scott Fennell, Littleton, CO; 7. #11XS Donovan Peterson,
Brookings, SD; 8. #97X Chris Ennis, San Diego, CA
Heat 2: 1. #67W
Casey Riggs, Shelbyville, IN; 2. #39T Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN; 3. #1 Sammy
Swindell, Germantown, TN; 4. #75X Mike English, Norwalk, CA; 5. #71D Brian Hosford,
Gilbert, AZ; 6. #17K Michael Koontz, Bloomington, IN; 7. #83 Kurt Blackaby, Bentonville,
AR; 8. #4C Joey Price, Great Falls, MT
Heat 3: 1. #15D
Andrew Deal, Dewey, OK; 2. #14C Shane Cockrum, Benton, IL; 3. #28 Greg Bragg, Visalia, CA;
4. #75J Levi Jones, Olney, IL; 5. #7D Michelle Decker, Guthrie, OK; 6. #51P Dalten
Gabbard, Peoria, AZ; 7. #6X Chris Morgan, Topeka, KS; 8. #12J Jay Mounce, Downs, IL
Heat 4: 1. #4B
Blake Hahn, Sapulpa, OK; 2. #12S Danny Sheridan, Santa Maria, CA; 3. #71K Alex Bowman, Oro
Valley, AZ; 4. #57S Steven Schaberg, Glenwood, AR; 5. #5A Peter Palazzolo, Pacific, MO; 6.
#6M Justin Mallo, Cheyenne, WY; 7. #73A Alex Sewell, Broken Arrow, OK; 8. #2C Bud Carroll,
Streetman, TX
Heat 5: 1. #47X
Garrett Hansen, Manhattan Beach, CA; 2. #24 Tracy Hines, Wilkinson, IN; 3. #2X Jimmy
Light, Erie, PA; 4. #7B Austin Brown, Millstadt, IL; 5. #6C Brian Carter, Concord, NC; 6.
#49JR Bobby Michnowicz, Torrance, CA; 7. #25P Dylan Peterson, Sioux Falls, SD; 8. #10M
B.J. Martin, Orland, CA
Heat 6: 1. #91X
Jason Leffler, Long Beach, CA; 2. #41W Brandon Waelti, Sun Prairie, WI; 3. #37X Seth
Motsinger, Salem, IN; 4. #3AJ A.J. Fike, Galesburg, IL; 5. #9S Justin Sanders, Prunedale,
CA; 6. #84 Joey Fabozzi, Norco, CA; 7. #3S Chris Springer, Omaha, NE; 8. #05S Casey
Shuman, Tempe, AZ
Heat 7: 1. #25
Steve Buckwalter, Royersford, PA; 2. #39M Tim McCreadie, Watertown, NY; 3. #8R Rico Abreu,
Rutherford, CA; 4. #31 David Budres, Beloit, WI; 5. #11J Justin Melton, Flower Mound, TX;
6. #23F Matthew Fox, Hughesville, MO; DNS -- #8S Kyle Steffens, St. Charles, MO
Heat 8: 1. #2J
Wayne Johnson, Oklahoma City, OK; 2. #55K Nick Knepper, Belleville, IL; 3. #15KO Kevin
Olson, Machesney Park, IL: 4. #38N Kyle Neal, Ewing, IL; 5. #91 Jeff Stasa, Kingman, KS;
6. #15N Connor Kassik, Lake Havasu City, AZ; 7. #56 Jason Dull, Machesney Park, IL
C Mains (10 Laps Top 4
in each transfer to back of corresponding B Main)
C Main 1: 1. #6C Brian Carter, Concord, NC; 2. #5A Peter
Palazzolo, Pacific, MO; 3. #25P Dylan Peterson, Sioux Falls, SD; 4. #4C Joey Price, Great
Falls, MT; 5. #3S Chris Springer, Omaha, NE; 6. #15N Connor Kassik, Lake Havasu City, AZ;
7. #84 Joey Fabozzi, Norco, CA; 8. #2C Bud Carroll, Streetman, TX; 9. #10M B.J. Martin,
Orland, CA; 10. #6M Justin Mallo, Cheyenne, WY; 11. #11XS Donovan Peterson, Brookings, SD
C Main 2: 1.
#05S Casey Shuman, Tempe, AZ; 2. #91 Jeff Stasa, Kingman, KS; 3. #23F Matthew Fox,
Hughesville, MO; 4. #12J Jay Mounce, Downs, IL; 5. #73A Alex Sewell, Broken Arrow, OK; 6.
#8S Kyle Steffens, St. Charles, MO; 7. #33 Scott Fennell, Littleton, CO; 8. #56 Jason
Dull, Machesney Park, IL; 9. #6X Chris Morgan, Topeka, KS; 10. #83 Kurt Blackaby,
Bentonville, AR; 11. #97X Chris Ennis, San Diego, CA
A Qualifiers (10 Laps
Top 16 in combined passing points to A Main; Balance to twin B Mains)
A Qualifier 1:
1. #2J Wayne Johnson, Oklahoma City, OK; 2. #55K Nick Knepper, Belleville, IL; 3. #71K
Alex Bowman, Oro Valley, AZ; 4. #91X Jason Leffler, Long Beach, CA; 5. #51P Dalten
Gabbard, Peoria, AZ; 6. #75X Mike English, Norwalk, CA; 7. #7D Michelle Decker, Guthrie,
OK; 8. #47X Garrett Hansen, Manhattan Beach, CA; 9. #41W Brandon Waelti, Sun Prairie, WI;
10. #15KO Kevin Olson, Machesney Park, IL
A Qualifier 2:
1. #1 Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN; 2. #25 Steve Buckwalter, Royersford, PA; 3. #75J
Levi Jones, Olney, IL; 4. #39M Tim McCreadie, Watertown, NY; 5. #12S Danny Sheridan, Santa
Maria, CA; 6. #7B Austin Brown, Millstadt, IL; 7. #2X Jimmy Light, Erie, PA; 8. #3AJ A.J.
Fike, Galesburg, IL; 9. #9S Justin Sanders, Prunedale, CA; 10. #49JR Bobby Michnowicz,
Torrance, CA
A Qualifier 3:
1. #39T Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN; 2. #0 Jerry Coons Jr., Tucson, AZ; 3. #86 Shane
Hollingsworth, Lafayette, IN; 4. #67W Casey Riggs, Shelbyville, IN; 5. #8R Rico Abreu,
Rutherford, CA; 6. #31 David Budres, Beloit, WI; 7. #24 Tracy Hines, Wilkinson, IN; 8. #85
Jonathan Hendrick, Fortville, IN; 9. #2A Travis Berryhill, American Canyon, CA; 10. #57S
Steven Schaberg, Glenwood, AR
A Qualifier 4:
1. #14C Shane Cockrum, Benton, IL; 2. #15D Andrew Deal, Caney, KS; 3. #37X Seth Motsinger,
Salem, IN; 4. #26 Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA; 5. #71D Brian Hosford, Gilbert, AZ; 6. #11J
Justin Melton, Flower Mound, TX; 7. #38N Kyle Neal, Ewing, IL; 8. #28 Greg Bragg, Visalia,
CA; 9. #17K Michael Koontz, Bloomington, IN; 10. #4B Blake Hahn, Sapulpa, OK B Mains (15 Laps Top 4
in each transfer to A Main)
B Main 1: 1. #24
Tracy Hines, Wilkinson, IN; 2. #11J Justin Melton, Flower Mound, TX; 3. #39M Tim
McCreadie, Watertown, NY; 4. #49JR Bobby Michnowicz, Torrance, CA; 5. #3AJ A.J. Fike,
Galesburg, IL; 6. #2A Travis Berryhill, American Canyon, CA; 7. #8R Rico Abreu,
Rutherford, CA; 8. #2X Jimmy Light, Erie, PA; 9. #38N Kyle Neal, Ewing, IL; 10. #25P Dylan
Peterson, Sioux Falls, SD; 11. #5A Peter Palazzolo, Pacific, MO; 12. #6C Brian Carter,
Concord, NC; 13. #4C Joey Price, Great Falls, MT; 14. #7B Austin Brown, Millstadt, IL; 15.
#4B Blake Hahn, Sapulpa, OK; 16. #17K Michael Koontz, Bloomington, IN
B Main 2: 1.
#37X Seth Motsinger, Salem, IN; 2. #15KO Kevin Olson, Machesney Park, IL; 3. #85 Jonathan
Hendrick, Fortville, IN; 4. #05S Casey Shuman, Tempe, AZ; 5. #75X Mike English, Norwalk,
CA; 6. #9S Justin Sanders, Prunedale, CA; 7. #71D Brian Hosford, Gilbert, AZ; 8. #91 Jeff
Stasa, Kingman, KS; 9. #23F Matthew Fox, Hughesville, MO; 10. #57S Steve Schaberg,
Glenwood, AR; 11. #41W Brandon Waelti, Sun Prairie, WI; 12. #47X Garrett Hansen, Manhattan
Beach, CA; 13. #31 David Budres, Beloit, WI; 14. #28 Greg Bragg, Visalia, CA; 15. #12J Jay
Mounce, Downs, IL DNS -- #7D Michelle Decker, Guthrie, OK
A Main (25 laps Top 3
advance to Saturday Night's Main Event)
1. #1 Sammy
Swindell, Germantown, TN; 2. #0 Jerry Coons Jr., Tucson, AZ; 3. #55K Nick Knepper,
Belleville, IL; 4. #25 Steve Buckwalter, Royersford, PA; 5. #26 Shane Golobic, Fremont,
CA; 6. #91X Jason Leffler, Long Beach, CA; 7. #75J Levi Jones, Olney, IL; 8. #24 Tracy
Hines, Wilkinson, IN; 9. #15D Andrew Deal, Dewey, OK; 10. #39M Tim McCreadie, Watertown,
NY; 11. #05S Casey Shuman, Tempe, AZ; 12. #14C Shane Cockrum, Benton, IL; 13. #15KO Kevin
Olson, Machesney Park, IL; 14. #39T Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN; 15. #67W Casey
Riggs, Shelbyville, IN; 16. #86 Shane Hollingsworth, Lafayette, IN; 17. #71K Alex Bowman,
Oro Valley, AZ; 18. #49JR Bobby Michnowicz, Torrance, CA; 19. #11J Justin Melton, Flower
Mound, TX; 20. #51P Dalten Gabbard, Peoria, AZ; 21. #85 Jonathan Hendrick, Fortville, IN;
22. #12S Danny Sheridan, Santa Maria, CA; 23. #37X Seth Motsinger, Salem, IN; 24. #2J
Wayne Johnson, Oklahoma City, OK. |
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