video by Hosehead
report by Lonnie Wheatley,
Tulsa, OK | January 11, 2012 – Sammy Swindell kept up his winning ways at the QuikTrip Center’s Tulsa Expo Raceway by topping Wednesday night’s 25-lap River Spirit Casino Qualifier “A” Main event at the 26th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals...
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The five-time Chili Bowl champion battled ahead of Danny Stratton after a handful of circuits and raced on to his seventh preliminary Chili Bowl main event win in front of Stratton and reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart, who also locked into Saturday night’s 50-lap championship finale by virtue of earning podium finishes.
With the triumph in the Esslinger-powered John Christner Trucking/NOS Energy Drinks No. 1 Spike, Swindell locked into a Chili Bowl record 19th Chili Bowl finale.
“Here, the driver can influence the car a lot,” Swindell explained of his Chili Bowl success. “You’ve got to have a good car, but you can make it a bit different about where you place the car and what you do with the car.”
But, Swindell had his hands full with fellow front row starter Stratton over the initial handful of circuits as the pair battled for the lead in wheel-to-wheel fashion with Swindell on the low side and Stratton up top. “We had a pretty good run for a while there side-by-side,” Swindell explained of the opening rounds afterwards.
Swindell surged ahead in turn two on the sixth round and made his way to the upper portion of the track and set sail with Stratton and third-starter Stewart in his wake.
The savvy veteran reached traffic by the midway point and picked off one car after another over the ensuing rounds, with four cars separating himself from Stratton when the race’s only caution flew after 21 laps when Chris Ennis climbed a wheel and flipped in turn four.
2012 Chili Bowl | Wednesday A-Main - Last 4 Laps
video by WMD Staab
With the lapped cars in place, Swindell checked out over the final four circuit to take the checkered flag with a 3.647-second advantage over Stratton in Steve and Dianna Hampton’s Esslinger-powered Hampton’s Kustom Works No. 77s Twister.
“We had a stuck bleeder in the right rear and Sammy kinda ran away with it,” Stratton explained after securing a starting berth for his third career Chili Bowl finale. “I was just trying to hang on there to get a spot in the ‘A’ on Saturday.”
Making his first Chili Bowl start since 2008, two-time event winner Stewart landed in his 11th Chili Bowl final by taking the show position in the Chevrolet Performance Parts No. 14 Spike.
“The big thing is Saturday night that you’re shooting for,” Stewart commented. “The goal for everybody tonight is to try to get in that top three and as long as you make that, that’s a good night.”
Behind the lead trio, Zach Daum held down the fourth position most of the way in front of Tyler Edwards and Jason Leffler. But, when Daum’s mount stumbled after the lap 21 restart, Edwards and Leffler mixed it up for fourth only to have Leffler slide to a stop in turn two after contact on the final lap just as Swindell took the checkered flag.
Edwards claimed the fourth position aboard Danny Felker’s Hatfield Chevy-powered No. 11T Spike, with Daum rounding out the top five in the Fontana-powered Daum Insurance No. 5d Eagle.
Caleb Armstrong raced 18th to claim sixth, with Chili Bowl rookie contender Shaun Insley of New Zealand in seventh. Another rookie contender, Pennsylvania’s Alex Bright, was eighth, with Brad Kuhn salvaging a ninth place run after climbing through both “C” and “B” Main competition just to make the feature cut after a lackluster heat race. Josh Ford completed the top ten from 16th.
In addition to Insley and Bright, California’s Jace VanderWeerd also made Wednesday’s feature cut as a rookie contender and placed 17th.
Like Kuhn, Gary Taylor worked through “C” and “B” Main action as well to finish 12th, just one spot behind Loyet Motorsports teammate Jon Stanbrough, who also advanced from “B” Main action.
River Spirit Casino Qualifier RESULTS:
Wednesday A-Main (25 laps – Top 3 advance to Saturday Night's Main Event)
“A” Main: 1. #1 Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN; 2. #77s Danny Stratton, Riverside, CA; 3. #14 Tony Stewart, Columbus, IN; 4. #11T Tyler Edwards, Salina, OK; 5. #5d Zach Daum, Pocahontas, IL; 6. #7ca Caleb Armstrong, New Castle, IN; 7. #47x Shaun Insley, Royal Oak, NZ; 8. #77 Alex Bright, Collegeville, PA; 9. #17b Brad Kuhn, Avon, IN; 10. #73 Josh Ford, Oxnard, CA; 11. #05s Jon Stanbrough, Avon, IN; 12. #05T Gary Taylor, Snohomish, WA; 13. #78 Nick Wean, Phillipsburg, NJ; 14. #91k Derek King, Goreville, IL; 15. #4g Coleman Gulick, Binghamton, NY; 16. #71 Jason Leffler, Long Beach, CA; 17. #8v Jace VanderWeerd, Visalia, CA; 18. #11bx Brett Anderson, Belleville, IL; 19. #15p David Prickett, Fresno, CA; 20. #21b Christopher Bell, Norman, OK; 21. #19x Billy Wease, Noblesville, IN; 22. #14jr Matt Streeter, Galt, CA; 23. #86e Chris Ennis, San Diego, CA; 24. #1w Paul White, Waco, TX.
Click Here for Complete Wednesday Results
Chili Bowl 2012 | Weds. Heat #6 - Kiwi Rookie Insley vs. Tony Stewart | Jan. 11, 2012
video by WMD Staab
2012 Chili Bowl "Rookie of the Year" contender Shaun Insley of Royal Oak, New Zealand holds off a charging Stewart in heat six. Swindell, Billy Wease, Edwards, Robbie Whitchurch, VanderWeerd, Insley, Leffler and Brent Camarillo topped heat race action for Wednesday night’s 67-car field. Austin Brown won the first “C” Main, with Gavin Galbraith beating Taylor and Kuhn to the stripe in the second “C” Main. After Stanbrough won the first “B” Main, Armstrong beat a rallying Kuhn to the line in the second “B” Main. David Prickett, Christopher Bell, Stewart and Daum each claimed qualifying race wins.
Heat #6 RESULTS:
1. #47X Shaun Insley, Royal Oak, NZ; 2. #14 Tony Stewart, Columbus, IN; 3. #78 Nick Wean, Phillipsburg, NJ; 4. #37T Chris Urish, Elkhart, IL; 5. #11BX Brett Anderson, Belleville, IL; 6. #83 Kurt Blackaby, Bentonville, AR; 7. #21JR Kevin Michnowicz, Lomita, CA; 8. #83X Bob Lawlor, San Carlos, CA
Chili Bowl 2012 | Sights & Sounds
video by WMD Staab
Chili Bowl 2012 - Donnie Ray Crawford Checks In
video by RJ McDowell
Donnie Ray Crawford, last year’s Wednesday night feature winner, endured a tough evening. After a wild flip exiting turn two in his heat race, the third-generation racer advanced from “C” Main action only to get upside down again in a “B” Main scramble that put an early end to his night.
Rick Fortune & Chili Bowl Promoter Emmett Hahn
video by RJ McDowell
AFCO Racings Open Wheeler Rick Fortune, catches up with Open Wheel Legend Emmett Hahn
Chili Bowl 2012 - Tracy Hines Checks In
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