Mid-week recap of Chili Bowl to date
TULSA, Okla. -- Midway through the 37th annual Chili Bowl Nationals, six drivers are locked into Saturday’s Main event with four more set to join them on Thursday and Friday nights.
Qualifying Night 1 belonged to “Mr. Monday,” Cannon McIntosh. He led flag-to-flag, but it was not as easy a night as that suggests. During the 30-lap affair, he had to fend off a challenge by Chris Windom on two early restarts.
With a handful of laps remaining, (six or seven, McIntosh says he lost track), his right rear tire began to deflate. He could hear the change in harmonics and feel the tire softening, but put that out of his mind and kept his midget in his preferred line.
As the race ended, McIntosh received an assist from Shane Golobic, who pressured Windom and took some of the pressure off the leader. Windom sought out the high line, which he hoped would allow him to get around McIntosh and it cost him a transfer position. Golobic decided the low groove was better and completed the pass for second on the final lap.
NASCAR star Chase Briscoe was also in this race and was one of the biggest movers, advancing from 12th to fifth.
Locked In: Cannon McIntosh; Shane Golobic
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Qualifying Night 2 on Tuesday featured the most heart-warming race of the week so far. Local racer Hank Davis, 19, who quipped from the podium that he sleeps 20 minutes from the SageNet Expo Center, won his first Chili Bowl prelim.
Prior to this week, his best result was eighth in 2021.
In the chaotic race, Buddy Kofoid, who won last year’s Tuesday night qualifier, started from the pole and assumed the lead early. While he seemingly had the race in hand, Davis clipped New Zealander Michael Pickens, whose trip was considerably longer than 20 minutes. Pickens flipped.
On Lap 7, Kofoid steered high to avoid the topped midgets of Daison Pursley and Damion Gardner. His right tires climbed the backstretch wall and suffered enough damage to end his night. Kofoid was credited with 20th and he will need to advance through Saturday’s alphabet soup of final qualification mains.
With two early combatants out of the race, Davis held off a charge by Spencer Bayston, who held on for second and became the fourth driver to lock into Saturday’s Main.
Last year’s winningest driver in the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series, Jade Avedisian finish just outside the transfer position in third. She is now the highest-finishing female in event history.
Other notables Tuesday night included Tim McCreadie who finished eighth and Zach Daum in ninth.
NASCAR driver Alex Bowman also competed on Tuesday night. He won his heat after starting fifth. He finished third in his qualification race and locked into the feature, but got tangled with another driver early in the Main and finished 23rd in the 24-car field.
Locked In: Hank Davis; Spencer Bayston
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Wednesday's Qualifying Night 3 had the biggest swing of emotion.
Ten laps into the 30-lap race, Ashton Torgerson, who started on the outside pole in his first-ever midget race, was battling with Kevin Thomas, Jr. for seventh. Thomas slid Torgerson and forced him up the track. The 16-year-old Torgerson clipped the back wall and flipped, horrifyingly being ejected from the car in the process.
As the field milled around the backstretch, Torgerson was transported to a local hospital. According to reports from the family, he was alert and responding well to the tests. His first question was where was he running at the time of the accident.
When the race resumed, “Mr. Wednesday,” Rico Abreu, locked into a tight battle with Brent Crews and Mitchel Moles. Abreu ran the bottom long enough to get the competitors to try and follow him and then leaned on the cushion to first pass Crews then Moles.
Taking the lead on the last lap -- the only lap he led in the entire event -- Abreu won his eighth Qualification Night Main, (and his sixth consecutive) to tie Sammy Swindell and Christopher Bell for the event's record.
Chad Boat Industries finally got one of its drivers to lock in on Wednesday night with Moles’ second-place finish. They narrowly missed on Night 1 with Windom and Night 2 with Avedisian, both drivers finishing third each time.
Locked In: Rico Abreu; Mitchel Moles