Thursday Chili Bowl Highlights

Thursday Night's Warren CAT Qualifying Night Chili Bowl BCRA-affiliated results:

-By Robert Haugh

2007 BCRA champion Justin Grant came shy of making the A-main by just one spot, coming home fifth in B-Main 2 when only four transfer. Prior to that, he snagged ninth in A-Qualifier 1 and fourth in Heat 3.

BCRA Hardcharger Scott Pierovich won Heat 6 in father Lance’s #35p Stealth/Wirth/Mopar from the outside pole. Pierovich’s fortunes turned to misfortune, however, as he tipped over in A-Qualifier 1 and settled for a 12th-place run. Pierovich and crew rebounded strongly in B-Main 1, coming from the back to finish fifth, one spot shy of making the A-main.

2000 BCRA champion and multiple-time BCRA feature winner Thomas Meseraull missed transferring to A-Qualifier 1 by one spot in the #132 RFMS Racing Spike/Esslinger, coming home third in Last Chance Race 1, after starting seventh.

Two-time 2007 BCRA feature winner Chris Rahe piloted Jon Rahe’s #3c Goodwin Glass Stealth/Fontana to victory in Heat 1 and finished 5th in A-Qualifier 3, capturing enough points and qualifying for the A-main, the only BCRA-affiliated entry making the A-main, finishing 15th.

Fremont’s Shane Golobic nearly sprinted to the victory from the outside pole of Heat 3, but settled for third in the Heat in the #10w Chris Walker-Bay Muffler Stealth/Esslinger mount. Golobic finished eighth in A-Qualifier 2 and 11th in B-Main 2.

Chauffeuring Shannon McQueen’s second entry, Guthrie, Oklahoma’s Michelle Decker piloted the #7mx McQueen Spike/Esslinger to a victory in Last Chancre Race 2, however she was unable to transfer from A-Qualifier 2 to the A-main.

Heat 1: 1. Chris Rahe, Placentia, CA, #3c Jon Rahe Stealth/Fontana
Heat 2: 8. Thomas Meseraull, Fresno, CA, #132 RFMS Racing Spike/Esslinger
Heat 3: 3. Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA, #10w Chris Walker-Bay Muffler Stealth/Esslinger; 4. Justin Grant, Ione, CA, #17T Thurston Spike/Esslinger ST; 8. Floyd Alvis, San Carlos, CA, #18 Champion Automotive Stealth/Esslinger
Heat 6: 1. Scott Pierovich, Alamo, CA, #35 Lance Pierovich Stealth/Wirth Mopar
Heat 9: 6. Michelle Decker, Guthrie, OK, #7mx Shannon McQueen Spike/Esslinger
Last Chance 1: 3. Thomas Meseraull
Last Chance 2: 1. Michelle Decker; 8. Floyd Alvis
A Qualifier 1: 9. Justin Grant, 12. Scott Pierovich
A Qualifier 2: 8. Shane Golobic, 9. Michelle Decker
A Qualifier 3: 5. Chris Rahe
B Main 1: 1. Chris Rahe, 5. Scott Pierovich, 10. Michelle Decker
B Main 2: 5. Justin Grant, 11. Shane Golobic
A Main: 15. Chris Rahe

Friday night's Creek Nation Casino Qualifying night event will feature several BCRA-affiliated entries, including 2006 BCRA feature winner Greg Bragg aboard Mike Walker’s #05b Walker Wood Products Stealth/Honda, Silver Dollar Speedway Sprint Car regular Mason Moore in the #10m Chris Walker Bay Muffler Stealth/Esslinger, Travis Berryhill aboard the Berryhill Racing “Spirit of American Canyon” #11z Stealth/LJ’s Chevy Gaerte, David Prickett aboard the #15 Neverlift Motorsports Stealth/Van Dyne, leading 2007 BCRA rookie Kevin Morris aboard father Del’s #17k Spike/Esslinger, Mike Spencer aboard multi-time BCRA feature winning car owner Mike Sala’s #19w Spike/Bob Wirth Mopar, and Kyle Larson of Elk Grove aboard the Cliff Blackwell Motorsports #27d Stealth/Gaerte.

Log on to www.bcraracing.com for BCRA-affiliated results and pictures from Floyd Busby. Visit www.chilibowl.com for complete results and information on the 22nd Annual Dodge Chili Bowl Midget Nationals.

If you cannot be there to see all of the exciting Midget action live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the race will be streamed live online at www.racingboys.com and Saturday’s feature events will be broadcasted live on HBO Sports PPV. Call your cable or satellite provider to order. Complete entries and nightly lineups can be found at www.chilibowl.com. Friday’s qualifying features will be streamed as well, via www.nascar.com.

-By Floyd Busby

THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2008

The Tulsa Exposition Center was built in 1966. It features a cable-suspension roof, allowing the massive interior to be free of support columns. It measures 404x1200 feet with 304 feet of the width clear space.......that’s basically the length of four football fields and the uncluttered width the equivalent of a full football field.....for a total of 456,000 square feet!....putting it mild, “It’s Really Big!”....The photo shows the track with the side grandstand from the photo angle and the massive turn
3-4 grandstand at the far end. Behind the end grandstand is the pits, housing about 280 midgets as well as the transport trailers and equipment. A food and souvenir arcade along the entrance side extends for about three football fields in length. What you see here is approximately one-third of the building!