Wednesday Chili Bowl Highlights

BCRA-affiliated Creek Nation Casino Qualifying Showdown Wednesday Chili Bowl results:

-By Robert Haugh

After landing a ride in the vacant Cliff Blackwell Motorsports #27b Stealth/Gaerte, open-wheel and Chili Bowl veteran Tony Elliott of Warsaw, Indiana paced Blackwell’s mount to an eleventh-place A-main finish, just shy of making the Top 10. Elliott was the only BCRA-affiliated entry to make Wednesday’s A-main, but several BCRA-affiliated drivers and entries came just shy of making the A-main.

2006 BCRA Dirt rookie-of-the-year Darrin Bolton in the Bolton Racing #XX Stewart/Stanton Mopar missed transferring to the A-main by three spots, coming home seventh B-Main 2. Before starting B-Main 2, Bolton had missed transferring directly into the A-main, coming home fifth in A-Qualifier 1, just a few points shy of making the A-main. Bolton transferred into the A-Qualifier 1 by finishing second in Last Chance race 1 behind Streeter.

2000 BCRA champion Matt Streeter equaled Bolton’s finish, coming home seventh in B-Main 1, missing the A-main by three spots as well aboard his #14jr Spike/Pink Chevy. Streeter masterfully rocketed his way into A-Qualifier 1 by winning Last Chance Race 1. Prior to B-Main 1, Streeter finished sixth in A-Qualifier 1.

Three-time BCRA champion Glenn Carson, making his return to Midget racing after recovering from injuries suffered from an early 2007 crash once again piloted Doug Bock’s #26 Spike/Esslinger at the Chili Bowl, coming home one spot shy of making A-Qualifier 1, coming home third in Last Chance 1 behind fellow BCRA competitors Streeter and Bolton. Carson had a strong run going in Heat 6, but misfortunes dropped him to a sixth-place finish after getting tangled up in another car’s incident.

15-year-old New Yorker Coleman Gulick aboard BCRA veteran Pete Davis’ #00 Hot Head Heaters Stealth/Esslinger,

Piloting her #7s Spike/Esslinger, Shannon McQueen’s dreams of making the A-main were shunted late in B-Main 2 when she was shuffled back late in the race while close to a transfer position.

Behind-the-wheel of multi-time BCRA feature winning car owner Mike Sala’s #19s Spike/Wirth Mopar, Troy Rutherford was unable to capture enough points to transfer from A-Qualifier 4 directly and settled for twelfth in B-Main 2.

Chad Boat, who competed in a couple BCRA pavement races late in 2007, came just one spot short of transferring to the A-main aboard father Billy’s #30 Spike/Esslinger, finishing fifth in B-Main 2.

Tuesday night transfer Justin Melton of Flower Mound, TX did not start A-Qualifier 1 in Mike Beason’s #36k Stealth/Pink Chevy and failed to move forward in B-Main 2.

Wednesday Night's Creek Nation Casino Qualifying Showdown BCRA-affiliated Chili Bowl Results:

Heat 1: 3. Troy Rutherford, Ojai, CA #19s Mike Sala Spike/Wirth Mopar; 4. Justin Melton, Flower Mound, TX #36k Mike Beason Stealth/Pink Chevy
Heat 2: 5. Darrin Bolton, El Dorado Hills, CA #XX Bolton Spike/Mopar
Heat 3: 4. Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA #49e Kasey Kahne Racing Spike/Mopar; 6. Matt Streeter, Galt, CA, #14jr Streeter Spike/Pink Ford
Heat 4: 7. Ryan Kaplan, Chico, CA #21k Ken Kaplan Stealth/Wirth Fontana
Heat 5: 6. Glenn Carson, Concord, CA #26 Doug Bock Spike/Esslinger
Heat 7: 2. Tony Elliott, Warsaw, IN, #27b Cliff Blackwell Motorsports Stealth/Gaerte; 6. Coleman Gulick, Binghamton, NY, #00 Pete Davis Hot Head Engine Heaters Stealth/Esslinger
Heat 8: 2. Shannon McQueen, Tehachapi, CA, #7s McQueen Spike/Esslinger
Heat 10: 2. Chad Boat, Phoenix, AZ, #30 Billy Boat Spike/Esslinger
Last Chance 1: 1. Matt Streeter, 2. Darrin Bolton, 3. Glenn Carson, 4. Coleman Gulick
Last Chance 4: 6. Ryan Kaplan
A Qualifier 1: 5. Darrin Bolton, 6. Matt Streeter, DNS- Justin Melton
A Qualifier 3: 6. Chad Boat, 7. Brad Sweet
A Qualifier 4: 2. Tony Elliott, 5. Troy Rutherford, 7. Shannon McQueen
B Main 1: 7. Matt Streeter, 8. Brad Sweet, 11. Shannon McQueen, 12. Troy Rutherford
B Main 2: 5. Chad Boat, 7. Darrin Bolton, 13. Justin Melton
A Main: 11. Tony Elliott (Blackwell #27b)

-By Floyd Busby

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2008

Darrin Bolton came the closest of the BCRA contingent to make his way to the main event, but a last turn charge to the inside fell just a bit short of the final transfer spot. He finished seventh.

Former BCRA champ Matt Streeter won the 1st Last Chance Race, but placed sixth in th4e A Qualifier Raxce just behind Bolton to end his evening.

Three-time champ Glenn Carson missed the final transfer out of his Last Chance Race with a third.

Shannon McQueen gave a good account of herself in the 4th  Qualifier, but misfortune late in the race relegated her to seventh.