BCRA Has Strong Ties, Over Three Dozen Entries at Chili Bowl

-By Robert Haugh

With 285 entries, it’s no wonder that the 22nd Annual Dodge Chili Bowl Midget Nationals is the Super Bowl of Midget racing. Additionally, it’s no wonder that the event that annually attracts the best Midget racers from throughout the U.S. and beyond, as well as a myriad of racing stars including former NASCAR champion Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, J.J. Yeley and a plethora of other top racing stars, it’s also no wonder that the fabled Bay Cities Racing Association has ties to over three dozen of the near 300 entries.

This year’s Chili Bowl will feature an array of BCRA Midget and Midget Lite champions, feature winners, veterans, rookies and car owners having often competed in BCRA competition.

With the vast amount of entries, here are highlights of some of the BCRA drivers and teams entered in this year’s prestigious Chili Bowl, all gunning for the Golden Driller trophy awarded on Saturday, January 12th.

With so many championships, feature wins and accolades amidst the field, we will start with 2007 BCRA overall, dirt and pavement Midget driving champion 17-year-old Justin Grant, who will be making his Chili Bowl debut chauffeuring the Dave & Wendy Thurston #17T TNT Racesports Spike/Esslinger ST mount. Grant won the BCRA Midget crown by nearly 200 points and narrowly edged out two-time BCRA champ John Sarale by 10 points to capture the Dirt title in the above-mentioned Thurston mount.

Joining Justin as Chili Bowl rookies representing BCRA will be 15-year-old Shane Golobic who won one 2007 BCRA feature in 2007. Golobic will pilot Chris Walker’s #10w Bay Muffler Stealth/Esslinger. The Bay Muffler contingent also includes Chili Bowl rookie T.J. Smith in the Chris Walker #10t Bay Muffler Stealth/Esslinger and fellow Bowl rookie Mason Moore aboard Chris Walker’s #10m Bay Muffler Stealth/Esslinger.

15-yeard-old BCRA young gun Cole Peard will make his rookie Chili Bowl appearance as well, driving Gordon and Alisa Peard’s #58 F5/Fontana. Peard ran selected 2007 BCRA dirt races. 2007 Midget Lite champion Doug Nunes will make his third-ever Midget start aboard Cliff Blackwell’s #27c Stealth/Gaerte, teaming with young gun Kyle Larson aboard Blackwell’s #27d Stealth/Gaerte and a third entrant to be announced in the #27 b Stealth/Gaerte.

15-year-old Coleman Gulick of Binghamton, NY will be manning the wheel of BCRA veteran Pete Davis’ #00 Hot Head Heaters Stealth/Esslinger, while 2007 BCRA Rookie Kevin Morris will chauffer father Del’s #17k Spike/Esslinger and 2006 BCRA Dirt rookie of the Year Darrin Bolton of El Dorado Hills will be piloting the #XX Bolton Stewart/Stanton Mopar.

Adding to the youthful entries is Flower Mound, Texas’ Justin Melton, making his dirt Midget and Chili Bowl debut aboard Mike Beason’s #36j Stealth/Pink Chevy. Melton campaigned one of the DMS Race Products #11 Beast/Esslinger house cars on asphalt in 2007.

Other young guns with BCRA ties entered in the 2008 Chili Bowl include: Ryan Kaplan appearing in the #21k Ken Kaplan Stealth/Wirth Fontana, 2006 BCRA feature winner Greg Bragg driving Mike Walker’s #05b Stealth/Honda, BCRA Hard charger Shannon McQueen gunning her own #7s Spike/Esslinger and David Prickett piloting the #15n Neverlift Motorsports Stealth/Van Dyne.

Other young guns with BCRA experience include Scott Pierovich piloting father Lance’s #35p Stealth/Wirth Mopar, former Midget Lite chauffer Brad Sweet piloting the #49e Kasey Kahne Racing Spike/Mopar, two-time Midget Lite champion Jeff Griffin manning his #50j Stealth/Esslinger and former BCRA feature winner Garrett Hansen running father Gary’s #70 Hansen’s Welding Stealth/Fontana.

With a large group of Chili Bowl rookies and young guns, it’s also no surprise a number of BCRA champions and veterans are making a visit to the event as well, including BCRA’s “Ageless Wonder” Floyd Alvis. The 7-time BCRA champion and 2007 car owner champion will be manning his Champion Automotive #18 Stealth/Esslinger.

Adding to Alvis’ veteran presence will be two-time BCRA champion Glenn Carson, manning the wheel Doug Bock’s #26 Spike/Esslinger, 2000 BCRA champion and multi-time feature winner Thomas Meseraull wheeling the #132 RFMS Racing Spike/Esslinger, 2002 BCRA champion Matt Streeter piloting his #14JR Spike/Ed Pink Chevy, former BCRA car owner champion and multi-time Midget and Midget Lite feature winner Cameron Beard chauffeuring Larry Myrtle’s #9b Hot Head Engine Heaters/Special Things Sheet Metal Stealth/Esslinger, Travis Berryhill aboard the Spirit of American Canyon-Berryhill Racing #11x Stealth/LJ's Performance Chevy-Gaerte, two-time 2007 BCRA feature winner Chris Rahe of Placentia chauffeuring Jon Rahe’s #3c Goodwine Glass Stealth/Fontana and Sunnyvale’s Doug DeWitt manning the #11d D&G DeWitt Co. Stealth/Fontana.

Multiple-time BCRA feature winning car owner Mike Sala brings a pair of entries, with Troy Rutherford aboard the #19s Spike/Mopar and Mike Spencer aboard the #19w Spike/Bob Wirth Mopar.

Nebraska’s Trish Dover will be piloting Lance Pierovich’s #6p Spike/Wirth Mopar, while Hometown girl Michelle Decker of Guthrie, Oklahoma will once be piloting Shannon McQueen’s #7mx Spike/Esslinger.

As of this writing, there are likely another dozen entries with BCRA ties expected to be competing as well. We have tried to include every entry, whether owner, driver or team with BCRA ties in this report. We apologize for any errors or omissions from this article.

The 2008 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals revs up on Tuesday, January 8 and concludes with Saturday’s feature races on January 12.

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.

Visit www.bcraracing.com for daily Chili Bowl results, news and photos of BCRA affiliated drivers and owners by Floyd Busby. Visit www.chilibowl.com for complete lineups and results.