TULSA, Okla. - With only a few feet to spare at the line, Alex Bright held off Joey Saldana at the line to kick off the 30th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals at the Tulsa Expo Raceway in Tulsa, Okla. on a high note, by topping Tuesday’s Warren Cat Qualifying Night for his first Chili Bowl Midget car preliminary score.
Marking the second time since 2014 that Bright has made the show, he was asked how special the preliminary night win was to him.
“Absolutely amazing,” he said. “This possibly tops as one of the best wins of my career, if not it definitely ties the one big race in Australia I won, but Saturday would definitely top them all. This is big for me.”
Giving chase from the eight starting spot, Bright cracked the top five by lap six as NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ace Kyle Larson took off with the lead. Meanwhile, Bright quietly continued his march to the front.
Taking over third on lap nine, Bright jumped to second the following lap. In the right place at the right time, the caution flew on lap 11 as leader Kyle Larson found himself the victim of a slower car. Finding Cameron Hagin stalled off the exit of the second turn, the resulting impact would send Larson spinning to a stop. He would restart at the tail of the field.
“It was unfortunate he (Kyle) got caught up in a wreck,” said Bright. “He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that’s racing. We’ve all been in that position.”
“I don’t think that’s all he had,” continued Bright when asked about his chances had Larson not crashed. “It would’ve been interesting to see what would have happened. I think we definitely had something for him.”
Zach Daum challenged Bright on the restart, but would end up tripping back to third as Jonathan Beason was able to sneak past on the outside. The fight for second was anything but calm as Beason, Daum, and Spencer Bayston went after each other in nearly every turn. The race was slowed again on lap 21 for a flip in turn four.
Going for a Hail Mary slide on the restart, Beason slammed the cushion in turn four, causing a domino effect that brought Spencer Bayston to a halt. Going for the same slide again on the ensuing restart, the cushion again bit Beason, allowing Saldana to take second.
Bright would go on to edge out Saldana by 0.144 seconds at the finish line to take the win.
“I don’t know how in the hell to drive these racecars to tell you the truth,” said Saldana. “It’s just an honor to race a Midget with these guys. Last year I finished fourth, so I missed it by one. Just putting yourself in the show, I’ve never done that before so for me it’s a huge honor to say I get to race the A Main on Saturday night.”
Daum was the final transfer into Saturday’s 55 lap A-Feature.
“There are eight or 10 crown jewel events for Midget racing and this is at the top of the list so to be locked into it is big,” said Daum. “Less than eight percent of the drivers here will make the race. There is no other race in the world that tough to make. We work all year for the Chili Bowl, basically. We are always learning, always trying, and just trying to make our racecar better.”
Jonathan Beason settled for fourth with R.J. Johnson in fifth.
Chad Boespflug, Matt Sherrell, Andrew Felker, Larson and Dillon Welch rounded out the top ten.
In a stunning display, the eighth annual Vacuworx Invitational Race of Champions found a new champion as Tanner Thorson held off the Larson for the win. Taking advantage of a restart near the race’s half-way point, Thorson snagged the lead from Tracy Hines.
Joined by Larson in the process, the pair dueled nearly the entire last half of the 20 lap affair, with Thorson able to hold off several attempts at a Kyle Larson slide-job.
Tuesday’s Warren Cat Qualifying Night saw 85 drivers check in. The week’s flip count hit eight on the opening night with all drivers involved able to walk away.
The 30th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl National presented by General Tire continues on Wednesday with the River Spirit Casino Qualifying Night. The full roster of scheduled drivers, as well as information regarding the event can be found at ChiliBowl.com.
Tulsa Expo Raceway – Tulsa, OK
Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals – Jan. 12, 2016
Warren Cat Qualifying Night
Top Three Advance To Saturday’s A-Feature
1. 77B-Alex Bright
2. 17-Joey Saldana
3. 5D-Zach Daum
4. 8J-Jonathan Beason
5. 51J-R.J. Johnson
6. 57B-Chad Boespflug
7. 35M-Matt Sherrell
8. 11A-Andrew Felker
9. 71K-Kyle Larson
10. 99P-Dillon Welch
11. 14W-Matt Westfall
12. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr.
13. 17J-Chase Johnson
14. 39S-Kevin Thomas, Jr.
15. 39B-Spencer Bayston
16. 78-Nick Wean
17. 0S-Dylan Westbrook
18. 55-Nick Knepper
19. 0T-Tyler Brehm
20. 1PW-Paul White
21. 15H-Sam Hafertepe, Jr.
22. 7H-Darren Hagen
23. 22E-Cameron Hagin
24. 44X-Wesley Smith
