Pole Dash Added to Friday Night at the Chili Bowl; Tail Tank Rule Implemented

Posted by Racers Guide in Latest News, Sprint Cars & Midgets 9 years ago 1763 Views Comments Off

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TULSA, Okla. (December 16, 2015) A bit of a change is in line for drivers who finish in the top-three on their qualifying night during the 30th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire.

Whereas traditionally, a draw has been held following Friday night’s races to determine the Top 12 lineup in Saturday’s championship event, drivers will instead let their skills speak for themselves with head-to-head battles and a chance to rise from 12th to the pole of Saturday’s A-Feature.

The traditional draw will still take place, but this is simply to determine the order of each two lap battle.

The format will work like this:

* The top three drivers in the Preliminary “A” Main finishes will qualify for Saturday’s “A” Main and will be locked into a Pole Dash on Friday night.
* Starting with the third place drivers, each will draw for positions 9-12. Second place drivers will draw for positions 5-8. Preliminary night winners will draw for positions 1-4.
* Once each of the 12 qualifying drivers have drawn, they will then race head-to-head starting with the drivers who drew 11th and 12th with the lower seeded driver getting lane choice.
* Drivers will run two (2) laps with the winner moving on to face the next lower seeded driver until the first 12 positions have been earned.
* The remainder of the field will consist of six (6) drivers who will advance from each B main to the A for a total of 24 cars (and one possible defending champion provisional.

Asked why to change, Competition Director, Matt Ward explained, “We watched this done at Knoxville this year and it really appealed to us. We want to give it a try and see how it works this year, but we fell that it will give the drivers a fairer shot at their starting position for Saturday’s 55 lap feature event.”

In talking with Mr. Ward, the subject of car appearance rules came up, and why they had to be put in place.

“The Chili Bowl has seen some wild designs, and that’s part of what makes this event so unique, but it can also hurt the competition when you stray too far from the traditional Midget, and that is something we are having to address now with more and more cars running the square tail tanks,” said Ward. “We have had to come up with a ruling on the square tank due to some teams modifying it to basically make it act like a wing, so we will be enforcing that this year as well.”

The rule on the square tail tank reads:

* Square Tail Tanks that have been used in the past 5 years will be allowed on the car. Tail tanks must be smooth and cannot have any airfoils that would act is such a way as to produce downforce on the rear of the car. This includes Wickerbills, Side Panels, Spoilers, and Wings of any kind. Any team found to be in violation is subject to immediate disqualification and will not be allowed to resume until the infraction has been corrected.

Appearance rules put in place in 2015 will still be enforced, and read as such:

* Right and Left side cockpit body panels may be a maximum of thirty-six (36) inches high as measured from the bottom frame tube at rear motor plate and projected rearward twenty-three (23) inches with a minimum eight (8) inches vertical opening from the afore mentioned point forward, including side visor
* Side visors on roll cage will be limited to eight (8) inches tall.
* Panels attached to nerf bars will not be permitted.
* All paneling must not extend past edge of frame rails more than thickness of material.
* One (1″) inch turnout allowed on all body and sail panel edges, except sun visor.
* The number of allowable wheels is restricted to two (2) front wheels and two (2) rear wheels on each car. Use of anything other than a wheel and tire assembly is prohibited.

A reminder to all teams, your Right Rear Tire must be a Hoosier.

Anyone with questions about the upcoming Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire can contact Matt Ward at (918) 995-1650. For more information, and continued updates on the Chili Bowl Nationals, log onto http://www.chilibowl.com.

Fans can also follow the Chili Bowl at http://www.Facebook.com/cbnationals and Twitter (@cbnationals).

Event Information:

What: 30th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl presented by General Tire
Where: Tulsa Expo Raceway – quarter mile clay oval inside the River Spirit Expo Center at Tulsa’s Expo Square
Location: 4145 E 21st St, Tulsa, OK 74114
When: January 12-16, 2016

Early Entry Deadline: December 18, 2015

For questions regarding entries, please contact Bryan Hulbert at (918) 838-3777. For questions regarding Parking, as well as event procedure and rulings, please contact Matt Ward at (918) 995-1650.

Tuesday – Warren CAT Qualifying Night plus 8th annual VIROC
Wednesday – River Spirit Casino Qualifying Night
Thursday – John Christner Trucking Qualifying Night
Friday – Vacuworx Global Qualifying Night
Saturday – Lucas Oil Championship Feature Events

Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals Champions:

Year – Driver (Owner)

2015 – Rico Abreu (Keith Kunz)
2014 – Bryan Clauson (Joe Dooling/Dooling Marketing)
2013 – Kevin Swindell (Swindell Motorsports/Curb Records)
2012 – Kevin Swindell (Swindell Motorsports/Curb Records)
2011 – Kevin Swindell (Swindell Motorsports/Curb Records)
2010 – Kevin Swindell (Swindell Motorsports/Curb Records)
2009 – Sammy Swindell (Swindell Motorsports/Curb Records)
2008 – Damion Gardner (Jason Leffler)
2007 – Tony Stewart (Tony Stewart Motorsports)
2006 – Tim McCreadie (Steve Smith)
2005 – Tracy Hines (Wilke – Pak)
2004 – Cory Kruseman (Andy Bondio)
2003 – Dan Boorse (Dan Boorse)
2002 – Tony Stewart (Keith Kunz)
2001 – Jay Drake (Keith Kunz)
2000 – Cory Kruseman (Andy Bondio)
1999 – Dan Boorse (Dan Boorse)
1998 – Sammy Swindell (Pete Willoughby)
1997 – Billy Boat (John Lawson)
1996 – Sammy Swindell (Rusty Kunz / Jay McKinnie)
1995 – Donnie Beechler (Zarounian Motorsports)
1994 – Andy Hillenburg (Keith Kuntz / Rusty Kunz)
1993 – Dave Blaney (Ralph Potter)
1992 – Sammy Swindell (Dave Ellis)
1991 – Lealand McSpadden (Andy Bondio)
1990 – John Heydenreich (Tony Finley)
1989 – Sammy Swindell (Jack Runyon)
1988 – Scott Hatton (Jerry Hatton)
1987 – Rich Vogler (Bob Lowe)

VIROC Champions: Sammy Swindell (2015, 2012, 2011, 2009), Kyle Larson (2014), Kevin Swindell (2013), Brad Loyet (2010)

Trade Show: A long standing tradition at the Chili Bowl, the Trade Show, which is open to the public each day (Tuesday through Saturday), is free of charge. All variety of racing products, apparel and more is available with well over 100 vendors. The Trade Show still has space available. Anyone looking to be a part of the Trade Show can contact the Chili Bowl office at 918-838-3777. The Trade Show covers approximately 20,000 square feet.

Chili Bowl Online: All official news regarding the 30th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl National presented by General Tire can be found at http://www.chilibowl.com. Updates throughout the

Chili Bowl can be found via Facebook and Twitter at http://www.facebook.com/chilibowlnationals and http://www.twitter.com/cbnationals.

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Lucas Oil Products is the title sponsor of the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals. More information about the products available from Lucas Oil can be found at http://www.lucasoil.com. General Tire is the presenting sponsor of the Chili Bowl. A complete inventory of tires offered by General Tire can be found at http://www.generaltire.com.

Vacuworx Global is the title sponsor of the VIROC which brings past Chili Bowl Champions as well as champions from around the world together for a single 20 lap race to see who is the best of the best. For more information about Vacuworx log onto www.vacuworx.com. For more information on past champions of the VIROC, log onto www.theviroc.com.

For more information on the Chili Bowl log onto http://www.chilibowl.com or call 918-838-3777.

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