Coleman Gulick Enjoyed His Time At The Chili Bowl

Column By: EDWARD KOCHERSBERGER / RPW – BINGHAMTON, NY – Being a fairly new columnist, I have found some difficulty in writing during the winter months. We are currently experiencing a lull in the racing action. There are some drivers chasing open wheel dreams in Australia. Others are working regular jobs with hope of being able to properly fund their upcoming race season. They are also working tireless hours preparing their own equipment for competition.

Just like many drivers and teams, my own schedule consists of working long, grueling hours to help prepare for my racing travels in 2017. It is times like this that we can use memories from the heat of summer and intensity of on-track competition to motivate us through all of the hard work and treacherous weather conditions. While we can put most of these feelings in a positive perspective, the drive for racing seems to be tough to hang on to at times because it seems so far away from the moment we are in.

I was fortunate enough to be able to re-ignite that racing desire recently with one highly-motivated driver. Binghamton, New York’s Coleman Gulick and I talked recently about his adventure to one of the biggest races of the year in the United States. Coleman came within one last chance event of transferring into the A-Main of the Chili Bowl Nationals.

Coleman has a very unique perspective as to how the Chili Bowl can test a driver’s mental game as much as his or her physical game. The driver has to be able strap into that car and drive the race of their life every time he or she rolls onto the track. But you also must be prepared to properly handle the event format and waiting game that comes with competing with around 370 other competitors.

“It turns out to be such a long week. You only qualify one night. If you were racing every night it would be different. You are just sitting around waiting. Nerves can definitely get to you just sitting and watching other races. You wonder what your track conditions are going to be like and you wonder how it is all going to play out for you.”

There are infinite amounts of incredible talent that hit the track during any race at the River Spirit Event Center in Tulsa. Coleman shared the line-ups in the pair of C-Main Features with names like Jac Haudenschild, Paul McMahan, David Gravel, as well as NASCAR competitors Kyle Larson and Justin Allgaier. There is never a shortage of opposition when a driver participates in an event like this. Coleman Gulick put himself up to a great test and withstood a majority of the challenges that were thrown at him.

“You are racing against the best of the best. You kind of have to take what you can get. I started sixth in the C- main. I was being too conservative. I just got shuffled back. I hate going backwards. The car was good though.”

Coleman Gulick is a regular competitor with the the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprint Series and occasional entry with the A-Verdi Storage Containers Patriot Sprint Tour. The Chili Bowl is a unique event for drivers like Gulick. While the dirt surface may be similar there are a few differences that you cannot translate to outdoor winged-sprint car racing. So on this occasion Coleman utilized a fundamental advantage for the Chili Bowl. He fell back on his wingless sprint car experience.

“It is not going to help you too much going into the season with the winged stuff. It took me a couple of laps to get my rhythm back. It came back a lot quicker than I thought it would. I ran non-winged cars for five or six years out in Indiana. That was kind of like bread and butter. I got back into it kind of quick. I tried to hit my marks. That’s all you can do in a race car. You gotta race the race track. You can’t race the other cars on it. If you think you are going fast then that’s all you can do. Especially if you are leading. It is tough. You don’t know where the other guys are going behind you. You don’t always see what their faster line is. You are pushing your limits and you are racing the race track with other guys on it. It was tough but we did alright.”

Coleman Gulick will not race a wingless open wheeled car often this season. But his experience has helped remind us of how the challenge of racing in such big events can positively impact a driver’s career. He represented the New York State racing faithful with fellow driver and modified standout Larry Wight. He put together an incredible qualifying night and was able to enjoy most of the Chili Bowl preliminaries from the sidelines. Even though he missed transferring through to the A-Main, he gave a valiant effort in his C-Main event. He also earned the rare opportunity to race on live national television in a dirt car. While there is always disappointment with not being able to take home the prestigious Chili Bowl Nationals Golden Driller Trophy, Coleman Gulick has something to be proud of to get him through the rest of these dismal winter months.