Kyle Larson Motors To Tuesday Chili Bowl Nationals Qualifying Night Win

Story By: BRYAN HULBERT / CHILI BOWL – TULSA, OK – Winning in preliminary night competition for the fifth time at the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire, California’s Kyle Larson grabbed the lead on Lap 6 of Tuesday’s Warren CAT Qualifying Night A-Feature then went unchallenged to punch his ticket into his eighth 55 Lap championship event.

Chasing Zach Daum, the first five laps, Larson tested top and bottom on the Tulsa Expo Raceway before rolling by the Illinois racer on the cushion exiting turn two. Moving top shelf in pursuit of the McDonalds No. 01, Daum as unable to keep pace as Larson reeled in slower traffic.

“That might be the second time I got Zach (Daum) in a prelim night,” commented Larson. “They work the track before the feature so as the leader you just run the bottom until you hear somebody or see somebody. I was just able to get around him….It was just nice to get to the lead there and run a good pace, but I was hoping I would get a caution before I got close to traffic.”

Working backmarkers by Lap 9, Larson’s advantage changed very little before the caution lights lit up working Lap 16 a Kyle Jones spun his No. 7u almost directly in front of Kyle Larson. Able to avoid, Larson brought the field to speed with the lap count adjusted to the last fully completed lap.

Battling for second on the restart, Zach Daum came under fire from the Lonestar Speedway No. 15h of Sam Hafertepe, Jr. Briefly exchanging the runner-up spot, the Toyota No. 5d reclaimed the position, but the brief battle was enough to allow Kyle Larson room to run away.

Running into traffic once more, the caution flag flew again with five laps to run as Larry Wight’s night ended with a cloud of smoke billowing out from beneath the bonnet of the No. 99.

Taking third prior to the caution, Jonathan Beason, from tenth, worked all over the back bumper of Zach Daum on the restart as the field continued to chase Larson. Smooth on the cushion, Larson crossed with 1.087 seconds of breathing room. Able to hold off Beason the final five laps, Zach Daum made his seventh championship event. Racing in and out of the top five most of the A-Feature, Michael Faccinto grabbed fourth with Sam Hafertepe, Jr. finishing fifth.

Fourth the first 16 laps, Tyler Courtney’s run dimmed in the closing laps to sixth. Dillon Welch in seventh was trailed by Chili Bowl Rookie, Jesse Colwell. Ninth went to Alex Bowman with Tanner Berryhill making up the top ten.

Going 20 laps in the 11th annual Vacuworx Invitational Race of Champions, Tanner Thorson led nonstop for his second victory. Bringing a brand-new Clyde Lamar owned entry, the famed No. 3c from California was untouchable. Outrunning Kyle Larson to the win, the final podium step went to the hard-charging Christopher Bell, who came up 12 positions. Ryan Bernal and J.J. Yeley completed the top-five.

Tuesday’s Warren CAT Qualifying Night at the 33rd annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire saw 69 drivers drawing in to bring the event total so far to 132 drivers checking in. Through the second night of action, the Chili Bowl Flip Count is up to 15. All drivers have been able to walk away.

The 33rd Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire continues Wednesday, January 16, 2019, with Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Tulsa Qualifying Night. The River Spirit Expo Center will open at 9:00 A.M. with Pit Pass sales starting at 11:00 A.M. Hot Laps will get underway at 4:00 P.M. with racing at 5:00 P.M. (CT). A field of 74 drivers is expected to take to the track.

Results:
Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire
Tulsa Expo Raceway – Tulsa, Okla.
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
Warren CAT Qualifying Night
Car Count: 69
Event Count: 132

Heat Races: Top 40 in passing points advance to Qualifiers.

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [2]; 2. 89-Tanner Berryhill, [4]; 3. 18-Tony Bruce Jr, [7]; 4. 32-Gary Taylor, [3]; 5. 35-Sterling Cling, [8]; 6. 15L-Merril Lamb, [6]; 7. (DNF) 5J-Jeff Crook, [1]; 8. (DNF) 77U-Chris Urish, [5]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 99-Larry Wight, [1]; 2. F5-Tye Mihocko, [4]; 3. 7U-Kyle Jones, [5]; 4. 17D-Donovan Wise, [3]; 5. 20H-Noah Harris, [6]; 6. 91A-Chris Andrews, [7]; 7. 45-Roger Crockett, [2]; 8. 84-Jeremy Campbell, [8]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 1K-Brayton Lynch, [1]; 2. 55X-Alex Bowman, [6]; 3. 15C-Carson Garrett, [2]; 4. 74M-Adam Pierson, [5]; 5. 41B-Brad Wyatt, [4]; 6. 37-Terry Babb, [7]; 7. 3D-Dustin Gilbert, [8]; 8. 51W-Curtis Jones, [3]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 75-Bryan Stanfill, [1]; 2. 5D-Zach Daum, [7]; 3. 71-Jesse Colwell, [8]; 4. 2W-Wyatt Burks, [5]; 5. 5B-Bobby Brewer, [4]; 6. 98B-Joe Boyles, [3]; 7. (DNF) 7F-Travis Ashwood, [6]; 8. (DNF) 14-Harley Hollan, [2]

Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 01-Kyle Larson, [4]; 2. 29-Tim Buckwalter, [2]; 3. 47B-Andrew Layser, [6]; 4. 31B-Michael Faccinto, [5]; 5. 21M-Michelle Melton, [1]; 6. 85-Matt Johnson, [7]; 7. 17F-Devin Camfield, [3]; 8. PE3-Andy Bradley, [8]

Heat 6 (8 Laps): 1. 7C-Tyler Courtney, [2]; 2. 3S-Brian Shirley, [3]; 3. 44X-Wesley Smith, [1]; 4. 9JR-Derek Hagar, [6]; 5. 46-Kenney Johnson, [5]; 6. 15W-Jeff Wimmenauer, [4]; 7. 44-Don Droud Jr, [7]; (DNS) 10J-John Hunt,

Heat 7 (8 Laps): 1. 2S-Travis Scott, [1]; 2. 7M-Brody Roa, [5]; 3. 4F-Chad Frewaldt, [4]; 4. 3T-Taylor Peterson, [2]; 5. 45K-Kyle Hammer, [3]; 6. (DNF) 84M-Alex DeCamp, [7]; 7. (DNF) 27Z-Zane Hendricks, [6]

Heat 8 (8 Laps): 1. 8J-Jonathan Beason, [2]; 2. 25S-Frank Flud, [3]; 3. 27J-Jake Bubak, [5]; 4. 17E-Blake Edwards, [7]; 5. 7AU-Mark Cooper, [6]; 6. 23X-Billy Lawhead, [1]; 7. 88A-Andy Michner, [4]

Heat 9 (8 Laps): 1. 99P-Dillon Welch, [2]; 2. 2B-Jason Grady, [6]; 3. 42-Chris Cochran, [7]; 4. 51M-Slater Helt, [3]; 5. 9U-Doug McCune, [5]; 6. 44D-Evan Turner, [1]; 7. 94K-Christopher Polvoorde, [4]

C-Features: Top 4 advance to corresponding B-Feature.

C Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 84M-Alex DeCamp, [4]; 2. 77U-Chris Urish, [11]; 3. 21M-Michelle Melton, [5]; 4. 9U-Doug McCune, [1]; 5. 45-Roger Crockett, [12]; 6. 5B-Bobby Brewer, [2]; 7. 98B-Joe Boyles, [7]; 8. 17F-Devin Camfield, [9]; 9. 14-Harley Hollan, [13]; 10. 23X-Billy Lawhead, [8]; 11. 3D-Dustin Gilbert, [6]; 12. (DNF) 88A-Andy Michner, [10]; 13. (DNF) 37-Terry Babb, [3]; (DNS) 7F-Travis Ashwood, ; (DNS) 10J-John Hunt,

C Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 91A-Chris Andrews, [2]; 2. 15W-Jeff Wimmenauer, [6]; 3. 44-Don Droud Jr, [7]; 4. 85-Matt Johnson, [3]; 5. 45K-Kyle Hammer, [4]; 6. 44D-Evan Turner, [8]; 7. 15L-Merril Lamb, [5]; 8. (DNF) 51W-Curtis Jones, [11]; 9. (DNF) 41B-Brad Wyatt, [1]; 10. (DNF) PE3-Andy Bradley, [10]; 11. (DNF) 94K-Christopher Polvoorde, [9]; 12. (DNF) 84-Jeremy Campbell, [12]; (DNS) 5J-Jeff Crook, ; (DNS) 27Z-Zane Hendricks,

Qualifiers: Top 16 in combined passing points advance to the A-Feature.

Qualifier 1: 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [4]; 2. 5D-Zach Daum, [6]; 3. 71-Jesse Colwell, [5]; 4. 89-Tanner Berryhill, [3]; 5. 44X-Wesley Smith, [9]; 6. 25S-Frank Flud, [1]; 7. 29-Tim Buckwalter, [7]; 8. 20H-Noah Harris, [10]; 9. 1K-Brayton Lynch, [2]; 10. 15C-Carson Garrett, [8]

Qualifier 2: 1. 7C-Tyler Courtney, [4]; 2. 01-Kyle Larson, [6]; 3. 7U-Kyle Jones, [1]; 4. F5-Tye Mihocko, [3]; 5. 7M-Brody Roa, [5]; 6. 32-Gary Taylor, [9]; 7. 7AU-Mark Cooper, [10]; 8. 74M-Adam Pierson, [8]; 9. 75-Bryan Stanfill, [2]; 10. 4F-Chad Frewaldt, [7]

Qualifier 3: 1. 27J-Jake Bubak, [1]; 2. 18-Tony Bruce Jr, [5]; 3. 8J-Jonathan Beason, [4]; 4. 47B-Andrew Layser, [3]; 5. 55X-Alex Bowman, [6]; 6. 2S-Travis Scott, [2]; 7. 9JR-Derek Hagar, [7]; 8. 2W-Wyatt Burks, [8]; 9. 3T-Taylor Peterson, [10]; 10. 17D-Donovan Wise, [9]

Qualifier 4: 1. 31B-Michael Faccinto, [8]; 2. 99P-Dillon Welch, [4]; 3. 17E-Blake Edwards, [1]; 4. 3S-Brian Shirley, [2]; 5. 42-Chris Cochran, [5]; 6. 35-Sterling Cling, [7]; 7. 51M-Slater Helt, [9]; 8. 2B-Jason Grady, [6]; 9. (DNF) 99-Larry Wight, [3]; 10. (DNF) 46-Kenney Johnson, [10]

B-Features: Top 4 advance to the A-Feature.

B Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 99-Larry Wight, [9]; 2. 74M-Adam Pierson, [8]; 3. 25S-Frank Flud, [5]; 4. 84M-Alex DeCamp, [13]; 5. 4F-Chad Frewaldt, [11]; 6. 2B-Jason Grady, [3]; 7. 32-Gary Taylor, [4]; 8. 77U-Chris Urish, [14]; 9. 9U-Doug McCune, [16]; 10. 75-Bryan Stanfill, [10]; 11. 17D-Donovan Wise, [12]; 12. 21M-Michelle Melton, [15]; 13. (DNF) 44X-Wesley Smith, [2]; 14. (DNF) 7AU-Mark Cooper, [6]; 15. (DNF) 51M-Slater Helt, [7]; 16. (DNF) 42-Chris Cochran, [1]

B Feature 2 (15 Laps): 1. 17E-Blake Edwards, [1]; 2. 3S-Brian Shirley, [2]; 3. 9JR-Derek Hagar, [6]; 4. 29-Tim Buckwalter, [5]; 5. 2S-Travis Scott, [3]; 6. 2W-Wyatt Burks, [8]; 7. 1K-Brayton Lynch, [9]; 8. 46-Kenney Johnson, [12]; 9. 15W-Jeff Wimmenauer, [14]; 10. 85-Matt Johnson, [16]; 11. 15C-Carson Garrett, [11]; 12. 35-Sterling Cling, [4]; 13. 20H-Noah Harris, [7]; 14. 44-Don Droud Jr, [15]; 15. 3T-Taylor Peterson, [10]; 16. (DNF) 91A-Chris Andrews, [13]

VIROC XI

VIROC XI (20 Laps): 1. 3C-Tanner Thorson, [2]; 2. 01-Kyle Larson, [4]; 3. 71W-Christopher Bell, [15]; 4. 39-Ryan Bernal, [1]; 5. 2J-J.J. Yeley, [3]; 6. 67-Logan Seavey, [5]; 7. 47-Danny Stratton, [6]; 8. 9-Tim McCreadie, [11]; 9. 97-Rico Abreu, [14]; 10. 67Z-Kasey Kahne, [7]; 11. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer, [10]; 12. 05-Brad Loyet, [17]; 13. 1-Sammy Swindell, [16]; 14. 84X-Chad Boat, [13]; 15. 11-Tracy Hines, [9]; 16. 36-Dave Darland, [12]; 17. 92-Aaron Reutzel, [8]; 18. 1R-Brad Sweet, [19]; 19. 22-John Heydenreich, [20]; 20. (DNF) 71G-Damion Gardner, [18]

A-Feature: Top 2 advance to Saturday’s A-Feature.

A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 01-Kyle Larson, [2]; 2. 5D-Zach Daum, [1]; 3. 8J-Jonathan Beason, [10]; 4. 31B-Michael Faccinto, [5]; 5. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [3]; 6. 7C-Tyler Courtney, [4]; 7. 99P-Dillon Welch, [7]; 8. 71-Jesse Colwell, [8]; 9. 55X-Alex Bowman, [11]; 10. 89-Tanner Berryhill, [12]; 11. 47B-Andrew Layser, [16]; 12. 74M-Adam Pierson, [19]; 13. 7M-Brody Roa, [14]; 14. 29-Tim Buckwalter, [24]; 15. 7U-Kyle Jones, [15]; 16. 17E-Blake Edwards, [18]; 17. 18-Tony Bruce Jr, [6]; 18. 25S-Frank Flud, [21]; 19. 9JR-Derek Hagar, [22]; 20. 84M-Alex DeCamp, [23]; 21. 3S-Brian Shirley, [20]; 22. F5-Tye Mihocko, [13]; 23. (DNF) 99-Larry Wight, [17]; 24. (DNF) 27J-Jake Bubak, [9]

Lap Leader(s): Zach Daum 1-5; Kyle Larson 6-25
Hard Charger: Timmy Buckwalter +10