Rico Rocks It During Wednesday’s Chili Bowl Nationals Qualifying Night

Story By: BRYAN HULBERT / CHILI BOWL – TULSA, OK – Rico Abreu was the class of the field in Wednesday’s Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tulsa Qualifying Night at the 33rd annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire; winning for the fourth time since 2015 aboard the Safelite AutoGlass/Keith Kunz Motorsports No. 97.

Asked if he felt his comfort level at the Chili Bowl was back to where it was a few years ago, Rico replied, “Yeah, I think so. I won those back to back years and I kind of had a slump year and came back to be competitive. Last year I felt I wasn’t as good as the top two but if the roles were reversed, I think if I was in a little better position I think where they could chase me instead of me chasing them. Because those two boys [Bell and Larson], they don’t too many mistakes when they get out front. I think this year was a matter of just minimizing the mistakes”

Rolling to the green from the right of the front row, Abreu gave chase from third the opening pair of laps before working past Blake Hahn for second. Caution on Lap 3 for Matt Westfall who came to a stop in turn one, Rico worked the hub of the Tulsa Expo Raceway on the restart with the move for the lead coming on Lap 7. With a run off the bottom of the second turn, Rico secured the point with the slide through turn four.

Slowed again on the ninth circuit when Alex Bright and Sammy Swindell tangled, Abreu pulled away on the restart as the race for second went three deep as Bodine, Gravel, and McCreadie traded top to bottom for the runner-up spot with David Gravel wheeling the FMR/Mobil 1 No. 76g to second.

Holding off David Gravel on a Lap 14 restart, Rico quickly rolled away on the cushion. Picking up steam on the berm of the Tulsa Expo Raceway, Gravel closed the gap until Rico adjusted his line to the bottom of three and four while running the top of turns one and two.

“Keith (Kunz) was kind of giving me a few signals that I needed to pick up the pace a little bit and said they were making up some time on me on the bottom in three and four. All night, I kind of struggled around the bottom, but I feel like I hit some good laps there at the end of the race.”

Putting time between himself and the No. 76g, traffic entered the picture just at Abreu found the back of the field. Unphased by the backmarkers, the man with the mullet crossed the stripe 1.794 seconds to the good.

Locking into his first career championship feature event, David Gravel in second was trailed by Cole Bodine who held off the challenge of 17th starting Jake Swanson in the closing laps. Able to keep his No. 08 ahead of Tim McCreadie, the top five rounded out with Chili Bowl Rookie, Cannon McIntosh.

McCreadie would settle for sixth with Colby Copeland seventh. Having to race out of a B-Feature, Ryan Smith was the night’s Hard Charger with a run from 23rd to eighth. Robert Dalby from 15th grabbed ninth with Daniel Robinson making it three drivers in the top-ten to advance 10 positions or more.

With three nights of competition in the books, the 33rd annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire, 204 drivers have checked in so far with 73 taking part in Wednesday’s Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tulsa Qualifying Night. Currently, the Chili Bowl Flip Count standing at 22. All drivers have been able to walk away.

The 33rd Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire continues Thursday, January 17, 2019, with John Christner Trucking Qualifying Night. A roster of 75 drivers is expected to be on hand for the Thursday affair. 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.
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Hard Rock Casino Tulsa Night
Car Count: 73
Event Count: 204

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

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 15M-Jason McDougal, [2]; 2. 52-Blake Hahn, [4]; 3. 4D-Robert Dalby, [6]; 4. 91T-Tyler Thomas, [1]; 5. 45H-Anthony Pope, [3]; 6. 11C-Chett Gehrke, [7]; 7. 16C-David Camfield III, [5]; (DNS) 7HM-Heath Murry, ; (DNS) 10K-Marvin Mitchell,

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 16K-Tristan Guardino, [2]; 2. 54W-Matt Westfall, [5]; 3. 1L-Landon Simon, [3]; 4. 92-Aaron Reutzel, [7]; 5. 3JR-Jarrett Soares, [1]; 6. 87F-Johnny Kent, [6]; 7. 78-Rob Caho Sr., [4]; (DNS) 35X-Tyler Robbins,

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 3F-Geoff Ensign, [2]; 2. 28-Kory Schudy, [8]; 3. 31-Travis Berryhill, [1]; 4. 91-Jeff Stasa, [7]; 5. 29A-Davey Ray, [6]; 6. 22E-Shane Stewart, [4]; 7. 8K-Robert Spino, [5]; 8. 75X-Mike Griffiths, [3]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 57C-Cole Bodine, [2]; 2. 68W-Jake Swanson, [1]; 3. 08-Cannon McIntosh, [7]; 4. 3W-Brandon Waelti, [4]; 5. 57D-Daniel Robinson, [8]; 6. 52K-John Dyson, [5]; 7. (DNF) 9P-Tom Harris, [6]; (DQ) 2J-J.J. Yeley, [3]***No. 2J, Yeley, Disqualified for not allowing officials to tech fuel.

Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 9-Tim McCreadie, [2]; 2. 76G-David Gravel, [5]; 3. 2X-Joe Stornetta Jr, [7]; 4. 4M-J.J. Ercse, [6]; 5. 51G-Garet Williamson, [3]; 6. 96-Cody Brewer, [4]; 7. 00S-Randy Sterling, [8]; 8. 77J-John Klabunde, [1]

Heat 6 (8 Laps): 1. 87-Colby Copeland, [1]; 2. 67R-Ryan Smith, [2]; 3. 0B-Billy VanInwegen Jr, [6]; 4. 50-Daniel Adler, [5]; 5. 43-Justin Peck, [8]; 6. 9T-Tyler Shoemaker, [3]; 7. 21X-Landon Cassill, [7]; 8. (DNF) 50J-Brian Jones, [4]

Heat 7 (8 Laps): 1. 97-Rico Abreu, [2]; 2. 9F-Frankie Guerrini, [1]; 3. 7J-Shawn Jackson, [3]; 4. 67K-Holley Hollan, [8]; 5. 73K-Tyler Edwards, [4]; 6. 12-Billy Wease, [6]; 7. 14E-Jake Neal, [5]; 8. 23P-Patrick Lawson, [7]

Heat 8 (8 Laps): 1. 17-Chris Windom, [3]; 2. 13M-Dennis Gile, [2]; 3. 51A-Zachary Madrid, [7]; 4. 37X-Andrew Prather, [1]; 5. 19S-Matt Streeter, [8]; 6. 49J-Jim Gardner, [5]; 7. (DNF) 44S-Brian Beebe, [6]; 8. (DNF) 16-Joey Parker, [4]

Heat 9 (8 Laps): 1. 47-Alex Bright, [1]; 2. 1-Sammy Swindell, [5]; 3. 17K-Michael Koontz, [2]; 4. 22X-Steven Shebester, [6]; 5. 2ND-Jeb Sessums, [4]; 6. 22C-Conor Daly, [3]; 7. 14S-Clinton Boyles, [7]; (DNS) 5T-Presley Truedson,

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

C Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 73K-Tyler Edwards, [1]; 2. 96-Cody Brewer, [7]; 3. 11C-Chett Gehrke, [2]; 4. 14S-Clinton Boyles, [9]; 5. 51G-Garet Williamson, [3]; 6. 22C-Conor Daly, [8]; 7. 8K-Robert Spino, [11]; 8. 35X-Tyler Robbins, [16]; 9. 87F-Johnny Kent, [4]; 10. 77J-John Klabunde, [15]; 11. 00S-Randy Sterling, [6]; 12. (DNF) 52K-John Dyson, [5]; 13. (DNF) 44S-Brian Beebe, [10]; 14. (DNF) 75X-Mike Griffiths, [14]; 15. (DNF) 78-Rob Caho Sr., [12]; (DNS) 50J-Brian Jones,

C Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 22E-Shane Stewart, [6]; 2. 9P-Tom Harris, [9]; 3. 2ND-Jeb Sessums, [1]; 4. 12-Billy Wease, [4]; 5. 16-Joey Parker, [13]; 6. 14E-Jake Neal, [11]; 7. 16C-David Camfield III, [10]; 8. 21X-Landon Cassill, [8]; 9. 49J-Jim Gardner, [5]; 10. 5T-Presley Truedson, [16]; 11. 3JR-Jarrett Soares, [3]; 12. 9T-Tyler Shoemaker, [7]; 13. 45H-Anthony Pope, [2]; 14. 23P-Patrick Lawson, [12]; 15. (DNF) 2J-J.J. Yeley, [14]; (DNS) 7HM-Heath Murry,

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

Qualifier 1 (10 Laps): 1. 92-Aaron Reutzel, [1]; 2. 9-Tim McCreadie, [3]; 3. 1-Sammy Swindell, [5]; 4. 15M-Jason McDougal, [4]; 5. 68W-Jake Swanson, [7]; 6. 57D-Daniel Robinson, [8]; 7. 0B-Billy VanInwegen Jr, [2]; 8. 3W-Brandon Waelti, [10]; 9. 28-Kory Schudy, [6]; 10. 7J-Shawn Jackson, [9]

Qualifier 2 (10 Laps): 1. 97-Rico Abreu, [3]; 2. 87-Colby Copeland, [2]; 3. 08-Cannon McIntosh, [5]; 4. 17-Chris Windom, [6]; 5. 91-Jeff Stasa, [1]; 6. 16K-Tristan Guardino, [4]; 7. 43-Justin Peck, [8]; 8. 29A-Davey Ray, [10]; 9. 9F-Frankie Guerrini, [7]; 10. 17K-Michael Koontz, [9]

Qualifier 3 (10 Laps): 1. 52-Blake Hahn, [3]; 2. 47-Alex Bright, [2]; 3. 91T-Tyler Thomas, [10]; 4. 67R-Ryan Smith, [1]; 5. 3F-Geoff Ensign, [4]; 6. 54W-Matt Westfall, [6]; 7. 2X-Joe Stornetta Jr, [5]; 8. 50-Daniel Adler, [9]; 9. 4M-J.J. Ercse, [7]; 10. 19S-Matt Streeter, [8]

Qualifier 4 (10 Laps): 1. 57C-Cole Bodine, [4]; 2. 67K-Holley Hollan, [2]; 3. 76G-David Gravel, [6]; 4. 4D-Robert Dalby, [3]; 5. 13M-Dennis Gile, [1]; 6. 22X-Steven Shebester, [7]; 7. 31-Travis Berryhill, [9]; 8. 1L-Landon Simon, [8]; 9. 51A-Zachary Madrid, [5]; 10. 37X-Andrew Prather, [10]

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

B Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 68W-Jake Swanson, [1]; 2. 43-Justin Peck, [7]; 3. 29A-Davey Ray, [9]; 4. 67R-Ryan Smith, [2]; 5. 0B-Billy VanInwegen Jr, [6]; 6. 2X-Joe Stornetta Jr, [4]; 7. 73K-Tyler Edwards, [13]; 8. 3W-Brandon Waelti, [8]; 9. 96-Cody Brewer, [14]; 10. 14S-Clinton Boyles, [16]; 11. 9F-Frankie Guerrini, [10]; 12. 11C-Chett Gehrke, [15]; 13. 13M-Dennis Gile, [5]; 14. 7J-Shawn Jackson, [11]; 15. 28-Kory Schudy, [3]; 16. (DNF) 17K-Michael Koontz, [12]

B Feature 2 (15 Laps): 1. 54W-Matt Westfall, [1]; 2. 57D-Daniel Robinson, [3]; 3. 16K-Tristan Guardino, [2]; 4. 9P-Tom Harris, [14]; 5. 31-Travis Berryhill, [6]; 6. 22E-Shane Stewart, [13]; 7. 91-Jeff Stasa, [4]; 8. 1L-Landon Simon, [9]; 9. 50-Daniel Adler, [8]; 10. 2ND-Jeb Sessums, [15]; 11. 51A-Zachary Madrid, [7]; 12. 12-Billy Wease, [16]; 13. 19S-Matt Streeter, [11]; 14. 37X-Andrew Prather, [12]; 15. 4M-J.J. Ercse, [10]; 16. (DNF) 22X-Steven Shebester, [5]

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

A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 97-Rico Abreu, [2]; 2. 76G-David Gravel, [4]; 3. 57C-Cole Bodine, [1]; 4. 68W-Jake Swanson, [17]; 5. 08-Cannon McIntosh, [7]; 6. 9-Tim McCreadie, [6]; 7. 87-Colby Copeland, [11]; 8. 67R-Ryan Smith, [23]; 9. 4D-Robert Dalby, [15]; 10. 57D-Daniel Robinson, [20]; 11. 52-Blake Hahn, [3]; 12. 43-Justin Peck, [19]; 13. 92-Aaron Reutzel, [10]; 14. 47-Alex Bright, [12]; 15. 1-Sammy Swindell, [5]; 16. 9P-Tom Harris, [24]; 17. 54W-Matt Westfall, [18]; 18. 16K-Tristan Guardino, [22]; 19. 15M-Jason McDougal, [14]; 20. 67K-Holley Hollan, [13]; 21. 3F-Geoff Ensign, [16]; 22. (DNF) 91T-Tyler Thomas, [9]; 23. (DNF) 17-Chris Windom, [8]; 24. (DNF) 29A-Davey Ray, [21]

Lap Leader(s): Cole Bodine 1-7; Rico Abreu 8-25
Hard Charger: Ryan Smith +15