RPW Column: My First Chili Bowl Nationals…From The Driver’s Seat…”THE DAY”
RPW Column By: DANIEL SANCHEZ / SPECIAL TO RPW – TULSA, OK – Alphabet soup Saturday at the Chili Bowl Nationals did not disappoint!
I did a live feed walk through of the pits first thing in the morning and it was great! Then, it was time to get down to business!
It wasn’t long before the second M-Main went out onto the track. It all came down to this for me. The green flag flew and I immediately went to the top. This was a mistake because there was nothing up there!
I slid back through the field but quickly got to the bottom. For several laps, it was like I was back at Lebanon Valley all those years ago. I was racing against Rob Yetman again. Rob and I were throwing slide jobs on each other and one time, he even got up on both right side tires. That allowed me to get by.
I kept my charge through the pack moving and got by a Team Ripper car with a team driver. That made me feel good.
The caution came out with only a single lap remaining. On the restart, my legs felt really cold and I didn’t have much power. When the checkered flag flew, I missed the transfer by one spot.
Why was I so cold? Come to find out, when I got out of the car, my legs were soaked with alcohol (fuel) from a fuel fitting that rattled loose during the race.
I had an awesome time. I feel like I really had the hang of it.
On of my teammates, Trey Gropp, who again is only 16 years of age, was making drivers look silly, passing them left and right as he transferred up through the soup until falling just a few spots short of a transfer in the E-Main.
The entire Mounce Motorsports team is filled with great equipment and even better people. Thank you to all my sponsors, family, and friends who made this possible. Also, shout out to my Modified crew, Mark and Jordan, who drove out from Ohio to come cheer me on along with my dad.
One last thing. Congrats to Kyle Larson on his first win after so many years of trying. Was very cool to see him finally get a Golden Driller.
I know many of you followed me through this blog and on other social media and I cannot tell you how much your support means to me. Look for us to run a few more races with the Mounce Motorsports team throughout the summer and be sure to check us out right here, one year from now, as we return to the Chili Bowl in 2021!
Thanks again everybody! #SetOnDig
I really have to thank all of my sponsors for that helped to make my dream of competing in the Chili Bowl a reality. They include:
- Silly’s Competition Engines
- The Gorman’s
- Danny Sanchez Contracting
- Cedar Peaks Enterprises
- Snap-On Tools – Chris Morris
- DMC Racing Products
- Stout Motorsports
- Schure Built Suspension
- Wilson Racing
- Elite Welding & Fabrication
- James Mission
- Rockwell Security
- Raindrop
