— While Christopher Bell finally put an end to Keith Kunz’s miserable luck-to-date at this year’s Chili Bowl by winning Wednesday night’s preliminary feature, Sheldon Haudenschild found himself in the same boat of pitfalls that bit teammates Kyle Larson and Rico Abreu on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
Haudenschild got tangled up with Shane Cottle following the resumption of the first qualifier, sending him to the rear of the field and spoiling an anticipated strong run.
His No. 01 ENEOS Bullet-Toyota stalled to a stop on the ensuing restart, further complicating his night. Haudenschild eventually finished 12th in the second B-Feature.
— NASCAR on FOX analyst Kenny Wallace was in the house on Thursday night, taking in the sights and sounds of the 31st annual Chili Bowl Nationals as he prepares to kick off his own dirt racing schedule this year.
Wallace, who predominantly runs an open-wheel dirt modified, spoke both on his planned calendar and his desire to bring brothers Rusty and Mike out to Tulsa one year for the Chili Bowl.
“Man, I wish I could get Rusty and Mike down here to see this deal,” Wallace said. “I learned about dirt 10 years ago and fell in love with it. This is a great event.”
Asked if he would ever run the event, Wallace was coy, but answered with a big smile and turned the discussion from Toyota’s midget program to his own modified program that runs with Toyota support.
“I’m a Toyota guy. Our Toyota steel block, 409 cubic inch motor creates controversy, but it wins a lot of races. It gets about 700 horsepower … but I don’t have any more than anyone else.”
Wallace confirmed that he plans to kick off his schedule with dirt modified races at North Florida Speedway, Feb. 3-5, before contesting events at East Bay Raceway Park and Volusia Speedway Park during the annual Florida Speedweeks.
— The Fastenal Flip Count ended the night at 23 through three days of racing, with Justin Allgaier turning over in turn four on the last lap of Thursday night’s A-Feature and becoming the final tally on the night.
Allgaier was running fourth and would have started on the front row of one of Saturday’s B-Features if not for the incident, which also collected fifth-running Thomas Meseraull.
— The Bryan Clauson Sportsmanship Award will be presented on Saturday by Spire Sports + Entertainment, in honor of the life and legacy of the late Bryan Clauson, who won the 2014 edition of the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals.
In what is expected to become one of the highest honors awarded each year at the Chili Bowl, the award will be given to the driver showing the most respect for the sport and for his fellow racers throughout the week-long event.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: editor@racechaseronline.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
Email Race Chaser Online: news@racechaseronline.com
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