West Coast Thursday Night Chili Bowl Qualifying Night Results

By Robert Haugh

Leading the heap of West Coast entries in Thursday’s Chili Bowl qualifying action was Brad Sweet (Grass Valley, CA) aboard the Kasey Kahne Racing #49X Sage Fruit-Great Clips Spike/Speedway Engines Toyota, who claimed third in the A-Main, locking himself into Saturday’s 50-lap Chili Bowl A-Main finale.

2011 USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car champion Richard VanderWeerd (Visalia, CA) turned heads, moving up from ninth to claim fourth in Mike Sala’s #19S VanderWeerd Construction-Battery Worx-Weldway Construction Spike/Sala Chevy.

Rico Abreu (Rutherford, CA), one of California’s young guns charged from 14^th to claim seventh aboard Keith Kunz Motorsports’ #67K Abreu Vineyards-Stadelhofer Construction-TRD-Toyota-Kwik Change Bullet/Speedway Toyota.

Brian Camarillo (Camarillo, CA) gave the West Coast another Top 10, claiming tenth in Bill Camarillo’s #22 Agromin-Unicor-Roy’s Towing-Waste Management-Open Range Spike/Fontana while Chad Boat (Phoenix, AZ) claimed 11^th aboard Robbie & Gaye Allen’s #12B ABC Body Shop-NAPA Martin Seniour-Billy Boat Exhaust-Electromotive Spike/Esslinger.

Several West Coast entries were involved in a late race incident, including Damion “The Demon” Gardner (Concord, CA) in 16th aboard Loyet Motorsports’ #05G Vacuworx International-Loyet Landscape Maintenance Inc.-Meramec Heights Collision Center-Butler Built Professional Seat Systems-Beaver Stripes & Graphics Spike/Esslinger, P.J. Jones (Torrance, CA) in 18th aboard the Kruseman Motorsports #98K American Racing Wheels-Araid by PG-BMRS Spike/Esslinger, Shane Golobic (Fremont, CA) in 19^th aboard Doug Bock’s #26 Get Som Sports-Bicycles Inc. (Ft. Worth, TX)-Country Builders-Piners Welding Supply & Driveline Service Spike/Esslinger, rookie contender Ryan Bernal (Hollister, CA) in 21st aboard Tom Ford’s #72 King Racing Products-A&A Precision Machine-Berry Pack-JFM-Pacific Coast Maint. JFM/Bob Wirth and J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, AZ) in 22^nd aboard Triple Crown Racing’s #1J Ohsweken Speedway-Rockwell Security-Hoosier Twister/Toyota. Both Golobic and Garnder claimed Heat races, with Golobic also winning in A-Qualifier 1. Bernal picked up the victory in A-Qualifier 3.

Travis Berryhill (American Canyon, CA) battled handling issues in B-Main 2, dropping from a transfer spot after spinning, coming home ninth in the Manic Racing #11 Vallejo Coin Exchange-Redline Oil-Racing 2 Cure-Fairfield Inn & Suites-Advance Racing Stealth/Fontana. Pete Davis (Pleasanton, CA) was running one spot shy of a transfer when he was penalized to the back near the end of B-Main 1, where he placed ninth in his #00 Hot Head Header-Hot Products Engineering Design Co. Stealth/Esslinger.

2011 USAC-Western States Midgets Rookie-of-the-Year Connor Kassik (Lake Havasu, AZ) has a night he’d likely rather not remember aboard the Neverlift Motorsports #15K Crysalli-Manitowoc-Fruitful Juice-Prickett's Dist. TCR/Chevy. In Heat 2, Kassik was running up front when he was collected in an incident that cut a tire, causing him to DNF and be scored in 8^th. Starting in the rear of C-Main 2, Kassik was involved in two separate early incidents while moving up through the field. After racing itno to the Top 5, Kassik drove in hard, hitting the wall and flipping violently. After reviewing the damage, Kassik and the Neverlift Motorsports team decided that car was not repairable, ending Kassik’s 2011 Chili Bowl prematurely.

Other West Coast entries competing on Thursday night included Tim Pyle (Gresham, OR) in the Warren Pyle-Tim Pyle #71P Pacific Power Products-Perkins Pacific Spike/Brayton Chevrolet, Terry Goodwin (Laveen, AZ) in Misty Goodwin’s #2G American Building Science Services-Combs Construction Spike/Fontana, Oklahoma’s Michelle Decker in the Shannon McQueen Racing (Bakersfield, CA) #7D Waurika Truck & Tire-Carter Custom Finishes-Starrship Trucking-Simpson Race Products-Quantum Consulting Spike/Esslinger, Oklahoma’s Tanner Berryhill in the Kruseman Motorsports #17K Lucas Oil-Americash Advance-Schoenfeld Spike/Esslinger, Oklahoma’s Kip Hughes aboard Mountain View, CA car owner Cliff Blackwell’s #27C blackwellmotorsports.com-Pat McVicker Oilfield Services-Cowboy Pumping Unit Sales & Repair-MAC Tools-Danny Stratton-Nick's Pumping Inc. Stealth/Gaerte Chevrolet, Rick Shuman in Dave Burkhart’s #2AZ Kaiser Alexco Aluminum-Ultimate Imports-Beadle Bug Patrol-Die Cast Cars Now Cobra/Fontana and RMMRA Midget rookie-of-the-year Clint Schubert (Calhan, CO) in the George Schubert #44S Schubert's Sod-Dale's Paint-Cooper Head Road-Carquest Spike/Fontana.

Thursday’s Suburban Chevrolet Qualifier Results from the 26th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals:
Heat 1: 3. #44S Clint Schubert, Calhan, CO


Heat 2: 1. #26 Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA; 2. #1J J.J. Yeley, Phoenix, AZ; 3. #98K P.J. Jones, Torrance, CA; 4. #19S Richard VanderWeerd, Visalia, CA; 7. #2AZ Rick Shuman, Gilbert, AZ; 8. #15K Conner Kassik, Lake Havasu, AZ


Heat 3: 2. #22 Brian Camarillo, Camarillo, CA; 5. #11B Travis Berryhill, American Canyon, CA; 6. #27C Kip Hughes, Enid, OK


Heat 4: 1. #05G Damion Gardner, Concord, CA; 4. #7D Michelle Decker, Guthrie, OK; 7. #2G Terry Goodwin, Laveen, AZ


Heat 6: 2. #49X Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA; 7. #71P Tim Pyle, Gresham, OR


Heat 7: 3. #12B Chad Boat, Phoenix, AZ; 5. #00 Pete Davis, Pleasanton, CA


Heat 8: 2. #72 Ryan Bernal, Hollister, CA; 3. #67K Rico Abreu, Rutherford, CA; 7. #17K Tanner Berryhill


C Main 1: 7. Shuman; 10. Goodwin


C Main 2: 6. Kassik,  9. Tanner Berryhill, Bixby, DNS -- Pyle


A Qualifier 1: 1. Golobic, 3. J.J. Yeley,  6. Gardner, 7. Davis, 10. Schubert


A Qualifier 2: 2. Abreu, 4. P.J. Jones, 5. Camarillo


A Qualifier 3: 1. Bernal, 2. Richard VanderWeerd, 10. Hughes


A Qualifier 4: 2. Sweet, 4. Boat, 6. Travis Berryhill, 7. Decker


B Main 1: 9. Davis


B Main 2: 9. Travis Berryhill, 11. Decker, 13. Hughes, 16. Schubert


 “A” Main: 3. Sweet, 4. R. VanderWeerd, 7. Abreu, 10. Camarillo, 11 Boat, 16. Gardner, 18. P.J. Jones, 19. Golobic, 21. Bernal, 22. Yeley

For more information on the 26^th Annual Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, visit www.chilibowl.com.