Over 80 West Coast Entries Hoping to Bring Coveted Golden Driller Trophy Home

By Robert Haugh

Attracting the best Midget racers from throughout the U.S. and beyond, as well as a myriad of racing stars from an array of series including three-time and reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart and reigning NASCAR Nationwide series champion Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., over 80 drivers and teams from the West Coast will be gunning at capturing the coveted Golden Driller trophy awarded on Saturday, January 14^th in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

With 260-plus entries, it’s no wonder that the 26^th Annual Chili Bowl Midget Nationals is the Super Bowl of Midget racing.

An array of West Coast Midget champions, feature winners, veterans, young guns and car owners, many representing the Bay Cities Racing Association, USAC-Western States Midgets, Washington Midget Racing Association, Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association, Northwest Wingless Tour and NOMA Midgets are entered.

After four preliminary qualifying nights (Tuesday through Friday), Saturday’s lineups are based on points acquired in preliminary night’s race action.

Of the West Coast entries, Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, CA) in Keith Kunz Motorsports #67 Bullet/Speedway Toyota, Danny Stratton (Riverside, CA) aboard Steve and Diana Hampton’s #77S Twister/Esslinger, 2011 USAC-Western States and VRA Midget champion Cory Kruseman of Ventura, CA (two-time Chili Bowl champion, 2004, 2000) aboard the Kruseman Motorsports #21k Lucas Oil Spike/Esslinger, West Coast transplant Bryan Clauson (currently residing in Noblesville, IN) in the CTR-Curb #39C NOS Energy Drink-Curb Records-Keizer Wheels Spike/Esslinger and Grass Valley, CA native Brad Sweet in the Kasey Kahne Racing #49X Sage Fruit-Great Clips Spike/Speedway Toyota are locked into tonight’s 50-lap A-Main by virtue of placing in the Top 3 in preliminary night action. Larson is staged to start from the outside pole, Kruseman in fourth, Stratton in fifth and Sweet in ninth.

Besides these five who are already locked into tonight’s finale, ten West Coasters are slated to start n twin B-Mains, including 2011 USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car champion Richard VanderWeerd (Visalia, CA) in Mike Sala’s #19W Spike/Sala Chevy, multiple-time open wheel champion Jerry Coons, Jr. (Tuscon, AZ) in Danny Lendich’s #3NZ Spike/Esslinger, multiple-time Silver Crown and Sprint Car champion Bud Kaeding (Campbell, CA) in the Buster & Ziggy Ent. #2, Brian Camarillo (Camarillo, CA) in the Bill Camarillo #22 Spike/Fontana, Josh Ford (Oxnard, CA) in Keith Ford’s #73 Spike/Bob Wirth, Casey Shuman (Rattlesnake Bend, AZ) in the #2h, Rico Abreu (Rutherford, CA) in the Keith Kunz Motorsports #67K Bullet/Speedway Toyota, New Zealand’s Shaun Insley in Andy Bondio’s #47 Bondio/Barnes, Darren Hagen (Riverside, CA) in the #3 RFMS Racing Spike/Esslinger and Ronnie Gardner (Corona, CA) in the #71S Keith Ford Spike/Esslinger.

Others running the alphabet soup include two-time A-main qualifier Shane Golobic (Fremont) aboard Doug Bock’s #26 Get Som Sports-Bicycles Inc. (Ft. Worth, TX)-Country Builders-Piners Welding Supply & Driveline Service Spike/Esslinger, 2010 BCRA champion and 2011 USAC-Western States Car owner champion David Prickett (Fresno, CA) piloting the Neverlift Motorsports #15p Manitowoc-Prickett’s Distributing-Crysalli-Fruitful Juice Spike/Van Dyne Chevy, 2011 BCRA Dirt Midget champion Shannon McQueen (Tehachapi, CA) in the McQueen Racing #7 Murf Dogg Racing-R.C. 4 Less-American Waste Control-Simpson Race Products-K&N Filters Spike/Esslinger, 2007 BCRA champion Justin Grant (Ione, CA) chauffeuring Larry Gardner’s #35 Stealth/Frampton Gaerte, 7-time BCRA champion “Ageless Wonder” Floyd Alvis (San Carlos, CA) manning his Champion Automotive #18 Stealth/Wesmar, 2004 BCRA champion and multi-time feature winner Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, CA) wheeling Mark Bush’s #2T EF-65 Hand Cleaner Spike/Esslinger, former Chili Bowl winner and former USAC/CRA champion Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) in the Loyet Motorsports #05g Spike/Esslinger, 1999 BCRA champion Matt Streeter (Galt, CA) in his #14jr S&S Automotive-T&T Trucking-ART Enterprises Spike/S&S Chevy, USAC/CRA champion Mike Spencer (Temecula, CA) in the Proflyer Enterprises #51s Spike/Proflyer, Torrance, CA’s P.J. Jones in the #98k Spike/Esslinger and a plethora of other West Coast entries, all 80 of them!

Full Saturday WEST COAST CHILI BOWL Starting Positions

A Main (50 Laps):

39 Kevin Swindell (Germantown, TN) – 67 Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, CA)
1 Sammy Swindell (Germantown, TN) – 21k Cory Kruseman (Ventura, CA)
77s Danny Stratton (Riverside, CA) – 71xx Shane Cottle (Kokomo, IN)
56 Levi Jones (Olney, IL) – 39i Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (Olive Branch, MS)
49x Brad Sweet (Grass Valley, CA) – 14 Tony Stewart (Columbus, IN)
39c Bryan Clauson (Noblesville, IN) – 05p Michael Pickens (Auckland, NZ)
B Main 1 Transfer 1 – B Main 2 Transfer 1
B Main 1 Transfer 2 – B Main 2 Transfer 2
B Main 1 Transfer 3 – B Main 2 Transfer 3
B Main 1 Transfer 4 – B Main 2 Transfer 4
B Main 1 Transfer 5 – B Main 2 Transfer 5
B Main 1 Transfer 6 – B Main 2 Transfer 6

B Mains (20 Laps – Top 6 Transfer to A Main)

B Main 1:
19s Richard Vander Weerd (Visalia, CA) – 11T Tyler Edwards (Salina, OK)
7m Kevin Ramey (Ft. Worth, TX) – 37 Bubba Altig (Mechanicsburg, IL)
24 Tracy Hines (Wilkinson, IN) – 7ca Caleb Armstrong (New Castle, IN)
8L Matt Ward (Glenpool, OK) – 63 Nick Knepper (Belleville, IL)
15 Tim Siner (Dupo, IL) – 77 Alex Bright (Collegeville, PA)
3nz Jerry Coons, Jr. (Tucson, AZ) – 2 Bud Kaeding (Campbell, CA)
22 Brian Camarillo (Camarillo, CA) – 73 Josh Ford (Oxnard, CA)
C Main 1 Transfer 1 – C Main 1 Transfer 2
C Main 1 Transfer 3 – C Main 1 Transfer 4
C Main 1 Transfer 5 – C Main 1 Transfer 6

B Main 2:
11 Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) – 71b Jac Haudenschild (Wooster, OH)
37b Brady Short (Bedford, IN) – 5d Zach Daum (Pocahontas, IL)
2h Casey Shuman (Rattlesnake Bend, AZ) – 21 Daryn Pittman (Owasso, OK)
67k Rico Abreu (Rutherford, CA) – 47x Shaun Insley (Royal Oak, NZ)
11a Andrew Felker (Carl Junction, MO) – 0 Ryan Smith Kunkletown, PA)
3aj A.J. Fike (Galesburg, IL) – 17b Brad Kuhn (Avon, IN)
3 Darren Hagen (Riverside, CA) – 71s Ronnie Gardner (Corona, CA)
C Main 2 Transfer 1 – C Main 2 Transfer 2
C Main 2 Transfer 3 – C Main 2 Transfer 4
C Main 2 Transfer 5 – C Main 2 Transfer 6

C Mains (15 Laps – Top 6 Transfer to Corresponding B Main)

C Main 1:
12b Chad Boat (Phoenix, AZ) – 05s Jon Stanbrough (Avon, IN)
36 Jonathan Beason (Broken Arrow, OK) – 5 Dave Darland (Lincoln, IN)
6a David Gough (Machesney Park, IL) – 78 Nick Wean (Phillipsburg, NJ)
35 Justin Grant (Ione, CA) – 4 Bobby East (Brownsburg, IN)
19 Patrick Stasa (Kingman, KS) – 4g Coleman Gulick (Binghamton, NY)
05r Ryan Pace (Brownsburg, IN) – 67z Joey Saldana (Brownsburg, IN)
25b Steve Buckwalter (Royersford, PA) – 8v Jace Vander Weerd (Visalia, CA)
D Main 1 Transfer 1 – D Main 1 Transfer 2
D Main 1 Transfer 3 – D Main 1 Transfer 4
D Main 1 Transfer 5 – D Main 1 Transfer 6

C Main 2:
51J R.J. Johnson (Phoenix, AZ) – 35s Hunter Schuerenberg (Sikeston, MO)
35m Matt Sherrell (Owasso, OK) – 05T Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA)
27s Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK) – 9 Levi Roberts (Broomfield, CO)
44 Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE) – 91k Dereck King (Goreville, IL)
11c Chett Gehrke (Broken Arrow, OK) – 5h Mike Hess (Springfield, IL)
05g Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) – 71 Jason Leffler (Long Beach, CA)
16 Jimmy Light (Erie, PA) – 81 Markus Niemela (Rauma, Finland)
D Main 2 Transfer 1 – D Main 2 Transfer 2
D Main 2 Transfer 3 – D Main 2 Transfer 4
D Main 2 Transfer 5 – D Main 2 Transfer 6

D Mains (15 Laps – Top 6 Transfer to Corresponding C Main)

D Main 1:
98k P.J. Jones (Torrance, CA) – 11bx Brett Anderson (Belleville, IL)
88h Johnathon Henry (Stockton, CA) – 47 Brad Mosen (Auckland, NZ)
17r Mario Clouser (Auburn, IL) – 21b Christopher Bell (Norman, OK)
31 David Budres (Beloit, WI) – 57b Bill Balog (Brookfield, WI)
1J J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, AZ) – 14jr Matt Streeter (Galt, CA)
4b Ronnie Burke, Jr. (League City, TX) – 91b Kevin Bayer (Bixby, OK)
98 J.C. Bland (Springfield, IL) – 1w George White (Waco, TX)
E Main 1 Transfer 1 – E Main 1 Transfer 2
E Main 1 Transfer 3 – E Main 1 Transfer 4

D Main 2:
6r Jody Rosenboom (Rock Rapids, IA) – 71k David Gravel (Watertown, CT)
26 Shane Golobic (Fremont, CA) – 15p David Prickett (Fresno, CA)
10w George White (Ft. Worth, TX) – 43 Brent Beauchamp (Indianapolis, IN)
72 Ryan Bernal (Hollister, CA) – 19x Billy Wease (Noblesville, IN)
23c Tyler Courtney (Indianapolis, IN) – 85 Shane Hollingsworth (Lafayette, IN)
14c Shane Cockrum (Benton, IL) – 86e Chris Ennis (San Diego, CA)
2T Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, CA) – 05 Brad Loyet (Sunset Hills, MO)
E Main 2 Transfer 1 – E Main 2 Transfer 2
E Main 2 Transfer 3 – E Main 2 Transfer 4

E Mains (10 Laps – Top 4 Transfer to Corresponding D Main)

E Main 1:
F Main 1 Transfer 1 – F Main 1 Transfer 2
F Main 1 Transfer 3 – F Main 1 Transfer 4

E Main 2:
11w Chris Windom (Canton, IL) – 88 Brenden Bright (Collegeville, PA)
3F Tony Elliott (Warsaw, IN) – 7da Dalton Armstrong (New Castle, IN)
91x Kyle Steffens (St. Charles, MO) – 73s Alex Sewell (Broken Arrow, OK)
94x Kevin Olson (Machesney Park, IL) – 7 Shannon McQueen (Tehachapi, CA)
21m Billy Lawhead (Tulsa, OK) – 9u Doug McCune (Colleyville, TX)
51 Brent Camarillo (Camarillo, CA) – 24e Rick Eckert (York, PA)
F Main 2 Transfer 1 – F Main 2 Transfer 2
F Main 2 Transfer 3 – F Main 2 Transfer 4

F Mains (10 Laps – Top 4 Transfer to Corresponding E Main)

F Main 1:
93 Dustin Morgan (Broken Arrow, OK) – 17x Davey Heskin (St. Michael, MN)
71kt Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Cullman, AL) – 191 Chase Barber (Brownsburg, IN)
11b Travis Berryhill (American Canyon, CA) – 40 Andy Huston (Roseville, IL)
75 Wes McIntyre (McCordsville, IN) – 32 Danny Jennings (Norman, OK)
7J Shawn Jackson (Bear, DE) – 10 Will Pierce (Lees Summit, MO)
35T Tyler Robbins (Collinsville, IL) – 33 Davey Ray (Indianapolis, IN)
G Main 1 Transfer 1 – G Main 1 Transfer 2
G Main 1 Transfer 3 – G Main 1 Transfer 4

F Main 2:
51x Matt Lundy (Phoenix, AZ) – 33x Jason Lair (Del City, OK)
2b Tyler Reddick (Corning, CA) – 15b Danny Burke (Houston, TX)
00 Pete Davis (Pleasanton, CA) – 37x Cameron Hagin (Broken Arrow, OK)
15d Andrew Deal (Caney, KS) – 11h Garrett Hood (Concordia, KS)
1xs Donovan Peterson (Brookings, SD) – 18 Floyd Alvis (San Carlos, CA)
58 Cole Peard (Quincy, CA) – 14r Troy DeCaire (Tampa, FL)
G Main 2 Transfer 1 – G Main 2 Transfer 2
G Main 2 Transfer 3 – G Main 2 Transfer 4

G Mains (10 Laps – Top 4 Transfer to Corresponding F Main)

G Main 1:
6x Chris Morgan (Topeka, KS) – 94 Darren Kingston (Vandalia, IL)
86c David Camfield, Jr. (Decatur, IL) – 49 Trevor Kobylarz (Birdsboro, PA)
38n Kyle Neal (Ewing, IL) – 96 Cody Brewer (Choctaw, OK)
12jr Josh Pelkey (Peoria, AZ) – 8r Bobby Ruffin (Crandall, TX)
25 Dylan Peterson (Sioux Falls, SD) – 23F Jesse Sobbing (Glenwood, IA)
7w Harli White (Lindsay, OK) – 77b Mike Boesel (Bennett, CO)
H Main 1 Transfer 1 – H Main 1 Transfer 2
H Main 1 Transfer 3 – H Main 1 Transfer 4

G Main 2:
7d Michelle Decker (Guthrie, OK) – 8b Bob Ream, Jr. (Glendale, AZ)
8k Donnie Ray Crawford (Broken Arrow, OK) – 89jr Ron Kuhn (Independence, MO)
9m Cory Mallo (Cheyenne, WY) – 49jr Bobby Michnowicz (Lomita, CA)
37T Chris Urish (Elkhart, IL) – 0b Glenn Styres (Ohsweken, ONT)
27c Kip Hughes (Enid, OK) – 6m Justin Mallo (Cheyenne, WY)
12s Bryan Severs (Collison, IL) – 0g Greg Bragg (Visalia, CA)
H Main 2 Transfer 1 – H Main 2 Transfer 2
H Main 2 Transfer 3 – H Main 2 Transfer 4

H Mains (10 Laps – Top 4 Transfer to Corresponding G Main)

H Main 1:
29s Tim Kent (Sapulpa, OK) – 15n T.J. Smith (Fresno, CA)
82w Robbie Whitchurch (Chico, CA) – 51b Ryan Blakeman (Jacksonville, IL)
14w Matt Westfall (Ludlow Falls, OH) – 9d Sean Dodenhoff (Bakersfield, CA)
21v Jimmy Voitel (Covina, CA) – 17w Cole Wood (Auburn, Ca)
22k Kyle Bellm (Nixa, MO) – 13 Ryan York (Racine, MN)
2x Tyler Millwood (Kingston, GA) – 20 Tadd Holliman (Beaver Lake, NE)
I Main 1 Transfer 1 – I Main 1 Transfer 2
I Main 1 Transfer 3 – I Main 1 Transfer 4

H Main 2:
2r A.J. Hopkins (Brownsburg, IN) – 12 Chris Gurley (Hebron, IN)
98g Gavin Galbraith (Washington, MO) – 28 Alex Schutte (Rohnert Park, CA)
8J Blake Hahn (Sapulpa, OK) – 7b Joe Boyles (Greenwood, MO)
19n Nick O’Neal (Wagoner, OK) – 25m Derrick Myers (Stonington, IL)
44s Clint Schubert (Calhan, CO) – 45x C.J. Johnson (Quinter, KS)
7jr J.D. Black (Grain Valley, MO) – 77x Joey Moughan (Springfield, IL)
I Main 2 Transfer 1 – I Main 2 Transfer 2
I Main 2 Transfer 3 – I Main 2 Transfer 4

I Mains (10 Laps – Top 4 Transfer to Corresponding H Main)

I Main 1:
31e Evan Sewell (Tulsa, OK) – 20x Jimmy Harris (Broken Arrow, OK)
83 Kurt Blackaby (Bentonville, AR) – 17 Michael Koontz (Bloomington, IN)
15k Connor Kassik (Lake Havasu, AZ) – 71x Sheldon Haudenschild (Wooster, OH)
7c Pat Schudy (Springfield, MO) – 22s Steve Stasa (Kingman, KS)
2az Rick Shuman (Gilbert, AZ) – 23 Tim Lynch (Columbus, IN)
59 Dex Eaton (Owasso, OK) – 11x Dustin Hapka (Grand Forks, ND)
J Main 1 Transfer 1 – J Main 1 Transfer 2
J Main 1 Transfer 3 – J Main 1 Transfer 4

I Main 2:
81b Ryan Beechler (McKinney, TX) – 9b Harris Brooks (Houston, TX)
41 Brandon Waelti (Sun Prairie, WI) – 86 Josh Most (Red Oak, IA)
12J Joe Walker (Harrisonville, MO) – 73F Greg Edenholm (Malibu, CA)
9h Matt Hummel (San Jose, CA) – 0x Johnny Murdock (Kaufman, TX)
94au Brad Cox (Gunnedah, AUS) – 17m Andee Beierle (Bismarck , ND)
7T Todd McVay (Lees Summit, MO) – 19d Steven Drevicki (Reading, PA)
J Main 2 Transfer 1 – J Main 2 Transfer 2
J Main 2 Transfer 3 – J Main 2 Transfer 4

J Mains (10 Laps – Top 4 Transfer to Corresponding I Main)

J Main 1:
85J Matt Johnson (Edmond, OK) – 33a Stephen Arnold (Seymour, IN)
4x Shawn Peterson (Irving, TX) – 29 Brandon Hahn (Tulsa, OK)
17k Tanner Berryhill (Bixby, OK) – 93r Jake Rosario (Guthrie, OK)
44x Danny Smith (Argenta, IL) – 12h Jerrod Hull (Sikeston, MO)
71d Paige Polyak (Tiffin, OH) – 55 Kyle Smith (Moorpark, CA)
8 Mike Lapp (Goodyear, AZ) – 27 Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, CA)
21jr Kevin Michnowicz (Lomita, CA) - K Main Transfer 1
K Main Transfer 3 – K Main Transfer 5

J Main 2:
91h Mike Hudson (Carterville, IL) – 67x Britton Bock (Angwin, CA)
57k Steve Schaberg (Glenwood, AR) – 87r Rich Camfield (Decatur, IL)
83h Jonathan Halford (Tulsa, OK) – 77d Dalten Gabbard (Peoria, AZ)
51s Mike Spencer (Temecula, CA) – 2g Terry Goodwin (Laveen, AZ)
W94 Waylon Weaver (Claremore, OK) – 88w Dustin Weland (Parker, CO)
88d Rusty Dukes (Fair Grove, MO) – 21x Nick Speidel (Muncie, IN)
35w Rick Wright, Jr. (Ponca City, OK) – K Main Transfer 2
K Main Transfer 4 – K Main Transfer 6

K Main (10 Laps – Finishers 1,3 and 5 Transfer to J Main 1; Finishers 2,4 and 6 Transfer to J Main 2)

K Main:
77g Mike Goodman (Tulsa, OK) – 11xs Tony Norem (Dassel, MN)
82 Eric Johnson (Rockford, IL) – 7rs Clint Boyles (Greenwood, MO)
69 Randy Boyer (Belleville, KS) – 91 Jeff Stasa (Kingman, KS)
05h Jake Swanson (Anaheim, CA) – 21az Mike Visser (Cottonwood, AZ)
2d Doug Day (Winder, GA) – 71p Tim Pyle (Gresham, OR)
87F Brian McClelland (Tulsa, OK) – 11cx Steve Newman (Steamboat Springs, CO)
3h Bubba Hunt (Tulsa, OK) – 50 Ned Fry (W. Burlington, IA)
83x Bob Lawlor (San Carlos, CA) – 6y Vinny Villeggiante (Gresham, OR)
2a Donald McIntosh (Dawsonville, GA)

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