West Coast Wednesday Chili Bowl Qualifying Night Results

By Robert Haugh

Though no West Coast entries took Wednesday’s River Spirit Casino Qualifying Night Chili Bowl feature, the West Coast was well-represented with Danny Stratton (Riverside, CA) claiming second (behind only Sammy Swindell) aboard Steve & Diana Hampton’s #77S Hampton’s Kustom Works-Twister Chassis-Fasco-Penske Shocks Twister/Esslinger.

Stratton was the only West Coaster to crack the Top Five on Wednesday’s action, but eight West Coast entries started the A-Main, with five of eight Heat races being won by West Coast entries (Robbie Whitchurch, Shaun Insley [Bondio entry], Jace VanderWeerd, Jason Leffler and Brent Camarillo).

2011 A-main starter and 11-time A-main starter Jason Leffler (Long Beach, CA) had a strong run going until a last lap tangle in lapped traffic in Keith Kunz Motorsports’ #71 Great Clips-ASE-TRD-Toyota-IWX-Advanced Racing Bullet/Speedway Toyota, with Leffler getting scored 16^th.

Three-time A-main qualifier and past qualifying night A-main winner Josh Ford (Oxnard, CA) drove his way to a Top 10 run, placing tenth from his sixteenth starting spot in Keith Ford’s #73 King Racing Products-A&A Precision Machine-Berry Pack-JFM-Pacific Coast Maint. Spike/Bob Wirth. Ford drove from tenth to fifth in A-Qualifier 2.

2010 BCRA champion and 2011 USAC-Western States runner-up and car owner champion David Prickett (Fresno, CA) had a roller coaster of an evening in the Neverlift Motorsports #15P Crysalli-Manitowoc-Fruitful Juice-Prickett's Dist. Spike/Van Dyne Chevy. After dropping a rocker arm during Hot Laps, the Neverlift crew, including multiple-time Midget and Sprint Car feature winner Scott Pierovich repaired Prickett’s mount just in time for David to drive from fifth to third in Heat 3, then win A-Qualifier from the outside pole over Sammy Swindell. Prickett battled handling issues in the A-Main, coming home 19^th.

Past A-main starter Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA) climbed up to twelth from 24th aboard the Loyet Motorsports #05T Vacuworx International-Loyet Landscape Maintenance Inc.-Meramec Heights Collision Center-Butler Built Professional Seat Systems-Beaver Stripes & Graphics Spike/Esslinger after transferring into the A-Main through the C and B Mains.

Jace VanderWeerd (Visalia, CA) claimed the best finish of all Wednesday West Coast Chili Bowl rookies, finishing 17^th aboard Ron VanderWeerd’s #8V VanderWeerd Construction-Battery Worx Spike/Stanton Mopar.

1999 BCRA champion Matt Streeter (Galt, CA) claimed 22^nd in his #14JR S&S Automotive-T&T Trucking-ART Enterprises Spike/S&S Chevy.

Chris Ennis’ (San Diego, CA) A-Main came to an early end in Calvin Martens’ #86E Woodworks Unlimited-Ryni Mfg.-Awesome Raceware-Hooker Harness-Spy Optics TCR/Esslinger, after contact with another car, Ennis took flight, officially scored 23^rd.

New Zealand’s Shaun Insley claimed seventh in Andy Bondio’s #47x Barnes Oil Pumps-Advanced Suspension-Kenny's Components-Brown & Miller Bondio/Barnes.

USAC/CRA Sprint Car champion Mike Spencer (Temecula, CA) couldn’t get luck on his side, first dropping out of Heat 3 before the drop of the green flag, then after moving from 14^th to fifth in C-Main 1, dropped out with a flat tire in the Proflyer Enterprises #51S Pecon Builders-Proflyer Racing Engines-Weiler Farms Spike/Proflyer.

Bob Lawlor’s (San Carlos, CA) Chili Bowl debut came to an abrupt end in Floyd Alvis’ #83X B.L. Transport-Champion Automotive-Lindsey Enterprises-F&D Welding Stealth/Gaerte after some sort of mechanical gremlin led to his mount heading nearly full speed into the wall in Heat 6.

Additional West Coast entries on Wednesday included Matt Hummel (San Jose, CA) in the Kasey Kahne Racing #9H Factory Kahne-Ollie’s Bargain Outlet-ASE-Sage Fruit Spike/Speedway Engines, Cole Peard (Quincy, CA) in Gordon & Alisa Peard’s #58 Peard Trucking-Yeley Racing F5 Twister, Kevin Michnowicz (Lomita, CA) in Ron Bach’s #21JR Ron Bach Const-T-Shirts by Timeless-Fabozzi Metal Works-Doug's Auto Body Spike/Gaerte, Josh Pelkey (Peoria, AZ) in Robbie & Gaye Allen’s #12 JR ABC Body Shop-NAPA Martin Seniour-Electromotive-Total Seal Rings Spike/Esslinger, Dustin Weland (Parker, CO) in Erich Weland’s #88W Boesel Ent-Bad Company-Threaded Ink Media Beast/Scat V4, Brent Camarillo (Camarillo, CA) in Bill Camarillo’s #51 Agromin-UniCor-Roy's Towing-Waste Management-Open Range Spike/Ed Pink Chevy, Jimmy Voitel (Covina, CA) in his own #21V So-Cal Performance-Arts & Letters Signs-KAR Construction-E&R Glass-Tony Maro Auto Body Ellis/Van Dyne Chevy, 16-year-old Harli White (Lindsay, OK) aboard Shannon McQueen’s (Bakersfield, CA) #7W American Waste Control-Waurika Truck & Tire-Quantum Consulting-K&N Filters-Eibach Springs Spike/Esslinger, Tyler Reddick (Corning, CA) aboard the 2B Racing Champion Oil-Integra Shocks-Benic Enterprises Beast/Fontana, Mike Lapp (Goodyear, AZ) aboard his own #8 Stealth/Chevy II-Fontana, Ricky Wright, Jr. (Ponca City, OK via San Jose, CA) in Doug & Britton Bock’s #35W GetSom Sports TCR/Esslinger and Robbie Whitchurch (Chico, CA) in the Whitchurch & Sons Trans. #82W Whitchurch & Sons Trans.-Cycleland-Fauver Race Engines Stealth/Mopar.

Full Wednesday West Coast Results from Wednesday’s River Spirit Casino Qualifier Results from the 26th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals:

Heat 1: 2. #58 Cole Peard, Quincy, CA; 3. #14JR Matt Streeter, Galt, CA; 6. #35W (Bock) Rick Wright Jr., Ponca City, OK; 7. #8 Mike Lapp, Goodyear, AZ


Heat 2: 2. #21V Jimmy Voitel, Covina, CA; 3. #77S Danny Stratton, Riverside, CA7. #05T Gary Taylor, Snohomish, WA


Heat 3: 3. #15P David Prickett, Fresno, CA; 6. #73 Josh Ford, Oxnard, CA; 7. #9H Matt Hummel, San Jose, CA; 9. #51S Mike Spencer, Temecula, CA


Heat 4: 1. #82W Robbie Whitchurch, Chico, CA


Heat 5: 1. #8V Jace VanderWeerd, Visalia, CA; 2. #86E Chris Ennis, San Diego, CA; 6. #88W Dustin Weland, Parker, CO


Heat 6: 1. #47X Shaun Insley, Royal Oak, NZ; 7. #21JR Kevin Michnowicz, Lomita, CA; 8. #83X Bob Lawlor, San Carlos, CA


Heat 7: 1. #71 Jason Leffler, Long Beach, CA; 3. #7W Harli White, Lindsay, OK; 5. #12JR Josh Pelkey, Peoria, AZ


Heat 8: 1. #51 Brent Camarillo, Camarillo, CA; 3. #2B Tyler Reddick, Coming, CA;


C Main 1: 6. Hummel, 9. Spencer, 10. Weland, 11. Michnowicz DNS – Lawlor


C Main 2: 2. Taylor, 10. Lapp, 11. Wright


A Qualifier 1: 1. Prickett, 3. Streeter, 6. Pelkey, 8. VanderWeerd


A Qualifier 2: 2. Stratton, 3. Insley, 4. Ennis, 5. Ford, 9. Peard


A Qualifier 3: 2. Leffler,  6. Reddick, 8. Voitel


A Qualifier 4: 8. Camarillo, 9. Whitchurch 10. White


B Main 1: 3. VanderWeerd 13. White, 14. Whitchurch


B Main 2: 4. Taylor, Snohomish, 7. Camarillo 8. Reddick* 10. Peard 12. Pelkey, 15. Voitel *Penalized a spot for hitting the restart cone


 “A” Main: 2. Stratton, 7. Insley, 10. Ford, 12. Taylor, 16. Leffler, 17. VanderWeerd, 19. Prickett, 22 Streeter, 23. Ennis

Visit www.chilibowl.com for complete information on the 26^th Annual Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, and check back here at Western Open Wheel Racing News for detailed West Coast results, http://wowracingnews.blogspot.com