National Speed Sport News

TULSA, Okla. - The New Zealand-based Synergy Racing Team went about the Chili Bowl a little differently than its competition.

The two-car team for drivers Michael Pickens and Brad Mosen used a pair of V-8 engines in its midgets. They were the only V-8s in the pits here as the open rules of the Chili Bowl offered a platform for the engines that run regularly in New Zealand to show their stuff.

Showread more

TULSA, Okla. - After years of success driving Andy Bondio's midgets at the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals, Cory Kruseman made a bold move to bring his own team to midget racing's premier event this season.

The move paid huge dividends Friday night at Tulsa Expo Raceway as Kruseman drove the No. 21k he built to victory on the fourth and final preliminary night of action for Saturday's 24th annualread more

TULSA, Okla. - The fastest car doesn't always win the race and that was the case on the third night of the 24th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals at Tulsa Expo Raceway at the QuikTrip Center.

Darren Hagen, who claimed his first Chili Bowl preliminary feature Thursday night, proved that theory.

Five-time Chili Bowl champion Sammy Swindell put on another dazzling display of speed and skill to winread more

TULSA, Okla. - Sammy Swindell has won the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals a record five times, but his 20-year-old son Kevin has had a lot of bad luck during his career at the prestigious indoor midget car racing event held at Tulsa Expo Raceway at QuikTrip Center.

That may have changed during the second night of the 24th annual edition of the event Jan. 13, as the younger Swindell overcame bad luckread more

TULSA, Okla. - Zach Daum scored an exciting last-lap victory to kick off the 24th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals at the QuikTrip Center's Tulsa Expo Raceway Jan. 12.

Cale Conley paced the first lap before Daum moved into the lead. New Zealand's Michael Pickens passed four cars in the first five laps to move into second. Daum began lapping the tail of the field on the ninth circuit.read more

LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Robert "Bob" Higman, whose lifelong devotion to midget-car racing was legendary, died here Jan. 13. Born Jan. 29, 1925, he was 84.

Already heavily involved with American Automobile Ass'n midget car events by the early 1950s, Higman's career continued through the entire span of the United States Auto Club, basically from the organization's formation in late 1955 through to theread more

TULSA, Okla. - Fourteen individuals were inducted Friday into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame during ceremonies held in the Central Park Hall at the Tulsa State Fairgrounds.
The latest inductees bring the total registry of Hall of Fame members to 158.

Two of the four "traditional" inductees and one of the 10 "historical" inductees were in attendance.

Page Jones, son of 1963read more

Swindell Adds His Name To List Of Golden Driller Winners

TULSA, Okla. - Kevin Swindell added another Golden Driller Trophy to the Swindell family trophy case Saturday night, winning the 24th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals.

The 50-lap feature capped off five nights of racing featuring 265 drivers in 92 racing events at the QuikTrip Center's Tulsa Expo Raceway.

After fading at the start from theread more

TULSA, Okla.
Would you argue with a three-time Indianapolis 500 winner?

That's just one of the fun things to consider before sitting in the VIP/press section of the grandstand at the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals.

The area located in the turn-four area of Tulsa Expo Raceway is annually a hodge-podge of some of the biggest race fans in the land and for the most part this group does or has maderead more

 TULSA, Okla. - Another one of those coveted Golden Driller trophies is going back to Tennessee.

This time though, it's not in Sammy's hands as Kevin Swindell topped Saturday night's 50-lap Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals that wrapped up a full slate of Rockstar Energy Drink championship feature events atop the QuikTrip Center's Tulsa Expo Raceway.

The 20-year-old from Germantown, Tenn., led theread more

 By Mike Kerchner

TULSA, Okla. - After years of success driving Andy Bondio's midgets at the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals, Cory Kruseman made a bold move to bring his own team to midget racing's premier event this season.

The move paid huge dividends Friday night at Tulsa Expo Raceway as Kruseman drove the No. 21k he built to victory on the fourth and final preliminary night of action forread more

 By Mike Kerchner

TULSA, Okla. - Darren Hagen was in the right place at the right time to earn his first Chili Bowl Nationals preliminary feature victory Thursday night at Tulsa Expo Raceway at Quiktrip Center.

Hagen started seventh and was running second when dominant leader Sammy Swindell saw Billy Pauch, Jr. and Jonathan Hendrix crash in front of him with just three laps remaining in the 25-lapread more

TULSA, Okla. – Loyet Motorsports has released Danny Lasoski from his driving duties at the 2010 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals.

The decision to relieve Lasoski comes as a response to a financial situation stemming from the Bull Ring Midget Nationals at Kemper Arena in Kansas City Dec. 18-19.. Lasoski and Scott Pennington were promoters of the race.

"We hold no ill-will to Danny, but felt that itread more

TULSA, Okla. - Kevin Swindell overcame the bad luck that has plagued him during at the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals and won Wednesday's qualifying feature during the River Spirit Casino Night at Tulsa Expo Raceway at Quik Trip Center.

Swindell started outside the front row, but followed polesitter Cole Whitt, who was the leading point earner during preliminary events, for the first lap of theread more

TULSA, Okla. - Zach Daum put the finishing touches on a spicy Chili Bowl opener with a dramatic last-corner pass of New Zealand's Michael Pickens to win the 25-lap Warren CAT qualifying main event at the QuikTrip Center's Tulsa Expo Raceway Jan. 12.

Daum and Pickens swapped the point several times along the way before Daum crossed underneath the Kiwi shoe exiting turn four to snatch the victoryread more

Uncertain Start To 2009 Couldn't Keep Kuhn From Picking Up Midget Titles

Winning the 2009 USAC Mopar National Midget Championship was quite an accomplishment for 28-year-old Brad Kuhn, but when race fans hear the story behind the story, the championship becomes even more impressive.

"You have to sit back and know the full process to really appreciate what happened," Kuhn said. "I showed up at theread more

Tuesday (Jan. 12)
Car No. Driver
0x Greg Bragg
1tx Paul White
1x Dustin Morgan
3c Cale Conley
4 Bobby East
4f Chad Frewaldt
4x Dave Darland
5d Zach Daum
5m Zach Cougill
5* Ray Allen Kulhanek
05L Danny Lasoski
6b Keith Bloom
6d Lex Burritt
7m Kevin Ramey
7rs Matt Gilbert
7s Shannon McQueen
8 Randi Pankratz
9d Sean-Mikael Dodenhoff
9m TBA
10x TBA
11a Andrew Felker
11h Garrettread more

Race of Champions
A recent addition to the Chili Bowl Nationals, Tuesday night's Vacuworx Int'l Race of Champions will feature the following drivers: Sammy Swindell, Gary Taylor, Brad Loyet, Tracy Hines, Tim McCreadie, Scott Hatton, Brad Kuhn, Cory Kruseman, Bryan Clauson, Jason Leffler, Garrett Hansen, Johnny Heydenreich, Kasey Kahne, Cole Whitt and Jay Drake.

The Nines
Steve Lewis's Nine Racingread more

Chili has long been a food of variety, and everyone likes his or hers a little different. Diversity, too, covers the field of entries for the 24th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals.

The pre-entry list for the event shows 252 entries from 27 different states as well as Australia, New Zealand and Canada for the five-day event at the Tulsa State Fairgrounds' QuikTrip Center. The event runs Jan.read more

TULSA, Okla. - Performance Open Wheel Racing, Inc. (POWRi) owners Kenny Brown and Jim Siner have named Lenny Batycki as executive vice president of the midget-car sanctioning body.
Batycki joins the organization after three years as vice president and general manager of Gateway Int'l Raceway. Batycki will be responsible for brand management, promotions and marketing for the Midwest-based series.

"read more

HARRISBURG, N.C.
It won't be evident by the more than 250 cars in the pit area for this week's Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Okla., but there is a deep-rooted concern in the motorsports community about the future of midget racing.

Born during the depths of the Great Depression, this popular form of open-wheel racing was once the high-speed playground for blue-collar workers from coastread more

MILWAUKEE, Wis. - During the last 10 years, more than 2,000 midget races were held in the United States. Each of those races was scored as part of the National Midget Driver of the Year Championship.

Combined, Jerry Coons, Jr., scored the most points and feature victories in the last 10 years, making him the National Midget Driver of the Decade. Coons started 282 features during the decade winning,read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Brad Loyet completed a clean sweep of the Lucas Oil Bull Ring Midget Nationals Dec. 19, taking the 40-lap finale at Kemper Arena.

Loyet celebrated his 22nd birthday in style, collecting $10,000 for the first-place prize, pushing his two-day total to $17,000.

Loyet took the lead at the start over teammate Danny Lasoski and began laping slower cars on lap five. One lap later Donread more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Brad Loyet scored a wire-to wire victory in the 30-lap Lucas Oil Bull Ring Midget Nationals at Kemper Arena Dec. 18.

The $5,000 victory was Loyet's 20th triumph of the season.

Loyet jumped into the lead from the outside front row at the start, with three cautions slowing the event in the first two circuits. On lap five Loyet started lapping the tail of the field followed by Bryanread more

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Billy Wease completed a weekend sweep of the 12th annual Rumble in Fort Wayne midget event at the Memorial Coliseum Expo Center Dec. 27.

The 23-year-old Wease joined two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart as the only drivers to win both midget features in a Rumble Series weekend.

Wease inherited the top spot when race-long leader Adam Wilsdon struck a tire marker on lapread more

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Billy Wease proved that patience was a virtue Dec. 23 during the opening night of the 12th annual Rumble in Fort Wayne at the Memorial Coliseum Expo Center.

Taking advantage of Tim Jedrzejek's blown engine, Wease inherited the lead with just nine laps to go and beat Bryan Nuckles by nearly a half-lap for his third indoor triumph since 2007. Early leader David Gough took third inread more

TULSA, Okla. - With 252 entries from 27 states as well as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, the 24th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals are getting closer every day.

Now Chili Bowl officials have announced qualifying night lineups for Jan. 12-15. The top three finishers from each night's main event will be locked into the 50-lap main event Jan. 16, with the balance of Saturday's featureread more

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – On a night when auto racing bid farewell to one of its most enduring and endearing figures, one of his protégés honored him by driving to victory lane.

Billy Wease, one of the scores of young drivers nurtured by the retiring Mel Kenyon, held off a relentless charge from Dave Darland Sunday to complete a weekend sweep of the midget features in the 12th annual Rumble in Fortread more

 FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Patience made the difference Saturday night as Billy Wease won the opener of a two-night stand for the Rumble Series midgets at the memorial Coliseum Expo Center.

Wease inherited the lead when Tim Jedrzejek blew an engine with nine laps remaining. From there, he beat Bryan Nuckles to the checkered flag. 

"You never know what's going to happen here," a grinning Wease said afterread more

TULSA, Okla. - Less than a week ago, the floor of the QuikTrip Center was bare.

Now, several hundreds of loads of clay and a few feverish days of work later, a race track occupies that previously empty space.

Aside from a few assorted odds and ends, the quarter-mile Tulsa Expo Raceway clay oval at the Tulsa State Fairgrounds QuikTrip Center is race-ready, with the 24th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowlread more