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. Pickens closed to Daum’s rear bumper two laps later.
Pickens passed Daum in lapped traffic to lead lap 15, but drifted high in turn one, allowing Daum to retake the lead. Tyler Walker then closed to within a car length of the lead duo.
With Pickens running the cushion and Daum on the bottom of the track, Pickens had a slight advtantage at the start-finish line each lap.
With three laps remaining Pickens drifted high in turn one and Walker made contact with the back of Pickens’ car, coming to a halt, causing the event’s second caution.
On the restart, Pickens again chose the high line with Daum running the bottom of the track. Pickens drifted high entering turn three on the final lap, allowing Daum to gain an advantage exiting the turn and score a half-car length victory.
“I had to use a lot of patience tonight to run the bottom of the track. It worked just right,” commented Daum, who scored his third-career midget feature victory.
Shane Golobic earned the third and final automatic transfer position to Saturday’s championship feature by finishing third. Brent Beauchamp and Bobby East filled the top five.
Brad Loyet led the entire distance, winning the 20-lap Vacuworx Race of Champions for past event winners and driving champions. Brad Kuhn, Jay Drake, Cole Whitt and Garrett Hansen completed the top five.
The summary:
First Heat: Michael Pickens, David Camfield, Jr., Jimmy Winkler, Paul White, Brady Bacon, Kyle Rayburn, Zach Cougill, Matt Gilbert.
Second Heat: Steve Buckwalter, Zach Daum, Shane Golobic, Andrew Elson, Randi Pankratz, Jon Stanbrough, Harris Brooks, Jeff Wimmenauer.
Third Heat: Dave Darland, Nick Wean, Andy Shouse, Danny Burke, Brent Beauchamp, Ray Allen Kulhanek, Alissa Geving, Brock Lemley.
Fourth Heat: Tyler Walker, Billy Wease, Cale Conley, Chris Sheil, Lex Burritt, Aaron Fiscus, Andy Huston, Matt Johnson.
Fifth Heat: Gregg Bragg, Kellen Conover, R.J. Johnson, Cole Smith, Evan Pardo, Eric Johnson, Matt Sherrell, Ricky Williams.
Sixth Heat: Matt Streeter, Keith Bloom, Colby Copeland, Shannon McQueen, Bobby East, Rafe Essary, Eric Sandage, Frank Flud.
Seventh Heat: Kevin Ramey, Chad Frewaldt, Rick Eckert, Andrew Felker, Danny Lasoski, Garrett Hood, Austin Mero, Greg Edenholm.
Eighth Heat: Tim Crawley, Joey Moughan, Dustin Morgan, Andrew Deal, Tadd Holliman, Sean-Mikael Dodenhoff, Curtis Bailey.
First C Main: Stanbrough, Fiscus, Dodenhoff, Brooks, Hood, Flud, Mero, Johnston, Wimmenauer, E. Johnson, Bailey, Huston.
Second C Main: Kulhanek, Sherrell, Burritt, Geving, Sandage, Edenholm, Gilbert, Cougill, Essary, Williams, Lemley.
First A Qualifer: Wease, Daum, Streeter, Burke, Darland, R.J. Johnson, Winkler, Sheil, Rayburn, Deal.
Second A Qualifer: Conley, Conover, Golobic, Bacon, Ramey, Bragg, Pankratz, Felker, Buckwalter, Smith.
Third A Qualifer: Moughan, Camfield, Walker, Beauchamp, Crawley, Eckert, Shouse, McQueen, Pardo, Frewaldt.
Fourth A Qualifier: East, Morgan, Pickens, Wean, Bloom, Copeland, White, Lasoski, Elson, Holliman.
First B Main: Darland, Buckwalter, Copeland, Bragg, White, Lasoski, Wean, Winkler, Fiscus, Sheil, Rayburn, Stanbrough, Brooks, Dodenhoff, Elson, Holliman.
Second B Main: R.J. Johnson, Felker, Pankratz, Eckert, Shouse, Kulhanek, Pardo, McQueen, Smith, Deal, Sherrell, Geving, Burritt, Ramey, Burke, Frewaldt.
Race of Champions): Brad Loyet, Brad Kuhn, Jay Drake, Cole Whitt, Garrett Hansen, Scott Hatton, Kasey Kahne, Cory Kruseman, Johnny Heydenreich, Gary Taylor, Damion Gardner, Bryan Clauson, Tim McCreadie, Jason Leffler, Sammy Swindell, Tracy Hines.
Feature: Daum, Pickens, Golobic, Beauchamp, East, Buckwalter, Bacon, Streeter, Camfield, Felker, Crawley, Eckert, Pankratz, R.J. Johnson, Darland, Bloom, Walker, Moughan, Morgan, Copeland, Conover, Bragg, Conley, Wease.