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 luck in his heat race. His No. 39 Esslinger-powered Spike suffered minor damage in a shunt during his heat, which he won after repairs were made.
Swindell started outside the front row for the feature, but followed polesitter Cole Whitt, who was the leading point earner during preliminary events, for the first lap of the fifth-mile oval.
Despite five yellow flags, Swindell led the remainder of the distance for his first triumph at the Chili Bowl.
“This means a whole lot to me and to our whole family,” Swindell said. “We put a lot of effort into this race and only this race. I felt like this place owed me one after all the bad luck we have had.”
Whitt finished second, his best Chili Bowl finish. “We’re happy with second place at the Chili Bowl,” Whitt said. “Our goal tonight was to make Saturday night’s A main.”
The top three finishers were locked into Saturday’s main event with USAC and POWRi champ Brad Kuhn edging Tim McCreadie by inches at flagman Roger Slack’s checkered flag.
Kuhn started 10th and steadily worked his way to the front.
“We’re happy to finish third, but third-place still sucks,” Kuhn said. “We are here to win races.”
McCreadie finished fourth, with Brad Sweet taking fifth.
The summary:
First Heat: Tim McCreadie, Rick Hendrix, Josh Pelkey, Scott Pierovich, Shane Hmiel, Mike Spencer, Pete Davis, Brian Carter.
Second Heat: Cole Whitt, Tony Elliott, Shane Cockrum, Brad Cox, Floyd Alvis, Gary Taylor, Kevin Studley, Scott Fennell.
Third Heat: A.J. Fike, Josh Ford, Patrick Bruns, Wes Gutierrez, Daniel Adler, Bruce Douglass, Chett Gehrke, Justin Mallo.
Fourth Heat: Brad Sweet, Wink Schweitzer, Jeff Stasa, Julee Jamison, Joe Boyles, Austin Wheatley, Pat Schudy, Jay Mounce.
Fifth Heat: Bryan Clauson, David Prickett, Danny Sheridan, Jonathan Beason, Matt Westfall, Josh Grady, Donnie Trent, Tanner Mullens.
Sixth Heat: Kevin Swindell, Tyler Edwards, Scott Hatton, Dusty Zomer, Steve Newman, Forrest Slater, Terry Goodwin, Tony Rossi.
Seventh Heat: Davey Ray, Randy Hannagan, Casey Shuman, J.C. Bland, Will Pierce, Jake Rosario, Nick O’Neal.
Eighth Heat: Brad Kuhn, Brandon Waelti, Kevin Bayer, Tyler Robbins, Andrew Hannula, Evan Sewell, Channing Zierolf.
First C Main: Spencer, Wheatley, Mullens, Carter, Schudy, Davis, Rossi, Alvis, Slater, Goodwin, Studley.
Second C Main: Taylor, Gehrke, Sewell, Rosario, Mallo, Zierolf, Douglass, Mounce, O’Neal, Trent, Fennell.
First A Qualifier: Whitt, Pelkey, Waelti, Edwards, Cockrum, Beason, Zomer, Hendrix, Gutierrez, Pierovich.
Second A Qualifier: McCreadie, Swindell, Sweet, Sheridan, Shuman, Hmiel, Elliott, Hannula, Boyles, Newman.
Third A Qualifier: Clauson, Ford, Hatton, Bland, Ray, Cox, Westfall, Stasa, Schweitzer, Pierce.
Fourth A Qualifier: Bayer, Adler, Kuhn, Robbins, Fike, Prickett, Bruns, Grady, Hannagan.
First B Main: Beason, Ray, Zomer, Cox, Gutierrez, Spencer, Grady, Stasa, Bruns, Mullens, Pierovich, Hendrix, Newman, Wheatley, Carter.
Second B Main: Shuman, Westfall, Boyles, Hmiel, Taylor, Hannagan, Gehrke, Elliott, Prickett, Pierce, Jamison, Schweitzer, Hannula, Rosario, Bland, Sewell.
Feature: Swindell, Whitt, Kuhn, McCreadie, Sweet, Adler, Fike, Beason, Clauson, Waelti, Pelkey, Robbins, Cockrum, Shuman, Hatton, Ford, Hmiel, Bayer, Westfall, Boyles, Cox, Zomer, Edwards, Ray.