The Road to Tulsa
At 9:30 AM, the 816 Racing crew loaded up and pointed south toward Tulsa, Oklahoma. Four hours later, we rolled into the SageNet Center at Tulsa Expo Square—home of the legendary Chili Bowl Nationals. The 40th running of this prestigious indoor midget racing event had already delivered incredible action all week, and Friday night was shaping up to be no different.
Catching Up With Brad Wyatt
First order of business: linking up with our buddy Brad Wyatt. If you missed Thursday night, you missed one of the most impressive drives of the week. Brad started 18th in B-Main 2 and absolutely carved through the field, working his way up to an incredible 3rd place finish—good enough to transfer to the A-Main. Watching him gain 15 positions in 15 laps was the kind of racing that makes the Chili Bowl special.
Brad finished 20th in Thursday prelim A-Main, but the real story was that charge through the B. Thats the heart of a racer right there.
Alex Midkiff's Wednesday Night Run
We also got to catch up with our good buddy Alex Midkiff, who competed on Wednesday's York Plumbing Qualifying Night. Alex wheeled the #05 and had a solid showing—starting on pole in Heat Race 3 and finishing 3rd behind Tom Harris and Jake Neuman. He then battled through Qualifier 3, finishing 8th after starting 9th.
In B-Feature 1, Alex started 8th and worked his way up to 7th place—just outside the top 4 transfer spots. It wasn't the result he was looking for, but that's the Chili Bowl. With 387 entries, making the show is a war every single night. Always great seeing Alex battle at the Bowl.
New Friends in the Pits
One of the best parts of race weekends is the people you meet. Friday night we connected with Kyle Steffens and his crew. Kyle was racing the #8S and had a solid night—finishing 3rd in his heat race and battling hard through the qualifiers. The midget racing community is tight-knit, and making new connections with passionate racers like Kyle and his team is what this sport is all about.
The Friday Night A-Main: Chaos at Turn 2
With 83 cars entered on Friday (part of a record-breaking 387 total entries for the week), the Hard Rock Casino Qualifying Night A-Main was stacked. We finished the night hanging with the rowdy crowd in Turn 2—and boy, did we pick the right spot.
Logan Seavey put on a masterclass, taking the lead with 8 laps to go and holding off Justin Grant for his 4th consecutive preliminary night win. The three-way battle between Seavey, Gavin Miller, and Grant through lapped traffic had the crowd on their feet.
But the real drama came at the end. Gavin Miller flipped violently on the frontstretch with just 4 laps remaining while running in contention. Then, after the checkered flag, Jesse Love (the NASCAR Xfinity champion making his Chili Bowl run) made contact with Giovanni Scelzi and went flipping three times into Turn 1—landing right in front of our section. He walked away, but it was a reminder of how wild this place can get.
The Atmosphere
Theres nothing quite like the Chili Bowl. The Coyote Race Cars trailer with fans watching the action on the big screen. Drivers signing autographs and taking photos with fans. The smell of methanol and dirt. The roar of 900cc midgets echoing through the expo center. This is grassroots racing at its absolute finest.
Whats Next
Saturday is Championship Day—the 55-lap A-Main that crowns the Golden Driller champion. Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Logan Seavey, and all the preliminary night winners are locked in and ready to battle. Well be watching from home and cheering on everyone who made this week possible.
Until next time, Tulsa. 816 Racing was here.
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