(Image Credit: Michael Fry)
Bryan Hulbert – TULSA, Okla. (January 11, 2024) From a flip during Practice on Sunday to Victory Lane on Victory Fuel Qualifying Night, Indiana’s Spencer Bayston landed his first career preliminary night win at the 38th annual Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy.
“It feels really, really good,” said Bayston of the win. “The Race of Champions win last year was special, but it’s not a prelim night. A prelim night, like I said there’s three steps to the process, sometimes more, and to be able to string together three good performances with the good Sage Fruit race car is not easy to do and we were able to do that tonight. It’s a lot of weight off our shoulders, so we’ll kick back and relax tomorrow and be ready for Saturday.”
A third win for RMS/Matt Estep since 2021, the feature went green with Bayston taking off from the pole. Getting away quickly, the race for second went to Ricky Thornton, Jr. Fending off a challenge by Tanner Thorson on the fifth revolution, Thornton held silver until Lap 17, as the leaders began their march through traffic.
Advantage Thorson for second on Lap 18, the No. 1s would close up on Bayston’s bumper after caution lights for Kyle Larson flipping on the front stretch appeared while working Lap 24.
Reverting to the last fully completed lap, the seven-lap dash saw Bayston gap the field by 1.149-seconds to lock into his sixth career Saturday night A-Feature. Tanner Thorson held the final lock-in to make his tenth championship appearance. Chase Johnson crossed third, with C.J. Leary fourth. Brady Bacon completed the top five.
Tim Buckwalter, from 12th, made it to sixth, with Ricky Thornton, Jr. slipping to seventh. Karter Sarff grabbed eighth with Ryan Bernal ninth. Parker Jones completed the top ten.
With 73 drivers drawing in Thursday night, the week’s entry count stands at 285. Friday will see the highest car count of the week, as mechanical issues have forced several drives to move, pushing the number to 86 entries, including five TBA’s. The Flip Count has grown to 34. All drivers are okay. Special thanks to Simpson Race Products for giving out new equipment during this year’s flip count.
Friday at the Chili Bowl Nationals is presented by Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Tulsa. The SageNet Center will open at 9:00 A.M. with cars on track at 4:00 P.M.
The 38th annual Chili Bowl Nationals takes place January 8-13, 2024, under the giant roof of the SageNet Center in Tulsa, Okla. Fans unable to attend the Chili Bowl Nationals can watch every lap live at http://www.floracing.com.
The General Admission Pit Pass is sold at the event and never sells out. They are $60 per weekday and $75 on Saturday.
For continued updates on the Chili Bowl Nationals, fans can follow along on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with @CBNationals. All official press, updates, and results on the Chili Bowl Nationals can be found online at http://www.chilibowl.com.
Results:
Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy
Tulsa Expo Raceway – Tulsa, Okla.
Thursday, January 11, 2024
Victory Fuel Qualifying Night
Car Count: 73
A-Feature: Top 2 advance to Saturday’s A-Feature.
Victory Fuel A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 1S-Spencer Bayston[1]; 2. 88-Tanner Thorson[4]; 3. 31B-Chase Johnson[2]; 4. 55V-CJ Leary[7]; 5. 21H-Brady Bacon[5]; 6. 29-Tim Buckwalter[12]; 7. 19R-Ricky Thornton Jr[3]; 8. 5CB-Karter Sarff[9]; 9. 87W-Ryan Bernal[8]; 10. 3J-Parker Jones[11]; 11. 02-Ashton Torgerson[13]; 12. 54-Matt Westfall[21]; 13. 2D-Matt Sherrell[19]; 14. 9U-Kyle Spence[17]; 15. 5G-Gavan Boschele[15]; 16. 14T-Caden Sarale[6]; 17. 14F-Jeffrey Newell[14]; 18. 10J-Lane Goodman[23]; 19. 19M-Ethan Mitchell[10]; 20. 7C-Landon Crawley[24]; 21. 15D-Andrew Deal[16]; 22. 73C-Eddie Tafoya Jr[18]; 23. 46-Kenney Johnson[22]; 24. (DNF) 98K-Kyle Larson[20]
Lap Leader(s): Spencer Bayston 1-30
Hard Charger: Matt Westfall +10
Bryan Hulbert | Chili Bowl Nationals
