(Image Credit: Michael Fry)
Bryan Hulbert – TULSA, Okla. (January 17, 2025) Making the late race pass for the lead, then having to fend off the ferocious pursuit of Gavin Miller through the closing laps, Logan Seavey delivered for his fourth career Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink preliminary night victory during Hard Rock Hotel Casino Tulsa Qualifying Night.
“I could still keep up with guys; I just lost a little balance really to be able to maneuver as good as I needed to in traffic, but when I could get against the cushion by myself, I could make a ton of speed, but in the feature, I could finally crawl the bottom, so we’re going in the right direction. I still feel like I made a lot of ugly laps there, but fortunately, I happen to make them at the right times and made good laps when I needed them,” explained Seavey of the race.
Rolling from seventh at the start, Seavey was on the podium in eight laps.
Chasing Ryan Timms and Gavin Miller, the fight for the lead got hot on Lap 18 as Gavin Miller tried to shoot under Timms into the third turn. Across the nose of the No. 97, Miller would make contact with Timms. Who spun to a stop.
On the contact, Miller said, “Trying to cross back on Logan, Ryan went to the bottom, and I didn’t think he was going slow up that much. I locked up the brakes, but was already too far, and hooked his bumper, and I apologized to him.”
Getting momentum, Seavey leaned into the cushion and began closing on Miller. Around to Lap 26, a misstep on the cushion by Miller put Seavey in the hunt, with a move for the lead coming the next time around. Glued to the back bumper of the No. 39 through the final four laps, Seavey slid himself through both ends of the Tulsa Expo Raceway to fend Miller by 0.221-seconds.
Seavey into his seventh Chili Bowl A-Feature, Miller’s runner-up finish locks him into his first. Tyler Courtney ran 12th to third, with Daryn Pittman and Daryn Pittman completing the top five.
Five preliminary nights yielded 392 entries officially received after cancelations, with 377 drawing in for competition. Each night saw a different car owner in victory lane. The last time was 2023 during Logan’s first Chili Bowl victory, with the first two nights seeing new car owners in victory lane, followed by KKM, Thorson, and Swindell. That same pattern has played out in 2025, with Silva and Wood each earning their first wins as car owners on Monday and Tuesday.
Saturday, January 18, opens at 8:00 A.M. with cars on track at 9:00 A.M. (CT). The features are slated to start with the double P-Mains.
The 39th annual Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink takes place January 13-18, 2025, 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.
General Admission tickets are sold at the event and include access to the Pits. They are $75 on Saturday. The General Admission pass does not sell out.
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.
RACE RESULTS:
39th Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink
Tulsa Expo Raceway (Tulsa, Okla.)
Friday, January 17, 2025
Hard Rock Hotel Casino Tulsa Qualifying Night
Hard Rock Hotel Casino Tulsa A-Feature (Top 2 lock into Saturday’s A-Main)
Hard Rock Tulsa A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 39-Logan Seavey[7]; 2. 97-Gavin Miller[3]; 3. 23C-Tyler Courtney[12]; 4. 21-Daryn Pittman[5]; 5. 87-Justin Grant[8]; 6. 56E-Tyler Edwards[4]; 7. 5U-Michael Faccinto[11]; 8. 86X-Ricky Stenhouse Jr[15]; 9. 72J-Sam Johnson[13]; 10. 11A-Andrew Felker[9]; 11. 14J-TJ Smith[24]; 12. 19A-Hayden Reinbold[17]; 13. 57A-Daniel Robinson[14]; 14. 31B-Dominic Gorden[22]; 15. 67-Ryan Timms[1]; 16. 54Z-Michael Pickens[2]; 17. 63F-Frankie Guerrini[16]; 18. 40M-Chase McDermand[18]; 19. 48H-Wout Hoffmans[23]; 20. 8W-Kaleb Montgomery[19]; 21. (DNF) 7P-Jason McDougal[6]; 22. (DNF) 2P-Cameron La Rose[21]; 23. (DNF) 45V-Cole Vanderheiden[10]; 24. (DNF) 16R-Kyle Jones[20]
Lap Leader(s): Ryan Timms 1-17; Gavin Miller 18-26; Logan Seavey 27-30
Hard Charger: T.J. Smith +13
Bryan Hulbert | Image Credit: Michael Fry
