By Tyson Graves
Photo: Brendon Bauman
(January 11, 2021) – The pursuit for the 2021 Golden Driller trophy in the 35th Annual Chili Bowl Nationals gets underway tonight. Last year it was Kyle Larson who broke through to capture his first Chili Bowl victory. The field this year is loaded with talented drivers who have never got to stand on the stage Saturday night and hoist the most coveted trophy in midget racing.
One driver who has been close but hasn’t closed the deal is the driver from Indianapolis, IN and will once again be behind the wheel of the Clauson-Marshall Racing 7C machine sponsored by NOS Energy Drink. Tyler Courtney, the driver dubbed “Sunshine” is entering the week after a strong showing in the Tulsa Shootout just over a week ago. Tyler did not win during the Tulsa Shootout but competed in four classes and was the man on the move in two top classes. He brought home a runner up in Non-Wing and third place finish in the Winged Outlaws. This should be a confidence builder Courtney moves his focus to the midget this week in Tulsa.
Other story lines to follow on Monday night will be the sixteen rookies that will make their debut on the big stage in Tulsa. Last year, Cannon McIntosh took the opening night win and will be in action on Monday night. It will be interesting to see if he can put the Keith Kunz Motorsports machine back on the podium with a qualifying night win. NASCAR driver Chase Briscoe will look to try and lock himself into the A-main on Saturday night, as well as past Chili Bowl Champion Tim McCreadie. Last weekends announcer Clinton Boyles will look to put the Ram Racing team in the show. USAC Champion Chris Windom looks to put himself in a place to make it back to his familiar spot of competing for the Saturday night prize. Other standouts to keep your eyes on will be World of Outlaw and soon to be NASCAR truck driver David Gravel, CJ Leary, Carson Macedo and Oklahoma home state boy Blake Hahn.
One thing certain is we are in for a treat this week as we see the best drivers in the nation come together under one roof. You do not want to miss a lap of the exciting action of the 2021 Chili Bowl Nationals. All the preliminary nights will be LIVE at FloRacing. You can register to watch here…http://share.flosports.tv/SHA2. Action looks to start at 5pm Tulsa Time. Saturday nights B-Mains and 55 Lap finale can be see on Lucas Oil Racing TV and MavTV.
Monday Night Driver Lineup:
| Car # | Driver | Hometown | Owner/Sponsors |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0B | Kevin Woody Jr. | Victor, NY | Brian Buckwalter / Elite / Chevrolet / Buckwalter Roofing / Combat Cleaning / VRP Shocks / Royalton Recycling / |
| 0G (R) | Steven Russell | Springfield, IL | Glenn Styres – Jack Yeley Racing / Spike / Stanton SR-11 / Glenn Styres Racing / Enriam |
| P1 | Paul White | Waco, TX | P1 Motorsports / Stealth / Wells Chevrolet / China Spring Service / Allgayer Service / WCR Construction / Red-Co / RNMInstall.com |
| 1D | David Gravel | Watertown, CT | Rusty Kunz – RMS, LLC / Spike / Speedway Toyota / Evirofab / Response Management Services / Guess Performance / Hoosier Tire / |
| 2 | Brett Wilson | Coweta, OK | Storm Chaser 54 / Ellis / Fontana / MotorWear International / Electrified Motorsports / AmeriFlex / Morton Excavating / |
| 2C (R) | Trevor Casey | Altoona, IA | Casey Racing / Stealth / Gaerte Chevrolet / Hesspower Fabs / JST Lubricants / Premium Sprint Parts / High Fly’n Photos / |
| 2L | Matt Linder | Braselton, GA | Mark Bush / Spike / Esslinger / Express Car Wash of Texas / Picture Car Productions / |
| 2S (R) | Cole Scott | Goldsby, OK | Steve Scott / Spike / Gaerte Chevrolet / Steel Thinking / Travis Scott Sand & Gravel / |
| 3T | Taylor Peterson | Tulsa, OK | Chuck Cline / Bullet / Gaerte / Wester Industrial X-Ray / Warrior Machine Shop / |
| 4 (R) | Mike Ducharme | Ash Fork, AZ | Beast Enterprises / Beast / Chevrolet / Rev Chem Composites / Pete Pendleton / Gina Dennis / |
| 4CM | TBA | Morgan Frewaldt / Spike / Toyota / Xtreme Color, Inc. / Repairable Vehicles / Bott Machine / | |
| 4G | Chase Majdic | Redding, CA | Glenn Styres – Jack Yeley Racing / Ripper / Fontana / Glenn Styres Racing / |
| 5 | Chase Briscoe | Mitchell, IN | Chase Briscoe Racing / Spike / SR-11 / Tex-A-Con Cut Stone / Bear Archery / Circle B Diecast / Hoosier |
| 5F | Danny Frye III | St. Peters, MO | Danny Fry, Jr. / Boss / Gaerte / Danny Frye Motorsports / |
| 07W | Mitchel Moles | Raisin , CA | Matt Wood Racing / Spike / Stanton SR-11x / Elk Grove Ford / |
| 7C | Tyler Courtney | Indianapolis, IN | Clauson-Marshall Racing / Spike / Stanton SR-11x / NOS Energy Drink Turbo / zMAX / |
| 7F | Roy Entze II | Tulsa, OK | Kelly Fode / Spike / Gaerte / Warrior Machine Shop / |
| 7K (R) | Kolton Gariss | Owasso, OK | Wayne Simmons / Twister / Felker Esslinger / Premier Machine / |
| 7RS | Christopher Larson | Round Rock, TX | Ray & Sandy Boyles / Stealth / Ford SHO / Eagle Wing-One / Jane Owen / |
| 8 | Alex Sewell | Broken Arrow, OK | AJS Racing / Spike / Stanton / Action Auto Collision / Sewell Mechanical / BT Powder Coating / |
| 8M | Kade Morton | Coweta, OK | Blane Morton / Spike / KMR Esslinger / Morton Excavating / East Side Septic / Whitacre Glass Works / Coweta Auto Supply / |
| 9 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | Jim Neuman / Ripper / SR-11x / Ken Tibbles Roofing / FK Rod Ends / Hotrods Septic Treatment / Modern Paving & Scrap / |
| 10G | Marcus Thomas | Corsicana, TX | George White / Spike / Mopar / Builders Electric / |
| 11S (R) | Stephen Schnapf | Newburgh, IN | Martin Motorsports / Spike / Esslinger / Martin’s Auto Care & Body Shop / MAC Performance / Jimmy George Racing / JR1 Oil / |
| 14S | Clinton Boyles | Greenwood, MO | RAMS Racing / Bullet by Spike / Stanton SR-11 / Rockwell Security / Veteran’s Community Project / Challenger Construction / K1 Safety Gear / Bell Helmets / |
| 17L | Rocky Silva | Kapolei, HI | Koontz Racing / Spike / Tranter Esslinger / Turf & Lawn Equipment Service / Albert’s Towing – Hawaii / Pacific Air Cargo / Da Race Shack / Kamuela Trucking / |
| 17Z | Zac Moody | Tulsa, OK | Joe Estes / Maxim / Stanton W-9 Mopar / Safari Joes H2O / DSO / Car &Fleet / |
| 18L | Logan Scherb | Decatur, TX | Scott Scherb / Felker / Esslinger / Klement Ford / Shoulders Race Engines / Triple 7 Graphics / Summit Metals / Scherb Racing / |
| 21E | Emilio Hoover | Broken Arrow, OK | Team Ripper / Ripper / SR-11x / Puro Clean of Broken Arrow / BPM Services / Ealy Transportation / |
| 21T | Carson Macedo | Lemoore, CA | Tarlton Motorsports / King / Toyota / Tarlton & Sons, Inc. / Complete Parts & Equipment / |
| 22 | Sean McClelland | Tulsa, OK | D&E Racing / Spike / Esslinger / D&E Supply / Dyno Services of Oklahoma / Schure Built Suspension / |
| 22Q | David Prickett | Fresno, CA | Neverlift Motorsports / Spike AMS Chevrolet / Monster Seal / Henson General Engineering / Speed Shark Graphics / Western Performance Parts / Simpson / |
| 27B | A.J. Burns | Norman, OK | Burns / Boss / Honda / Skunk2 / Slic Prototyping / Valir Health / Machine Tool Supply / K1 Race Gear / |
| 28K | Kory Schudy | Battlefield, MO | Rick Horn / Ripper / Esslinger / Rick Horn Racing / EKAN Crude / Vehicles Unlimited / Sprint Lawn Care / |
| 32 | Gary Taylor | Snohomish, WA | Mike & Brian Dunlap / Spike / Speedway Toyota / FK Rod Ends / Kenny’s Components / Oak Farm Vineyards / Dunlap Performance / |
| 32T | Trey Marcham | Newcastle, OK | Matchem R&D / Spike / Speedway Toyota / Tops Up Here Bud (TUHB) Quality Threads / Keizer Wheels / |
| 33 (R) | Bryson Smith | Nixa, MO | Bryan Smith / Spike / Gaerte Chevrolet / All Metal Recycling / |
| 34 (R) | KJ Snow | Kingsburg, CA | Wade Wiseley / Stealth / VanDyn Chevrolet / |
| 35 (R) | Jacob Denny | Galloway, OH | Petry Motorsports / Bullet / Toyota / FK Rod Ends / Mobil 1 / Keizer Wheels / |
| 38 (R) | Braydon Cromwell | Lone Jack, MO | Rick Horn / Spike / Esslinger / All Metal Recycling / Spicer Racecraft / |
| 40M (R) | Chase McDermand | Springfield, IL | RMS, LLC / Spike / Honda / Envirofab / Guess Products / McDermand Plumbing / |
| 45K (R) | Kyler Johnson | Quinter, KS | KJR / Spike / Esslinger / Smoky Hill Ag / Hod Rods / BLE Farms / McDonald’s / |
| 45X | Roger Crockett | Broken Arrow, OK | Johnny Herrera Racing / Spike / Esslinger / JB Henderson / Rocket Designs / Champion Brands / |
| 47K | Kevin Brewer | Owasso, OK | Doug Helt / Stealth / Gaerte / Walrus Racing / Brewer Motorsports / |
| 52 | Blake Hahn | Sapulpa, OK | Hahn / Bullet by Spike / Speedway Toyota / Velocita / Lucas Oil / DriveWFX.com / CSR Garage / Smiley’s Racing Products / |
| 55V | C.J. Leary | Greenfield, IN | Alex Bowman Racing / Stewart / Stanton SR-11 / Valvoline / US Auto Cure / Super Soakers / |
| 56A | Riley Kreisel | Warsaw, MO | Ron Cox / Beast / SR-11x / 3 Wide Life / AdvanTec Dyno Services / Michael Lang Fluid Transfer Products / Schure Built Suspension / Truman Lake Marine / |
| 63 (R) | Trey Burke | Alvin, TX | Joe Dooling Auto Sport / Spike / Stanton / Dooling Machine / Texas Micro Optics / Momentum Suspension / |
| 67K | Holley Hollan | Tulsa, OK | Keith Kunz Motorsports-Curb-Agajanian / Bullet by Spike / Speedway Toyota / JBL / Toyota / TRD / Mobil 1 / Curb Records / |
| 71K | Cannon McIntosh | Bixby, OK | Keith Kunz Motorsports-Curb-Agajanian / Bullet by Spike / Speedway Toyota / Toyota / TRD / Mobil 1 / JBL / Curb Records / |
| 73 | Dylan Ito | Ventura, CA | JFM / TCR / 1-Way Chevrolet / King Racing Products / Naturipe Berry Growers / Pacific Coast Maintenance / Sun Valley Ag Transport / |
| 79 | Ryan Hall | Midlothian, TX | Ryan Hall Racing / Spike / Toyota / Express Car Wash of Texas / True North Collective / BK Windows / |
| 85 | Jerry Coons Jr | Tucson, AZ | Central Motorsports / Spike / Stanton SR-11 / Schmidt’s Inc. / Proterra Landscapes / Gateway Paintball / BKW Pipeline / |
| 87W | Ryan Bernal | Hollister, CA | Matt Wood Racing / Spike / Stanton SR-11x / Elk Grove Ford / Royal Truck Bodies / NOS Energy Drink / |
| 89 | Chris Windom | Canton, IL | CB Industries / Spike / Speedway Toyota / NOS Energy Drink / PristineAuction.com / K&C Drywall / |
| 91K | Kevin Bayer | Bixby, OK | Kenny Bayer / Boss / Esslinger / Dacus Heating & Air / JB Machining / |
| 91S (R) | Kyle Shipley | Phoenix, AZ | Mark Stasa / Spike / Toyota / Lifestyle Homes / Michael Most Trucking / Bob & Clint Houlet / |
| 91W | Cody Hays | Wynne, AR | Hagar-Proctor Racing / Stealth / Dynotech Chevrolet / CEC / Crowleys Ridge Raceway / Mack’s Camo Connection / Jensen Hunting Camp / DHR Suspension / |
| 96 | Cody Brewer | Choctaw, OK | Central Motorsports / Spike / Isuzu / Schmidt’s Inc. / Red Dirt Raceway / Rod End Supply / Midwest Midget Championship / |
| 98B | Joe Boyles | Greenwood, MO | Joe Boyles / Stealth / Esslinger / Rod End Supply / |
| 116 | Claud Estes III | Godley, TX | Jerry Evans / Spike / Esslinger / Texas Aeroplastics / Skyvue Corp. / DFW Urethane / Generator Ford / |
| 121 (R) | Steven Glover | Rochester, NY | Glover / Boss / Gaerte Chevrolet / ELAB Smoker’s Boutique / Randy’s Racing Filters / |