Crews Runs The Monday Soup, Saves His Week In Tulsa

Brent Crews in action at Tulsa Expo Raceway. (Buck Monson photo)

TULSA, Okla. – When he was sitting upside down during the fifth heat race of 2nd Opinion Auto Group Qualifying Night Monday, Brent Crews thought his chances to contend in the 39th Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink were dashed before they’d ever really begun.

Those thoughts, however, came before the epic alphabet soup run at Tulsa Expo Raceway that salvaged Crews’ entire Chili Bowl.

The soon-to-be 17-year-old from Denver, N.C., charged from third starting spot in one of the night’s twin C-mains all the way to a fourth-place finish in the first preliminary night feature of the week.

It was a masterful drive highlighted by wins in his C- and B-mains, the latter of which came from 13th on the grid in a 15-lapper that took the top four finishers to the A-main.

Suffice it to say, Crews was all smiles after climbing from his Paul May Motorsports-prepared, Toyota-powered Ripper Chassis midget. He had all the reasons in the world to be.

“I have to thank the Good Lord above for guiding and directing me around that racetrack,” said Crews, whose faith has been a centerpiece of his racing platform as he’s come up the ranks.

“Had a very, very fast race car and had a few well-timed cautions that really helped us,” he added. “There were a lot of race cars going up and over on a tricky track there – including ours at one point – with a curb like there was, so being able to run it smoothly in the feature was a real credit to our car and the Toyota power we had that pulled us off the cushion when we’d get tight.

“I can’t thank (car owner) Paul May enough for giving me a car that could go up and beat the curb down, but could also cut to the bottom and run down there when we needed to as well,” he continued. “I’m happy to be here and this really gives us a chance to do everything we want to do come Saturday night.”

Crews gave a nod to Brad “Gravel” Chandler, the leader of the track preparation crew at Tulsa Expo Raceway, for making his soup run a reality.

“Our comeback wouldn’t have been possible without Gravel and all the folks involved with track prep at the Chili Bowl giving us a great surface for the soup,” Crews noted. “In our heat race, it was not a really great racetrack. It was super hard to get around, and we ended up flipping.

“Ultimately, though, that’s exactly what led us to where we ended up, so it wasn’t all bad.”

Now, Crews looks ahead to his fourth shot at Driller Day at the Chili Bowl Nationals, where he’ll aim for his second career start in the championship finale. His previous start in 2023 came in May’s car, as well.

“We were able to have a super-fast race car that could slide through the middle and do a lot of crazy things,” said Crews with a smile. “I can’t thank my guys enough for that.

“We don’t know exactly where we’ll line up in a B (main) yet for Saturday, but we should be toward the front with a shot to race into the big show,” he continued. “It’s just about being smart now and doing the best to lock in with what we have, which is a pretty good piece.”

Did Crews enjoy the ride along the way?

“I don’t know how it looked for the fans, but it was fun racing up through there from my seat,” he laughed.

Action from the Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink continues Tuesday night with Warren CAT Qualifying Night from Tulsa Expo Raceway, with every lap of Chili Bowl week available to be streamed through FloRacing.