CHILI BOWL NOTES: Rowdy Has Solid Prelim Debut

Kyle Busch (51) battles Wout Hoffmans at Tulsa Expo Raceway. (David Campbell/DPC Media photo)

TULSA, Okla. – Friday’s Hard Rock Casino Qualifying Night at the 39th Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink featured star power throughout the field, but no driver was more watched than two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch.

Making his Chili Bowl debut with veteran mechanic “Big Al” Scroggins on the wrenches, Busch started the night by wowing the Tulsa Expo Raceway crowd, charging from seventh to second in his heat, slotting himself third in passing points going into qualifiers, and appearing to have a shot at the prelim feature.

Unfortunately, the qualifier didn’t go nearly as well, as Busch started sixth and faded a spot to seventh.

That dropped him to the pole of a B-main, where Busch faded to seventh and was unable to earn one of the top four transfer positions into the Friday main event.

But while the end result wasn’t what he hoped it would be, Busch has still carried a smile throughout his maiden voyage at the Super Bowl of Midget Racing.

“We almost got caught up at the start of that heat, but I just told myself to keep wrapping the berm and stay underneath it all,” Busch later explained. “Jumped past a couple of guys, felt really good about my positioning … and then things just weren’t as good where I needed to be with the car later on in the night.

“But it’s been fun so far. I’m still learning more and more about the midgets as I gain laps.”

Busch has had a great month inside the SageNet Center, considering he participated in the Tulsa Shootout for micro sprints as well and watched son Brexton win a Golden Driller at the Shootout in the Junior Sprint division.

While he’s still a relative newbie in the midgets, Busch continues to gain experience and comfort every time out and add to his incredibly diverse driving acumen.

“Being here at Tulsa Shootout with the micro sprint definitely has helped my confidence,” Busch noted. “I felt really good running both the top and bottom in that. But in the midget, the groove isn’t as wide ad for action … at least it wasn’t for some of my time on track [Friday].

“You take what you can get, and we all know that [Saturday] will get tougher.”

Flea Ruzic (lower right) welds on Santino Ferrucci's midget chassis Friday at the Chili Bowl Nationals.

– NTT IndyCar Series star Santino Ferrucci had perhaps the wildest night of any participant on Friday, going for a wild flip in turn one during hot laps and having to thrash just to roll out for his heat race.

Ferrucci’s Abacus Racing team got help from Ripper Chassis creator and well-known fabricator Flea Ruzic to repair the No. 16 in time to continue racing, though he ultimately ended up sixth in the first C-main later on after a second time upside down while closing in on a transfer position.

Despite the bitter ending, Ferrucci had nothing but appreciation for Ruzic’s assistance in getting him a fair shake in his fifth Chili Bowl appearance.

“I love that guy,” said Ferrucci of Ruzic at the end of the night. “It’s unreal the amount of work the Abacus Racing crew had to do to put our Webco midget back together and we still were able to race our heat. Flea was such a resource in us getting things done and [the car] still drove great.

“We went from fifth to second in our heat and then got dumped coming to the line. Just couldn’t salvage from there … but that’s dirt racing sometimes. I’m having a blast here like always.”

– He’s had a surprisingly quiet week, but two-time sprint car champion Tyler Courtney rolled from 12th to third in a Paul Silva-prepared entry and sets up on the front row of the first B-main for Saturday night.

Courtney is a teammate to Monday prelim winner and two-time Chili Bowl victor Kyle Larson this week, and hopes to crack the field of 24 on Saturday for the seventh time in his career.

The Indianapolis, Ind., native’s career best Chili Bowl finish is sixth twice, in both 2017 and 2019.

– Ronnie Gardner, the 2023 USAC Chief Mechanic of the Year for Logan Seavey who is still a successful driver in his own right also, nearly ran the whole table of alphabet soup Friday.

Ronnie Gardner in action at Tulsa Expo Raceway Friday. (David Campbell/DPC Media photo)

Gardner won the first D-main from sixth before charging from 11th to first to also win the first C-main during the final preliminary night program.

He ended up falling two spots short of the end goal, only making it from 11th to sixth in the B-main in a race where the top four moved on, but still advanced 20 positions Friday in a stellar showing.

Gardner finished ninth in the 2017 Chili Bowl, his best showing to date in 14 prior attempts. He’s a five-time USAC Western States Midget Series champion, earning top honors from 2013-’17.

– The feature run of the night Friday went to California’s T.J. Smith, however, who didn’t even have a ride within two weeks of this year’s Chili Bowl.

Longtime owner-driver Jody Rosenboom stepped up though, putting Smith in the No. 14J for the week.

Smith raced his way into the show as the final transfer out of the second B-main before going 24th-to-11th in 30 laps, putting himself into the primetime portion on Saturday in a C-main.

– Eighty-three drivers officially drew in for Hard Rock Casino Qualifying Night, with the event’s flip count standing at 50 through practice and five preliminary nights.

Broadcast coverage of Saturday’s NOS Energy Drink Driller Day festivities began at 9 a.m. CT with P-main action, with every lap of Chili Bowl week live on FloRacing all the way through the 40-lap championship finale.

Race Face Digital’s Chili Bowl coverage is supported by DPC Media, home of longtime motorsports and automotive photographer David Campbell. To purchase DPC apparel or order photos from Chili Bowl 2025, visit www.seemymind.com for more information.