CHILI BOWL NOTES: Williamson Thrills & Boyles Spills

TULSA, Okla. – Much like Landon Brooks made himself the hero on the final circuit of Tuesday night’s Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink preliminary feature, so too did Missouri’s Garet Williamson during the last lap of the first B-main.

Running sixth at the white flag, Williamson needed to pass two cars in order to make the A-main transfer, an unlikely scenario around the tight confines of the fifth-mile Tulsa Expo Raceway.

And yet, the 24-year-old found a way.

In a one-lap dash to the finish, Williamson clawed past Tom Harris on the inside of turn two, surging down the backstretch and staying low coming through the final set of corners.

That gave Williamson the shortest distance to the finish line when big-block modified ace Mat Williamson biked the front end of his Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian entry into the air off turn four.

The wild moment cost Mat Williamson all his momentum down the frontstretch and allowed Garet Williamson to sneak by and move into the night’s 30-lap main event.

It was one of many frantic moments during a crazy second night of action inside the SageNet Center, one that even left Garet Williamson in disbelief when he took off his helmet after the B-main.

“I don’t know how I got there,” admitted the driver of the No. 6G Phantom Chassis for Team DGRD. “This place takes a lot of luck, and fortunately, we were on the right side of it after we definitely weren’t in our qualifier.”

The bad luck he alluded to was the flip by second-running Mason Hannagan in the final qualifier that collected Garet Williamson and severely damaged his race car, leading to a throw of his steering wheel to the dirt and a heated post-crash interview.

“After the incident I just told Mason to get a clue,” Garet Williamson said when riding back to the pits before the B. “I don’t know what he was doing. He stepped on it three or four times there in that one.

“If you can’t race up top then get out of the way.”

The end result soothed some of those wounds, as Garet Williamson ultimately raced his way into the A-main, started 23rd, and worked his way up to 15th after 30 laps.

He’ll land near the front of a D-main on Saturday, but was remorseful after the feature at his earlier actions.

“Pretty disappointed (in) myself and embarrassed for letting my emotions get to me after our qualifier,” Garet Williamson later wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “No excuses; I need to be better, but on a positive note my team worked their (tails) off to get our car welded and back together again.”

– While Garet Williamson ended Tuesday’s prelim night with a bit of positive momentum, the reverse was true for Clinton Boyles, the second-generation driver who thought he had a Saturday lock-in spot within reach midway through the 30-lap feature.

Boyles started sixth and had worked his way to third by halfway, chasing down leaders Brenham Crouch and Gunnar Setser when disaster struck on the frontstretch.

As he slid across the groove to try and work around the lap car of R.J. Johnson, Boyles’ front bumper tagged the left-rear of Johnson’s machine and got hooked, sending Boyles into the air and end over end in a violent barrel roll.

The bright pink-and-yellow No. 11B came down on its cage, was righted, and Boyles climbed out. His best prelim night showing to date was over in a flash.

For Boyles, who spends the outdoor season as the sprint car crew chief for his brother-in-law Hunter Schuerenberg, Tuesday was a rare opportunity to remind the racing world that he’s still got what it takes behind the wheel. That didn’t mean the dejection wasn’t still prevalent, though.

“My heart hurts – bad,” lamented Boyles, who will line up in an E-main Saturday afternoon. “This building owes no one anything. Today just wasn’t my day. I can’t thank my guys and all the partners I have on the [No.] 11B enough. Their belief in me is incredible.

“Thanks to everyone for the kind words and we will be back. Our week isn’t done.”

– Sixteen-year-old Gunnar Setser ended Tuesday as the standout rookie of the week so far, starting fourth and ending up fifth in the nightcap to put himself solidly in the hunt for a championship feature berth in his event debut.

Setser wheeled his family-owned No. 43 LynK Chassis against the likes of Buddy Kofoid, Brenham Crouch, and Hank Davis, setting himself up in a B-main for the alphabet soup program.

It was a banner night for the young driver, who previously raced micro sprints inside the SageNet Center during the Tulsa Shootout.

“We don’t have a lot to hang our heads down over,” Setser said. “First time here, not a lot of practice. I think I’m really good in a Midget but just not a lot of experience here beyond the Shootout.”

– Past prelim winner Jonathan Beason was another big name that raced into the A from a B-main, ending up 11th in his familiar No. 8J.

USAC mainstay Kevin Thomas Jr. was two spots back in the final results, ending up 13th after an early spin in the feature with his Alex Bowman Racing No. 55X.

Both veterans will be in the primetime portion of Saturday’s alphabet soup program, racing in C-mains.

– After battling power issues throughout the Race of Champions Monday, six-time national sprint car champion Brad Sweet continued to struggle Tuesday, ultimately finishing last in the A-main after completing just one lap.

Sweet will head to an E-main Saturday as he chases a seventh Chili Bowl finale appearance.

– Seventy-four drivers officially drew in for Warren CAT Qualifying Night, with the event’s flip count standing at 24 through practice and two preliminary nights.

Broadcast coverage of Wednesday’s York Plumbing Qualifying Night activities begins at 4 p.m. CT, with every lap of Chili Bowl week available through FloRacing.