Jonathan Beason and his crew celebrate after winning the A-Main in Tuesday night’s Warren CAT Qualfier for the Chili Bowl Nationals at the Tulsa Expo Center. Photo by Patrick Grant/Courtesy Chili Bowl Media
Almost two-years to the day, Jonathan Beason was able to dedicate his Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals preliminary night win to his friend, and former teammate Donnie Ray Crawford who passed away in 2012, taking the Hard 8 Racing No. 8J to his first Chili Bowl prelim win in Tuesday’s Warren CAT Qualifier at the Tulsa Expo Center in Tulsa, OK.
Accumulating the highest combined passing points through Heats and Qualifiers, Beason earned the pole for the 25 lap affair, never relinquishing the point even as Zach Daum and Alex Bright pursued the Oklahoma shoe through heavy slower traffic in the closing laps.
“I was really worried,” Beason said. “I race 10 times a year now. This was my second midget race this, well, I guess this would be my first one this year. I haven’t really dealt with lapped traffic like these guys have. I was worried but thankfully, I saw their noses a couple of times, but I figured lapped cars were going to be in their way too.”
Taking a shot at the lead on the third lap as Beason slipped the cushion through the third and fourth turns, Alex Bright settled back in line before relinquishing the runner spot to Illinois’ Zach Daum on lap 10.
Trading blows for the silver position, Daum and Bright never allowed Beason to gain a sizable advantage as traffic kept the race for the lead tight on the quarter-mile oval. Trying for the inside pass as laps waned, Daum’s attempt was foiled as the high-line cleared, allowing Beason the advantage, and the win by 0.852 seconds.
“I wasn’t going throw nothing stupid at him,” commented Daum of his attempts at the lead. “I could’ve thrown a slide job, but as slick as the track was, it was going to crash both of us. There was no reason to do that. We just wanted to lock ourselves in the show and that’s what we did.”
Alex Bright earned the final transfer into Saturday’s 55 lap, championship event.
“I never expected to make the A-Main this year, but I did think I would get into the prelim night feature,” Bright commented. “To be locked in is quite amazing and hopefully we can move forward in the A-Main.”
Gary Taylor came from seventh to fourth with Vacuworx Invitational Race of Champions winner, Kyle Larson, advancing 11 spots to complete the top five after engine problems gridded the No. 71k sixteenth.
Shane Cottle crossed sixth with Thomas Meseraull emerging as the night’s Hard Charger, clawing from twentieth to seventh. R.J. Johnson was eighth, Joey Moughan crossed ninth, and Brady Bacon, from eighteenth, completed the top ten.
Larson’s victory in the VIROC IV broke a streak of three consecutive Swindell wins in the $2,500 to win, 20 lap Race of Champions, and puts the California drivers as the fourth different winner, joining Sammy Swindell (2009, 2011, and 2012), Kevin Swindell (2013), and Brad Loyet (2010). Leading by Lap 10, after starting sixth, Larson was unchallenged to the finish.
Of the 70 scheduled drivers from Tuesday’s Warren CAT Qualifying night, 69 made the call.
A pair of Chili Bowl rookies earned staring spots in the A-Feature. Jeb Sessums finished fourteenth after starting twenty-second. Australia’s Mathew Smith ended up 22nd after starting fourteenth. Four drivers flipped during the night with no injuries reported.
The Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire continues with Wednesday’s River Spirit Casino Qualifying Night. For more info, visit chilibowl.com.
Chili Bowl Nationals
Tulsa Expo Center – Tulsa, OK
Warren CAT Qualifier – Jan. 14, 2014
1. 8J-Jonathan Beason
2. 5D-Zach Daum
3. 77-Alex Bright
4. 05T-Gary Taylor
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6. 71C-Shane Cottle
7. 16-Thomas Meseraull
8. 51J-R.J. Johnson
9. 7JM-Joey Moughan
10. 99-Brady Bacon
11. 4J-Tim Crawley
12. 44-Don Droud, Jr.
13. 39C-Joey Saldana
14. 2ND-Jeb Sessums
15. 50-Daniel Adler
16. 55F-Taylor Ferns
17. 38-Billy Wease
18. 7A-Dalton Armstrong
19. 17E-Blake Edwards
20. 19-Steven Drevicki
21. 1W-Paul White
22. 4AU-Mathew Smith
23. 98-P.J. Jones
24. 11W-Tyler Courtney
VIROC VI
1. 71K-Kyle Larson
2. 47-Damion Gardner
3. 97-Christopher Bell
4. 05-Brad Loyet
5. 24-Tracy Hines
6. 5-Jerry Coons, Jr.
7. 21K-Cory Kruseman
8. 71-Kasey Kahne
9. 63-Bryan Clauson
10. 1-Sammy Swindell
11. 39-Kevin Swindell
12. 1ST-J.J. Yeley
13. 15X-Chad Boat
14. 47X-Tim McCreadie
15. 4AU-Mathew Smith
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