Chili Bowl, Tulsa Expo Center, Jan 6, 2005 2005 January 7
Thursday was the second night of the Chili Bowl. Tracy Hines won the A-main from the pole.
The day started off with a trip to the Oklahoma Aquarium. I was pretty impressed with it, as it was larger then I thought it would be. They had a bunch of tropical fish, some sharks, and other exotic fish that was pretty neat to look at. However, the things that I found really neat where the huge snapping turtles and catfish. They also had a lobster so big that it could feed a small village. Well worth the trip if you are in Tulsa for any reason.
We had lunch at the Family Diner. For less then the cost of a potato at Gallagher’s, we got a huge piece of chicken fried steak, homemade mashed potatoes, and two vegetables. And it was very good. A highly recommended “Road Food” dinning experience.
Then it was off to the race. It was a pretty nice night. Ray Bull started last (8′th) in his heat and finished third which locked him into the A-main for the night. He ended up finishing 5′th in the feature which will put him up front in the B-main on Saturday. Critter Malone put on one of the best performances moving up in the A from near the back on the high side. He fell back a few times as he slipped out of the grove, but still finished 10′th. The full results for Thursday are:
A Main: 1. #11 Tracy Hines, Greenfield, IN; 2. #8X Bud Kaeding, Campbell, CA; 3. #20S Tony Stewart, Rushville, IN; 4. #35W Gary Wright, Hooks, TX; 5. #22M Ray Bull, Bloomsburg, PA; 6. #87C Rich Camfield, Decatur, IL; 7. #21AZ Eric Wilkins, El Mirage, AZ; 8. #39 Tim McCreadie, Watertown, NY; 9. #67K Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN; 10. #7M Critter Malone, Speedway, IN; 11. #8P Wally Pankratz, Orange, CA; 12. #5D Gary Taylor, Snohomish, WA; 13. #1AU Adam Clarke, Black Hill, New South Wales, Australia; 14. #14 Matt Westfall, Ludlow Falls, OH; 15. #85 Shane Hollingsworth, Indianapolis, IN; 16. #26C Glenn Carson, Newark, CA; 17. #27K Ryan Kaplan, Chico, CA; 18. #75H Bart Hartman, Zanesville, OH; 19. #5S Shon Deskins, Glendale, AZ; 20. #4 Michele Miller, Reading, PA; 21. #69 A.J. Fike, Galesburg, IL; 22. #55K Steve Knepper, Belleville, IL; 23. #6 Ryan Hamilton, Morgantown, IN; 24. #47X Scott Hatton, Roscoe, IL.
After the race we talked to a few drivers. One of whom was J.J. Yelley. I’ve been talking to J.J. since he was racing with the SCRA on a regular basis so he recognizes me. He commented on my long hair, and he said “I have twenty bucks for you to get a hair cut if you can’t afford it.” I declined.
My racing stats for the year:
Races: 2
Tracks: 1 (0 new)
States: 1 (0 new)
[...] Although the purpose I created this blog was to talk about racing, and in particular, reports on my trips to the races, I haven’t posted much about racing lately. This is mostly due to the fact I haven’t been to a race recently. However, for those who didn’t catch it J.J. Yeley has signed to take over the #18 Interstate Batteries car from Bobby LaBonte next year. I guess I won’t be able to get close to him any more, but I’m really happy for him. I’ve known and talked to J.J. for years and he is one big time driver who actually recognizes me when I stop to talk to him (not that we’re best friends or anything), but this is cool to have someone you know, even on a small level, and have followed through the ranks get a shot like this. Besides how many people have had a Nextel Cup driver offer to pay for their haircut? [...]