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| 2009 Chili Bowl |
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| 2009 Chili Bowl |
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TOYOTA TAKES FIVE OF TOP EIGHT SPOTS AT CHILI BOWL
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TOYOTA
TAKES FIVE OF TOP EIGHT SPOTS AT CHILI BOWL;
COONS
LEADS TOYOTA’S FIRST CHILI BOWL LAPS
TULSA, Okla.
(Jan. 17, 2009) – Jerry Coons, Jr., led the first 26 laps before
eventually giving up the lead as Toyota-powered cars captured five of
the top-eight finishing positions before a standing room only crowd at
the 23rd Annual Chili Bowl Nationals at the Tulsa Expo
Raceway.
Coons started the 50-lap event on the outside of the front row, but took
the lead on the first lap and led the first 26 circuits – Toyota’s
first-ever laps at the front of the Chili Bowl field – before giving up
the lead to Tracy Hines when he drifted wide on lap 27. The reigning
USAC Silver Crown champion then maintained a top-three spot until the
final lap when fellow Toyota driver Brad Kuhn took over the third
position in his RW Motorsports entry, dropping Coons to the fourth spot.
Right behind Kuhn and Coons was crowd favorite J.J. Yeley in a Cruz
Pedregon Toyota in fifth. Coons’ Wilke-Pak teammate Dave Darland, who
finished second with Toyota power at last year’s Chili Bowl, placed
sixth, while Keith Kunz Motorsports’ Cole Whitt finished eighth. The
17-year-old Whitt had one of the most impressive drives of the A Main as
he climbed through the field from his 15th starting position
on the fast track where passing proved to be difficult.
In addition to the five drivers that reached the A Main, four Toyota
powered drivers advanced to the B Main with Josh Wise, Don Droud, Jr.,
Gary Wright Jr., and Terry McCarl all falling just short of Saturday
night’s main event. Only a late spin in his C Main heat kept Austin
Brown from advancing to the B Main in his Kenny Brown Racing entry as
well. Davey Ray was forced to begin his day in the G feature and
advanced through two heats before falling short in one of the two E
Mains. He was on pace to qualify much higher before a broken mount
caused him to lose his battery during a preliminary heat.
Each of the six teams that campaigned with Toyota power advanced as
least as far as the C Main, with four different Toyota teams represented
in the A Main.
This year’s Chili Bowl featured a record 295 entries. The race will be
televised on SPEED on a tape-delayed basis on SPEED.
# # # #
Contacts: John Procida, Toyota Motorsports, 313-822-7924,
johnprocida@aol.com
Kym Strong, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.,
310-468-5017,
kym_strong@toyota.com
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