Chili Bowl

The 2006 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals Rookie Crop Results

Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (January 18, 2006)- Of this year’s record 260 entries for the 20^th Annual O’Reilly Chili Bowl Midget Nationals at Tulsa Expo Raceway, 72 of the competitors were taking in their first edition of the Chili Bowl.

Oklahoma racers Mike Goodman and Wayne Johnson, a pair of experienced Sprint Car shoes, each made their Midget racing debut a successful one by making it to Saturday night’s 50-lap Championship A Main event.

After an impressive fifth place finish in Friday night’s feature, Tulsa’s Goodman took full advantage of a front row B Feature starting slot to win Saturday’s second B Main to advance to the feature in Jack French’s Gaerte-powered Fasco Fiber Optics No. 11m Ellis. 

Johnson’s road to the A Main aboard Wayne Simmons’ Esslinger-powered No. F5 machine was a more difficult one. 

After suffering a flat tire during heat race action on his qualifying night, the Oklahoma City native charged through his Last Chance race then was battling for a transfer position to the A Main when he got caught up in a multi-car tangle on the final round and was ultimately credited with a 14^th place finish in his B Feature.

As a result, Johnson started Saturday’s action mired in the second F Main.  It proved to be to the fans’ benefit however, as Johnson turned in a classic charge through the Chili Bowl’s famous alphabet soup of features, passing 53 cars en route to an A Feature starting berth.

Goodman took the checkered flag 17^th in the main event after being caught up in a tangle, while Johnson was credited with 23^rd after making an early exit due to brake problems.

A handful of other rookies advanced as far as Saturday’s B Feature action, including West Virginia Late Model shoe Josh Richards, Indiana teen Brent Beauchamp, California racers Darren Hagen and Cole Whitt and Tennessee’s Kevin Swindell.

A look at the top 30 rookies’ Saturday feature results from the 20^th Annual O’Reilly Chili Bowl Midget Nationals is as follows:

1. 11m – Mike Goodman (Tulsa, OK) – 17^th in A Feature; 1^st in B Feature 1

2. F5 – Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) – 23^rd in A Feature; 5^th in B Feature 2; 5^th in C Feature 2; 3^rd in D Feature 2; 4^th in E Feature 2; 3^rd in F Feature 2 (Passed 53 cars while climbing from the 2^nd F Main to the A Main)

3. 27 – Josh Richards (Shinnston, WV) – 7^th in B Feature 2

4. 85x – Brent Beauchamp (Fairland, IN) – 11^th in B Feature 1

5. 71 – Darren Hagen (Riverside, CA) – 13^th in B Feature 1

6. 29w – Cole Whitt (Alpine, CA) – 18^th in B Feature 2; 2^nd in C Feature 2

7. 39 – Kevin Swindell (Germantown, TN) – 20^th in B Feature 1

8. 68 – Jonathan Hendrick (Fortville, IN) – 8^th in C Feature 2

9. 12 – Trey Robb (Newcastle, OK) – 10^th in C Feature 2; 1^st in D Feature 2

10. 77e – Dave Ely (West Lawn, PA) – 11^th in C Feature 2

11. 31h – Justin Henderson (Sioux Falls, SD) – 15^th in C Feature 2

12. 71c – Chad Kemenah (Findlay, OH) – 17^th in C Feature 1

13. 44p – Ryan Pace (Arroyo Grande, CA) – 10^th in D Feature 1

14. 17x – Audra Sasselli (Fresno, CA) – 7^th in E Feature 1; 4^th in F Feature 1; 1^st in G Feature 1

15. 37b – Zac Osborn (Muncie, IN) – 7^th in E Feature 2; 2^nd in F Feature 2

16. 5z – Zach Daum (Pocahontas, IL) – 8^th in E Feature 2

17. 49 – Billy Pauch, Jr. (Frenchtown, NJ) – 10^th in E Feature 1; 2^nd in F Feature 1

18. 83 – Kurt Blackaby (Bentonville, AR) – 11^th in E Feature 1

19. 98 – Curtis Bailey (Bartlesville, OK) – 12^th in E Feature 2

20. 4m – Scott Milan (Ft. Collins, CO) – 14^th in E Feature 1

21. 17k – Kenny Adams (Normal, IL) – 15^th in E Feature 2

22. 30 – Chad Boat (Phoenix, AZ) – 16^th in E Feature 1

23. 19s – Jonathan Beason (Broken Arrow, OK) – 6^th in F Feature 2

24. 31x – Joe Walker (Harrisonville, MO) – 7^th in F Feature 1; 3^rd I G Feature 1; 4^th in H Feature 1; 3^rd in I Feature 1; 4^th in J Feature 1; 1^st in K Feature 1

25. 2b – Brady Short (Bedford, IN) – 13^th in F Feature 1

26. 25 – Nick Knepper (Belleville, IL) – 15^th in F Feature 1

27. 21m – Andy Martin (Gordonsville, PA) – DNS F Feature 2

28. 22x – Dex Eaton (Owasso, OK) – 7^th in G Feature 2

29. 86x – Daron Clayton (Sikeston, MO) – 9^th in G Feature 1

30. 27b – Todd Kimmel (Avon, IN) – 9^th in G Feature 2

Pictured:  Top – Wayne Johnson races past Joey Montgomery and Cole Whitt en route to the A Main; Middle – Mike Goodman put the No. 11 entry into the A Feature.  (Photos courtesy of David Shead)