22nd Annual Dodge Chili Bowl Nationals – The
Rookies
 Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (January 5, 2008) – With a record field of 285 entries set
to battle it out over five nights in the
22nd Annual Dodge Chili Bowl
Nationals atop the ¼-mile Tulsa Expo
Raceway clay oval inside the QuikTrip
Center, 70 of those drivers will be deemed
"rookie" contenders as they get
their first taste of Chili Bowl
competition.
While some are self-admittedly thrill seekers, just itching
to race in the Super Bowl of auto racing,
others are verified thrill providers that
can vie for a starting position in
Saturday night's championship main event
and possibly even the win.
The first crack at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals has
historically proven to be tough sledding,
particularly in reaching victory lane.
Since the legendary Rich Vogler won
the inaugural edition of the Chili Bowl in
1987 when the entire field would have been
considered Chili Bowl "rookies",
only one driver has captured the Golden
Driller trophy in his first Chili Bowl
attempt.
That driver was Dave Blaney, who
took the top spot in 1993.
Since that time, no rookie has
reached victory lane on Saturday night.
Will that change this year? That's a question that will be answered in full next Saturday
night.
A look at the rookies:
0k-Don O'Keefe, Jr. (Pittsboro, IN)
– Fielding a two-car team that also
includes fellow rookie Jason Holt.
00s-Jesse Stovall (Springfield, MO) – A
late addition to the field as he was named
to drive the third Meents entry late
Friday.
1b-Scott Crystal (Overland Park, KS)
– Takes the wheel of the second Boyles
entry.
1d-Dennis Rodriguez (Camarillo, CA) – A
veteran of the West Coast wingless Sprint
Car ranks.
1h-Hunter Schuerenberg (Sikeston, MO) – It
was obvious this kid had tremendous
potential when he gave Gary Wright a run
for his money at West Plains in 2005 as a
15-year-old. Has focused on the topless ranks since and enjoyed enough
success that he has caught the eye of car
owner J.J. Yeley.
2a-Tommy Bryant (Montgomery, TX) – Ranked
fifth in ASCS Gulf South Region points.
4R-Robby Ross (St. Joseph, MO)
5w-Kurt Davis (Milwaukee, WI) – A
past champ in winged Sprint Cars, Davis
takes the wheel of one of the potent Wilke-Pak
entries.
6J-Justin Hendricks (Stillwater, OK)
6m-Justin Mallo (Cheyenne, WY)
– Jumps from Big Country Speedway super
stocks to the Chili Bowl.
7c-Doug Frye (Wheatland, MO)
7J-Jerrod Wilson (Tulsa, OK) – A
$10,000 winner in I-30 Speedway's 600
Nationals, added another Golden Driller in
last weekend's Tulsa Shootout with an
"A" Class win.
7m-Kevin Ramey (Fort Worth, TX) – The
two-time ASCS Sooner Region champion
straps into a Midget for the first time.
Joked after a brief practice
session at Cowtown Speedway late in the
season that, "They need to make the
cockpit in these things bigger for a big
ol' boy like me, but the Chili Bowl is the
biggest race around and I can't
wait."
Waiting time is just about over.
7p-Anthony Peterman (Crawfordsville, IN)
7r-Blake Miller (Anaheim, CA)
– Top-ten in USAC/CRA points.
7T-Eric Todd (Falcon, MO) – Has
decimated Missouri's 305-ci Sprint Car
ranks and hopes that translates into
Midget glory.
8J-Jason Holt (Brownsburg, IN) – Teamed
with Don O'Keefe, Jr., was a top Gas City
gasser in wingless Sprint Cars.
8m-Dan Mecum (Marengo, IL) – '07
Badger Rookie is teamed with last year's
Tuesday night hero "Bubba" Altig.
10-George White (Fort Worth, TX) –
The Cowtown Speedway Sprint Car champ
tries on a Midget for the first time.
10F-Kelly Ferrell (Chaplin, CT) – Quad
4 Midget action at Whip City Speedway
serves as his Chili Bowl training.
10h-Eric Heydenreich (Bloomsburg, PA) – The
ARDC Midget runner-up.
10m-Mason Moore (Princeton, CA) – Top-ten
in both Civil War Sprint Car points and
Silver Dollar Speedway 410-ci points.
10T-T.J. Smith (Fresno, CA) – Takes
one of four Chris Walker entries, all of
which are piloted by rookies (others
include Kelly Ferrell, Mason Moore and
Shane Golobic).
10w-Shane Golobic (Fremont, CA) – The
16-year-old has already posted feature
wins in wingless Sprint Cars and Midgets.
11c-Joe Cleveland (Delphos, KS) – Made
some SRMS Midget starts in the Cattle car.
11x-Ricky Williams (Clinton, OH)
– Bearing the name of a troubled running
back and hailing from "Clinton",
no scandals yet for this 15-year-old
gasser.
13au-Stewart Friesen (Niagara-on-the-Lake, ONT) – The
first Chili Bowl competitor to come from
Niagara-on-the-Lake, the Modified ace
hopes to adapt to a Midget as quickly as
teammate Tim McCreadie was able to.
14h-Harley Hollan (Broken Arrow, OK) – The
Micro ace keeps the tradition of Mercury
Outboard power alive at the Chili Bowl.
17T-Justin Grant (Ione, CA)
– The 17-year-old snared the BCRA Midget
title.
22wa-Eric Young (Covington, WA) – A
mere 2,010 mile journey from Covington to
Tulsa for his first Chili Bowl.
23w-Scott Winters (Butterfield, MN) – The
winged Sprint Car shoe escapes the frozen
tundra of Minnesota for his first Midget
outing.
25m-Austin Mero (Kingsburg, CA) – Ready
for his first Chili Bowl under the
watchful eye of two-time Chili Bowl winner
Cory Kruseman.
25x-Derrick Myers (Stonington, IL) – Up
from the POWRi 600-cci Micro ranks.
27c-Doug Nunes (Kingsburg, CA) – The
BCRA Midget Lites titleist.
27d-Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, CA) – Teamed
with Nunes aboard another Blackwell entry,
Larson drew raves as an '07 Sprint Car
rookie.
28-Nathan Smith (Valencia, CA)
31c-Larry Campbell (Van Buren, AR) –
The Arkansas Modified shoe tries on a
Lehmann Midget.
33s-Austin Smith (Chino Hills, CA) – Wally
Pankratz serves as tutor for the
15-year-old, perhaps opening a new line of
business for retired racers as
"consultants".
33x-Scott Fennell (Littleton, CA) – Descends
the Rockies for a shot at the Bowl.
34 – Bob Ream, Jr. (Glendale, AZ) –
Leaving the desert in his wake, the past
Arizona state Sprint Car champ tries on
the Chili Bowl for the first time.
35T-Tyler Robbins (Collinsville, IL) – Did
Donnie Ray Crawford set a trend by jumping
from the Micro ranks to finish fifth in
last year's Chili Bowl championship main
event in his first Midget start?
The seventh-ranked POWRi Micro shoe
hopes so.
36J-Justin Melton (Flower Mound, TX) – The
Texas racer split time between ASCS
Regional action and west coast Midget
competition in 2007.
37c-Colby Copeland (Rossville, CA) – Among
Arizona's top Micro shoes in 2007.
39J-Jerry Higbie, Jr. (Slate Hill, NY) – Teamed
with WoO shoes Jason Meyers and Randy
Hannagan, the New York DIRT Modified ace
bears watching.
41-Gary Scelzi (Fresno, CA) – A
participant in the 2003 Ford Focus Midget
Race of Champions at the Chili Bowl, it
was just a matter of time before the NHRA
star returned for the real thing.
43-Jeff Bland, Jr. (Springville, IN) – Laid
claim to the 2007 Bloomington Speedway
non-wing Sprint Car championship as a
19-year-old rookie.
48-Lee Little (Mustang, OK) –
Makes for two from Mustang if you can get
Wayne Johnson to admit to Mustang as a
hometown.
49e-Brad Sweet (Grass Valley, CA) – The
little fella' with a big right foot gained
national notoriety when he sailed over the
turn one and two billboards at Tri-State
Speedway in Haubstadt, IN, in 2005.
Still on the gas with much improved
precision, joins the Kasey Kahne stable
for his first Chili Bowl.
51c-Brent Camarillo (Ventura, CA) – The
younger of the Camarillo brothers.
51w-Scott Walton (Inola, OK) – Watch
your step.
Consider yourself warned.
52d-Derek Hagar (Marion, AR) – Another
up-and-coming talent from the Memphis
area.
53-Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) – Touted
at times as "Gary Wright-fast"
by some, the lanky 17-year-old straps into
a Midget for the first time after several
winged Sprint Car wins in 2007.
54-Ryan Smith (Kunkletown, PA) – The
top-ranked rookie on the rugged ARDC
Midget trail.
58-Cole Peard (Quincy, CA) –
One of many entries not old enough to
remember the show "Quincy,
M.D.".
61-Kevin Battles (Collinsville, OK) – Takes
the old Toby Brown Midget for a spin at
the Bowl.
63R-Kyle Robbins (New Castle, IN) – Ranked
seventh in non-wing Sprint Car points at
Gas City.
64-Brett Miller (Chico, CA) – The
18-year-old has been making waves in
Northern California's winged Sprint Car
sea.
71n-Tim Noble (Madison, WI) – Comes
off his Badger Rookie campaign.
73e-Brian Portschy (Plymouth, WI) – A
top-ten runner with the Wisconsin-based
MSA winged Sprint Car series.
73F-Andrew Felker (Carl Junction, MO) – Racked
up 30 Micro wins in 2007, including a
$10,000 score in Nebraska's Non-Wing
Nationals.
73i-Blake Fitzpatrick (West Terre Haute, IN) – The
Kenyon Midget runner-up tried out some
wingless Sprint Car stuff in 2007 as well.
75d-Andrew Deal (Caney, KS) – Another
Micro shoe making the move.
78c-David Budres (Beloit, WI)
78J-Nick Wean (Phillipsburg, NJ) – Eighth
in his rookie season with ARDC.
83h-Jonathan Halford (Tulsa, OK) – The
micro grad made a handful of Midget starts
to tune up for his first taste of Chili.
87d-Brent Rees (Arvada, CO) – Ruled
Colorado's Micro Sprint ranks.
92-Brandon Wagner (Lafayette, IN)
97k-Caleb Armstrong (New Castle, IN) – The
only rookie among the eight-car fleet of
Keith Kunz Motorsports entries.
99J-Robby Josett (Santa Clarita, CA) – Climbs
the ladder from the Ford Focus Midget
ranks for his first Chili Bowl.
175-Brian Camarillo (Ventura, CA) – The
older of the Camarillo boys lands in a
Cruz Pedregon Midget for his first Chili
Bowl.
Pictured:
Among this year's top Chili Bowl rookie
contenders, Brad Sweet pedaled away with a
$10,000 O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT win in
Lakeside Speedway's Ron Shuman Classic in
August 2006.
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