#43 - Jeff Bland, Jr. (Springville, IN)

Chili Bowl Rookie

The 19-year-old made the most of rookie season on Indiana's wingless Sprint Car scene, picking off five feature wins and snaring the Bloomington Speedway track championship while also ranking fourth at Lincoln Park Speedway.

After kicking off his season in O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT action in Florida, Jeff went on to post 20 top-five feature finishes in 44 feature starts, with his first win taking place at Bloomington on May 25.  Jeff added two more Bloomington wins on August 10 and August 17 and added a pair of Lincoln Park triumphs in September for good measure.

Car Owner:  Kevin Arnold

Chassis:  Stealth

Engine:  Gaerte

Sponsors: Beck II Farms, TPS, Service Drywall

Photo: Jeff Bland, Jr., picked up his first career Sprint Car feature win with a Bloomington (IN) Speedway triumph on May 25. (Jack Wart photo)