1st Annual Chili Bowl Results - 1987

VOGLER COPS FIRST ANNUAL ORIGINAL CHILI BOWL MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIPS

By Don Hubbard

TULSA, Okla. (January 11, 1987) - Rich Vogler was not on hand for the Friday night preliminary won by Gene Gennetten, but he didn't let his thirteenth starting position jinx him as he won the "Original Chili Bowl" Indoor Midget Nationals on the tight quarter mile dirt track at Expo Square on the Tulsa Fairgrounds.

Vogler put the Babe's Showgirls Autocraft #74 in sixth position by the seventh lap.  Vogler rode the cushion and used spins by Doug Wolfgang and Sammy Swindell to ride Gene Gennetten's bumper into lap twenty.  The duo was joined by Kevin Doty at the halfway mark and a torrid battle developed.  Vogler made his move to the low side, pulling even with Gennetten.  Both touched, with Gennetten scraping the wall and Vogler took the lead to the checker.  Gennetten settled for second and $2,000, with Doty taking $1,000 for third.  Shane Carson was fourth with Tulsan Steve Enlow fifth.

Sammy Swindell, two-time World of Outlaws champion, moved into the second position from his tenth starting spot by lap twelve but his drive was over when he hooked a tire marker relegating him to the back after his spin.  He charged back to sixth in the Streicher Quick Printer Challenger VW #8.  Warren Mockler was seventh, Ron Shuman eighth, Bobby Schneider ninth and Johnny Parsons, Jr., tenth.

On the tenth lap, Lealand McSpadden, Doug Wolfgang and Steve Knepper tangled, eliminating all three from the race.  Danny Frye, Jr., was not injured after flipping on the initial start of the race.  McSpadden flipped after taking the checker in his heat, but the crew had his mount repaired in time for the feature.

Results

First Heat (10 Laps):  1. Warren Mockler, 2. Roy Payne, 3. Gene Beach, 4. Randy Roberts, 5. Dean Franklin, 6. Steve Gennetten, 7. Rick Eslick, 8. Robert Harr.

Second Heat (10 Laps):  1. Doug Wolfgang, 2. Mike Wente, 3. Ron Shuman, 4. Dean Ward, 5. Ron Roberts, 6. Ronnie Burke, 7. Lou Cicconi, Jr., 8. Johnny Pickle.

Third Heat (10 Laps):  1. Steve Knepper, 2. Lealand McSpadden, 3. Pepi Marchese, 4. John Heydenreich, 5. Kelly Shaw, 6. Steve Lewis, 7. Rossie Morris, 8. Gary Germer.

Fourth Heat (10 Laps):  1. Bobby Schneider, 2. Jon Backlund, 3. Bill Bower, 4. Scott Hatton, 5. Roy Caruthers, 6. Duke DeRosa, 7. Mike Gregg, 8. Jeff Harris.

Fifth Heat (10 Laps):  1. Shane Carson, 2. Steve Enlow, 3. Rich Vogler, 4. Ron Hughes, Jr., 5. Jon Johnson, 6. Scott Weyant, 7. Gary King, 8. Pete Brandenburg.

Sixth Heat (10 Laps):  1. Sammy Swindell, 2. Kevin Doty, 3. Mike Brooks, 4. Glen Stubblefield, Jr., 5. Bill Eslick, 6. Randy Osborn, 7. Jerry Winters, 8. Steve Newman.

D Feature (10 Laps):  1. Mike Gregg, 2. Gary King, 3. Jeff Harris, 4. Robert Harr, 5. Rossie Morris, 6. Pete Brandenburg, 7. Johnny Pickle, 8. Gary Germer, 9. Jerry Winters, 10. Steve Newman.

C Feature (12 Laps):  1. Jon Johnson, 2. Robert Harr, 3. Mike Gregg, 4. Steve Gennetten, 5. Rick Eslick, 6. Scott Weyant, 7. Jeff Harris, 8. Steve Lewis, 9. Randy Osborn, 10. Gary King, 11. Roy Caruthers, 12. Duke DeRosa, 13. Ronnie Burke, 14. Lou Cicconi, Jr.

B Feature (20 Laps):  1.  Mike Wente, 2. John Heydenreich, 3. Ron Shuman, 4. Jon Johnson, 5. Gene Beach, 6. Ron Roberts, 7. Glen Stubblefield, Jr, 8. Bill Bower, 9. Robert Harr, 10. Mike Brooks, 11. Dean Ward, 12. Warren Mockler, 13. Bill Eslick.

A Feature (40 Laps):  1. Rich Vogler, 2. Gene Gennetten, 3. Kevin Doty, 4. Shane Carson, 5. Steve Enlow, 6. Sammy Swindell, 7. Warren Mockler, 8. Ron Shuman, 9. Bobby Schneider, 10. Johnny Parsons, Jr., 11. John Heydenreich, 12. Mike Wente, 13. Jon Backlund, 14. Roy Payne, 15. Dave Burns, 16. Doug Wolfgang, 17. Steve Knepper, 18. Lealand McSpadden, 19. Jon Johnson, 20. Danny Frye, Jr.