{"id":48874,"date":"2014-01-21T05:18:11","date_gmt":"2014-01-21T13:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bangshift.com\/?p=48874"},"modified":"2015-06-27T10:00:43","modified_gmt":"2015-06-27T17:00:43","slug":"action-gallery-the-2014-chili-bowl-wheels-up-sideways-clay-flying-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bangshift.com\/general-news\/event-coverage\/action-gallery-the-2014-chili-bowl-wheels-up-sideways-clay-flying-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Action Gallery: The 2014 Chili Bowl! Wheels Up, Sideways, Clay Flying Photos!"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Words and photos by Brad Klaassen) – \u00a0So, it\u2019s the middle of winter and all the drag cars are still in hibernation in our neck of the woods and we needed a fix of racing fuel fumes to help get us through the winter. Well, it\u2019s not straight line racing, but there\u2019s a little temporary indoor circle track gig that\u2019s in its 27th year of operation that some of you might have heard of called the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma.<\/p>\n

We jumped on the turnpike and headed to T-Town for our first ever look at this spectacle on dirt and let me tell you fellow Bangshifters the people turn out in drovers from all over the country and pack the Tulsa State Fairgrounds Expo Center to the rafters, literally. The drivers and team owns that show up to race is just as impressive. How about Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, J.J. Yeley, Kyle Larson, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr from NASCAR, NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car World Champion Gary Scelzi\u2019s son Dominic Scelzi, plus open wheel hot shoes with last names like Swindell, Haudenschild, Saldana, Coons, Hines, Kruseman, McCreadie and Clauson just to name a few. 0.<\/p>\n

So, while we\u2019re dropping names we also had a nice infield convo at the race with another misplaced drag racer, none other than NHRA Announcer Alan Reinhart. He confirmed to us that he did realize the event we were both attending wasn\u2019t a drag race and he was sure of it since he\u2019d yet to see a single burnout or any parachutes blossom at the Chili Bowl.<\/p>\n

Okay, so it took this drag shooter some adjusting to capture super fast midget cars that turn left racing indoors on an ultra quick bull ring made of super sticky clay. But, even this old drag dog learned a few new tracks and managed to rifle off a few decent shots. And after all the methanol fumes cleared and the dust settled, 2013 Indy 500 rookie, Bryan Clauson managed to unseat Kevin Swindell from his four year strangle hold on the championship with Clauson thundering into victory lane as the new 2014 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Champ. Congrats to Bryan and crew they made it look easy. Now, can we get this thing called winter over with and go back to drag racing? See you at the drags. \u2013Bad Brad<\/p>\n

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