Jonathon Davenport Set For Debut On Thursday Jan. 12th

[CIRF]

Dirt late model ace Jonathon Davenport is set to make his Chili Bowl debut Thursday January 12th on the 3rd of the 4 preliminary qualifying nights. He'll be driving the #49 car owned by Daum Racing. Should be a good car since Zack Daum has won 3 of the past 4 POWRi National Midget Championships driving a Daum Racing midget. We wish the best of luck for JD!!

Another dirt late model driver, Tim McCreadie, will be in action at The Chili Bowl driving the Andy Bondio owned #47 midget on Friday January 13th which is the 4th and final preliminary qualifying night. Tim will also be competing in The Chili Bowl Race of Champions invitational on Tuesday night January 10th.



The 2017 Chili Bowl Race of Champions is LOADED with some of the best drivers in the world. The ROC is a HUGE highlight of the opening night of the 5 night classic event. The 2017 ROC is a veritable murderers row from top to bottom!


Here is the list of drivers who have been invited to compete in The 2017 Chili Bowl Race of Champions.

No. 1 – Sammy Swindell (Germantown, Tenn.) Four wins in the VIROC, along with five wins in the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals, it’s been two years since Sammy topped the VIROC and the wily veteran is looking to bounce back from a 2016 DNF.

No. 1R – Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Cali.) Under the banner of Rusty Kunz, California’s Thomas Meseraull will make his debut in the VIROC. Meseraull is no stranger to success at the Chili Bowl with five A-Feature appearance to his name.

No. 1st – J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, Ariz.) Still hunting that White Rabbit, J.J. Yeley walked out of VIROC VIII with a 13th place finish. J.J.’s best finish came in 2005 when he finished runner-up to Sammy Swindell.

No. 05 – Brad Loyet (Sunset Hills, Mo.) The winner of VIROC II, Brad Loyet spent the latter half of the 2016 season running Sprint Cars and Midgets across the Midwest with success in both. Recently a new father, Loyet advanced three spots in VIROC VIII to finish 16th.

No. 5 – Jerry Coons, Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) Behind the wheel of the Wilke-Pak No. 5, Jerry Coons, Jr. has appeared in four previous VIROC events with a best finish of fifth in 2013. Coons currently has the record for most consecutive A-Feature starts with 13 and counting.

No. 6K – Dave Darland (Lincoln, Ind.) The “People’s Champ” is back in the Ralph Potter/Kruseman entry for the VIROC. Darland’ fourth shot at the VIROC, the Indiana native will spend the rest of his week driving for Brad and Brandon Gray.

No. 15 – Donny Schatz (Fargo, N.D.) While Donny may be a Chili Bowl Rookie, he will take a spot in the lineup on Clauson credentials.

No. 21 – Daryn Pittman (Owasso, Okla.) On the card with owner combination Pittman-Zarounian, the 2017 shot at a VIROC win will be the Oklahoma natives first attempt.

No. 21K – Cory Kruseman (Ventura, Cali.) Twice a Chili Bowl Champion, the VIROC has continued to elude the Californian. In last year’s edition, Cory was only able to muster a 14th place showing.

No. 22H – John Heydenreich (Bloomsburg, Penn.) The 1990 Chili Bowl Champion will make his third attempt at the VIROC in 2017. Already taking laps during the Shootout, John will be in the John Gibbons backed No. 22h.

No. 24 – Tracy Hines (Wilkinson, Ind.) Despite being somewhat retired from racing, Tracy Hines is far from retired. The 2005 Chili Bowl Champion has been in all eight previous VIROC events, with this past year’s resulting in a career best tying third place finish.

No. 47 – Danny Stratton (Riverside, Cali.) Making his first appearance in 2016 for car owner, Andy Bondio, the California shoe ended his maiden voyage with a ninth place finish.

No. 47X – Tim McCreadie (Watertown, NY) In on his 2006 Chili Bowl triumph, Tim McCreadie will pilot the second Bondio entry. McCreadie’s 2016 VIROC run ended with a 10th place finish.

No. 67 – Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) The defending champion of the VIROC is one of four drivers for Keith Kunz that qualifies for this year’s event. The 2015 and 2016 NMDotY, Thorson came from fourth to win in 2016.

No. 71 – Christopher Bell (Norman, Okla.) One of three Oklahoma drivers in the VIROC, Christopher Bell charged from 16th to fifth in last year’s VIROC. This year’s invitation is the fourth for Bell who is the choice of car owner, Keith Kunz.

No. 71G – Damion Gardner (Concord, Cali.) “The Demon” has been in all but one VIROC, and came close to winning in 2014. In the 2016 edition, Damion came across the line 15th in a Bob East machine.

No. 71K – Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, Cali.) In on his VIROC win in 2014, Kyle Larson is another shoe for car owner Keith Kunz in 2017. While Larson has been in five VIROC showdowns, Kyle has a streak of three top five runs going into 2017. Kyle finished second in last year’s race.

No. 76M – Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) Teaming with Frank Manafort and Joe Dooling, Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon is fresh off his second USAC National Championship and enters the VIROC on Joe Dooling’s credentials who won the Chili Bowl with the late Bryan Clauson.

No. 84X – Chad Boat (Phoenix, Ariz.) Racing again for Lawson/Boat, the son of Billy Boat has been seen action in the VIROC four times with a best finish of fourth in 2013.

No. 97 – Rico Abreu (Rutherford, Cali.) The defending champion of the Chili Bowl is the fourth Keith Kunz built ride in the VIROC. A 12th place finish in the 2016 VIROC, Rico has competed in the VIROC since 2015.

[Nasty55]

Boy your gonna get them started with this thread now CIRF lol.... See what ya went and done ol buddy....

[CIRF]

Boy your gonna get them started with this thread now CIRF lol.... See what ya went and done ol buddy....

LOL!! Just attempting to keep the dirt late model community abreast of what some of the stars of that genre' are up to.

Nasty, you don't think litey will weigh in on this, do ya'?! LOL!! It's always good for a laugh to see him frothing at the mouth! Metaphorically speaking, of course. LOL!!

[Centeroff]

Wouldn't be surprised if JD made a little noise down there. He is a pretty big dude and those cars are tiny so it's gonna be a tight fit in the (not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)pit. Love to see a DLM driver show up and cash the check!

[dirtdobber45]

Ill be pulling for Sammy another TN boy...Kick some @$$ Sammy!!!

[calverton]

Justin Allgaier is a former late model guy who is running some other series right now

[WisWildManFan]

F Sammy and good luck to JD but I believe we will see him in the D main or worse.

[ClampedUp]

I'll go with Kyle or Rico.....

[Stede Bonnet]

I can not tell you how bad I wish I could be there. I'd like to see JD do well, but I'll be pulling for T-MEZ!

[CIRF]

I really can't wait for the ROC to be run on Tuesday night!! That's the baddest list of dirt drivers you'll likely ever see in one race. A lot of different racing persuasions are represented. Of course you have your traditional midget stars like Brad Loyet, Jerry Coons Jr., Tanner Thorson and Danny Stratton along with WoO stars Darren Pittman and Donnie Schatz, late model stand out McCreadie.

Budding NASCAR star Kyle Larson. The wingless sprint standouts, guys like Brady Bacon, Damion Gardner and the winningest wingless guy of them all-DD-Dave Darland. And of course the guys who are great in just about anything you put under them like T-Mez, Tracy Hines and Christopher Bell.

Then there is The Chili Bowl masters, Rico and of course Sammy!

Besides the Saturday night A-main the ROC is the most anticipated race they'll run all week and with that lineup it's no mystery as to why!

[dirtdobber45]

F Sammy and good luck to JD but I believe we will see him in the D main or worse.

F Sammy? Why you want to be like that for?

[WisWildManFan]

F Sammy? Why you want to be like that for?

Sammy is the biggest A-hole motorsports has ever seen. Hopping back in a car after watching ur kid fly off in a helicopter to a hospital...

[powerslide]

Ill be pulling for Sammy another TN boy...Kick some @$$ Sammy!!!

You are one of the few the brave. The sammy fans. Dude gets more booooos than bloomer

[rickybrown1952]

I'll take rico

[calverton]

they don't call him slammin sammy for nothing , yeah I would take Rico

[CIRF]

It's a safe bet that Kyle Larson wants it more than anyone. Whether that will equate to taking home The Golden Driller remains to be seen but Larson certainly has the ingredients in place: experience, the burning desire and a racecar built and prepared by one of the best that has ever brought a racecar of any kind to a dirt race track.............Keith Kunz.

For the second year there will be a void at The Chili Bowl that can't be filled. Kevin Swindell, love him or hate him, is the standard these days by which everyone is measured at The Chili Bowl. I was never a big Kevin Swindell fan but I will once again deeply miss him racing in Tulsa. I suspect most everyone else in attendance, either in the stands or in the pit area, feels pretty much the same way.

[Cardirt0]

LOL!! Just attempting to keep the dirt late model community abreast of what some of the stars of that genre' are up to.

Nasty, you don't think litey will weigh in on this, do ya'?! LOL!! It's always good for a laugh to see him frothing at the mouth! Metaphorically speaking, of course. LOL!!

CRIF that ant froth on his mouth.. he never was good at letting go down...

[Cardirt0]

CIRF did Doug Wolfgang run when he was still racing Love that guy he could race...

[Clayton_Wetter]

CRIF that ant froth on his mouth.. he never was good at letting go down...

They don't call ole perverton "the nobbler gobbler" for nothing!!!

[FourDeepInTheFluff]

Sammy is the biggest A-hole motorsports has ever seen. Hopping back in a car after watching ur kid fly off in a helicopter to a hospital...

It seems as though the standard set for being "the biggest A-hole motorsports has ever seen" is based on him continuing to do something at his son's wishes and should be of none of your concern? To have an opinion is one thing, but to lynch the man over something he discussed with his family and chose to do at the families wish shows your complete lack of character and respect you continuously ignorant rambling fool.