Chili Bowl Nationals 2019

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A man and his dirt....

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Still workin' it.

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Smoke running up on the cushion......!

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Chili Bowl Night 5: Brad Loyet’s determination lets him finish career on own terms

Posted on January 19, 2019 by Jeff Gluck



When Brad Loyet was sitting in the hospital less than a year ago, right wrist shattered and his hand just hanging on as decoration, he knew he’d never race again. Loyet told his family as much at the time.

But as this year’s Chili Bowl approached, the 31-year-old made what he called a “selfish” decision: He called officials in Tulsa and told them he was getting back into a car one last time.

“If I would have known last year was my last race, then so be it,” said Loyet, who has five career Chili Bowl A-Main appearances. “But I wasn’t given that opportunity to say, ‘OK, I’m finished racing.’”

The thing is, Loyet still isn’t 100 percent recovered from his fluke accident last year. Actually, he’s not even close to healed.

Loyet had been inflating a tire in his team’s race shop last February when the wheel suddenly exploded and broke Loyet’s arm in multiple places. Two plates were placed into his arm, but the surgeon promised a full recovery — and Loyet was optimistic that would be the case. (Graphic photos of his arm are here, if you choose to look.)

It didn’t turn out that way. Six weeks after the surgery, Loyet still couldn’t even feel his hand. A specialist in St. Louis told him further surgery might only do more damage and suggested Loyet just learn to live with his handicap.

“I told myself, ‘Let’s just make the best of life at this point,’” Loyet said.

But Loyet ran into Tony Stewart at a race in Kansas early last summer, and Stewart asked how he was doing. Loyet told him doctors said he wouldn’t get any better; Stewart replied, “That’s ####.”

“I want you to go see one of my guys,” Stewart told him.

So with Stewart’s help, Loyet got in to see a specialist in Indianapolis — who promptly discovered the bones were not only still broken in Loyet’s arm, but the plate holding them all together was flexing and about to break.

Loyet had additional surgery on July 5, where doctors used a bone from his hip to strengthen the arm. And while it’s helped stabilize his wrist, Loyet still can’t bend it and thus has no grip strength in his right hand; he’s scheduled for another appointment next month, where the prospect of additional surgery looms.

With Loyet still dealing with the fallout from the shop incident in his daily life, the decision to stop racing was pretty obvious.

“I’m at the point where I have a wife and a kid and another on the way,” he said. “I’ve been a race car driver for more than half my life. It’s hard to walk away, but there are better things in life I need to focus my attention on.”

But three weeks ago, Loyet decided he didn’t want his driving career to end without a proper goodbye. So there he was Friday night, strapping into a car for his heat race at the world’s most prestigious midget race.

Loyet started seventh and finished third in the heat, then started at the front of a B-Main and nearly won it. His arm ached badly with every lap, and he mostly just rested it on the wheel rather than use it to steer.

“Every time my heart beats, I feel my hand take a hit,” he said.

Despite that, the mere fact Loyet made it to the A-Main was a victory. More than 70 cars were entered on Friday night, and a one-armed driver who hadn’t raced in a year made it to the top 24.

“Not too shabby,” Loyet said.

Now, regardless of how he does in today’s Chili Bowl Nationals, Loyet gets to leave racing on his own terms. He starts 10th in an E-Main today, but that’s more than he could have hoped for last February.

“There’s one thing I don’t do, and it’s give up,” he said. “Life throws you curves and you’ve got to figure it out. That’s just part of the game.”

Stewart, standing in the infield, was impressed as he watched Loyet race.

“That shows you how big of guts he’s got,” Stewart said. “He picked the toughest race of the year, where’s no spot on this racetrack to take a break.

“He was sweating like a pig when he was done, but I asked him, ‘Are you having fun?’ He said yeah, so that was pretty cool.”

https://jeffgluck.com/chili-bowl-brad-l ... y-stewart/

[awsum14]

Chili Bowl Three-Peat for Bell

BY BRYAN HULBERT JANUARY 20, 2019 AT 4:45 AM

TULSA, Okla. (January 19, 2019) – A finish for the ages, Kyle Larson looked to have his first Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire in hand, but with a furious run as the leaders worked into traffic, Christopher Bell found the hole on the low line entering turn one on the white flag lap to win his third Golden Driller in a row aboard the iRacing/Keith Kunz Motorsports No. 71w.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be able to win the Chili Bowl. To do it three straight times is just unbelievable, but man, I don’t even care about three-straight. What about that race? I don’t think I’ve ever really been a part of a last lap race like that, so I’m just glad that thing came out in the end,” stated Bell who earned Keith Kunz his eighth Golden Driller as a car owner.

“To win like I did there, it’s something I’m going to cherish the rest of my life.”

Taking several shots at the start, the fourth time proved the winner with Logan Seavey taking off with the race lead. Larson in tow with Justin Grant and Christopher Bell giving chase, the line began moving as the race worked past the 14th circuit.

Starting to diamond corners with traffic in the mix on Lap 17, Larson was glued to Seavey’s back bumper. Getting the run on Lap 20, Larson’s run to the lead came the following lap with a low side pass off the fourth turn.

Getting the run on Logan Seavey for the runner up spot working Lap 33, the caution negated the pass by Bell. Retaking the spot-on Lap 34, Bell was on Larson for the lead the following lap before the caution on Lap 35. Swapping lines top to bottom on the restart, Larson began building some distance over Bell.

Finding traffic on Lap 48, Larson’s advantage came under fire as slower traffic played to Bell’s advantage. Racing to the final two laps, Bell was there. Looking for room to pass, the opportunity came as the pair raced past the white flag. Tapping tires through the first two turns as Kyle slipped off the bottom, Larson and Bell came together again through the third and fourth turn with neither wanting to give in. Freeing himself from Larson, Bell was able grab the win by 0.350 seconds.
The victory puts Bell in an elite class with Kevin Swindell as the only two drivers to win three consecutive Chili Bowl titles. Swindell still stands as the only one to go four for four.

Falling back to fourth on Lap 23, Justin Grant retook the spot on Lap 36, and held on for the show position in the NOS Energy Drink No. 4a. Racing from seventh, Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon crossed fourth with Zach Daum moving up three spots to round out the top-five. Involved in an earlier caution, Tyler Courtney ended up the night’s Hard Charger as the Indiana shoe was able rebound from the tail to sixth. Brad Sweet in seventh was followed by C.J. Leary, Logan Seavey, and Tanner Thorson.

For the 33rd annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire, a total of 350 drivers took part in the 2019 event. The week’s flip count reached 75 with the final car over being Christopher Bell. Attempting to rip victory donuts, Bell banked off the cushion and sent the car over. All drivers getting upside down were able to walk away.

The 34th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire takes place January 13-18, 2020 at the River Spirit Expo Center in Tulsa, Okla. Reserved Seat tickets go on sale on Wednesday, March 6, 2019. Ticket holders will receive a notice in the mail. All are encouraged to sign up for email notifications through the Chili Bowl website.

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A three-peat in the Chili Bowl is an amazing accomplishment.

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Woo Hooo!!!!!!!!