What a Chili Bowl it was! Coleman fights hard and earns his way into the Opening Night A Main!
Tuesday, January 20 2009 @ 10:02 AM EST
Contributed by: coleman
Views: 499
Coleman makes the most of his once a year trip to Tulsa. In only his 3rd time in a Dirt Midget, Coleman earns a hard fought spot in the Thursday night A Main. Saturday's D Main was loaded, as most all races are at the Chili Bowl and Coleman was on the move early.
Team CGR met the group from Guardian Racing, owned by Texas Businessman Murray Erickson, for the first time on Monday January 12th at the Chili Bowl. Coleman would pilot the 3rd entry of the Team, an Ed Pink Ford Powered Beast Chassis. The Team was somewhat handicapped right off the get go for this years event when our long time Crew Chief and Friend Ben Frankoski, who was scheduled to fly in to meet the team was held up at Gun Point outside his apartment in Charlotte, NC. Thank the good Lord that Ben was uninjured but he was literally stripped of all his belongings including the Vehicle, personal belongings, wallet and other items. Subsequently Ben was unable to make the trip to Tulsa. He had bigger issues at hand. So, we were without a very important cog in the CGR wheel. Coleman was noticeably upset for his very close friend. In the end, it would make a difference for the Team.
It is difficult to put into words what the Chili Bowl is if you have not experienced it first hand. The Top Midget Drivers from around the World travel to Tulsa to battle some of the biggest names in racing from all different forms of Motorsports. Some drivers, like Coleman, use this yearly extravaganza to pilot these small, rocket like cars at the Winters biggest event. The challenges that face all teams are the same; get a decent draw and fight like hell to get as many passing points as you can to continue to climb the Alphabet of Races.
There were 293 entries this year, all vying for a spot in the Saturday Night A Main where they take only 24 cars. That means only 8% of the teams that enter will make the Saturday show. So, you are realistic with your goals when you arrive at the Chili Bowl and that goal for most teams is to make their qualifying nights A Main, which is difficult enough. To understand the sheer magnitude of getting into Saturday's A Main event, the morning of that race starts with the first of Double "L Mains" Then double K mains, J Mains, I Mains, etc. It is truly amazing.
Our qualifying night was changed twice; from Thursday to Tuesday and subsequently back to Thursday. The Team prepared Sunday for Monday's practice by putting Coleman's seat in the Car and fitting Coleman as well. The first practice session went fairly well with Coleman shaking off a little rust from the 3 month layoff. But he still drove the car hard enough to see that it was not coming off the corners like he would wish. The Team noticed the right rear shock travel was limited so we made an adjustment to get the car to transfer more weight. After the second and final practice, which all tolled was about 10 laps in both practices, we found the Shock travel was still too little. Upon further inspection, it was discovered that the Coleman's Seat was making contact with the Rear Housing and Brake Rotor, which effectively eliminated the Chassis' ability to work correctly. Essentially, the car was "bottoming out" on the Rear Drive Train.
So, with the help of the team and Scooter Ellis, we changed the Seat location in the car so that it was clear of the suspension but were unable to get anymore practice laps. All teams got only 2 sessions for a total of 10 laps. Coleman would have to race his way with the set up which was referred to us by Bob East of Beast Chassis.
On our race day Thursday, Coleman drew 81 out of 100 which put him in a 7th starting spot out of 8 drivers. The Chili Bowl Venue is based on a Passing Points System. If you pass cars, you are given more points than if you finish up front but do not pass any cars. It is a great system for those that draw poorly, as Coleman did on his race night. You are not penalized for having a starting position in the back. Coleman passed 2 cars in his 8 lap heat race which put him 5th in the finish.
This earned Coleman enough points to avoid having to run 1 of the 2 C Mains. We were in the second Qualifier Race, which again, is based on Passing Points. In the Qualifier, Coleman again passed 2 more cars which gave him enough points to start 5th in the First B Main. Confused? You are not alone. The Chili Bowl is a tough deal.
The B Mains are based on finishing order to get into the A Main. They were taking the top 4 cars in the B Main to transfer for the Nights A Main. Coleman was starting 5th and needed to pass at least 1 car to get in the show.
We were making Chassis adjustments all along to help make the car better for our Driver. In addition to Team CGR, Guardian Racing's James Hicks, Brian Matherly, Bud Kaeding and others were all involved in the chassis changes. Each time, we seemed to get a little better. Coleman was able to drive the car harder in the corners.
Iceman started 5th and quickly darted to 4th. There were 20 cars in this B Main and some of the "names" behind Coleman were Champions from all over the Country. Holding on to a qualifying spot was going to be as tough as it gets. Coleman then managed another pass for position putting us solidly in 3rd. As the race wore on, California Midget Champion Brian Camarillo was charging hard on the outside while Coleman and Bloomington Indiana Speedway Champion Jeff Bland, Jr. were fighting their own battle. Camarillo got by Coleman around the outside on Lap 13 of 15 and Bland continued to pressure Coleman for the last 2 laps. Coleman fought hard to keep his 4th starting spot, fighting off Bland's last lap, banzai slide job to get his way into the A Main. This was a great victory for the team since we qualified for our first Chili Bowl A Main.
In the A, we started 24th out of 24. Coleman quickly passed cars with relative ease early. We were up to 19th when a car running in the Top 10 spun on the top side, which is where Coleman was racing. There was a bunch of of cars in the mess and Coleman had no where to go and stopped just short of contact with the spun car. From there, it was a difficult challenge since you only get one shot in the A Main to move forward. This track is only 1/8 of a mile in size. So, once the cars are nose to tail for a restart, the leader is coming off of 4 and the tail of the field is in 1 and 2. Coleman fought to pass cars but about mid way, while battling for position, went a lap down to eventual winner Traci Hines of Tony Stewart Racing and runner up Dave Darland from Toyota Racing Development.
This was great experience for Coleman since he was not passed again during the race and was literally as fast as anyone. He raced hard and clean with these Veteran Midget Drivers Hines and Darland, never giving up another spot and brought home 22nd. It was clear to all that getting caught up in the early wreck cost the Iceman his chance to continue to move forward.
This would put us in the 9th starting spot of Saturday's first D Main. Just to show you how competitive this race is, ALL of the cars in Coleman's D Main were opening night A Main qualifiers. It is truly an amazing experience. They would take 6 cars to transfer to the 2nd C Main and we had our work cut out for us. Starting in front of us was one of the All Time Midget Feature Win leaders and multiple Champion Cory Cruseman. Starting behind us was Knoxville Nationals 360 Sprint Car Champion Wayne Johnson. Outside us was USAC Star and son of Sammy Swindell (Eventual Saturday A Main Winner) Kevin Swindell. On the Pole was World of Outlaw Champion Runner Up Jason Meyers. Also in the mix was Williams Grove National Championship Night Winner and fellow young gun Cody Darrah. It was a literally a race of Champions.
On the first lap, Coleman amazed all by passing Swindell and Cruseman to get to 7th and was quickly on his way to a qualifying spot. But a flip by Wayne Johnson in turn 4 brought out a caution. On the restart, Coleman followed the group in front of him for 2 laps waiting for them to make a mistake. Knowing he was not in a qualifying spot, the Iceman dropped out of line and made a charge on the high side. It was gamble that didn't pay off as our car would not "stick" and the car quickly became a handful. Coleman got as they say in racing, "freight trained" and dropped several spots quickly. Coleman said afterwards, "I couldn't keep the car down". "I had no side bite or forward bite when I went to the top side".
We missed the transfer to the C Main but it was still exciting for us to watch Coleman try to advance by passing the best there are in this business. And, subsequent discussions by both Teams found that the Cars Sprint Combination that was referred to us, was not the best for that racing surface if you were going to run the top side. Something that was missed prior to the start of the race.
There are things that happened and in some cases, did not happen that could have helped us at this years Chili Bowl. All of us have acknowledged that Coleman still being the youngest competitor at the Chili Bowl makes it impressive that he was able to transfer as far as he was. But we also know that Coleman is not interested anymore to hear excuses from his team nor does he use his age as an excuse. We could have and should have been better is the way he looks at this years event. We missed Ben's knowledge and assistance during the event and feel it would have increased our chances for an even better showing had Ben not had his great misfortune.
We have to thank Murray Erickson, James Hicks, Brian Matherly, Bud Kaeding, Dave and the entire Guardian Racing Team for their help during this years show. They provided a lot of help to our team to try and plug the hole left by Ben's absence and did a great job.
Coleman was happy to make the A Main but still feels "we left a lot on the Table" at this years event and looks forward to returning in 2010. We realize that no matter how good a ride is, it still is important to get some seat time in that ride prior to the show and you have to have your team in tact if you hope to get your best shot at Saturdays' A Main.
Thanks also goes out to Glen Polk of Texas for his assistance in bringing this whole deal together. Glen is a great man and big fan of Coleman's. Thanks Glen!
The Team now sets is sites on the 2009 Season which will start sooner that you think. Thank you all for your support.
