(Photo: Aaron Bearden/Motorsports Beat)
By Aaron Bearden
TULSA, Okla. — Driving through the field to salvage a Chili Bowl Nationals qualifying night result is nothing new for Jake Swanson, but that didn’t make Wednesday’s A-Main feel any less special.
Swanson put on a masterful drive at the Tulsa Expo Raceway, rising from 17th to fourth in the 25-lap feature to come within two spots of earning an automatic transfer into Saturday’s feature race.
“Man, that run was good,” Swanson told Motorsports Beat. “We unfortunately fought little gremlins all night long, and they finally got it ironed out for the feature and the car was really good. I knew we could do it – shoot, we’ve done it before. We went from 18th to second two years ago. So I knew we could do it.
“Six8 (Motorsports) just gave me a great car. They turned me into Superman out there just like it was two years ago. I can’t say enough about those guys.”
For most of the 300+ drivers competing in the annual event, such a drive would have been the highlight of their Chili Bowl Nationals career. Though that wasn’t the case for Swanson, who rose from 18th to second in his 2017 qualifier to make the show, the run was still a week-rejuvenating result that left him optimistic for Saturday.
“I went from feeling kind of down to thinking we have a pretty good shot,” Swanson told Motorsports Beat. “Obviously I wanted to lock in to the A right away and be done with it, so I didn’t have to go through a B. That makes your life a little bit harder.
“But at the end of the day, we’ve got to take it for what it is. We came from a long way back tonight, and have a lot of be thankful for. It makes you feel pretty good, that’s all I can say.”
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series regular seemed to be in trouble early in the night. The high stakes of the Chili Bowl leaves little margin for error on qualifying nights, with the potential to be trapped deep in Saturday’s qualifying races — known as the “Alphabet Soup” — looming large for any competitors that encounter issues.
Swanson found himself at risk of being one of those drivers early on, as issues with his Six8 Motorsports midget trapped the Californian deep in the field going into the feature races. Swanson was forced to race his way into the preliminary feature in the B-Main, and his reward for doing so was a starting position on the inside of Row Nine.
But when the time came to shine, Swanson executed where others faltered and drove his way through the field to keep his Chili Bowl hopes intact.
“You know, it’s a whole different atmosphere out here” he said. “The stress level goes up. Your mindset going into this race is completely different than any other race – for me, anyway. You’re racing against a bunch of people you don’t even know. So you have to do your homework, study guys and try to get an idea of what they might do.
“It’s a really big deal, With everybody under one roof, to be here and be successful makes you feel really good.”
Moments after the race Swanson emerged from his machine in the pit area a fourth-place finisher, embraced by those close to him and offered a celebratory drink.
He isn’t locked into the feature just yet. But after the run he’d just managed, Swanson gladly obliged.
“We’ve got my teammate Robby Josett racing tomorrow, so we can’t go too crazy,” he said. “But I’m definitely going to have a few tonight.”
