Where Tuesday's Chili Bowl Racers Start In Saturday's Alphabet Soup
Where Tuesday's Chili Bowl Racers Start In Saturday's Alphabet Soup
A look at where Tuesday's racers will start in Saturday's alphabet soup at the 40th annual Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink.

Tuesday’s second preliminary at the 40th annual Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy saw a pair of Oklahomans assert themselves as lock-ins, a future star of the sport emerge, and gave us our first taste of alphabet soup this week.
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Let’s take a quick look at where those preliminary finishers will land in Saturday’s famed alphabet soup:
TO THE A-MAIN (1-2) – Blake Hahn, Hank Davis
TO THE B-MAINS (3-8) – Jett Barnes, Zach Daum, Landon Brooks, Corbin Rueschenberg, Kaidon Brown, Gavan Boschele
TO THE C-MAINS (9-14) – Kyle Jones, J.J. Yeley, Ryan Timms, Jonathan Beason, Zach Wigal, Ty Gibbs
TO THE D-MAINS (15-20) – Chase Randall, Gunnar Setser, Ricky Thornton Jr, Max Adams, Parker Price-Miller, Jordan Kinser
TO THE E-MAINS (21-24) – Justin Zimmerman, Brandon Carr, Adam Trimble, Sheldon Creed
Sapulpa, Oklahoma’s Blake Hahn delivered one of the most impressive drives in recent memory at the SageNet Center on Tuesday - driving from 8th-to-1st, taking the lead with five laps left, and holding off Hank Davis in a photo finish thriller on Tuesday in Tulsa. The grandson of Chili Bowl co-founder, Emmett Hahn, Blake almost blew the roof off the place as his hometown crowd erupted when he crossed the line to become the 56th different preliminary winner in event history. He’s the sixth “Sooner State” native to win a prelim in the 918 and punched his ticket into his sixth Championship A-Main on Saturday.
Sand Springs, Oklahoma’s Hank Davis was a mere 0.114-seconds at the stripe away from stealing Hahn’s glory, but he’ll settle for the second-place lock-in finish. The Matt Seymour Racing gasser led laps 11-24 before traffic helped Hahn close the gap down the stretch. At 22-years-old, Hank has now secured a seat at the table for his fourth-consecutive Chili Bowl Championship A-Main on Saturday.
The next six cars behind them go to Saturday’s B-Mains (2 races, 20 laps, 7 transfer) which includes an impressive Rookie of the Year contender in 14-year-old Jett Barnes with Swindell SpeedLab, veteran Zach Daum in Andy Bondio’s machine, a prelim winner last year with Matt Wood Racing in Landon Brooks, one of Tanner Thorson’s racers in Corbin Rueschenberg, Australian Kaidon Brown aboard Christopher Bell’s second car, and Gavan Boschele in Kyle Busch’s piece after starting dead last.
Also making the cut for opening ceremonies with a Saturday C-Main bid (2 races, 15 laps, 5 transfer) was Kyle Jones in Tim Engler’s ride, J.J. Yeley with Rossi/Petty Racing, Ryan Timms in the KKM car after coming from the back, Jonathan Beason who completed an entertaining D-C-B-A soup run, Zach Wigal in the 13th-spot, and NASCAR star Ty Gibbs amid a career-best effort in Chad Boat’s No. 84.
All of the Chili Bowl fun continues tonight with Wednesday’s preliminary up next. If you can’t be here to witness the Tulsa magic yourself, you can watch every lap live all week long on FloRacing. The coverage begins each day Monday-Friday at 3 p.m. CT with the Chili’s Grill & Bar Pre-Race Show followed by Dirt Draft Hot Laps at 4 p.m. CT.
FloRacing is the official live streaming partner of the Chili Bowl Nationals, which continues all the way through Saturday, January 17. If you’re not a FloRacing subscriber, become one today to gain full access to the Tulsa Shootout, Chili Bowl Nationals, High Limit Racing, Lucas Oil Late Model Series, USAC Racing, and so much more.