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David Phillips
Editor and ChiefDavid Phillips is a long-time contributor to print and electronic publications in the U.S. and abroad, including Racer, Autosport, AutoWeek, Motor Sport and SPEEDtv.com, oversees the daily updating of news stories and assigns, edits and contributes feature material for inRacingNews.com.
Chris Hall
iRacing.com Series WriterChris Hall has been writing since the nineties and moved into motorsports reporting in 2005, covering series such as ALMS, British GT, FIA GT, Le Mans and 2CV racing for Full Throttle magazine, Motorsport.com, The-Paddock.net, GTGateway.com, L' Endurance and, of course, inRacingNews. During 2008 and 2009, he worked with the RSS Performance Porsche Carrera Cup Team (and former British GT(C) champions) as a data engineer for a variety of drivers and models of 997s.
Jameson Spies
Contributing Writer19 years old, Jameson Spies lives in Quartz Hill, California. He grew-up surrounded by racing. His mother raced late models throughout Southern California while his father built and setup the car. Not surprisingly, Jameson began racing go-karts at the age of 13, and is now racing Spec Trucks at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. He has a passion about all forms of racing and hopes to make a career out of it.
Jason Lofing
iRacing.com Series WriterJason is 21 years old and was born and raised in Elk Grove. California. A big time NASCAR fan, he hasn’t missed a race on Sunday in years. Lofing is also a huge San Fransisco Giants fan and tries to take in at least a couple games a year. Other than sim racing, his biggest (and far more expensive!) hobby is photography. Although he is rather new to sim racing, Lofing has already accomplished some pretty impressive results, qualifying for the 2011 iRacing Oval Pro Series in Season 1, 2011, winning the inaugural Landon Cassill Qualifying Challenge and finishing runner-up in the second one.
Tim Terry
Contributing WriterTim Terry, aka the voice of Maritime stock car racing, fell in love with sim racing in 2004 after he joined the Sim Racing Network crew as a pit reporter. From October 2004 to SRNtv’s closure in June 2007, he’s covered prestigious races and leagues such as the Online 500, FLM Fall 400, Real Racing Online and the DMP Racing League – each as the lead broadcaster for the company. At the same time the wheels started to turn in another direction as he began announcing stock car racing locally. Terry became the assistant announcer at Scotia Speedworld in May 2007 and took over full duties in May 2009 when long-time voice Mike Kaplan retired from the track. Terry also became the series voice of the Parts For Trucks Pro Stock Tour in ’09 and continues to hold down both posts in 2011. He has also announced races for the Pro All Stars Series, Atlantic Open Wheel and Maritime League of Legends tours and has called races at six different Atlantic Canadian tracks. Terry can be heard online at WebRacingNetwork.com, RLMtv.com and OLRtv.com covering sim races. He also makes occasional appearances on PSRtv.com. In addition to inRacingNews, his articles and columns can be read on ScotiaSpeedworld.ca, MaritimeProStockTour.com and his own website at timterryonline.com.
David Allen
Contributing WriterNorth Carolina born and raised with over 15 years of computer/IT experience, I combine two of my biggest hobbies -- racing and technology -- here at inRacingNews. In my spare time I run a Nascar fan site and cure my own need for speed riding atvs. If it involves technology or racing I'll be there, but combine the two and I'll be looking a front row seat. Stop by and say hello anytime!
Allen Krier
Contributing WriterAllen was born in West Palm Beach, Florida but grew up in Atlanta and attended Georgia College and State University where he received a BS in Information Systems. Currently a resident of Albany, GA, he started sim racing in 2008 while in college when iRacing was first released to the public. Since then, Krier has been a two time iRacing Pro Series driver (2009 and 2010), picking up one Pro Series win at Daytona in ‘09. Besides sim racing, Allen’s other hobbies include RC Car racing as well as “attending and watching any sporting event that I can including going to the local dirt track.
Chris Cunningham
Contributing WriterChris is 20 years old, and recently moved to Charlotte, NC during his sophomore year in college to feed his need for speed. More than just an auto racing enthusiast, Cunningham has risen through the ranks of BMX Racing, Sailboat Racing, and Cycling. Cunningham recently took up go karting, and qualified as an alternate for the 2011 Red Bull Kart Fight at the PRI expo. Aside from racing, Cunningham has recently picked up the hobby of competitive eating (Ranked #7 Collegiate Eater in the country!), and competes all over the east coast in various contests. Chris also enjoys sim racing, writing, playing the drums, and enjoying college at UNC Charlotte.
Tim Doyle
Contributing WriterI've been a race fan since before I can remember, going to dirt tracks around the Washington, DC area since the early 70's with my parents. I got away from racing during my school years but in 1989 a friend and I went to a race in Hagerstown, MD and from there my life was all about racing. I currently live in Winchester, VA and while Dirt Late Models is my favorite form of racing, I also enjoy many other forms such as F1, IndyCar, 410 sprint cars on dirt and (probably more than anything) sim racing. My favorite driver is Ayrton Senna.
I was introduced to sim racing in 1989 when a friend turned me onto Indy 500 The Sim by Papyrus. It took me a few years to own my own PC but once I did, all I wanted to do was sim race. I tried to race my friends as much as possible via modem racing back in the 90's before joining TEN in 1998. From there I devoted a lot of time to online racing enjoying every minute of it. I was able to meet a lot of my competitors from all over the world at LAN events and races I went to. Being able to call some real world drivers friends as a result of sim racing is probably the neatest part of this whole deal!
David Roberts
Contributing WriterDavid lives in Brisbane and is a former Australian National Formula Ford Champion who now owns his own marketing and design company. After racing in Europe, David returned down under to swap a career behind the wheel for a career in the creative department. He now has three children, an ongoing love affair with the good ol’ days of motor racing, and just enough spare time left to enjoy a bit of sim-racing with a few of his old mates.
Ben Rothberg
Contributing WriterI was born and raised in the south eastern suburbs of Melbourne where I still am situated. I am currently at University studying for a Certificate in Motorsport and hoping I will be able to achieve my top goal and become a part of a race team. In the sim-racing world, I won an rFactor V8 Supercar season and also was awarded with Best & Fairest award. I am now situated with the best simulation in the world (iRacing.com!) and love every minute of it. I currently race in the V8 Supercar Online Series and finished 16th overall in 2012 Season 1.
Dylan Sharman
Contributing WriterI was born in Adelaide and we moved-out for Angle Vale for a few years until I was about 7 years old, when we moved to the Barossa Valley where I live now. I'm 19 years old and currently traveling back and forth weekly as I’m studying for a Diploma of Furniture Design and Technology.
I’ve always had a love for racing as my close family did some racing and we were always out at the local dirt track. I joined iRacing back in 2010 and slowly but surely got the hang of it as this is my first experience with sim racing and am loving it each time I race. I’ve won two SK Modified titles (almost had three in a row but finished P2 in 2011 S4), an inRacingNews Challenge championship (2012 S1 Mazda) and was also an AustralAsian Intel GT Series Finalist.
Almost Chili Time In Tulsa
January 10th, 2011
Cole Whitt (71) battled Kevin Swindell (39) for the victory in the Chili Bowl Nationals last season in Tulsa, Okla. (Kevin Horcher Photo)
TULSA, Okla. — For a week each January the entire racing world lives on Tulsa time.
Race fans and teams from throughout the nation and beyond flock to the birthplace of Route 66 by the thousands, with those unable to make the journey following along as closely as possible in any manner possible.
It’s the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals and there is simply no comparison.
This year marks the Silver Anniversary of the unique midget racing event that attracts the best of the best from virtually every form of auto racing, from the NASCAR ranks to sprint cars, late models, midgets and more to the QuikTrip Center’s Tulsa Expo Raceway, a quarter-mile clay oval that occupies the lower level of the QuikTrip Center each January.
The 25th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals currently has an entry list that includes 264 competitors with representatives from 29 states as well as New Zealand and Australia. The inaugural edition in 1987 drew 52 cars, the century mark was eclipsed for the first time in 1994, the count climbed above 200 in 2003 and topped out at 281 (for now) in 2009.
That influx of race teams and fans transform the city of Tulsa each January. The whole Chili Bowl experience began for the teams Sunday, when every inch of space in the QuikTrip Center was maximized with the parking procedure that gets every one of the 260-ish entries in the building for the week.
Today teams take to the track for the first time for a practice session from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., a chance for teams to fine tune the ultimate race-winning setup. The first official green flag of the week waves tomorrow, the first of four qualifying nights that will ultimately set the grid for Saturday’s Rockstar Energy Drink slate of Lucas Oil Chili Bowl championship events.
Tuesday’s Warren Cat Qualifier also includes the third annual Vacuworx Int’l Race of Champions. VIROC III includes 16 past Chili Bowl champions (drivers and car owners) and other midget standouts in a special feature, an attractive add-on to a Tuesday qualifier that has proven to be perhaps the best night of action of the week in recent years.
With 264 entries, the number of potential story lines is naturally monumental. Some of those story lines are…
Back to Back — In 24 previous editions of the Chili Bowl Nationals, no driver has ever pulled off back-to-back wins. This year, it’s 21-year-old Kevin Swindell’s turn to try for the repeat after becoming the youngest winner in Chili Bowl history last January.
Sammy Swindell has more Chili Bowl feature starts than any other driver with 17. (John DaDalt Photo)
10 or More — There are only 10 drivers on the planet that can boast 10 or more career Chili Bowl championship feature starts. At least five of those will be trying to add to their total, including five-time Chili Bowl king Sammy Swindell. Swindell tops the charts with 17 career Chili Bowl championship starts, with others competing this year including Tracy Hines (11), Dave Darland (11), Jerry Coons, Jr. (11) and Jason Leffler (10).
Others that have started 10 or more include Danny Lasoski (14), the late Kevin Doty (13), Tony Stewart (10), Donnie Beechler (10) and Kevin Olson (10). NASCAR Sprint Cup star Stewart, a two-time Chili Bowl champ, will be the event’s virtual Grand Marshal while turning sprint-car circles in Australia.
Streaking — Tucson native Jerry Coons, Jr., carries the longest active streak of Chili Bowl championship feature starts into the event. Coons has made the feature cut each of the past seven years, with back-to-back fourth place finishes the last two years his best at the Bowl. After several years in the Wilke-Pak camp, Coons joins forces with 2B Racing and Canadian Glenn Styres this time around.
Indiana reps Shane Cottle and Brad Kuhn have both started five features in a row, 2010 Chili Bowl runner-up Cole Whitt has made it to the finale each of the past three years and Sammy Swindell, Bobby East, Chris Windom, Brad Loyet and Thomas Meseraull have both started two in a row.
Dave Darland holds the Chili Bowl record of 10 consecutive championship feature starts in a row, a streak that ended last year.
Other stretches equal to or greater than the current Coons run include eight in a row for Donnie Beechler from 1992 through 1999 and streaks of seven for Sammy Swindell (1987-1993), Kevin Doty (1990-1996) and Ron Shuman (1991-1997).
Chili Bowl Vets — There are only four drivers that have competed in 20 or more editions of the Chili Bowl. Sammy Swindell and Rich Camfield are ready to match Donnie Lehmann at the top of the seniority charts with their 21st start. Steve Knepper, an original Chili Bowler, is the fourth that has started 20 Chili Bowls, a mark that 1990 Chili Bowl champ Johnny Heydenreich and Steve Newman will reach this year.
Originals — Looking for a good comparison of the original Chili Bowl in 1987 to the modern version? Aside from the promotional duo of Emmett Hahn and Lanny Edwards, one could also ask the likes of Johnny Heydenreich, Sammy Swindell, Steve Newman, Dean Franklin and Scott Hatton. Those five drivers, set for action next week, were among the 52 that competed in the inaugural Chili Bowl.