(Photo by Phil Pace Photo)
Inside Line Promotions – TULSA, Okla. (Jan. 20, 2014) – Tyler Thomas accomplished his main objective last weekend at the 28th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire.
Despite a low draw to kick off his qualifying night on Friday, Thomas put together a solid preliminary performance that set the tone during the premier midget event.
“We kinda got behind the eight ball in the draw, starting on the front row,” he said. “We didn’t have any opportunity to get passing points.”
Thomas led all eight laps from the pole position to claim his heat race, which earned him enough points to advance to a qualifier.
“In the qualifier I was a little loose for the track conditions,” he said. “As the track went away we got looser and looser. I didn’t expect the track to slick off as much as it did in that race.”
Thomas, who took the lead after starting on the outside of the front row, held on for a third-place result. That placed him 13th in points overall and advanced him to the 25-lap feature, which he started on the inside of the seventh row.
“We kinda held our own the whole race,” he said. “We were kinda snug, kinda tight.”
Thomas battled just outside the top 10 for the entire race before ending with a 12th-place result. That lined him up fourth in a C Main during Saturday’s finale, which was broadcast live on MAVTV.
“The track was really quick and I held my own,” he said. “We were locked in the show and I just stayed in third place and didn’t try to make my way to the lead.”
Thomas placed third to transfer to a B Main, which he started 17th.
“We made some changes for the B Main,” he said. “The track got wide and the cushion got tall. The car was working really awesome.”
Thomas rallied into the top 10 and he made a late bid for one of the six transfer positions. Thomas finished eighth to record his best career result at the Chili Bowl.
“We needed another yellow in the middle of the race to bunch the field up,” he said. “I was very pleased with the way the car was working. That B Main was like an A Feature field anywhere in the country. I really don’t have any complaints. I set a goal for myself that I wanted to make the B Main this year and I accomplished it. I was a little disappointed at first right after the race because I wanted to make the show, but I accomplished my goal.”
Thomas will return to action Feb. 14-16 driving a micro sprint for Hans Lein at Du Quoin Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin, Ill.
His next midget event is scheduled for March.
“We learned a lot on the new Triple X cars and we figured some stuff out,” he said. “I’m excited about 2014 and I think we’re going to have a lot better results.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Jan. 17 – Tulsa Expo Raceway in Tulsa, Okla. – Heat race: 1 (1); Qualifier: 3 (2); Feature: 12 (13).
Jan. 18 – Tulsa Expo Raceway in Tulsa, Okla. – C Main: 3 (4); B Main: 8 (17).
SEASON STATS –
2 races, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 0 top 10s, 1 top 15, 1 top 20
UP NEXT –
Feb. 14-16 at Du Quoin Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin, Ill.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.TylerThomasMotorsports.com
Twitter: https://Twitter.com/TylerThomas91
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tyler-Thomas-Motorsports/154971717863656
APPAREL –
Thomas has t-shirts for sale at his race trailer during every event this season. For his schedule, visit http://www.TylerThomasMotorsports.com.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Thriller Photo
Thriller Photo specializes in photography and videography. For more information, visit http://www.ThrillerPhoto.com.
“Michael Jackson of Thriller Photo has always provided me with great pictures and a great website for my career in racing,” Thomas said.
Thomas would also like to thank BT Machine Inc., Quick Racing Products, Triple X Race Co., Haynes Equipment, Alpinestars, Factor 1 Racing, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Bell Racing and Esslinger Engineering for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports teams. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program and to join Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or InsideLinePromotions@gmail.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on Jan 20, 2014
- Article Date: 1/20/2014 by Inside Line Promotions