BELLEVILLE, ILL. (December 4, 2019) – With the 2019 POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League championship in his pocket, Jesse Colwell of Red Bluff, Calif. has punched his ticket to the 2020 Vacuworx International Race of Champions (VIROC) at the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals, where an all-star cast of competitors will race on Tuesday, January 14.
Altering the selection process, the 2020 VIROC event welcomes the champions of several different sanctioning bodies for the first time ever. The respective champions of the POWRi National Midget League, World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, All-Star Circuit of Champions, USAC National Midgets and Sprint Cars, and the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour will all be invited. Other criteria to make the cut includes the podium finishers of the past five Chili Bowl main events, the top-two finishers from the past five VIROC features, and the preliminary winners from the most recent Chili Bowl.
For Colwell, his 2019 POWRi National Midget crown came in his rookie campaign after only making his midget racing debut last November. Driving for Keith Kunz-Curb Agajanian Motorsports, the 20-year old guided his IWX Motor Freight, Bullet/Toyota No. 71 to 29 feature starts in 31 POWRi races this year.
A consistent season with 15 top five finishes and 26 top ten results gave Colwell a 350-point advantage in the title hunt over Zach Daum. His first career POWRi National Midget League victory came in July at Humboldt (Kans.) Speedway and was followed by a season-ending triumph at I-30 (Ark.) Speedway.
Christopher Bell, a two-time POWRi winner in 2019 with 29 career victories to his credit, is qualified with three straight Chili Bowl titles. Daryn Pittman, a World of Outlaws star that won the 2014 Jason Leffler Memorial, will be racing thanks to a runner-up result in the 2017 Chili Bowl. Spencer Bayston, a 10-time winner and 2014 POWRi Midget Rookie of the Year, recorded a third at the 2018 Chili Bowl to get in. A three-time POWRi National Midget League champion, Zach Daum punched his ticket via a third in the 2016 Chili Bowl.
Logan Seavey, who just set a new single season record with 12 POWRi Midget triumphs, is in due to his Monday Night win in last year’s Chili Bowl. Kyle Larson, a four-time POWRi Midget victor, is in off his Tuesday Night win from last year. Winning on Wednesday last year and claiming his spot was Rico Abreu, who swept the POWRi Midget portion of the 2019 Ironman Weekend. Tanner Thorson, a winner of 18 career POWRi National Midget features, will be back to defend his 2019 VIROC title. Brad Sweet, a five-time POWRi winner, earned an invite by taking the 2019 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series championship.
Rounding out the 18-car field of invited drivers is Damion Gardner, Justin Grant, Chad Boat, Sammy Swindell, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Aaron Reutzel, Tyler Courtney and C.J. Leary.
For more information on POWRi Racing, you can visit www.powri.com online, follow @POWRi_Racing on Twitter or Instagram, or like POWRi on Facebook.
Speed Demon Productions
- administrator on Dec 04, 2019
- Article Date: 12/4/2019 by Brian Walker