The Chili Bowl went off without a hitch. Although its spirit was dampened by the loss of one of its young stars, Donnie Ray Crawford, in a domestic violence situation. More so than other series I have covered the young man’s loss was felt strongly by not only competitors but fans and officials a like. So much so that in his memory they increased the main event by 5 laps to make it 55 his car number and used his car as the pace vehicle to start the race. The only other showing of grief that even comes close to what I saw today was the grief seen in Rockingham in 2001 after the loss of Dale Earnhardt.
The last day of the event saw 19 races starting with the K mains and progressed up to the A main. 4 cars transferred from each race until the D mains when 6 cars transferred and finally the 12 from the 2 B main features filled the last 12 spots of the 24 car field of the Chili Bowl.
The biggest surprise of the day was the Chili Bowl Rookie of the Year winning his B Main in commanding fashion. Richard Vanderweerd won his feature event by a straight away over 2nd place RJ Johnson. Though he didn’t make it into the top ten in the A main when the dust cleared, he showed himself to be a very talented and gifted young man.
The fore gone conclusion of the day, that a Swindell would win the Chili Bowl. And one did. Kevin Swindell pulled off the Chili Bowl hat trick in a race that was interrupted by on only one caution flag for Levi Jones tumble in turns one and two. Jones who was uninjured in the crash never returned to the fray. From that point on the pole sitter dominated the race. From the green flag to the checkered flags Kevin Swindell lead every single lap.
Kevin’s only challenge for the race came from his father Sammy. The elder Swindell made several hard charges at his son until he got tangled up with a lap car and broke the left rear shock and damaged the front axle. For most competitors that would have been the end of their day. Sammy Swindell however is not most competitors and he finished the final 6 laps in a car that was not capable of making any further challenge for the lead.
Third place went to the young lion, Kyle Larson. This young man is going places. Even though he never mounted a serious challenge to the Swindells, he held off all comers otherwise and finished third in a dominant 5 car advantage over Danny Stratton, who came in 4th. This youngster can slice and dice and bicycle a midget as well as the much more experienced drivers he was competing against. His personable and likeable personality fills the picture with a great deal of fan presence.
The remainder of the top 10 were not surprises either. With the exception of Kyle Larson they were all very experienced Midget drivers and Chili Bowl Competitors. 5th place went to Bryan Clauson. 6th to Brad Sweet, 7th to Cory Kruzeman, 8th to Jerry Coons Jr, 9th to Ricky Stenhouse Jr and 10th to Tony Stewart.
The day was a long one. The main event was almost anti climatic. But the real story of the Chili Bowl wasn’t who won or who lost instead it was about the strength and determination of the human spirit when faced with grief and pain. The character and emotional strength it took for every one of those competitors today to get in those cars and carry on was a testament to the affection and respect they had for their fallen friend. Somewhere in the back of their minds each and every one of them realized that though they might not want to carry on with this it would be the ultimate show of disrespect to Donnie Ray Crawford to pack up and go home without trying. It’s not how he would have wanted it. He was there with them every single lap. Cheering them on to victory and consoling them in their loss. No doubt the young man marveled at the respect he was given by heroes like Kevin Swindell, Sammy Swindell, Bryan Clauson and Tony Stewart. But it is the way of the sport. It is the way that we say good bye. But even then not really good bye just see you at the next track.
Last note of interest Joey Moughan was released from the hospital this morning after remaining for observation over night with no serious injuries.
Yes it was a long sad day for all. Congrats to Kevin. i am sure it was hard to hold his dad off. I am sure his father was very proud of him. Sad to hear about Donny. He will surely be missed. Nice how they honored him.