Shoulda Gone to the Chili Bowl...

London, Ontario (January 19, 2009) - Each January 250+ race car drivers and a huge crowd cram into the QuikTrip Center, one of the largest "clearspan" buildings in the world. They go for what is arguably the biggest dirt track event in the world - the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals. So my question to myself today is: Why haven't I been there yet?! I need to rectify this sad state of affairs next year.

According to those in attendance, one of the biggest topics of conversation in Tulsa last week was the North American debut of the V8 built by New Zealand's Simon Longdill. This year he brought his Agressor team overseas with Kiwi drivers Michael Pickens and Brad Mosen.

The engine is made from two Kawasaki ZX12R 1200 blocks and cylinder heads put together to form a 147 cubic inch 80 degree V8. It is not legal in any midget sanction in the US that I know of (with the possible exception of the Badger series), but at the Chili Bowl, pretty much anything goes...

American driver Davey Ray played a big part in the development of the engine, which has been running successfully in Australia and New Zealand for the past couple of years.

After 5 nights of racing, Kevin Swindell came out the victor, but both the V8's made it into the feature as well. Toni Lutar and Glenn Styres were the only Canadian drivers in the event, with Styres the best of the two after an 8th place finish in the first "E Main" on Saturday night. Full results and story are on http://www.chilibowl.com

Lots of video coverage of the event on YouTube if you search "Chili Bowl". Some of the best coverage is on these channels:

http://www.youtube.com/user/lucasoiltv

http://www.youtube.com/user/hosehead3366

http://www.youtube.com/user/simonlongdill

Speed Channel will show a 2 hour highlight show from the Chili Bowl on Saturday, February 13 @ 9pm Eastern time.

Glenn Styres will be back in action in just a few weeks when the "outdoor" racing season gets underway in Florida. He'll race on the dirt at East Bay Raceway Park and Volusia Speedway Park.

Canada will also be represented on Florida blacktop by Ryan Litt. The London resident is going back behind the wheel of a DeCaire Motorsports entry at Citrus County Speedway, New Smyrna Speedway, and Desoto Speedway.

Travis Rutz continues on his long road to recovery, and he and his family can still use your help. If you have anything left after paying your post-Christmas credit card bills, visit www.TravisRutz.com and do what you can to help.

While you've got your wallet out, think of Kevin Brown, the referee whose throat was slashed by a skate in a Woodstock Junior C game on December 29 as he tried to break up a fight. A trust fund is set up at Libro Financial Group in his name. His condition is gradually improving, but Kevin remains in hospital here in London.

Fights in hockey aren't just dangerous to players, but officials too. Even the death of a player as a result of a hockey fight last year hasn't had much of an effect it seems. What IS it going to take?

Until next time, drop me a line - tommygoudge@hotmail.com