Story By: BRYAN HULBERT / CHILI BOWL – TULSA, OK – Making its annual debut once the list of Golden Driller hopefuls surpasses the century mark, the first round of entries into the 37th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire has been posted with 116 entries ready to chase history.
Opening November 9, the first entry received was from Trifecta Motorsports for driver, Kyle Jones. The 2023 event marks the ninth time the Kennedale, Texas, shoe will attempt the Chili Bowl Nationals. During his 2022 run, Kyle transferred from a C-Feature and ran to a 13th-place finish in Saturday’s first Dave.com B-Feature.
With two past champions, 18 A-Feature starters, and 27 event rookies in the field already, the list, as always, is the most diverse in all of racing.
Returning to defend his 2022 title, Nevada native turned Oklahoma resident Tanner Thorson will do so in his own equipment. Returning to his No. 88, the 13-time USAC National Midget winner was recently on track during the 81st running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura Raceway, in which he raced from 11th to lead late in the race before a spin relegated him to a 19th place finish.
The other champion on the list is none other than Sammy Swindell.
The most prolific name in Chili Bowl history, the five-time champion will make his 33rd appearance atop Tulsa clay this January. Having made the cut in 25 A-Features, Sammy’s record includes 13 podiums, 14 top-five, and 17 top-ten finishes on Saturday night. While not as busy, Sammy was on track 23 times during the 2022 season with runs against the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars, Tezos All-Star Circuit of Champions, and the American Sprint Car Series.
While it is always hard to call most on the list of Chili Bowl first-timers by the title of “Rookie,” the title will just have to due. Just don’t tell Jacob Allen that.
Driver of the Shark Racing No. 1A with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars, the driver from Hanover, Penn. will be behind the wheel of a Cruz Pedregon-owned entry. Bringing east and west together, the Pedregon Racing stable rounds out with event rookie Kalib Henry, who recently signed on with car owner Shane Liebig for the 2023 season.
Another quick dive into the list of rookies and one name will stand out for anyone who follows racing. Andretti.
Joining the field in 2023, Indiana’s Adam Andretti will take on the Chili Bowl for Jeff Johnson Racing. Competing in a myriad of divisions during his career, the younger brother of the late John Andretti races for Peterson Racing in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli in the TA2 class.
While the storylines are seemingly endless when looking through the list of entries, the current list debuts as follows:
Car# – Driver (City, State)
00J-John Heitzman (San Jose, IL)
01A-Aaron Sanders (Celestine, IN)
1-Sammy Swindell (Germantown, TN)
1A-Jacob Allen (Hanover, PA)
1G-Justin Peck (Monrovia, IN)
1i-Ashton Torgerson (Medford, OR)
1K-Brayton Lynch (Springfield, IL)
02-Matt Rossi (Peoria, AZ)
2B-Tanner Berryhill (Bixby, OK)
2C-J.R. Ewing (Phillipsburg, KS)
2D-Matt Sherrell (Collinsville, OK)
2E-Whit Gastineau (Moore, OK)
2G-J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, AZ)
2MD-Conner Morrell (Bradenton, FL)
2ND-Jeb Sessums (Burleson, TX)
2W-Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS)
03-Ayrton Gennetten (Gravois Mills, MO)
3N-Jake Neuman (New Berlin, IL)
3P-Darin Naida (Adrian, MI)
3V-Jim Vanzant (Prescott, AZ)
4-Taylor Ferns (Shelby Township, MI)
4G-TBA
4P-Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, CA)
5-Chase Briscoe (Mitchell, IN)
5F-Danny Frye III (O’Fallon, MO)
5LK-Jordan Kinser (Bedford, IN)
6A-Kalib Henry (Sacramento, CA)
6D-Isaac Chapple (Willow Branch, IN)
7-TBA
7B-Cody Beard (Saint Anthony, IN)
7D-Michelle Decker (Guthrie, OK)
7M-Shane Cockrum (Benton, IL)
7MF-Chance Morton (Coweta, OK)
7P-A.J. Hopkins (Brownsburg, IN)
7R-Casey Burkham (Seagoville, TX)
7T-TJ Smith (Fresno, CA)
7U-Kyle Jones (Kennedale, TX)
8-Alex Sewell (Broken Arrow, OK)
8M-Kade Morton (Coweta, OK)
9-Xavier Doney (Odessa, MO)
9P-Kevin Cook (Winchester, IN)
10M-Kort Morgan (Muskogee, OK)
10T-Brandon Thomas (Owasso, OK)
11B-Clinton Boyles (Greenwood, MO)
11N-Nick Baran (Tomahawk, WI)
11T-Tyler Baran (Tomahawk, WI)
12H-Jared Hood (Grants Pass, OR)
12M-TBA
12X-Steven Snawder (Roseburg, OR)
14E-Tom Dunkel (Hesperia, CA)
14M-Michael Faccinto (Hanford, CA)
14R-TBA
14T-Dylan Bloomfield (Oakley, CA)
14U-TBA
15G-Dennie Gieber (Frankston, TX)
18N-Weston Gorham (Colleyville, TX)
19-TBA
19K-Riley Kreisel (Warsaw, IN)
19N-Nathan Byrd (Goodyear, AZ)
20-Tadd Holliman (Murray, NE)
20G-Noah Gass (Mounds, OK)
21D-Justin Dickerson (Pittsboro, IN)
22-Sean McClelland (Tulsa, OK)
22J-Taylor Kuehl (Cave Creek, AZ)
22P-TBA
22T-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE)
22X-Steven Shebester (Mustang, OK)
23-Patrick Ryan (Springfield, IL)
27B-Jake Bubak (Arvada, CO)
27J-Frank Beck (Parrish, FL)
28-Ace McCarthy (Tahlequah, OK)
28M-Gray Leadbetter (Morganton, NC)
29-Tim Buckwalter (Douglassville, PA)
29S-Hank Davis (Sand Springs, OK)
33J-Laike Imm (Philipsburg, KS)
35-Tyler Robbins (Collinsville, IL)
35L-Cody Ledger (Omaha, NE)
37-Ashton Thompson (Salem, IN)
37T-TBA
37X-TBA
39-Logan Seavey (Sutter, CA)
39X-Todd Bertrand (Danielson, CT)
40-Max Adams (Marion, IN)
40M-Chase McDermand (Springfield, IL)
40S-Steven Snyder, Jr. (Rising Sun, MD)
40u-Jace Sparks (Crystal Lake, IL)
42K-Kevin Battefeld (Havana, IL)
44-Colton Hardy (Phoenix, AZ)
46-Adam Andretti (Brownsburg, IN)
47-Zach Daum (Pocahontas, IL)
47X-Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, OK)
50-Daniel Adler (St. Louis, MO)
50T-Keoni Texeira (Honolulu, HI)
51-Curtis Jones (Sand Springs, OK)
51B-Joe B. Miller (Millersville, MO)
51Z-Zach Boden (Cambridge, WI)
53R-Sean Robbins (Collinsville, IL)
55A-Jake Swanson (Anaheim, CA)
55V-C.J. Leary (Greenfield, IN)
55X-Alex Bowman (Tucson, AZ)
56-Mitchell Davis (Auburn, IL)
71M-Brent Crews (Denver, NC)
75-Mario Clouser (Auburn, IL)
75X-Alex Vande Voort (Knoxville, IA)
76-Michael Smith (Landisville, PA)
76X-Tom Savage (Red Lion, PA)
77X-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK)
81-Colten Cottle (Kansas, IL)
84J-Jesse Shapel (Wichita, KS)
84S-Shaun Shapel (Wichita, KS)
85-Jerry Coons, Jr. (Tucson, AZ)
88-Tanner Thorson (Minden, NV)
98B-Joe Boyles (Greenwood, MO)
116-Claud Estes III (Godley, TX)
118-Scott Evans (Rhome, TX)
129-TBA