Unchartered Waters ✅

Chapter 79: Chili Bowl Nationals

Monday, January 10, 2022 – Tulsa Expo Center

"Are you ready?" Alex Bowman questions as they walk into the Tulsa Expo Center to kick off the first day of racing. "Are you ready? It's finally here – Chili Bowl time baby!"

"You look like a kid on Christmas morning," Chase Elliott comments with a laugh as he could only shake his head in watching him. It wasn't often that you saw a big excited reaction out of Alex so he was going to enjoy this.

"What can I say? This is my favorite time of the year – no matter what anybody says. There's just something special about being here." Chase nods his head, having grown used to that feeling in the few appearances that he'd made at the event.

"Did I just hear that from the asphalt guy?" Chase looks over, a little surprised. He thought he'd ditched the title with the dirt experience gained since his Chili Bowl debut. "Good luck tonight."

"Same to you, and I look forward to seeing you later." Alex nods his head, easily accepting, as the pair separate and head to their own respective trailers, ready to kick off the day.

The beginning practice session went solidly for Chase – as he tried to remember the words of advice from both Brad Sweet and Kyle Larson, finding some decent speed along the way. Alex was decent, as well, though a spun car in front of him resulted in sustaining some front end damage.

It seemed things were continuing to go Chase's way, though, as he drew first heat which would take place right after hot laps. In his mind, repetition was the name of the game as he normally found a rhythm when it came to asphalt events, and that translated to success. Perhaps the same would happen here.

It certainly did, with jaws dropping around the arena in watching him hook the bottom lane through the eight laps, minding the gap ahead of Mitchell Moles, not giving him a lane to make a run underneath. His approach worked perfectly, as he scored his first career Midget checkered flag.

"Heck yes!" Brad Sweet yells as he runs over, reaching down inside the car to give him a pat on the shoulders afterwards, even beating Kyle and the guys over there. "That's what I am talking about!"

"Way to go!" Kyle adds, giving him a high-five as pride surrounded the team following the run. "That was awesome! How does it feel to be a Chili Bowl winner?"

"Feels pretty awesome, but we just got to keep focused here," Chase comments, to which Kyle nods his head in approval. He could see the excitement, but knew the approach as the next race would matter just as much and set the tone for the weekend. "Paul made the right adjustments after hot laps, by the way."

"Do you want to adjust on it a little more?" Kyle wanted to keep the praise going, but knew he didn't want to spoil the vibe they had. "And by the way, does Alex spoil you with a prize for a small checkered?"

"Kyle..." Kyle puts his hands up with a grin as he walks away.

Chase takes a deep breath, remembering the conversation he had with Alex. Did he truly trust Kyle? Was this a good thing with him knowing? Would the ribbing become too much over time? He knew he couldn't worry about that right now, though, focusing back on the car.

Speaking of Alex, the repairs made by the crew paid off as he found the familiar speed he had in hot laps prior to the contact. He was able to make his way forward from an eighth starting spot to place fourth. It wasn't the stellar finish he would have wanted, but knew the passing points earned would give him something decent for qualifiers.

Elliott's 100 points earned put him in the third qualifier, set to start third. Racing against some of the regulars in Alex Sewell and Jesse Love, he was able to hold his own, though faded back to place fifth. It wasn't the performance they were looking for, knowing that'd put him in the b-main later that night.