MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Jan. 10, 2018) – Justin Allgaier’s mission in the opening round of the 32nd annual Chili Bowl Midget Nationals was to make all 25 laps of the A-Main and advance as far as possible in the run-up to Saturday’s main event. He did that, finishing 12th in the feature and setting him up in a much better position than he was in a year ago.
“Unfortunately we had some issues trying to get to the A-Main,” Allgaier said. “We had some trouble getting around some cars in the heat race and put ourselves behind the eight-ball. We started 21st last night and drove up to 12th, and that put us in a decent spot for Saturday night.”
Last year, Allgaier was in a transfer spot on the final lap when a tire went flat, causing him to crash and finish 17th. That put him well back in the starting order for the C-Main on Saturday, and he was unable to make the 24-car A-Main.
The 31-year-old Illinois driver finished third in his heat race on Tuesday and sixth in Qualifier No. 2, setting him up for the first B-Main. He drove his No. 7A Boss Chassis midget to second place in that race to earn a trip to the night’s A-Main feature.
In the 25-lap main event, Allgaier started 21st and improved seven spots, so he’ll have a shorter road to the final race than he did in 2017. “We didn’t win, which was the ultimate goal, but we got close,” he said. “It’s still a good solid run for us. I’m probably not as aggressive as I need to be, because I get to do this once a year, but this is a cool event and I’m lucky I’m able to do it.”
That sets him up at the front of one of the C-Mains on Saturday night, which is when he’ll next see action. The top six finishers in each of Saturday’s C-Mains advance to one of the 20-lap B-Mains, and the top six in each of those races transfer to the 55-lap A-Main title race.
