In last week’s Motorsports Weekend Guide, we mentioned that the annual short-track racing pilgrimage to Tulsa for the Chili Bowl Nationals was imminent. Now, in the middle of the week, the Chili Bowl is in full swing and Hooniverse reader Rich Chesavage is there helping crew for USAC Triple Crown winner and NASCAR driver J.J. Yeley. Rich, being ever the gentleman, loaned us the video of Yeley’s win in his 10-lap heat race last night from pole position. You can see it—along with a couple of pre-race hot laps—after the jump, courtesy of Yeley and TRD.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cmg2XSoivwY[/youtube]
There’s a lot to take in from the video: The incredible car control while Yeley saws at the wheel to find grip on the indoor quarter-mile’s loam, the constant blinding flashes from infield photographers, and the tremendous noise from the Midget’s methanol-fueled Toyota four-cylinder engine.
If it looks like the car is doing wheelies on the short straights, that’s because the car is doing wheelies on the short straights. Most of these fire-breathing engines put out close to 400 horsepower and the Chili Bowl—unlike most Midget sanctioning bodies—does not have a minimum weight for the cars, meaning that some (OK, most) of these cars are built exclusively to run at Chili Bowl with the lightest coming very close to two pounds per horsepower with the driver onboard.
Yeley won his heat, giving him a start at the front of the Wednesday night Main race, where he finished third. That is good enough to clinch him a spot in Saturday night’s big Feature without having to try transferring through the famed “alphabet soup” of Main races on Saturday leading up to the Feature.
Those looking for more from the Chili Bowl can watch the final Feature Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. ET on MAVTV or can watch streaming webcasts for the rest of the races today, Friday, and Saturday on Racinboys.com for $25 per day.
 
[Video: J.J. Yeley/TRD, provided by Rich Chesavage]