MT. POCONO, Pa. — Joey Amantea will be piloting a Mounce/Stout Motorsports entry when he makes his Chili Bowl Midget Nationals debut next month.
Not only will it be Amantea’s first time tackling the marquee event, running Jan. 8-13 at Tulsa Expo Raceway in Tulsa, Okla., it will mark his debut of competing in a midget.
“To get the opportunity to run a midget is something I’ve always wanted to do so I’m excited to see how that goes,” he said. “The guys told me with my background in the 600s (micro sprints) and the non-wing sprint cars I’ll pick it up quickly. That’s a confidence booster that they trust my ability before seeing me race with them.”
The event annually features more than 300 competitors from all over the world. Each driver will get a preliminary night and those results will determine the lineups for the finale on Jan. 13.
“My whole idea is to go out and get my name out there more,” Amantea said. “Another goal is to make the prelim night A Main and go from there. Before talking to the team, I didn’t really think those odds were too great. After speaking with the team, I think they’re pretty good. Those guys are confident in me. That right there is a confidence booster so I feel pretty good about it. Hopefully this will lead into more midget racing.”
Amantea will get some laps on the track inside the River Spirit Expo Center two weeks prior as he competes in the 39th annual American Waste Control Tulsa Shootout, which is Dec. 27-31. Amantea is competing in four different divisions during the micro sprint spectacle, which he has raced in the last five years.
He’ll also contest the full USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship schedule next year with his family-owned JPA Racing entry.Â