TULSA, Okla. — In a last-minute call-up, Anton Hernandez will pilot a fifth Team Ripper Racing midget for car owner Steve Reynolds and crew chief Flea Ruzic during next week’s 35th Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals.
The 22-year-old native of Arlington, Texas, ran more than half the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Series schedule for Baldwin Brothers Racing last year and earned five top-10 finishes in 13 features.
However, while most of his recent racing exploits have been in sprint cars, Hernandez has maintained a presence in midget racing thanks to the Chili Bowl. This year marks his sixth straight appearance at the Super Bowl of Midget Racing.
“I made a post about trying to find a ride for the Chili Bowl after Tulsa Shootout, and had a few offers come on the table. But someone told me to hit up Flea, so I hit Flea up and he told me his situation … and I got some people together and we were able to get the deal done and completed within a span of about five hours,” Hernandez explained. “It was kind of a real quick deal, but we got it done.”
“We had wanted to do something last year with him, and we never could get everything together to meet everyone’s needs, but this year four or five people jumped in and really worked to make this happen with him and I,” Ruzic added. “He’s a good driver. I remember watching him years ago; he won the POWRi West championship … and man, he drove the freaking mess out of that car. This year I watched him when he ran the USAC sprint car deal with Kenny Baldwin and he had some pretty good finishes. I’m excited to have him, man. He’s a gasser and I think he’ll fit in well with our group.”
Next week will mark Hernandez’s first time competing in a Steve Reynolds-owned midget. Beyond having the opportunity to work with a new group of people, however, the Texas shoe is most happy about keeping his run of consecutive appearances at the Chili Bowl active.
“I was kind of losing hope after the Shootout,” he admitted. “I was hoping at Shootout or maybe the day after I could find a ride, but it was to the point where I felt like I might lose out there. I started hitting people up, though, and talked to some of my sponsors and I was able to work out a deal with a few of them. So it’s just worked out six years in a row so far. I wanted to continue that streak and I’m thankful we are.”
Considering Hernandez hasn’t raced a midget regularly since his POWRi West Midget League championship season in 2015, he’s expecting a bit of a transition back into the midget from what he’s used to on the sprint car side, but confident he can make reacclimating a short process.
“I’ve been running the sprint car now for a couple of years, and the last time I did a full-time deal was back in 2015 with the POWRi West title,” Hernandez said. “Ever since then, it’s pretty much just been a once-a-year deal at the Chili Bowl or The Dome (Gateway Dirt Nationals). I’d say I’ll probably be pretty rusty at first for hot laps, but it should be like riding a bicycle where I’ll pick it up within a practice or two.
“I think it won’t take much and we’ll be just fine when we need to be.”
The 35th Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals runs Jan. 11-16 at the River Spirit Expo Center in Tulsa, Okla.
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