TULSA, Okla. — C.J. Sarna inadvertently became a part of Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals folklore Wednesday night.
Sarna, a 31-year-old Army veteran from Brea, Calif., appeared destined to be added to the flip count after contact with another car during the sixth heat race of the day sent him into the air. Somehow, he stuck the landing, punched the gas and kept going.
The impressive feat earned Sarna a round of applause from the assembled crowd.
“It’s probably something that will never, ever happen again,” said Sarna, who ranked third in the USAC Western States Midget Series standings last year.
As Sarna recalled, he got a good start during his heat and put himself on the bottom of the track and was able to pass a few cars. That’s when he found himself racing with Mike Woodruff.
“I went on the straightaway and I had cleared the gentleman (Woodruff). I think his car got a little squirrelly. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I felt something hit my right-rear,” Sarna said. “It just kind of tossed the car on to the left-rear. I saw my cage was pointed toward the k-rail and I thought, ‘Oh man, this is going to end well.’
“The next thing I know is another car comes up and hits me from behind.”
The car that hit him from behind was Woodruff, who hit him a second time after Sarna had gotten turned across the track by the initial contact.
“I don’t know if it kind of twisted me the right direction, but I was facing straight all of a sudden,” Sarna said. “One more car hits my rear bumper and that just straightened me out completely.
“As soon he straightened my car out, I just said, ‘OK, the car still feels good. I can keep going.’ I didn’t know really the rules, if they were going to throw a yellow or not. So I was like, ‘I’m still in a good position, let’s keep it going.’”
The caution flag waved moments later, denying Sarna the opportunity to gain any track position following his incredible recovery from what appeared to be a guaranteed flip. The car sustained minor damage in the incident, much to Sarna’s surprise.
“I got back on the throttle and railed the top and they ended up throwing a yellow,” Sarna said. “Luckily, the only thing that broke in that summersault, whatever you want to call it, was the right-rear torsion stop broke and a bumper and what not. It was light damage, thankfully.”
The 36th Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals was the first Chili Bowl experience for Sarna since he left the Army in 2017. He was a regular competitor in the USAC Western States Midget Series prior to his time in the Army and he earned his first series victory at the now-defunct Altamont Raceway Park in Tracy, Calif., in 2008.
He last competed inside the Tulsa Expo Center in 2008. His father, Johnny Sarna, has also competed at the Chili Bowl in years past.
“We love it here. We’ve been wanting to come back here. It’s been a goal of ours to get back here,” Sarna said. “We just had some things to work on. We wanted to update our program and have some nicer stuff to be more competitive.”
While he may never win the Chili Bowl, Sarna now has a permanent place in the lore of the legendary event inside the Tulsa Expo Center. It may not be how he would have liked to be remembered, but he’ll be remembered, nonetheless.
“Everything just worked out exactly how it should have,” Sarna said. “I’m just glad we didn’t have very much damage.”