TULSA, Okla. — When officials from the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals announced on Nov. 19 they were adjusting the age requirements for the granddaddy of all midget racing events, there were a handful of very excited young racers.
Brent Crews and Gavan Boschele are two of them.
Under the previous rules, Crews and Boschele would’ve been unable to compete in the 36th Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals as they were under the age of 16.
However, with event officials now allowing drivers less than 16 years old to compete as long as they are approved by an advisory committee, Crews will drive for CB Industries and Boschele will handle a Keith Kunz Motorsports midget.
Crews, 13, is wrapping his head around the idea that he’ll get to compete this week inside the Tulsa Expo Center.
“I thought I would have to wait three more years until I could drive at the Chili Bowl,” Crews said. “That was really upsetting for me after being so good last year with Chad (Boat, owner of CB Industries) and to have to wait three more years to participate in an event that is amazing just kind of sucked.
“Now, I’m just looking forward to it even more after being told three months ago that I could run it at the age of 13.”
Crews is coming off an impressive season that saw him become the youngest national midget series race winner in history at 13 years and three months following a POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League victory at Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Mo., on July 17.
It was the first of five POWRi victories Crews posted last year, helping him to finish second in the POWRi standings to Keith Kunz Motorsports driver Bryant Wiedeman.
“I know we’re going to have a really strong race car,” said Crews, who competed two weeks ago inside Tulsa Expo Raceway during the Tulsa Shootout. “I know it’s going to be really fast. Chad always brings some of the best stuff to the race track and there is really not anything that is better.
“My confidence level is pretty high as a race car driver because I know I’m just going to have to do my part. I already know my car is going to be able to win.”
Boschele, also 13, heads to Tulsa, Okla., after ending last season on a high note. After initially struggling to get up to speed in a midget, Boschele found his groove and nabbed his first midget victory with the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League on Sept. 5 at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo.
The victory made him the second youngest national midget winner in history behind Crews. His partial POWRi season resulted in eight top-five efforts and 15 top-10 finishes, which left him feeling confident ahead of his Chili Bowl debut.
“It’s huge. It feels really good,” Boschele said about making his Chili Bowl debut. “I never would have thought I’d be racing a midget at this time. Last year I was sitting in (Logan) Seavey’s car pushing him out to the staging area for driver intros and I was just sitting there thinking, ‘Wow, this is cool.’ Now to actually race in it is going to be even more cool.”
Boschele, who like Crews also competed in the Tulsa Shootout two weeks ago, believes a realistic goal for the weekend is to make Saturday’s 55-lap finale.
“I want to win the thing, but my goal is to just make the A-main,” said Boschele. “Stay consistent the whole week and weekend, just be smart.”
He believes his Tulsa Shootout experience will help him be familiar with the track when he rolls onto the temporary quarter-mile dirt oval for Monday’s Cummins Qualifying Night.
“(It helped to) get more of a feel for the track, like what it’s going to do,” Boschele said. “I’ve been watching videos to see how it moves around, stuff like that.”
Crews, who will attempt to race his way into the Chili Bowl finale during Thursday’s JCT Qualifying Night, hopes that the racing will be around the top when it comes time for him to go racing later this week.
“I don’t expect it, but I hope it’s on the top,” Crews said. “I know it’s small (the track) in a micro, it’s definitely going to be smaller and faster in a midget.”