Two additional winners from 2020’s Turkey Shoot weekend will be in action as well. Washington’s Bryce Bezanson won the opening day 50-lap super late model feature last November and will return for more with his team led by former NASCAR Northwest Tour champion Jeff Jefferson. Teenage Californian Jake Bollman won in a Jr. Late Model and will be back in a Legends car this time, where he was a contender during last year’s competition in that division at Tucson.
The aforementioned Bezanson will be one of at least a couple drivers racing for a special cause. He will carry the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation on his super late model, an organization with the mission of raising awareness and improving the quality of life for children battling pediatric brain tumors and other childhood cancers. Wisconsin’s Brad Kossow, a fifth place finisher in the 2019 Chilly Willy 150, supports OscarMike.org, an apparel organization in which proceeds go toward providing and assisting injured Veterans with the opportunity to stay active through participation in life-changing adaptive sports.
Kody Vanderwal spent the vast majority of the 2020 season racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Jimmy Means Racing. He will start off his year by returning to his roots in a super late model, but a few years back won twice in one night during an ARCA Menards Series West doubleheader at the track. His father, Rudy Vanderwal, has made six previous starts in the event, the most of anyone currently entered for this weekend.
Although the challenge of the Chilly Willy weekend is not technically considered as part of the regular season, it often can pave the way for achievement toward the track championship. Only two of last year’s top five finishers in the Tucson Speedway super late model standings (Vanessa Robinson and Joe Paladenic) have filed an entry, meaning that this year’s run for the title could be wide open and closely contested.
3,746 is the distance in miles between Anchorage, Alaska and Tucson Speedway. That’s right – a top competitor at Alaska Raceway Park, Doug Sheldon, will be running in the Legends class in an aptly numbered -30°. He will be flying to Arizona and keeps one of his cars in New Mexico, but the commitment to travel such a distance for this event remains impressive.
Six Hoosier 10 inch F80 tires will be reserved for Sunday’s $10,000-to-win, 150-lap super late model main event. All will have to start the Chilly Willy 150 on the four tires in which they qualified during Saturday afternoon’s session. At or around lap 75 there will be a competition yellow in which teams are permitted to change two tires and add fuel.
Time trials get underway for Friday’s activities at 4 p.m. (Mountain Time), which will later include a 50-lap super late model race and Legends racing for 25 laps. Single and multi-day passes are available for viewers unable to be on hand at Tucson Speedway to watch at Low Budget TV, a member of the SPEED SPORT Network. The eighth annual Chilly Willy 150 racing festivities get underway at 1 p.m. MT on Sunday.