Roger Diez: Thorson makes main at Chili Bowl

The 38th annual Chili Bowl Nationals went into the history books Jan 13. Last week we left off after the Wednesday night qualifiers. On Jan. 11 ‘s Victory Fuel Qualifying night. Spencer Bayston took the win with Tanner Thorson second, both advancing to the main Jan. 13. Jan. 12’s Hard Rock Casino Qualifying night saw Logan Seavey from Sutter, California take the win with Ryan Timms also advancing. Seavey came back Jan. 13 and held off Michael “Buddy” Kofoid to take the Golden Driller trophy by a car length. Thorson was a DNF, credited with 19th place.

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If you have enjoyed the six-week Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) series the past three summers, I have some bad news. The series’ fourth season will not run this year due to what the organization termed “market factors that have proven to be too much to overcome.”

I suspect those “market factors” may be the reincarnation of the old International Race of Champions (IROC) series that went dormant in 2006. SRX co-founder Ray Evernham and former NASCAR team owner Rob Kauffman have bought the name and assets of the series. They plan to run at least one race this season, perhaps using vintage IROC cars.

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For those of you who don’t remember IROC, it was an invitational series founded by Roger Penske and Les Richter. It brought together drivers from NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1, Endurance racing, and even Sprint cars.

I was fortunate to witness the inaugural season in 1973, working as a turn marshal at Riverside Raceway. The first year had three races at Riverside with the finale at Daytona early the following year. That first season featured Porsches painted in a variety of colors, prompting race fans to call them Easter eggs. In subsequent years, the series became more oval-oriented with Camaros replacing the more temperamental Porsches. Dodge Daytonas and Avengers took over for the first half of the 1990s, and then the series switched to the Pontiac Trans Am until the series closed down.

IROC champions over the years were a who’s who of motorsports. A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Mario Andretti, Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Allison, Rusty Wallace, Al Unser Jr., the Labonte brothers, and Mark Martin all claimed IROC titles. Martin was the most prolific winner with five championships, beating out Earnhardt’s four. It will be interesting to see what comes of this new iteration of the series.

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This weekend’s Roar Before the 24, the lead-up to the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, will feature practice, qualifying, and a pair of races. Peacock will broadcast qualifying and the races, with the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Race 1 on Saturday at 11:05 a.m. and Race 2 at 9:20 a.m. Sunday. Qualifying for the Rolex 24 will air at 10:25 a.m. Sunday as well. The VP Racing SportsCar Challenge fields LMP3 and GTX machines and is intended for drivers on a path to move up to the Weathertech SportsCar Championship.

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The 2024 racing season will be truly underway next weekend with the Rolex 24, followed a week later by NASCAR’s Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Coliseum. In acknowledgement of the large contingent of Hispanic race fans in the area, there will also be a NASCAR Mexico race prior to the Clash. Daniel Suarez, who cut his racing teeth in the NASCAR Mexico series before winning the Xfinity championship and moving to Cup in 2017, will compete in both races.

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And finally, a belated happy birthday to racing legend A.J. Foyt. SuperTex turned 89 on Jan. 16, and we wish him many more birthdays to come.