Tanner Thorson leads every lap en route to second VIROC victory

TULSA, Okla. -- Tanner Thorson’s association with veteran car owner Clyde Lamar has borne fruit early in their relationship with Tuesday night’s victory in the Vacuworx Invitational Race of Champions (VIROC), a Chili Bowl week tradition at the Tulsa Expo Center.

 

Driving Lamar’s No. 3C midget racer, Thorson took the lead from polesitter Ryan Bernal on the first lap and led the rest of the way, surviving one caution in the 20-lap event that features the elite of the sport. The victory was the second for Thorson, who also won the race in 2016.

 

Kyle Larson was the runner-up after starting fourth. Christopher Bell climbed to third from his 15^th-place starting spot. Bernal, J.J. Yeley and Logan Seavey—Monday’s preliminary night A-feature winner—completed the top six.

 

“This car has been badass from day one,” said Thorson, who also earned a guaranteed a berth in Saturday’s A-Main Chili Bowl title race with a provisional starting spot, should he fail to qualify otherwise. “Ever since we got a midget with Clyde Lamar, this thing has been awesome.

“My guys have worked their butts off to give me what I need. Clyde Lamar is probably one of the most prestigious car owners out there and doesn’t get enough recognition for it. We’re all the way from California, and this is his first time at the Chili Bowl with a car, and we pick up the Race of Champions win.”

 

In the last six VIROC events, Larson has now won twice, finished second three times and fifth once. On Tuesday night, he felt the two ends of the track drove quite differently from each other.

 

“I feel like (Turns) 3 and 4 were pretty decent—racy,” Larson said. “(Turns) 1 and 2, the top, you could enter with some speed up there, but then you get killed on exit. It’s so hard to turn down off the cushion in a midget… Midgets are tough to get traction when you’re not leaning on something or in some pretty good moisture.

 

“But it’s nice to get some laps there. I’m sure they’re going to work on the track quite a bit.”

 

Bell overcame a bad pill draw for starting position, edging Bernal for third place in the late going. But he was impressed by the speed Thorson showed in the Lamar-owned car.

 

“Tanner was gone, man,” said Bell, the winner of the last two Chili Bowl main events. “I couldn’t even see him.”

 

As for Thorson, he doesn’t plan any changes to his car for his preliminary night on Friday.

 

“Nothing’s going to get changed,” Thorson said. “I knew that this car was capable of (winning). When I came to Clyde and talked to him about building a midget, he said, ‘Let’s do it,’ with no questions asked and gave us kind of free rein to do what we can do.

“He said get the best of the best and nothing but the best, and that’s what we did.”