Fans’ and drivers’ heads turned as the No. 500 IndyCar Series and Indy Pro Series Maxim-Gaerte of Geoff Dodge and Lehmann Racing made its way to the track for its first hot-lap session in the 21st Annual O’Reilly Chili Bowl Midget Nationals.
It was the first time that the sanctioning Indy Racing League had an entry in the midget competition. Fresh off posting the third-fastest time of the session, Dodge’s machine experienced an issue with the engine, forcing the team to find another car for the remainder of the weekend. Lehmann Racing and Camfield Racing came together to arrange another ride for the Indy Pro Series veteran. The crew worked diligently to prepare the car in time for the evening’s qualifying races.
Freshly waxed and decaled, the No. 500 car lined up on the pole position for its heat race. Dodge led the first lap of the 10-lap sprint and was battling for third position on Lap 6 when the car slipped to the top of the track and was involved in a crash. The crew worked feverishly and the car was soon repaired and ready for the Jan. 13 series of main events.
Lining up ninth in the first of two I-Main races, the challenge was clear: Finish in the top four to advance, or else. Or else meant going home. Finding his way to the bottom of the track, Dodge carved his way through field, battling for second position when he crossed the finish line. The third-place finish ensured that Dodge would be transferring to the H-Main.
“We got buried deep in the I-Main field and had to find the balance between being fast and patient,†Dodge said. “It’s never fun to be one and done and we knew that we had to be in the top four (positions) to advance. We just stuck to the bottom and kept our nose clean, eventually finding our way towards the front.â€
Dodge found himself setting sail from the 13th position in the H-Main, meaning he had 10 laps to find his way to fourth in order to transfer. After a steady climb through the field, he ran out of laps, coming home in eighth place.
“It was tough trying to make it through the field in only a handful of laps,†Dodge said. “We had prepared the car for a dry track and it turned out to be a little wetter than we had anticipated so our setup was a little bit off. We were going forward, but just ran out of laps at the end.â€
Overall, the experience was something to remember, one that already has Dodge looking toward the future.
“The Chili Bowl was a great experience,†Dodge said. “Coming to the event with the support of the IndyCar Series and Indy Pro Series behind me was definitely an honor and I know that the fans appreciated their involvement as well. It’s a tough race and while we didn’t do quite as well as we had hoped, we were still able to race hard and make progress throughout the weekend. We were out there battling with the likes of (former Chili Bowl winner) Tracy Hines and a few others, so that tells you how hard everyone worked to make this a success. Hopefully, we can find a way to do this again next year.â€
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