[JessicaJ]

Walker Eager for Another Run at the Chili Bowl
By Jessica Jenkins

It’s the time of year again where all USAC and dirt midget racers pack up and head for Tulsa, OK. And for the third year in a row, Gage Walker will be making the trip to the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals for his favorite race of the year. Along with simply being at the huge event, Walker is looking to accomplish big things while also hoping for a little luck. When asked about his expectations, the 18 year old immediately said his goal is to make it to Saturday’s A Main. But he also remained realistic, acknowledging, “It’s hard to make that call about the Chili Bowl, just because it’s so random and it’s just a lot of luck involved. One year you could be up in the C and B mains, be really fast and be right there. Then another year, you can have one really bad heat race and it puts you way back through the night and you’ll end up in an F main or back there on Saturday night, so it’s hard to determine.”

Walker will certainly be putting his best foot forward as his family-owned team will be bringing a brand new car to the “Indianapolis 500” of midget racing. Last month they debuted the car in DuQuoin (IL) with solid results, gaining positions in their heat race and fighting through a bent right front shock in the feature to finish just outside of the top ten. The Indianapolis-based driver certainly has higher expectations when they roll on track Thursday night with the Spike/Esslinger/Impact/Wilwood Brakes/Business Art Designs/Walker & Sons #7xx. Overall, this young up & comer is aiming to be one of the names still in the fight when MAVTV takes over the broadcast Saturday night. “I would definitely be happy if I made it up to the B Main on Saturday, I’d be pretty happy with that. I’d love to make the A Main, but there are so many fast cars there and a lot of drivers have a lot of experience, so you never know. Chili Bowl is my favorite time of the year. That’s why we race all year long, just to prepare for the Chili Bowl, so it should be fun.”

To keep up with Walker as he races at the Chili Bowl, head over to Facebook and ‘like’ his fanpage (Faceook.com/GageWalkerRacing) and visit his website at GageWalkerRacing.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @GageWalker7.