Briton Harris impresses in Chili Bowl outing

European and BRISCA F1 dominator Tom Harris was the top overseas driver in a field of over 300 entries in the renowned Chili Bowl Midget car event in Oklahoma, America, last week.

Harris, who was running in the event for the second season in a row, took third place in his heat on Thursday. That meant he lined up for the B feature, in which he finished seventh.

On Saturday, he just failed to make a transfer spot from his feature race by one place after a hectic battle with veteran racer Davey Ray, which saw Harris ride up on two wheels before slamming into the wall.

Harris recovered to finish fifth, one place ahead of Brad Loyet, a regular Chili Bowl racer and a participant in the Race of Champions, which is open to the top 20 all-time Chili Bowl points scorers. “Last year was a big learning curve for me, but this year I felt I got to grip with the style of racing needed out here. It is a lot different than back home. My car owner Bob East told me to be a bit more aggressive and I was in the last race as I passed a lot of cars but just came up one short,” said Harris.

East said: “He drove well, a vast improvement from last year. He has the talent but just needs more time in the seat.”

Rico Abreu passed long time race leader Bryan Clauson in the closing stages to record his second consecutive Chili Bowl crown. Harris plans more US outings.