BRITISH ACE HARRIS MAKES IMPACT AT THE CHILI BOWL

BRISCA F1 racer Tom Harris impressed in the US sprint car Chili Bowl last weekend and came close to qualifying for the prestigious final but was thwarted by a car failure.

The European F1 champion finished his opening heat in seventh place after starting in 22nd spot and won the hard charger award as a result.

In his third attempt at the event, Harris made it into the B Final and was running competitively until a broken damper thwarted his charge to break into the top six and claim a place on the main final grid.

Harris said: “Everyone seems blown away that we got as far as we did and without the damper problem I had a good chance to make the A Main Final.

“Despite the limited running we’ve come so far, much further than last time and I’ll be back next year. Bob East put a great car on the ground, it was flying for us and thanks for the support. We are now making the guys over there sit up and really take notice.”

Harris will race a BRISCA F1 in the UK in 2017 as well as returning to non-winged Sprint Cars in the US later this year.

The Chili Bowl feature event was won by Christopher Bell, who outwitted Justin Grant in the early stages. Bell will compete in NASCAR during the 2017 season.