Chili Bowl: Tracy Hines takes Thursday’s A feature
Hines was in charge early in the 25-lap qualifier, TulsaWorld.com reported, as a crowd of nearly 14,000 looked on at Tulsa's QuikTrip Center. But the Indiana driver, in a car owned by NASCAR Sprint Cup team owner-driver Tony Stewart, had to overcome three restarts in the final five laps to secure the win.
"Tony was out there pointing me to the bottom and I did not know if he meant bottom of the race track or what," the newspaper site quoted Hines. "I signed, 'What do you mean?' and he did not signal back. I don't think he wanted to tell me one way or the other."
Finishing second was Dave Darland of Lincoln, Neb., and third was Justin Allgaier of Cornelius, N.C., who also is expected to run a limited NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule with Penske Racing this season. The top-three finishers will transfer into Saturday's A feature.