2012 Chili Bowl

OK, so we didn’t make the show and we wadded up the car. But we did proved our point. The Honda Midget engine is the real deal. We
were fast, passed a bunch of cars. An almost continuous stream car owners, drivers and spectators throughout the week showed that
some others folks are beginning think the same. The goal of PBH Indy’s Honda midget engine developmental program was to build a
nationally competitive, reliable, relatively inexpensive midget engine. Looks like we’re there.

Jake started at the rear and transferred through the first two
Alphabet Features on Saturday. We missed transferring out of
the "I" Feature by about half a car. And with that, our 2012 Chili
Bowl effort over - - - we thought. Remember I said the car was
fast. Bob Berryhill, who served as Grand Marshall for this year’s
Chili Bowl Nationals, offered a $5,000 bonus for the Hard
Chargers on Saturday to be split among the top three drivers. The
driver that passed the most cars during Saturday’s alphabet
features would collect $2,500, the second most cars passed paid
a $1,500 bonus and the third most cars passed, an extra $1,000.
We were told Jake was leading the Hard Charger Award
standings. Ultimately, we finished second. Which was pretty cool
because it took the driver who won the Hard Charger Award
several more races to accomplish what we did in three. As I said,
the Swanson Motorsports / PBH INDY Stealth/Honda was fast.

The wreck ended our Friday night qualifying effort as both
Jake and the car were not fit to continue. Jake had his bell
rung and spent the rest of the night getting it back together
while the team assessed the damage and prepped the car
for Saturday. Here is where I tell you how the crew busted
ass and had the car totally ready for Saturday. They did.
But without the help of a bunch of other people, no way it
could have happened. So thanks to Teresa, Shannon,
Michelle, Michelle's dad, Steve, Krieg, Bob, Palmer, Dustin.
A heartfelt and greatly appreciated example of racers
helping racers.

The Swanson Motorsports / PBH Indy Stealth/Honda was fast at the Chili Bowl. We needed to be in the 11:40's in
practice. We were. Hopes were high that we were going to make a pretty big impression. We did. Unfortunately, our
big impression manifested itself in a rather spectacular series of barrel rolls down the length of the backstretch.
Here's a link to a video that shows our contribution to the 2012 Chili Bowl Crash Video Highlights.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djUtQL3bkRM go to 1:25. Jake will be famous for this one for a long time.

There's some cool stuff happening this year. PBH will have the Swanson Team on the west coast looking for a Championship. We're
building a new "K" Series USAC legal engine for the Kettman Racing to run in the STARS series. Our house "F" engine is planned to be
the dyno mule, data collection engine for USAC in hopes of approval for the 2013 season. We are working with Illini Racing Series and
USSA to come up with a series compatible packages for the "F" and "K" Series Honda's. We are supplying parts to several engine
builders. 2012 looks like a good year for the Honda Midget engines. Stay Tuned.
Skeet Bushor - PBH Indy