Redemption.
What happened last year at the Chili Bowl literally made Buddy Kofoid angry and that says a lot about one of the nicest and most genuine human beings in motorsports. That he crashed from the lead in his prelim night, by no fault of his own, was something he couldn’t even bear to re-watch.
Like, losing the $250,000-to-win High Banks Nationals at Huset’s in a Sprint Car probably stung just as hard, leading the first 30 laps before his engine expired, but that is just racing to a degree. There was nothing he could control and Kofoid probably concluded that each time he watched it back.
The 2023 Chili Bowl Tuesday prelim? Even if he realistically couldn’t do anything to avoid that fate, there is still something to pick apart. Maybe he could have done this or that and it’s a different story. Maybe he is right there head-to-head with Logan Seavey and Kevin Swindell.
Also …
“It’s like the biggest race, or one of the biggest races in the world, and that hurt,” he said.
So a statement was absolutely made on Tuesday with Kofoid leading the passing points standings to earn the pole in the feature and then leading every single lap without a doubt ahead of Hank Davis and Chase McDermand.
Say what you will about how he felt but the results this week might be an indication of how he feels.
“This was one of the few races I did not re-watch and I’ve watched Huset’s 100 times,” Kofoid said. “Chili Bowl, it creates a different feeling, and there is so much pressure.
“I put a lot of that pressure on myself and this year, where I usually psych myself out, and get nervous, which I thought was a good thing. But I didn’t feel it on Sunday or today going down the ramp and was just relaxed.
“I enjoyed the moments, worked with the crew to better our cars, and this was the first time I didn’t feel any nerves going down the ramp.”
He says he can’t explain it.
Will he feel it on Saturday night?
“The feelings this building gives you are hard to describe but I don’t know if the nerves will be there, I hope they don’t but at the same time, I kind of hope they are too but not like they were before.”
Kofoid was almost subject to déjà vu when a car at the back of the field, CJ Sarna, bicycled the curb in front of him and got sideways trying to save it.
From the outside looking in, it almost looked like last year all over again but Kofoid would not be deterred.
“I was pretty relaxed and felt in control because I could see based on where he biked and got loose, how he was going to respond,” he said. “The position I was in, I gave myself an out, which I didn’t do last year.
“I got off the corner and got away pretty easily.”
The Chili Bowl giveth and taketh away.
Onto Saturday.
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.