TUCSON, AZ – Darrell Midgley and Brandon Carlson kick off their 2020 race seasons January 24th, 25th and 26th in Arizona.  Both drivers are escaping the snowy north and heading to the Arizona desert as Tucson Speedway hosts the 7th annual Chilly Willy 150.   This will be Midgley’s 6th consecutive Chilly Willy appearance in the Northern Provincial Pipelines Ltd./Alien Race Cars #81 Dodge.  “It’s going to be good.  Looking forward to it.”  Midgley made his Tucson Speedway debut at the 2015 Chilly Willy and finished 22nd.  His best Chilly Willy finish was 10th back in 2017.  “We’ve really shown some speed (in Tucson).  We’ve got the speed.  We just have to put it all together.”

The format for this year’s big Super Late Model show remains the same as the past few years. Two preliminary 50-lap Features take place on Friday and Saturday leading up to the 150-lap race on Sunday.  The Sidney, British Columbia driver says the first two-days of racing are just as important as Sunday.  “It really is a test for the big race on Sunday.  There is a lot of potential for stuff to go wrong.  You have to balance things as well.  They are short races.  You don’t want to put yourself in a compromising position.”  One year ago Midgley had finishes of 14th and 18th in the preliminary 50-lap events.  Midgley’s run in the 2019 Chilly Willy ended early (Lap 14) when he was pushed into the wall.  Midgley was credited with a 37th place finish as the car was too damaged to continue.  “You need to be there for the end.  At this race, history shows that patience is your best friend.”

Driving the Northern Provincial Pipelines/Alien Race Cars #81c is Brandon Carlson.  This will be the Carlson’s third consecutive appearance at the Chilly Willy event.  His best ever Chilly Willy finish was 14th in 2018.  Last year, Carlson finished 19th in the big race.  “We want improve on that,” exclaims the Victoria, British Columbia driver, “we need to run well into the top-10 all weekend long I think.”  Carlson is approaching the three-day show exactly like his teammate.  “It’s two-days of hopefully staying out of trouble and getting the car ready to compete for the big show on Sunday.”  Carlson finished 8th and 9th in the Chilly Willy warm-up Features back in 2018.   He registered back-to-back 13th place finishes in the warm-up Features last year.  Carlson knows it’s going to be a tough race weekend.  “There are going to be some heavy hitters here.”  Carlson won the 2019 Season Championship in The Keg Late Model Drivers Challenge at his home track of Western Speedway.  “I haven’t got a victory in the Super Late Model.  Only have wins in a Late Model.”  Both Midgley and Carlson will be on the track Thursday afternoon at Tucson Speedway for a private practice session.  The first 50 lap preliminary race for the Chilly Willy race weekend is Friday night.

TEAM NPP
CHILLY WILLY FINISHES

#81 DARRELL MIDGLEY
37th – 2019 (crash)
18th – 2018
10th – 2017
24th – 2016
22nd – 2015 (crash)

#81c BRANDON CARLSON
19th – 2019
14th – 2018

#81b JASON FROST
30th – 2016

2020 CHILLY WILLY
Classes racing:
Super Late Model
Trucks
Legends

>FRIDAY, January 24th
4:00pm – Qualifying (Legends & SLM)
6:00pm – Racing
Legends (Heats)
Super Late Model (50 lap Feature x 2)
Legend Feature (25 laps)

>SATURDAY, January 25th
1:00pm – Qualifying (SLM/Legends/Trucks)
2:00pm – Racing
Legends/Trucks (Heats)
Super Late Model (50 lap Feature x 2)
Legend/Trucks (25 lap Features)

>SUNDAY, January 26th
2:00pm – Racing
Super Late Model (Last Chance – 50 laps)
Trucks (50 lap Feature)
Legends (50 lap Feature)
Super Late Model (Chilly Willy 150)