Preston Peltier wins 2022 Chilly Willy 150 at Tucson Speedway
In dominating fashion, Preston Peltier won his Super Late Models feature race Friday at the 2022 Chilly Willy at Arizona’s Tucson Speedway. Some wondered whether it was a sign of things to come even though he did not start Saturday’s feature.
Sure enough, Peltier won Sunday’s main event, the Super Late Models Chilly Willy 150, after starting from the pole.
The Brighton, Colorado, native became the first driver to win two Chilly Willy titles in the event’s nine-year history; he also took the victory at Tucson in 2020.
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“I wanted to put on a good show,” Peltier said after the race. “I knew we had a good car. It’s all about saving tires. We saved just enough. These guys were beating on me pretty hard, and I was just trying to save.”
Peltier lost the lead on Lap 20 but gained it back for good on Lap 76. He was able to hold the lead despite a pair or restarts with six and five laps to go, respectively.
Asked about the exciting brand of racing he and others produced at Tucson on Sunday, Peltier credited the venue.
“This is an awesome track to race on,” he said. “You can run top, bottom, middle, three-wide. It’s the only place in the country I feel comfortable running three wide with locals. We can‘t wait to come back next year.”
Preston Peltier wins the @NASCARRoots #ChillyWilly at the Tucson Speedway and becomes the first two-time Champion!
You can relive every lap @ https://t.co/Rn66QMC5Ny🏁 pic.twitter.com/9Xq1F996W8
— FloRacing (@FloRacing) January 24, 2022
Kody Vanderwal, Edward Vecchiarelli and Ron Norman finished second through fourth, respectively, in the Chilly Willy 150. Defending Tucson Speedway track champion Brett Yackey finished fifth as the last car on the lead lap.
Local driver Brice Bonnett won Sunday’s Modifieds division feature at the Chilly Willy ahead of Dominick Adams in second, Brian Harrington Jr. in third, Nick O’Neil in fourth and Paul French Jr. in fifth.
In the Legends division, Sean Hingorani won the Sunday feature over Cody Brown, Chasen Groff, Cody Milan and Ethan Nascimento in second through fifth, respectively.
Jaron Giannini took the checkered flag in the Legends / Pro & Masters feature event Sunday at the Chilly Willy. Jake Bohlman, Levie Jones, Tyler Hicks and Josh Gross rounded out the top five.
A full replay of Sunday’s Chilly Willy action is available on FloRacing.
