There is only one direction for Daison Pursley to go in the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals on Saturday night and that’s a podium or bust.
And maybe, just maybe, winning the whole darn thing.
In his four starts at the Tulsa Expo Center Raceway, Pursley has made directional progress from 10th in a B in 2021, 15th in the feature in 2023 and fourth last year after starting from a D Main no less.
You’ll note a was missing year but let’s circle back.
“I mean, hopefully, because I feel like I deserve to be or should be in the mix,” Pursley said. “I just have to go out there and execute. I think I’ve done a little bit of everything. I’ve spun out running good and wrecked running good, came back from it. I’ve experienced it all.”
Pursley and CB Motorsports captured the USAC National Midget Championship this past season with seven wins. This is closer to the peak form of the 20-year-old who is actually set to embark on a full 410 Sprint Car racing season in 2025 on the High Limit Racing trail.
“I mean, I feel like I’m at at the top of my game right now,” Pursley said. “Like everything was just going in the right direction. No matter if it was a Midget, Non-Wing Sprint, Silver Crown, my wing starts, everything feels comfortable and I feel confident.
“Now I can just work on the nitpick stuff, my race craft, and all the things I need to get better at.”
This matters because there was a point in time that he never thought he would have these ‘problems’ again.
The story of Daison Pursley would be incomplete without mentioning that missing season above. He literally broke his neck, was diagnosed as an incomplete quadriplegic, after a crash in November 2021 at Arizona Speedway. The incident required a nine hour surgery to fuse his C4 and C5. The only time he cried was when he asked if he could make it back to the seat in time for Chili Bowl and being told ‘no’ and that there were actually quality of life concerns far beyond racing.
Pursley was undeterred.
He returned to the Tulsa Expo, just like he said he would two months later, walking the grandstands in a brace to the loudest ovation possible. The building showed him the greatest love imaginable and it only motivated him further to return to competition.
If he could only race Chili Bowl again …
“Oklahoma in January, there’s not a better place to be,” Pursley said. “It’s like, Christmas happens in December but in my eyes it happens in January in Oklahoma. This place is so special to me. Its funny because I’ve never left here happy. I’m usually dragging my gear bag, tail between my legs, because all I ever wanted was to win one of those little golden guys. It’s such a love-hate relationship.”
The prestigious Golden Driller trophy.
So with that goal, maybe impossibly out of reach, Pursley gritted through his rehabilitation. He methodically worked his way from Outlaw Karts to Micros and back to a Midget. That’s how he eventually made his way to Chad Boat and CB Industries who first ran him in Tulsa last year through their championship run.
“It’s been really rewarding,” Boat said.