Dave Thurston, Justin and Dave's brother Bruce hauled the TNT RaceSports #17 Midget car back to Tulsa Oklahoma for the 2009 Chili-bowl. After a very good run in his rookie year at Chili-bowl in 2008, Justin had very high expectations for 2009. Justin drew for the Tuesday night program, the first night of four qualifying nights. Starting last in his 8 lap heat race, Justin ran 4th gaining valuable points for the A-qualifier race. Justin found himself in second with two laps to go. He caught the leader and when they made contact in turn 1, it sent Justin to the pit area with a flat right front tire. Some thought he really messed up. Given the fact that it was Chili-Bowl where passing points are very important and having the trio of Rickey Stenhouse Jr., Mike Hess, and Gary Taylor right behind him, he made an attemp for the lead. It did not work out and no one felt worse than Justin. Jimmy Sills, (who was helping Justin at Chili-Bowl), was right there to lend his YEARS of experience. Jimmy simply told him, "Heck Justin, I'm not a follower either, we've all made decisions that didn't work out, your job now is to rebound, get your butt through the B and into the A. Remember things happen, both good and bad. The good drivers rebound, your night is not over." Someone else, (I think it was Jimmy Boyd), told Justin. "When you are in the drivers seat there is no such thing as a mistake. You make split second decisions, some will work and some wont. The ones that don't will be harped on as mistakes. That's the way it's always been and that's the way it will always be." Brad Sweet came over to add his support, and incouragement. Rebound is exactly what Justin did. Starting at the back of the B-Main, Justin ran one of the best races of his life. As the field fell into place after the start, Justin got briefly tangled up with a car and was close to the back with 10 laps to go. With 2 laps to go he got around Davey Ray for third. He finished third behind winner Kevin Swindell, and Terry McCarl. The A-main found Justin fighting his way through the field and had broken into the top ten, but then got tangled up with a car, bouncing off the fence and coming to rest between turn one and two. He restarted at the back and ended up 19th.

That placed him in the D-Main for Saturday. Transferring out of the Dmain was not going to be easy. Chili-Bowl is the toughest midget race of the year, and there are no easy races. His D-Main included Jason Meyers, Cory Kruseman, Kevin Swindell, Nick Wean, Billy Pauch, Chad Boat, Cody Darrah, A.J. Fike, Coleman Gulick, and Shane Hollingsworth. Justin finished 4th behind Cory Kruseman, and in front of Kevin Swindell gaining a transfer.

The C-Main looked like an A-Main loaded with Midget Champions, and NASCAR stars, from all over the country. (Including '08 Chilibowl Champion Damion Gardner. Midget/NASCAR drivers: Jason Leffler, Kasey Kahne, Josh Wise, Bryan Clauson. World of Outlaw Drivers: Jason Meyers and Paul Mcmahan. Midget and Sprint car standouts: Kevin Swindell, Cory Kruseman, Joey Moughan, Austin Brown, Don Droud Jr., Kevin Olson, Mike Hess, Ryan Pace, Nick Wean. Justin's night ended in the C-Main after climbing as high as 7th or 8th from the back. Justin had battled his way through the field, before making contact with another spinning car in turn 4. Justin was able to keep the car going as the yellow came out for the incident and the stopped cars. Some lineup confusion insued and Justin was relegated to the rear because it was scored that the 17 car had stopped on the track. He was marching forward again but ran out of laps finishing 11th. Solid run, but he fell well short of his own goal. It was a typical Chilibowl; Rough, tough, fast, exciting racing. It's a unique event that draws around 300 race cars, and racing stars from every form of racing. The main event ladder starts as low as K and L mains. Making the A-main on your qualifying night is tough, and even though Justin's goals were not met, A C-Main finish is a good solid finish. A Special thanks to Dave, Wendy, Bruce and Skip Thurston, Jimmy Sills, and Jimmy Boyd. Brad Sweet for his input and encouragement. Mel and Eddie Abrew, and Pete Davis of Hot Products Engineering. Also, Utah's Jim Turner for making sure mom had a good seat for Justin's races.