March 12, 2023 Nolan Hughes

In a battle between superstars from professional bowling and racing, Kyle Troup and NASCAR’s Aric Amirola emerged victorious at the Go Bowling! PBA NASCAR Invitational at Phoenix Raceway.

The tournament teamed up PBA and PWBA talents with NASCAR racers for a doubles competition. A custom two-lane venue built within The Barn at Phoenix Raceway was the only suitable host for the special crossover event between the PBA and NASCAR.

In the opening match, Troup faced off against his best friend on Tour, Jesper Svensson. Almirola picked up a pair of spares early to put him and Troup ahead.

Svensson’s 2-4-6-7-10 conversion in the fourth frame seemed to wake up his teammate Chase Briscoe, who struck in the fifth frame. But the driver of Stewart-Haas’ No. 14 car fell back asleep in the ninth frame, throwing a gutter after using the wrong ball.

He converted the spare, using his own ball this time, to give Svensson a chance to shut out Troup and Almirola. However, the two-handed southpaw left a 2-4-7 and put the match in Troup’s hands.

“The oven is hot,” Almirola told FS1’s Randy Pedersen when asked about the pressure of the final frame.

The temperature was just right for Troup, who cooked up Thanksgiving dinner with a turkey to secure the win.

In the other semifinal, close friends on the PWBA Tour Daria Pajak and Verity Crawley went head-to-head as well. Crawley’s quick double pushed her and Ryan Preece to the halftime lead over Pajak and 2023 Daytona 500 champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Open frames from Preece and Stenhouse in the seventh frame knotted up the score. Stenhouse converted a clutch spare in the ninth frame to take the lead and Crawley’s split in the 10th all but sealed their fate.

Another tough spare conversion from Stenhouse commenced the championship match.

Scores were tough to come by on the Checkered Flag oil pattern, but Almirola’s strikes in the fifth and seventh frames put him and Troup back in front.

Troup’s high shot in the eighth tripped out the 4-7-10, doubling to capitalize on Almirola’s strike and putting the match out of reach.

Jimmie Allen, a multi-platinum, GRAMMY Award nominated country musician, joined the NASCAR crew for the Celebrity Super Clash. The one-ball roll-off competition pitted Allen against six NASCAR drivers, including Gray Gaulding, who shot a certified 300 game last October, and Jeffrey Earnhardt.

Gaulding wore his 300 ring, but the jewelry only held him down. A six-count eliminated the 25-year-old in the first round.

Briscoe may have struggled in the opening match, but he caught fire in the Super Clash. He tallied four strikes and a nine-count to reach the championship round against Allen.

The 28-year-old’s hot streak stalled out in the final round. A six-count proved to be no challenge at all for Allen, who competed in the pre-tournament qualifier at the U.S. Open and PBA Jackson Classic earlier this season.

Allen knocked over eight pins with ease and added another piece of PBA hardware to his collection.

Match Scores

Semifinal 1: Kyle Troup and Aric Almirola def. Jesper Svensson and Chase Briscoe, 178-159
Semifinal 2: Daria Pajak and Ricky Stenhouse def. Verity Crawley and Ryan Preece, 167-134
Championship: Kyle Troup and Aric Almirola def. Daria Pajak and Ricky Stenhouse, 176-135

Celebrity Super Clash Scores

Round 1: Aric Almirola 7, Chase Briscoe X, Rickey Stenhouse Jr. 7, Ryan Preece 9, Gray Gaulding 6, Jeffrey Earnhardt 8, Jimmie Allen X
Gray Gaulding eliminated

Round 2: Aric Almirola X, Chase Briscoe X, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 7, Ryan Preece 9, Jeffrey Earnhardt 8, Jimmie Allen 9
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. eliminated

Round 3: Aric Almirola 3, Chase Briscoe 9, Ryan Preece 8, Jeffrey Earnhardt 7, Jimmie Allen X
Aric Almirola eliminated

Round 4: Chase Briscoe X, Ryan Preece 7, Jeffrey Earnhardt X, Jimmie Allen 9
Ryan Preece eliminated

Round 5: Chase Briscoe X, Jeffrey Earnhardt 0, Jimmie Allen 7
Jeffrey Earnhardt eliminated

Round 6: Chase Briscoe 6, Jimmie Allen
Chase Briscoe eliminated — Jimmie Allen wins