In her home state of Oklahoma, Harli White is putting a lot of effort into her sixth Chili Bowl run. She took a break from the action last year as she concentrated on running for American Sprint Car Series points, but before that she ran every year since 2012. 

The difference between this year and past is the quality of the team and equipment available to White.

This year, White is running for Johnny Herrera Racing in a CatSpot sponsored Midget.

White will compete in her preliminary on Wednesday night to see how far up she can start in Saturday’s alphabet soup — the progression of Mains that determine the starting order for the big show.

"It's the best opportunity, car, people to work with, that I've ever had," White said. "It's a huge opportunity for me. I've always said if I had just a little better car I could make it to the Saturday A-Main. Now I have to live up to my expectations."

In 2016 she got the closest to making the main Feature when she finished 10th in her preliminary night A-Main to advance into one of Saturday’s B. After starting 13th, White was involved in a crash and suffered a DNF.

White knows that a solid run in the Chili Bowl comes from staying focus and out of trouble, but she also understands that a portion of what happens in out of the control of the individual.

"People ask me my strategy," White said. "For one, stay out of trouble. Two, you have to move forward in every race. Three, the draw is important. All the stars have to align, yet you have to be on your 'A' game. You have to be in the A-Main on your qualifying night to have any sort of chance on Saturday so that's the first focus."

White is teamed up with two Oregon-based drivers as she attempts to conquer the Bowl. Roger Crockett and Bricen James from Medford are competing in their first Chili Bowls. All three drivers will race with Johnny Herrera’s infamous No. 45 livery.