With the grueling schedule that World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series drivers keep, it’s not very often they get to slip away and take part in a race just to have fun and for bragging rights. One time each year that scenario plays out is at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, OK, which takes place this week.

A handful of current World of Outlaws drivers, will be taking part as well as a trio of team owners and a couple of others who are associated with the series and parent-company, the World Racing Group.

Brad Sweet, David Gravel, Daryn Pittman and Shane Stewart, who finished second through fifth, respectively, in the Outlaws standings in 2018 will all be competing in the Chili Bowl. Also, Sheldon Haudenschild, the 2017 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award winner, will be in action, driving for the powerhouse Clauson Marshall Racing team.

Pittman, who made his first Chili Bowl main event start back in 1997, has finished second in preliminary night feature twice in his career. The veteran driver, who was born and raised in nearby Owasso, OK, has qualified for the main event seven times at the Chili Bowl, picking up four top 10 finishes along the way. He looks to rebound after missing the feature last year.

Sweet has finished in the runner-up position on preliminary nights twice in his career. The defending Knoxville Nationals winner, has a best final night Chili Bowl finish of third in 2013. In his return to the Chili last year, he finished sixth in the finale. 

Stewart, who grew up in nearby Bixby, OK, has competed in two of the last three Chili Bowls. Prior to that his most recent appearance at the event was back in 2001. Stewart made his Chili Bowl debut in 1995. The veteran driver is still looking to qualify for the main event for the first time.

Gravel, who has raced in the Chili Bowl on four occasions, qualified for the final night main event in his debut in Tulsa in 2012. He just missed transferring to the main event last year by one spot in one of the B-mains.

Kyle Larson, Kasey Kahne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who all own World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series teams, will all be in action at the Chili Bowl. Larson has three preliminary night wins, but is still chasing his first Golden Driller. The NASCAR star finished a career-best third in the 2012 finale of the Chili Bowl.

Kahne, who has competed at the Chili Bowl 10 times in his career, finished a career-best sixth in 2002. The former USAC National Midget Series champion has four top-five finishes on preliminary nights. 

Stenhouse has made nine appearances at the Chili Bowl in his career. The native of Olive Branch, MS, who now calls the Charlotte area home, has a pair of ninth-place finishes on the final night of the Chili Bowl. Stenhouse Jr. also has a pair of top-five runs on preliminary nights, including a second-place effort in 2012.

Brian Dunlap, the Director of Broadcast for the World Racing Group, the parent company of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, will field a two-car team in the Chili Bowl. Casey Shuman, who was recently named the Series Director for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series will pilot one of the cars, while Washington native Gary Taylor will be in the other.

Along the same lines, Mike Hess, the Competition Director for the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series will be in action again this year in the Chili Bowl. The former Midget racer finished a career-best eighth in the 2011 Chili Bowl finale. Hess, who made his Chili Bowl debut in 1999, also garnered a top-10, with a ninth-place effort in 2003.

Sammy Swindell, the three-time Outlaws champion, is the winningest driver at the Chili Bowl, having claimed the famed Golden Driller trophy five times in his illustrious career. Swindell’s most recent Chili Bowl win came in 2009.

The Chili Bowl kicks off on Monday, January 14 with practice in the morning and afternoon, followed by five preliminary nights, beginning later that evening. The final day, Saturday, January 19, will consist of the traditional “Alphabet Soup” starting with lower main events, running all the way through the 55-lap A-main.