The Race

The Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals is an indoor racing event held January 10-15 at the SageNet Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This year's event features a record-breaking number of entries that will be competing for the coveted Golden Driller trophy. 

The inaugural Chili Bowl Nationals were held in 1987. Since that time, the race has become the most prestigious race in Midget racing and one of the biggest motorsports events of the year. 

The Track

The race track inside the Tulsa Expo Center is built from scratch each year in order to accommodate two events: the Tulsa Shootout and the Chili Bowl Nationals. Event officials began building the track in mid-December to have it prepared in time for the Tulsa Shootout at the end of December. 

The track itself is a quarter-mile banked oval that will be reworked throughout the event so that fans and racers can enjoy the best racing possible. 

VIDEO: Building a race track for the Tulsa Shootout and Chili Bowl Nationals requires two weeks of work.  

The Format

This is where things can get a little tricky if you're new to the Chili Bowl Nationals.  

With nearly 400 drivers expected to compete this year, there will be five nights of preliminary (qualifying) action to set the stage for Saturday. Drivers will compete in a preliminary night on either Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. 

CLICK HERE FOR PRELIM ROSTERS

Each preliminary night will feature heat races, qualifying races, C-Mains, B-Mains and a 30-lap A-Main. 

Passing points during heat races and qualifying races will be determined using the chart above.

Drivers will earn passing points in their heat races based on the chart above. The 40 drivers gaining the most passing points in heat races will advance to qualifying races. The rest of the drivers will go to C-Mains. 

For qualifying races, the top 24 in points (six in each qualifier) will be inverted to give them a chance to race for more passing points.

At the end of qualifiers, the top 16 in combined passing points between their heat and qualifying race will advance to the night's A-Main feature. Those who do not transfer to the A-Main after qualifiers will be placed in B-Mains. 

The top four finishers in each C-Main will be added to the back of the B-Mains and the top four finishers in the B-Mains will be added to the rear of the starting lineup for the A-Main. 

From there, it's 30 laps of racing with only the top two finishers qualifying for Saturday's A-Main. Everyone who does not qualify will be placed in the "alphabet soup" on Saturday. 

Saturday's racing will begin with either P-Mains or O-Mains depending on the amount of cars that enter. Drivers will attempt to work their way up through the alphabet one step at a time with hopes of making the A-Main. There will be two B-Main features that will each lock in the top seven finishers to the A-Main, giving us our 24-car field for the 55-lap main event. 

The Pole Dash featuring the top 10 cars from preliminary nights will determine the starting lineup for the A-Main. 

Entry List

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Storylines

- Kyle Larson returns to the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals seeking his third consecutive Golden Driller trophy. 

- Larson will also serve as the car owner for 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, who returns to the race after making his debut one year ago. 

- Three-time Chili Bowl winner Christopher Bell has reunited with Keith Kunz Motorsports for a run at his fourth Chili Bowl victory. 

- Will trends continue on preliminary nights? Cannon McIntosh has won the last two Monday prelims, Larson has won four straight on Tuesday, Rico Abreu has won four straight on Wednesday, Bell has won six straight on Thursday and Justin Grant has won four of the last five Friday features. 

- 10-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion Donny Schatz is returning to the Chili Bowl following a one-year hiatus. Three-time defending WoO champion Brad Sweet will also be in action. 

- There will be plenty of NASCAR influence at this year's Chili Bowl with Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Newman and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. joining the likes of Bell, Larson and Elliott.

- Could this be the year for Sunshine? Tyler Courtney, the 2022 FloRacing All Stars Circuit of Champions champion, is hungry for his first Chili Bowl victory. 

-  Don't be surprised if a young gun steals the show. Rising stars like McIntosh, Emerson Axsom, Buddy Kofoid, Brent Crews, Ryan Timms and Gavan Boschele will be fun to watch throughout the week.

- Dirt Late Model fans will have an interest in this year's Chili Bowl with 2021 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champion and former Chili Bowl winner Tim McCreadie competing in the event. Late Model competitors Ricky Thornton, Jr. and Nick Hoffman are also planning to compete.

How to Watch The Chili Bowl

Every night of Chili Bowl preliminary racing (Monday-Friday) will be streamed live on FloRacing. On Saturday, FloRacing will carry all of the racing up to the C-Mains. At that time, the C-Mains, B-Mains and A-Main will be broadcast on the MAVTV Motorsports Network.

Event Schedule

Monday, January 10
7 a.m. - Practice
3:00 pm - Draw for Lineups
4:00 pm - Driver's Meeting
5:00 pm - Hot Laps
6:00 pm - Racing Begins

Tuesday, January 11
2 p.m. - Draw For Lineups
3 p.m. - Driver's Meeting
4 p.m. - Hot Laps
5 p.m. - Races

Wednesday, January 12
2 p.m. - Draw For Lineups
3 p.m. - Driver's Meeting
4 p.m. - Hot Laps
5 p.m. - Races

Thursday, January 13
2 p.m. - Draw For Lineups
3 p.m. - Driver's Meeting
4 p.m. - Hot Laps
5 p.m. - Races

Friday, January 14
2 p.m. - Draw For Lineups
3 p.m. - Driver's Meeting
4 p.m. - Hot Laps
5 p.m. - Races

Saturday January 15
10 a.m. - Feature Races (Alphabet Soup) Begin
6 p.m. Opening Ceremonies

Chili Bowl Winners