- Rear-Engine Midget Racecar -
Design, Construction, and Competition
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TULSA, Okla. (January 10, 2020) The 34th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire is next at the Tulsa Expo Raceway, located inside the River Spirit Expo Center in Tulsa, Okla. The annual gathering of the world’s best racing talent currently sits at 357 entries from 40 States and six Countries (USA, AUST, CAN, MEX, NZ, UK).
With representation from the highest levels of Motorsports such as NASCAR, Indy, Formula 1, and the weekly action at Creek County Speedway, the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire has drivers from nearly every level of competition.
The Chili Bowl Midget Nationals...since 1987
Two weeks after Christmas, the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals arrives like a gift from Santa Claus. In the Oklahoma metropolis of Tulsa, "Santa" is Emmett Hahn and Lanny Edwards, organizers of the four-night race meet since its 1987 inception.
The Chili Bowl Midget Nationals...
Initially sponsored by the Chili Bowl food company of Bob Berryhill, these Nationals are known simply as The Chili Bowl: racing's winter answer to football's Super Bowl.
It accommodates over two hundred race rigs, bleachers for thousands of people and an ever-growing trade show. To stroll the aisles of Tulsa's River Spirit Expo Center, the home of The Golden Driller, is to rub shoulders with champions from across America.
The presence of Sprint talent such as five-time Chili Bowl winner Sammy Swindell is what elevates Midget competition to a level unmatched.
The Chili Bowl's key ingredient is the clay which once covered the adjacent fairgrounds. Without sun or wind to harm it, the indoor garden (roughly a quarter-mile circle) is heavily saturated so that the boldest dirt track artists of our time can truly shine. The benchmark came in 1994 when the Jones brothers, P.J. and Page, went three-abreast for the lead with eventual winner Andy Hillenburg, a hometown hero from Broken Arrow who commands the loudest fan reaction.
It is this action which fills every corner for 55 laps that keeps people coming back. When more than 15,000 spectators walk out the door on the fifth and final night, they are so amazed at what they have seen that they cannot wait to return.
The 2007 competitors included NASCAR drivers Tony Stewart, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Tony Stewart, Justin Allgaier, J. J. Yeley, Josh Wise, Kasey Kahne, and Jason Leffler, World of Outlaws Sprint Car drivers Terry McCarl, Tim McCreadie, Danny Lasoski, and Sammy Swindell, NHRA drag racing champions Cruz Pedregon and Gary Scelzi, IndyCar drivers A. J. Foyt IV, Tom Bigelow and Billy Boat, and numerous USAC racers. Drivers in 2008 came from 29 American states, Canada, and Australia.
