- Chili Bowl (race)
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For other uses, see Chili Bowl (disambiguation).
Tony Stewart racing at the 2008 Chili Bowl
The Chili Bowl Midget Nationals is an indoor midget car racing event. It takes place at the Tulsa Expo Center in January, two weeks after Christmas.[1] NASCAR calls it the "biggest Midget race of the year".[2] It is nicknamed the "Super Bowl of midget racing".[3]
Contents
History
The inaugural Chili Bowl is organized by Emmett Hahn and Lanny Edwards.[4] It was named after a local company who sponsored the first event.[4] The race has been hosted at the Tulsa Expo Center since it was founded in 1987.[1] The 1994 event featured a three-wide battle for the lead between Jones brothers, P. J. and Page and eventual winner Andy Hillenburg from nearby Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
Event
The inaugural 1987 event consisted of 52 midgets competing in the 2 day event.[5] The event now consists of four days of qualifiers for the Saturday night A-main event.[6] One third of the drivers compete in each qualifying night's event, attempting to qualify for the A-main.[6] Each qualifying night has heat races, dash-type events, and a 25 lap feature.[6][7] Drivers who finish poorly in their heat event in their qualifying night start deep in final night qualifying events and have to finish high in many events to make the A-main field. A driver who started in the lowest "J" event would have to finish high in I, H, G, F, E, D, C, and B events to reach the A-main. The Top 4 finishers in the qualifying night's feature event plus the top 4 finishers the two Saturday night B-main events progress into the 24 car feature field.[7]
The cable channel Speed Channel has televised the event in the United States.[8] The 2008 Saturday night main event was televised on HBO On Demand.[2] It featured a record 286 entries.[6] The National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame uses the event to induct its next class of members.
Facility
Home of the Chili Bowl, the Tulsa Expo CenterThe event is held at the Tulsa Expo Center (now called the QuikTrip Center), the home of The Golden Driller. It accommodates hundreds of race cars, bleachers for 15,000 fans,[9] and a trade show, all under one roof.[10]
The clay which once covered the adjacent fairgrounds is used for the event. The quarter mile indoor track is not affected by adverse weather or drying from the wind or sun.[9]
Drivers
Drivers in other series who come from a midget car background frequently race in the event. The 2007 competitors included NASCAR drivers Tony Stewart, Justin Allgaier, J. J. Yeley, A. J. Fike, 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,[11] IndyCar drivers A. J. Foyt IV, Tom Bigelow and Billy Boat, and numerous USAC racers.[12] Drivers in 2008 came from 29 American states, Canada, and Australia.[9]
NASCAR driver Tony Stewart, a two-time winner of the event, said,
This is the only place that you can take the best Midget drivers from USAC and Badger [Midget Auto Racing Association], and guys in the Rocky Mountain Midget Association, guys from USAC Sprint Cars and Silver Crown Cars and the World of Outlaws, all the best in dirt open-wheel racing. Those drivers are all at one place for the weekend, and when you've got [all those] guys competing for just the 24 starting spots in the A-Main, you have some of the best racing that you're going see all year all in one week at the Chili Bowl.[6]
USAC Triple Crown winner Dave Darland said, "You've got guys from all over the world. New Zealand, Australia, NASCAR, NHRA, Indy Cars -- you know, there's just all sorts of different competition there, all sots of different levels of drivers."[4]
List of A-Main Winners
The A-Main feature is a 50 lap event. Drivers with multiple wins include five-time winner Sammy Swindell, and two-time winners Dan BoorseTony Stewart and Cory Kruseman.[1] The winning driver wins a trophy dubbed the "Golden Driller" after the 76-foot (23 m) statue outside the building.[4]
- 2011 Kevin Swindell
- 2010 Kevin Swindell
- 2009 Sammy Swindell
- 2008 Damion Gardner[1]
- 2007 Tony Stewart
- 2006 Tim McCreadie
- 2005 Tracy Hines
- 2004 Cory Kruseman
- 2003 Dan Boorse
- 2002 Tony Stewart
- 2001 Jay Drake
- 2000 Cory Kruseman
- 1999 Dan Boorse
- 1998 Sammy Swindell
- 1997 Billy Boat
- 1996 Sammy Swindell
- 1995 Donnie Beechler
- 1994 Andy Hillenburg
- 1993 Dave Blaney
- 1992 Sammy Swindell
- 1991 Lealand McSpadden
- 1990 Jon Heydenreich
- 1989 Sammy Swindell
- 1988 Scott Hatton
- 1987 Rich Vogler
References
- ^ a b c d "Chili Bowl Midget National". SCRA Fan. http://www.scrafan.com/events/chilbowl.html. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ a b "Tony Stewart Racing ready to defend Chili Bowl title". NASCAR. 2008-01-11. http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/cup/01/10/tstewart.chili.bowl.preview/index.html. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ "Leffler hopes experience equals Chili Bowl victory". NASCAR. 2007-01-02. http://www.nascar.com/2007/news/headlines/bg/01/02/jleffler.chili.bowl/index.html. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ a b c d "Chili Bowl has different meanings, same prestige". NASCAR. 2008-01-07. http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/cup/01/07/chili.bowl.preview.ppv/index.html. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ Wheatley, Lonnie (2008-12-08). "20th Annual Chili Bowl Entries Unveiled!". Speedway Star.com. http://www.speedwaystar.com/release.asp?NewsId=17096. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ a b c d e "Dirt-track legends among talented Chili Bowl drivers". NASCAR. 2008-01-11. http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/cup/01/11/chili.dirt.track/index.html. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ a b "Stewart still fighting for berth in Chili Bowl main". NASCAR. 2008-01-11. http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/cup/01/11/chili.bowl.tstewart.thursday/index.html. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ "Chili Bowl Midget Nationals". Speed (TV channel). http://www.speedtv.com/programs/chili-bowl-midget-nationals/. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ a b c Miller, Tim (2008-01-10). "Chili Bowl flavour catches hold, even Down Under". The Hamilton Spectator. http://www.thespec.com/article/307397. Retrieved 2008-10-16.[dead link]
- ^ Klein, John (January 18, 2010). "Chili Bowl a big boon for Tulsa". Tulsa World. http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/article.aspx?subjectid=203&articleid=20100118_203_B1_THEODD283513. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
- ^ "Chili Bowl often becomes a David vs. Goliath storyline". NASCAR. 2008-01-08. http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/cup/01/08/chili.bowl.david.goliath/index.html. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ "21st Annual O'Reilly Chili Bowl Midget Nationals Saturday Lineups". Racing West.com. 2007-01-13. http://www.racingwest.com/news/articles/14686-21st-annual-oreilly-chili-bowl-midget-nationals.html. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
External links
Categories:- American Open Wheel Races
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