Six NASCAR regulars part of record entry list for Chili Bowl Nationals
By Ted Fleming
The Tulsa Expo Center, now known as the River Spirit Expo, plays host to what NASCAR calls ‘The biggest Midget race of the year’
If there was any doubt the Chili Bowl Nationals are a big thing, you have to look no further than the entry list. The 31st rendition of the indoor event has drawn a record number of participants including NASCAR regulars J.J. Yeley, Justin Allgaier, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and two-time winner Rico Abreu.
Abreu is the defending champion having won the Chili Bowl in the Keith Kunz Motorsports No. 97 in back-to-back years. The diminutive (4-foot-4) dynamo spent this past season racing in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series. He had a pair of top-5 and five top-10 finishes. A year ago he scored a win, four top-5s and eight top-10s with three poles in the K&N Pro Series East.
This year there are 358 entries, up from 349 a year ago with 19 of those still looking for drivers. In addition, there will be 71 rookies looking to make their mark in the race that comes two weeks after Christmas. The highly anticipated race draws an estimated 15,000 fans each year.
Called the “Indoor Garden,” the River Spirit Expo houses a quarter-mile circle of heavily saturated clay and the race will be carried by MAV-TV live on Saturday, Jan. 14.
Recently retired Tony Stewart is a two-time winner taking home the Golden Driller in 2002 and 2007, however, he is not among the entries this year.
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Over the course of the past 30 years, Sammy Swindell has the most victories with five while his son, Kevin, has registered four. No one else has more than two although Abreu has a chance to add to his total.
The Chili Bowl was organized by Emmett Hahn and Lanny Edwards and has been run each year since 1987. This year’s entry list can be seen here.