It’s the week of the Chili Bowl Nationals. 700 loads of dirt are used to build the famed indoor midget race with 400+ entries all fighting for one trophy.
The event is run on a 1/5-mile bullring dirt track. 5 nights of preliminary action are used just to set the lineup’s for Saturday’s finale.
Tony Stewart spent 18 years in the NASCAR Cup Series. He never won the Daytona 500 but he does have two Golden Drillers (2002 and 2007).
This week, Stewart isn’t racing a dirt midget. He’s viewing the race as a fan and in addition, he’ll be the Grand Marshall for the event.
And, the NASCAR Cup Series champion has just declared the Chili Bowl a bigger race than the Daytona 500…
“To have a couple of Golden Drillers of my own is something that really means the world to me,” Tony Stewart stated during the Chili Bowl press conference.
“Back in the day, I was scared to say this was bigger than Daytona. But, it is! It’s truly is.”
“It’s not in the world’s eyes. But, in true motorsports fans eyes, they know this is bigger. You got 400 guys you gotta beat to win this race.”
“Not the same 40 guys that you see every week at a NASCAR track. This is probably one of the hardest events to win. Every time these guys go on the race track in competition, it matters. They get points, it’s all a part of getting themselves seeded for Saturday night. You can’t have a mistake.”
“Daytona 500, you can make mistakes for the first 400 miles and still go out and win the race. You can’t do that here.”
“I never won the Daytona 500. But, winning the Chili Bowl meant more to me than if I would’ve won the Daytona 500.”
“I think this is one of these events, mainly because of the venue, I honestly think it would be very hard to duplicate this anywhere else. You could try to take this anywhere else in the country, but I don’t think you could make this.”
“It’s so unique to have the race track, the bleachers, the entire pit area. It’s a very short walking distance to see all of it.”
“It would be foolish to try and emulate what Emmett has done here over the last 40 years.”
The Chili Bowl Nationals will conclude on January 17th inside the Tulsa Expo Square.
Tony Stewart is set for a return to NASCAR racing
Tony Stewart | Chili Bowl | NASCAR
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