In introducing the guests for the annual Monday morning Chili Bowl Midget Nationals press conference, event publicist Bryan Hulbert called the attending drivers Mount Rushmore caliber and heaped praise upon the city officials who make it happen.
Tony Stewart is back after a five-year hiatus, the two-time event winner turned groundskeeper, now tasked with just being a fan this week under the guise of grand marshal.
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Smoke was joined by two of his modern contemporaries in three-time winners Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell. Together, they have carried the banner across generations as dirt drivers who never forgot their roots after becoming NASCAR Cup Series superstars.
And while the three have contributed to the prestige of the event, the City of Tulsa have also aided its growth, and mayor Monroe Nichols sat alongside Commissioner Stan Sallee and tourism president Renee McKenney.
The event generates $40 million of impact into the Tulsa economy and the city has worked diligently to give event promoter Emmett Hahn what he needs to keep the event at the Expo Center.
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And make no mistake, there have been numerous efforts from other cities and states to lure the Midget Nationals elsewhere.
“We continue to invest in this event,” Sallee said. “There are the Lucas Oils out there, a lot of people who would love to have this event in their communities all across the country. We spent close to a million dollars in the new bleachers, the asphalt and all the other amenities we’re committed.
“To these athletes over here, I just want to thank your commitment in staying engaged here. It means a great deal. I have heard from our local racers that (having) a shot to race against some of the best … You’ve been in their shoes, but that is what makes this event so unique, amateur but good drivers race against NASCAR drivers and it means a lot to have it in our city and in this facility.”
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Smoke is back
In the same way that it was important to have Bell and Larson return after a couple of years not racing the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, it was equally important to have Stewart back in this building for reasons summarized by Hahn.
“Tony is the one that turned this from a Midget race to the Chili Bowl,” said the event co-founder. “I called him after this race last year and told him we needed him back for the 40th. He came and ran this race when there wasn’t much to it.
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“I have told anyone who will listen that Tony is the most instrumental person who got the Chili Bowl to where it is today and I appreciate him for it.”
Stewart was genuinely moved by all the praise heaped upon him from those in attendance.
“It’s really nice to be here this year,” Stewart said. “In the past, when I would be here, I would get done at 4 to 4:30 in the morning on the tractor and you guys only see what happens when cars hit the track. The checkered flag was when we got to work.
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“But it’s nice to be back here for the 40th anniversary. I think, this year, I told my wife Leah that I’m excited to just be here with my friends. We have so many friends from so many different disciplines of motorsports and series that get to come here to this venue and race against each other and spend time with each other.
“To not be on the tractor until 4:30 in the morning, that will be nice, and maybe I can stimulate the local economy by enjoying their drinks this week.”
This got laughter from the room, but one reporter immediately asked if ‘Smoke’ will spend at least one day working with grounds crew Brad ‘Gravel’ Chandler, Steve Hahn and Martin Edwards.
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Hahn very quickly quipped ‘no because I had to pay him all those years,’ to even more laughter.
For Stewart, it is going to be strange because it is the first time in a long time, and maybe even ever, that the three-time Cup Series and IndyCar champion could just be a fan. Like, how is that even going to work?
“I have no idea because I’ve always been here with a race car or helping Emmett out,” Stewart said. “I think that’s part of the fun for me, that there is no plan. The most important thing to me is that I get to enjoy six nights of racing.
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“I’m in a different form of motorsports now so I don’t get to see this crowd as much. I’m excited to see my friends and see great racing and that’s what this week is about to me, honestly.”
Bigger than Daytona?
In true Emmett Hahn form, the promoter tried to needle a controversial statement out of Bell, that he viewed the Chili Bowl as a more important win over the Daytona 500.
Hahn: Can you tell them that quote you gave me?
Bell: What was that quote? I don’t remember
Hahn: You said they went to ask you a very specific question about Chili Bowl and the Daytona 500, about which is the most prestigious win …
Bell: Yeah, so I think the quote was something like this event is so unique because you have drivers from everywhere whereas the Daytona 500 you have 40 cars and it’s the Cup Series drivers. Here you have Cup Series, Xfinity Series, World of Outlaws, USAC drivers …
Larson: High Limit drivers (which got laughter because he owns High Limit)
Bell: High Limit drivers! You have a completely different mix and there’s no other event in the world that has the diversity that this event has. I have a driver from Australia and there’s drivers from New Zealand and Europe. There is no other event in the world that has this diversity and that makes it the barometer of driving talent and how they stack up against each other.”
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Stewart took the bait.
“I remember back in the day being scared to say this was bigger than the Daytona 500, but it is,” Stewart said. “It truly is. It’s not in the world’s eyes, but in true motorsport fans’ eyes, they know this is bigger.
“There are 400 guys you have to beat in this race and not just the same 40 guys that you see every week at a NASCAR track. This is the hardest race to win in the world. Every time they hit the track they are racing for points and it’s all about getting seeded for Saturday night.
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“The Daytona 500? You can make mistake after mistake over the first 400 miles and still win the 500 mile race. You can’t do that here. So for me to talk about how much this means, I never won the Daytona 500, but winning the Chili Bowl twice meant way more to me than Daytona.”
Of Larson, Bell and Swindell
One of the interesting subplots of the race this year is that Bell and Larson both are in pursuit of a fourth win in the event, which would tie them with Kevin Swindell for second on the all-time wins list and just one behind Sammy Swindell, whom has five.
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Swindell won four in a row, from 2010-to-2013, and says it wouldn’t quite be the same but a notable accomplishment nevertheless.
“They didn’t win four in a row, so it’s not a big deal to me in that way, and I was 23 or whatever by time I did it too,” Swindell told Motorsport.com on Sunday night. “Where they are, it’s cool to add to it over the years, and for the longest time, there were only a handful of drivers that had won two.
“But the way I feel about it is that it’s my job to stop them from getting to four. I want to get Logan (Seavey) to three and I’d rather beat them with Logan to get to four first.”
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Seavey won the race with Swindell serving as crew chief and owner in 2023 and 2024. Swindell suffered spinal injuries in the 2015 Knoxville Nationals that stopped him from adding to that tally.
“I think I look back sometimes and wonder how many I’d be at if I had run the last 10 years too,” Swindell said. “I do feel like my place in history is cemented and I’m pretty comfortable with where I am at. I wish I could have gotten to five too, running second those two years before I got hurt, that sucks even more now.
“I was thinking I was going to cross that five mark.”
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For their part, Bell and Larson are not thinking about Swindell, respectively, because they are candidly a little occupied on their own personal rivalry.
“I just want to beat Christopher,” Larson said, with the room again laughing.
“I just don’t think of the Swindells. I respect them, but inside of this building and outside of it too, I just really want to beat him. Them I will worry about the Swindells. I haven’t put my thought beyond wanting one more than Christopher.”
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Bell said he ‘was along the same lines’ as his longtime rival.
“It’s pretty rare form to get to Kevin with four and Sammy with five, is that right,” Bell said. “I don’t know. This place is so unique in that when you do hit on something, you can repeat it, you’ve seen it with myself and Kyle too, you can run off several in a row.
“It’s never easy and there are a lot of guys here that have zero that keep coming really close to having several.”
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