The drivers, the vendors, the fans all come to the Chili Bowl Nationals in droves.
They tolerate or revel in the thick exhaust smoke and the ear-splitting, molar-rattling noise. Year after year they come to watch midget cars blast and elbow their way across a temporary dirt track in the SageNet Center at Expo Square.
The dirt gets everywhere — the undercarriages of the cars, the first few rows of the grandstands, on the clothes of the people who sit in the front row. Getting dirty is part of the spectacle, the same way that watching a small car take a turn too fast and tip is part of the spectacle.
The cars are small. The event is not, having grown every year since Bob Berryhill of the Chili Bowl Food Company sponsored it in 1987. A former champion, a NASCAR Cup champion, calls it “a Super Bowl” for people who love car racing. Race organizers claim its economic impact is $40 million, with another $20 million contributed by the Tulsa Shootout earlier this month.
Two cars go into Turn 3 during a qualifying heat at the 2026 Chili Bowl Nationals Jan. 14, 2026. The event draws vendors and racing fans from around the country for a full week. Credit: Judd Slivka / Tulsa Flyer 
A team mechanic adjusts part of a car’s suspension system in the pit areas of the 2026 Chili Bowl Nationals Jan. 14, 2026. The event draws drivers, vendors and racing fans from around the country for a full week. Credit: Judd Slivka / Tulsa Flyer 
An artist puts final details on a painting that will be auctioned off Jan. 13, 2026, at the 2026 Chili Bowl Nationals. The event brings drivers, vendors and fans from across the country for a week of dirt-track racing action. Credit: Judd Slivka / Tulsa Flyer 
Race officials push a stuck race car from one of the track’s banks Jan. 13, 2026 at the 2026 Chili Bowl Nationals. The event brings drivers, vendors and fans from across the country for a week of dirt-track racing action. Credit: Judd Slivka / Tulsa Flyer 
A fan wears a protective face mask while sitting in the front row adjacent to Turn 1 of the Chili Bowl’s dirt track on Jan. 13, 2026, at the 2026 Chili Bowl Nationals. The event brings drivers, vendors and fans from across the country for a week of dirt-track racing action. Credit: Judd Slivka / Tulsa Flyer 
A race official at the 2026 Chili Bowl Nationals looks across the arena to see if a yellow flag has changed back to a green flag and drivers can start racing again during a qualifying heat on Jan. 14, 2026. Credit: Judd Slivka / Tulsa Flyer
With the participation of more than 400 drivers in its 40th year, the event will wrap Saturday with a grand finale: the Championship Features Events.
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