NASCAR drivers comment after Chili Bowl Nationals (Video)
Shane Walters
Hear from Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman after the Chili Bowl; Ride along Larson’s on-board Go-Pro video footage
The Chili Bowl Nationals is the world’s largest dirt midget race. It’s held indoors on a 1/5-mile bullring oval in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Hear from the NASCAR drivers below.
In recent years, the event has attracted big-name superstars of racing to Oklahoma. Stars from NASCAR as well as INDYCAR were in the show.
For Hendrick Motorsports, three of their four drivers were in the week-long show. So many were busy that HMS had to put retired Cup driver Dale Earnhardt Jr back in the machine for Next Gen testing at Daytona International Speedway.
With the event in the books, all three Hendrick Motorsports drivers share their thoughts after returning home.
Bowman stated after his preliminary night, “P9 tonight. Good early. Bad in the middle. Good at the end. Thanks Ally Racing, Valvoline and K&C Drywall for letting me play in the dirt even though I have no clue what I’m doing.”
The driver learned enough to finish 2nd in the C-Main on Saturday. After advancing into the B, he finished 11th and missed an A-Main start by just four positions.
“Obviously, it’s vastly different than what we do (in NASCAR),” Bowman said. “It’s a big learning curve.
“I think diversifying yourself as a race car driver always helps, so anything you can do to learn new aspects of driving is really cool.”
Chase Elliott comments
Elliott had a rough day on Saturday. He flipped and ended the F-Main with a DNF.
“This stuff is not easy,” Elliott said. “It’s definitely a fun event, a fun environment, but really tough at the same time.”
“I like it. I’ve been a fan of it, and I really respect the craft of it.”
He added via twitter, “Not the chili bowl I was hoping for, but a huge thank you is in order to my team for helping me make the progress I did this week. Can’t wait to get back and give it another shot! Also a huge congrats to Tanner Thorson on the driller.”
Kyle Larson started 7th in the A-Main. The former winner of the event was able to gain a position after 55 laps, finishing 6th.
“The style is way different, especially when you get in a midget, compared to really anything,” Larson said. “The style of racing is way more aggressive. It’s pretty wild.
“The more I can race, the better I’m becoming as an overall race car driver is why I do it.”