Tony Stewart has by no means been the sort to melt his phrases, particularly with regards to NASCAR. Over the previous few years, Smoke’s frustration with the game has solely grown louder. Whether or not it’s the constitution system he’s overtly criticized, the sponsor struggles that drained Stewart-Haas Racing, or NASCAR’s regular drift away from the roots he as soon as helped outline, Stewart has been vocal in voicing his opinions.
That rising disconnect finally led to the shutdown of SHR, a transfer Stewart admitted took the enjoyable out of competing at inventory automobile racing’s highest degree. Now, amid these souring ties, Stewart has taken a pointed swipe at NASCAR’s crown jewel, the Daytona 500, by putting it firmly behind a really completely different sort of racing spectacle.
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Why Tony Stewart put the Chili Bowl above the Daytona 500
“For NASCAR, clearly, the Daytona 500 is the top, after which brief observe racing, particularly on the midget facet, nothing comes near the Chili Bowl. The identical guys that run each week at a NASCAR observe are those you see on the Daytona 500. The Chili Bowl is drastically completely different than that,” Tony Stewart lately shared his opinion on two of the best spectacles in American motorsports.
In a approach, isn’t flawed. Whereas the Daytona 500 represents inventory automobile racing’s largest stage, the Chili Bowl thrives on chaos, selection, and sheer problem. It pulls expertise from each nook of motorsports, not only one self-discipline. The entry record routinely reads like a racing encyclopedia.
Drivers from NASCAR, IndyCar, Excessive Restrict Racing, World of Outlaws, USAC, and the Lucas Oil Late Mannequin Filth Collection all converge below one roof. Latest editions have featured NASCAR stars like Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, Jesse Love, and extra, all lining up towards dust specialists who do that for a residing.
The dimensions alone is staggering. The 2026 Chili Bowl has drawn 404 entries, cut up throughout 5 grueling nights of preliminary motion earlier than Saturday’s finale. And in contrast to NASCAR, the place qualifying units the grid, and the race itself leaves room to recuperate from errors, the Chili Bowl format is relentlessly unforgiving.
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Every driver is thrown into Preliminary Qualifying Nights that start with a draw and warmth races, adopted by qualifiers, Lock-Ins, and the notorious “Alphabet Soup” of mains. One dangerous run can ship a driver tumbling by means of a number of mains in a single night time simply to remain alive. Each lap issues as a result of factors from every race decide the place you line up subsequent. Ultimately, solely 24 drivers make the Championship A-Principal, a 55-lap showdown for the Golden Driller trophy.
That’s the place Stewart’s comparability falls flat. The Daytona 500 (a long-form race) and Chili Bowl (short-form race) are completely different types of racing constructed on fully completely different foundations. Evaluating the 2 is like evaluating apples to oranges. They each are elite, they each are historic. Nevertheless, each are constructed on completely completely different definitions of greatness.
When NASCAR rivalries spill onto Tulsa clay
The 2026 Chili Bowl Nationals isn’t simply one other dust spectacle. It’s a full-blown NASCAR rivalry dropped right into a strain cooker. On the middle of all of it is the acquainted, flamable pairing of and , two drivers whose aggressive historical past stretches again to their dirt-track roots and now collides once more below the lights in Tulsa.
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Bell enters this yr chasing one thing private. A 3-time Chili Bowl winner (2017, 2018, 2019), the Oklahoma native remains to be making an attempt to reclaim the Golden Driller after a comparatively quiet Tenth-place end in 2025. Larson, in the meantime, arrives as the person to beat.
With victories in 2020, 2021, and 2025, he’s defending his crown and flirting with the thought of a contemporary Chili Bowl dynasty. Their previous head-to-heads have outlined eras. What makes this rivalry electrical is the distinction. Bell thrives on daring, banzai-style strikes, keen to danger all of it in site visitors. Larson counters with calculated precision, particularly on restarts, the place inches determine the whole lot. Once they’re on the identical observe, wheel-banging chaos feels inevitable.
Including one other layer is Ty Gibbs, the wildcard. The Joe Gibbs Racing sophomore returns for his second Chili Bowl look, carrying classes from a modest 2025 debut. Gibbs brings uncooked NASCAR aggression to an area that punishes impatience, making him some of the intriguing unknowns within the area.
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Past them, NASCAR affect runs deep. Sheldon Creed makes his Chili Bowl debut with Ninety-4 Racing after proving his credentials. Corey Day blends winged dash dominance with rising midget finesse after ending third in 2024 and eleventh in 2025.
In a 400-plus automobile area, Bell vs. Larson could headline. However the .
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