Kyle Larson (Photo: Ruby Wallau/NASCAR)
Over the span of six days and nights at Tulsa’s Expo Square in Oklahoma, the 36th Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire will crown a new champion of what’s known as the Super Bowl of midget car racing.
The question is whether that champion will be a NASCAR national series regular, as has been the case over the last five years.
RELATED: Join FloRacing to watch 2022 Chili Bowl
NASCAR Cup Series drivers Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell have combined to win the last five Chili Bowl A-Main features, with the 2021 Cup champion taking the last two and Bell winning three in a row from 2017-19.
Both are entered in the Chili Bowl again in 2022, as are several more drivers from NASCAR’s national series.
Below are the NASCAR drivers competing in the 2022 Chili Bowl and their scheduled qualifying nights.
- Alex Bowman (Monday, Jan. 10)
- Chase Briscoe (Monday, Jan. 10)
- Chase Elliott (Monday, Jan. 10)
- Kyle Larson (Tuesday, Jan. 11)
- Jesse Little (Tuesday, Jan. 11)
- Tanner Berryhill (Wednesday, Jan. 12)
- Carson Hocevar (Wednesday, Jan. 12)
- Christopher Bell (Thursday, Jan. 13)
- Ryan Newman (Friday, Jan. 14)
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Friday, Jan. 14)
- Ryan Ellis (Friday, Jan. 14)
Below are the night-by-night results for all of the NASCAR drivers competing in the 2022 Chili Bowl. Qualifying nights are scheduled for Jan. 10-14, with the championship events scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 15.
RELATED: Complete Monday Chili Bowl results
Bowman began Monday night with a fourth-place finish in his eight-lap heat race, finishing behind Trey Marcham, Alex Sewell and Cole Bodine. He then won his 10-lap qualifying race, Qualifier 4, a triumph that placed him in the evening’s A-Feature.
Bowman finished ninth in the A-Feature to close the night. On Saturday, he will race in a C-Main in an attempt to reach the main event.
Briscoe’s night got off to a good start, as he finished second to Tyler Courtney in his eight-lap heat race before winning Qualifier 1. He found some trouble in the night’s A-Feature, though, and slipped to an 11th-place finish.
That result places Briscoe in a C-Main on Saturday night. From there, he will try to place his way into the B-Main and A-Main.
Elliott began the evening with a bang, as he won his eight-lap heat race from the pole. He then placed fifth in Qualifier 3, and he came home eighth in the first of two B-Features. He also finished ninth in the Vacuworx Invitational Race of Champions, an impressive run for a driver with such little experience on dirt.
Elliott will race again Saturday in an F Main.
Larson did not compete in a qualifying race Monday night, but he did run in the Vacuworx Invitational Race of Champions. Larson qualified second for the race but started seventh after the top eight qualifiers were inverted. He roared all the way back to second, but Justin Grant held him off for the win. Larson’s Chili Bowl qualifying night is scheduled for Tuesday.
WATCH: Larson, Grant battle in VIROC thriller
Bell also competed in Monday night’s Vacuworx Invitational Race of Champions. He finished third behind Larson after starting 11th. Bell’s qualifying race for the Chili Bowl is scheduled for Thursday.