Chili Bowl dirt racing's hottest game

Mike Hembree | Special for USA TODAY Sports

TULSA, Okla. -- Garth Brooks is in town. This does not matter.

Because so is the Chili Bowl.

331 cars. As many drivers. Dozens of races. Spraying dirt. Flying cars.

It's the motorsports happening of the week in the United States -- in the world, some say. Since 1987, drivers of Midget cars have come here along the Arkansas River in ever-increasing numbers for the nation's biggest race of the sort. Only 24 of those entered will advance to Saturday's A main, the final.

The event -- officially the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals -- is held at the River Spirit Expo Center, a massive indoor facility that has room for more than 300 race cars and trailers, a large auto racing trade show and, not incidentally, the quarter-mile dirt oval that hosts the racing.

The indoor aspect is a key attraction in bringing fans here from numerous compass points. It is cold outside -- there was sleet in the area Wednesday -- but it is pleasant (if a bit loud) inside the center, and the carefully manicured clay surface is not subject to wet weather.

So, they come.

Friday and Saturday crowds are expected to reach 15,000, and the garage (open to fans) and trade-show areas were packed Thursday night.

Promoter Emmett Hahn, a former driver who started this event with co-organizer Lanny Edwards in 1987, said 85 percent of the race's reserved-seat tickets are sold to fans from outside Oklahoma.

"People originally didn't think of a dirt track when we started here in 1987," Hahn said, "but people came the first year and loved it. They went home and told their buddies, and they'd come and then tell their buddies. It built."

The tight on-track action and the unique nature of the facility drew not only fans but also top drivers, including some from outside traditional Midget ranks. The entry list has grown from about 50 the first year to its biggest total this year. A Chili Bowl trophy has become one of American motorsports' bucket-list items for many drivers.

Three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart is a two-time Chili Bowl winner and rates the event as a must-see. He's here this week, driving not race cars but tractors as he helps the track-grooming crew. Stewart owns Eldora Speedway, a half-mile dirt oval in Ohio.

Included on the long entry list are Sprint Cup drivers Kyle Larson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and J.J. Yeley.

Also notable are those just visiting. Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Unser was entertaining fans with stories near the garage area Thursday. Johnny Rutherford, another three-time Indy 500 champion, is expected on the grounds Friday. And former drag racing king Don Prudhomme was a visitor early in the week. Roger Penske, a championship owner across a wide spectrum of motorsports but never a Chili Bowl attendee, will be the grand marshal Saturday.

And driving here for the first time is NASCAR regular and television personality Kenny Wallace, who showed up at the invitation of Stewart.

"I think everybody in life has that one thing they want to do and haven't done," Wallace said. "I've always wanted to run the Chili Bowl. Tony stopped by my house back in the summer. He told me, 'You're a good dirt racer and you've won a lot of modified races, but you're not a real dirt racer until you run the Chili Bowl.' So, I'm here on a challenge.

"I'm like a fish out of water. My goal is to not embarrass myself and be up to speed. I want to show that I'm OK here. I don't want to be a goober. I just have massive respect for the sport and these guys."

Kevin Olson, an Illinois driver, raced in the first Chili Bowl and has missed only a few over the years. Now 63, he's racing again.

"This is one of those happenings, a thing people look forward to every year," Olson said. "There's such a mix of talent. It's hard to describe unless you actually come and see it. There's nothing like it anywhere else."

Wally Pankratz, 69, also is a Bowl veteran. He's also on the entry list again, along with his daughter, Randi Pankratz, 44. They rolled into town this week despite having truck trouble near Amarillo, Texas.

"When you get to a certain level of motorsports, there's pressure and more pressure," he said. "There's really none here. We're here to have fun. But you have to be ready. Here, it's so short and so quick. If you're not on the gas right away, they'll run over you."

Pankratz crashed hard here in 2007.

"A guy bounced off the fence and hit another guy, and I drove over his wheel and hit the gas and got launched (into the air). It took off like a rocket and landed really hard, beat me up.

"My daughter was there. They put me in the ambulance. She asked somebody, 'How's the car?' "

There was another race to run.

"People who race cars are certifiably insane," Pankratz said. "It's just in the blood. But the people who support Midget racing are really hardcore fans. They'll be here, and they'll come back. It's winter, it's indoors, and racing Midgets on a small track like this is perfect."

Follow Hembree on Twitter @mikehembree