Here are the NASCAR drivers entered in the 2022 Chili Bowl
The entry list for the 2022 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire, set to take place Jan. 10-15 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is unprecedented in its depth. More than 380 entries had been accepted as of Jan. 3, breaking the previous record of 372 entries set in 2017.
And 11 of those entries are drivers who currently compete in one of NASCAR’s three national series.
RELATED: Everything to know about the 2022 Chili Bowl
The Chili Bowl, known as the Super Bowl of midget racing, attracts names from the NASCAR ranks every season. Those drivers — two of them, to be specific — have dominated the annual dirt racing extravaganza in recent years.
Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, is the two-time defending winner of the Chili Bowl’s main event (A-Main). Before Larson, current Cup Series driver Christopher Bell won three consecutive Chili Bowl feature events from 2017-19.
Larson in 2022 will look to win his third Golden Driller, the most prestigious trophy in midget racing. But he must navigate a massive field of talented dirt racers and a list of competitors that includes some of his rivals at the top level of stock car racing.
Below are the active NASCAR national series drivers who are entered in the 2022 Chili Bowl. (Note: Kasey Kahne and J.J. Yeley, a pair of former NASCAR Cup Series drivers, are also entered in the 2022 Chili Bowl.)
RELATED: Watch the Chili Bowl live on FloRacing
NASCAR Cup Series drivers entered in the 2022 Chili Bowl
Christopher Bell
2022 Chili Bowl qualifying night: Thursday, Jan. 13 (Watch)
Chili Bowl A-Main appearances: 8
Chili Bowl A-Main wins: 3
Bell, a native of Norman, Oklahoma, might appreciate the Chili Bowl in Tulsa more than any of his fellow NASCAR national series competitors do; he has competed in the event every year since 2011. A Joe Gibbs Racing driver in the Cup Series, Bell will look to earn his fourth Golden Driller trophy after he took three in a row from 2017-19. He will do so racing for Keith Kunz Motorsports, the same team with which he took his three Chili Bowl titles.
Alex Bowman
2022 Chili Bowl qualifying night: Monday, Jan. 10 (Watch)
Chili Bowl A-Main appearances: 0
Chili Bowl A-Main wins: 0
A Hendrick Motorsports driver in the Cup Series, Bowman will field his own cars in the 2022 Chili Bowl. He’ll pilot the No. 55X for Alex Bowman Racing with C.J. Leary and Jake Swanson behind the wheels of his other two midget cars. Bowman has a heat race win (2016) on a Chili Bowl resume that dates back to 2010, but he is still looking for his first appearance in the main event. He came close in 2020, advancing to a B-Main before falling short of the A-Main.
Chase Briscoe
2022 Chili Bowl qualifying night: Monday, Jan. 10 (Watch)
Chili Bowl A-Main appearances: 1
Chili Bowl A-Main wins: 0
Before he begins his second season with Stewart-Haas Racing in the Cup Series, Briscoe, last year’s Cup Series Rookie of the Year and the 2016 ARCA Menards Series champion, will look for more success at the Chili Bowl. His goal will be to advance back to the A-Main, where he last raced in 2017 having fallen just short of the main event in his last two attempts. Briscoe has won a pair of heat races and achieved an L-Main victory in his Chili Bowl career.
Chase Elliott
2022 Chili Bowl qualifying night: Monday, Jan. 10 (Watch)
Chili Bowl A-Main appearances: 0
Chili Bowl A-Main wins: 0
The 2020 Cup Series champion gets his second crack at the Chili Bowl in 2022 after a disappointing debut last year, when a spin during his qualifying night kept him from the A-Main. Elliott has gained experience racing on dirt since his Chili Bowl debut, so he figures to improve his result in 2022 driving for Kyle Larson, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate in the Cup Series.
Kyle Larson
2022 Chili Bowl qualifying night: Tuesday, Jan. 11 (Watch)
Chili Bowl A-Main appearances: 10
Chili Bowl A-Main wins: 2
Many consider the 2021 Cup Series champion the driver to beat in the 2022 Chili Bowl. He has won the last two A-Main events and is looking to do what Bell did from 2017-19: win three in a row. Larson’s victory in 2020 was a bit of a breakthrough. Despite a couple of close calls (third in 2012 and second in 2019), Larson up to that point had not won an A-Main in eight starts. He will go for the threepeat driving his own Kyle Larson Racing machine.
Ryan Newman
2022 Chili Bowl qualifying night: Friday, Jan. 14 (Watch)
Chili Bowl A-Main appearances: 0
Chili Bowl A-Main wins: 0
Despite a storied motorsports career, Newman in 2022 will make just his third run at the Chili Bowl having competed the last two years, as well. He won an E-Main in 2020 and reached as high as sixth in a G-Main last year. As he looks for his first appearance in the main event, Newman will drive for the team he co-owns, Clauson-Marshall Racing.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2022 Chili Bowl qualifying night: Friday, Jan. 14 (Watch)
Chili Bowl A-Main appearances: 7
Chili Bowl A-Main wins: 0
Like Bell, Bowman and Larson, Stenhouse as a Cup Series full-timer is also a regular at the Chili Bowl; he has missed only one (2013) over the last 16 years. With three B-Main wins, a D-Main triumph and a pair of E-Main victories to his name, Stenhouse has a pair of top 10s in his seven A-Main appearances dating back to 2009. He also has won five heat races throughout his Chili Bowl career.
NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers entered in the 2022 Chili Bowl
Tanner Berryhill
2022 Chili Bowl qualifying night: Wednesday, Jan. 12 (Watch)
Chili Bowl A-Main appearances: 0
Chili Bowl A-Main wins: 0
A part-timer in the Xfinity Series, Berryhill is no stranger to the Chili Bowl, as 2022 will see his 10th start dating back to 2010. And this event is a big deal for the Bixby, Oklahoma native’s family. His grandfather Bob owned The Original Chili Bowl food services, the primary sponsor of the inaugural event in 1987 and the eventual permanent namesake. Tanner Berryhill has one heat race win (2016) in the Chili Bowl.
Ryan Ellis
2022 Chili Bowl qualifying night: Friday, Jan. 14 (Watch)
Chili Bowl A-Main appearances: 0
Chili Bowl A-Main wins: 0
Another part-time Xfinity Series driver, Ellis will make his fourth Chili Bowl start in 2022. He will run the No. 97R for Shophouse Racing.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers entered in the 2022 Chili Bowl
Carson Hocevar
2022 Chili Bowl qualifying night: Wednesday, Jan. 12 (Watch)
Chili Bowl A-Main appearances: 0
Chili Bowl A-Main wins: 0
Driving for Beilman Motorsports, Hocevar will make his Chili Bowl debut in 2022 despite a lack of experience racing on dirt. Hocevar finished 10th in last year’s Truck Series standings driving for Niece Motorsports.
Jesse Little
2022 Chili Bowl qualifying night: Tuesday, Jan. 11 (Watch)
Chili Bowl A-Main appearances: 0
Chili Bowl A-Main wins: 0
Little, who recently signed with Young’s Motorsports for a part-time Truck Series schedule in 2022, will make his Chili Bowl debut in 2022. The son of former Cup Series driver Chad Little, Jesse will compete in Tulsa driving for Rick Horn Racing.
