We are a week away from one of the most prestigious dirt races — or any race for that matter — in the country, the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Like has been the case in previous years, there are hundreds of drivers that have entered the 2021 Chili Bowl Nationals, 307 entries to be exact. Of those 307 entries on the list, currently, there are several names from the past, present and more than likely the future of NASCAR represented.
Here are the NASCAR-related names that will attempt to fight through the large amount of heat races in an effort to make it into the final main dirt midget feature race:
(No. 00C) Ryan Newman – 18 NASCAR Cup Series victories and a career-best NCS points finish of second (2014). Newman currently drives the No. 6 Ford Mustang for Roush Fenway Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.
(No. 01) Kyle Larson – Six-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series and made the Playoffs in four-consecutive seasons from 2016 to 2019. The California-native also has 12 Xfinity Series wins and two Truck Series wins on his NASCAR resume. Larson will pilot the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports machine in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series. Larson won the Chili Bowl in 2020.
(No. 1A) Justin Allgaier – 14 victories in the NASCAR Xfinity Series over his career. In 10 full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series seasons, Allgaier has never finished worse than seventh in the championship standings and he finished a career-best second in the standings in 2020. Allgaier drives the No. 7 for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
(No. 1D) David Gravel – The World of Outlaws mainstay dipped his toes into NASCAR in 2020 as he competed in two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events. Gravel had a best finish of 10th in his two starts with GMS Racing in 2020.
(No. 1R) Brad Sweet – Sweet made 36 starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series between 2010 and 2013. His career-best finish was sixth, which happened at Auto Club Speedway in 2012 and Michigan in 2013. Sweet also made 18 starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series from 2009 to 2011 with a best finish of eighth coming at IRP back in 2010.
(No. 2G) JJ Yeley – 17-year veteran in the NASCAR National Series. Yeley has made a total of 696 starts between the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series since the 2004 season.
(No. 5) Chase Briscoe – 11-time winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (nine wins in 2020) and a two-time winner in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Briscoe will drive the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing entry during his rookie camin the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series.
(No. 9E) Chase Elliott – The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion, Elliott has scored a total of 11 victories in the NCS in just 185-career starts. Elliott also has five wins and a championship in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition and he has three wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. This will be Elliott’s first-ever attempt at the Chili Bowl Nationals.
(No. 17) Tanner Berryhill – Berryhill has made two starts in the NASCAR Cup Series and he has started 40 events in the NASCAR Xfinity Series throughout his career.
(No. 17D) Cody Ware – The son of NASCAR Cup Series team owner Rick Ware, Cody Ware has made 23 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series. His best NCS finish was 19th at Talladega in 2020. Ware has also made 21 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts and seven NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts in his career. This is Ware’s first entry into the Chili Bowl Nationals.
(No. 17S) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – A two-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, Stenhouse has a career-best NCS points finish of 13th, which he accomplished in 2017. Additionally, he has eight wins and two championships in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Stenhouse will drive the No. 47 for JTG Daugherty Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021.
(No. 45M) Brett Moffitt – The 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion, Moffitt has 12-career wins in the NCWTS. Moffitt also has 45-career starts in the NASCAR Cup Series and 32-career starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Moffitt will drive the No. 45 for Niece Motorsports in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the No. 02 for Our Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2021. This will mark Moffitt’s first attempt at the Chili Bowl.
(No. 57W) Kasey Kahne – 18-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series. Kahne’s best championship points finish in 15 years in the Cup Series was fourth in 2012. Kahne also scored eight wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and five wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series over the course of his NASCAR career.
(No. 84X) Christopher Bell – Competed as a rookie in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2020. Scored a best finish of third at Texas in the fall and finished 20th in the year-end championship standings. Bell is a 16-time winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and he has seven wins and a championship (2017) in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Bell will drive the No. 20 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series. Bell is a three-time winner of the Chili Bowl Nationals (2017, 2018 and 2019).
(No. 97) Rico Abreu – 26-career starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Abreu finished 13th in the championship standings in his only full-time Truck Series season (2016). Abreu’s career-best finish in Truck Series competition was a third-place effort at Eldora in 2016. Abreu is a two-time winner of the Chili Bowl Nationals (2015, 2016).
(No. 117) Ryan Ellis – Ellis has made five NASCAR Cup Series starts, 50 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts and 24 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts in his career. Ellis is expected to run some Cup Series races for the part-time Go Fas Racing in 2021 as well as 6-8 races in the No. 99 entry for BJ McLeod Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
The 2021 Chili Bowl Nationals will take place at the Tulsa Expo Center between Monday, January 11th and Saturday, January 16th. The action can be watched through a broadcast from FloRacing.
Christopher Bell will look to become only the third driver in the history of this prestigious event to win the golden driller four times. Only Sammy Swindell and Kevin Swindell have accomplished this feat in the past. Sammy Swindell is the all-time wins leader in the event with five victories at the Chili Bowl Nationals.
