Young Drivers To Participate In 36th Annual Chili Bowl

All eyes are on Tulsa this week for one of the biggest racing events in the world, the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl. The 36th year of the Chili Bowl started January 10.

The Chili Bowl keeps getting bigger every year.

A record number of drivers will race this year. 395 cars will be here racing in Tulsa this week.

To make it even more special, for the first time ever, drivers as young as 14 will be racing against NASCAR drivers.

"Those guys make a lot of money in NASCAR and I know people ask why do you come here to the Chili Bowl and this and that and one thing that they all say is it's fun and you get to see how you size up against the best in the world,” said Emmett Hahn, Co-Founder of the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl.

Hahn co-founded the Chili Bowl nearly 4 decades ago and never imagined what it would become.

The event brings in drivers and fans from across the country and world. Drivers from 38 different states will be racing.

"USA Today said 3 years ago that this was the number 4 event in the world. To get in that, category that's pretty great,” said Hahn.

Hahn said the event is set to bring $30 million into the Tulsa economy.

"Everything is a little more back to normal. Obviously the world we still live in everyone needs to take care of themselves, but everyone is coming and ticket sales have been through the roof,” said Bryan Hulbert, Chili Bowl announcer and publicist.

“It puts a huge spotlight on the event, it puts a huge spotlight on grassroots racing. It's good for not just us, it is good for racing as a whole,” said Hulbert.

If you want to check out the races, most of the reserved seating in the grandstands are sold out. However, pit passes are still on sale.