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How Did the Chili Bowl Nationals Get Its Name? Exploring the Famed Dirt Event’s History

Anirban Aly Mandal
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Johnny Herrera at the 2019 Chili Bowl Nationals, Johnny Herrera`s race car being pushed onto the dirt track at the 2019 Chili Bowl Nationals Midget Race in Tulsa, OK.

Johnny Herrera’s race car being pushed onto the dirt track at the 2019 Chili Bowl Nationals Midget Race in Tulsa, OK. Credit: IMAGO / Dreamstime

The landscape of grassroots motorsport is thriving in the United States of America. Even during the off-season for the prominent NASCAR Cup Series, racing fans have the iconic Chili Bowl Nationals to look forward to which is scheduled to run throughout this week. But have you ever wondered how this premier Midget racing institution got its name in the first place?

This year will be the 39th running of the Dirt track event in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The very first Chili Bowl Nationals took place in 1987 under the stewardship of Lanny Edwards and Emmett Hahn who were the promoters of the event.

However, before they could set the wheels of the Midget racing revolution into motion, they were hit by a sponsorship hurdle. That’s when the Berryhill family came to their rescue. Tanner Berryhill’s father took up the mantle of running his own restaurant in Tulsa by the name of the Chili Bowl.

Soon after, they started growing their business by turning it into a company that sold Chili in the local grocery stores. But the origins of the name start from a fateful meeting between the two promoters of the event and Berryhill.

“One of them mentioned, ‘Heck, we need a sponsorship.’ And I said, ‘Well I’ll be your sponsor. And they said okay. And that’s how it started, very low key,” he revealed as per Floracing.com. “That was always my family’s claim to fame, if you will,” adds Berryhill.

Since then, the Midget racing event has captivated fans across the US and is ready to put on yet another spectacle of Dirt racing this year. Big names such as Kyle Larson and Ty Gibbs are all expected to make an appearance.

Perhaps the biggest attraction will come this Saturday when two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Kyle Busch will make his Chili Bowl debut.

Post Edited By:Srijan Mandal

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal

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Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

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