2026 Chili Bowl Nationals Race of Champions Roster Revealed
2026 Chili Bowl Nationals Race of Champions Roster Revealed
The annual showdown to kick off the Chili Bowl on Monday is back with another stacked roster. See who is invited to the 2026 Race of Champions.
The O’Reilly Auto Parts Invitational Race of Champions is an annual showdown to kick off the Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink.
- More Info About How To Watch The 2026 Chili Bowl Nationals
- Chili Bowl Nationals 2026 Entry List. Here's Every Driver In Tulsa
Featuring previous Chili Bowl winners, series champions, and racing legends, the event is slated for on Monday, January 12, 2026.
The 2026 edition is set to be the 18th running of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Invitational Race of Champions. The 2025 event was topped by Christopher Bell, marking the third time since 2020 that the Norman, Okla. driver has captured a win in the 25-lap affair. With 24 overall drivers in this year’s field the roster is steeped with talent at all levels.
2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Invitational Race of Champions Roster:
- 1 Sammy Swindell – A legend of the sport, and the winningest driver in Chili Bowl history.
- 1S Spencer Bayston – Winner of the 2023 O’Reilly Auto Parts Invitational Race of Champions.
- 2H Jesse Love – Invited to compete as the 2025 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Champion.
- 11F Kaylee Bryson – Invited to compete as the 2025 Trans Am GTX Champion. Kaylee is also the first woman to ever lock into Saturday night’s A-Feature.
- 12H Sam Hafertepe, Jr. – Invited as the 2025 National Champion of the American Sprint Car Series. He is now a six-time titlist with the series.
- 17W Shane Golobic – A lot of solid runs atop Tulsa Expo Raceway clay, last year’s podium finish locked Shane into the 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Invitational Race of Champions.
- 19R Ricky Thornton, Jr. – Invited to compete as the 2025 regular season champion of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.
- 21AU Kaidon Brown – Invited to compete as the now two-time Australian Speedcar Champion.
- 21CB Christopher Bell – The three-time Chili Bowl powered by NOS Energy Drink Champion, Bell, enters this year as an owner/driver.
- 27X Kalib Henry – With the Napa Auto Parts All Stars Circuit of Champions presented by Valvoline back in full swing, the invite is again extended to their champion, and in 2025, that was Kalib.
- 39A Emerson Axsom – Winner of Wednesday’s York Plumbing Qualifying Night in 2025.
- 39G Kyle Cummins – Invited to compete as the 2025 USAC Amsoil Sprint Car National Champion.
- 39 Logan Seavey – Back-to-back Chili Bowl powered by NOS Energy Drink champion in 2023 and 2024, Seavey also picked up Friday’s Hard Rock Hotel Casino, Tulsa preliminary night in 2025.
- 41 Corey Day – Meeting criteria via a third-place finish in 2024, the defending Turkey Night Grand Prix champion will go full-time in 2026 in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series for Hendrick Motorsports.
- 54NZ Michael Pickens – A legend of New Zealand Midget racing, the 10x National Champion is invited to be part of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Invitational Race of Champions.
- 57 Kyle Larson – The defending Champion of the Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink, as well as 2025 NASCAR Cup Series titlist.
- 57W Landon Brooks – Tuesday’s Warren CAT qualifying night win lands the California driver in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Invitational Race of Champions
- 67 Jacob Denney – Invited to compete as the 2026 Xtreme Outlaw Midget and POWRi Midget National Champion.
- 71 Ryan Timms – Invited to compete as the 2025 winner of the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s.
- 71W Buddy Kofoid – Getting the nod from his runner-up finish in 2024, Kofoid is also the 2025 New Zealand Midget champion, which he also topped in 2024.
- 71K Cannon McIntosh – Invited to compete as the 2025 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Champion.
- 86 Daison Pursley – A runner-up finish in the 2025 championship event and the O’Reilly Auto Parts Invitational Race of Champions puts Daison in this year’s showdown.
- 87 Justin Grant – Invited to compete as the 2025 USAC Silver Crown Champion.
- 88T Tanner Thorson – Champion of the Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink in 2022, Thorson also won Thursday’s Hasty Bake qualifying night in 2025.
The standards for an invitation are:
- Drivers finishing in the Top 3 of Saturday night’s A-Feature during the previous five Chili Bowls will be eligible.
- Drivers finishing in the Top 2 of the past five Race of Champions events will be eligible.
- Preliminary Night Winners from the most recent Chili Bowl will be eligible.
- Series Champions from the most recent calendar year in the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars, American Sprint Car Series National Tour, High Limit National and Mid-Week, USAC National Midgets, USAC National Sprint Cars, USAC Silver Crown, and POWRi Midget League, and Xtreme Outlaw Midgets will be invited to compete.
- Champions and Drivers of other Tours and Series may be added at the Chili Bowl’s discretion.
- No Driver substitutions or alternates from a sanctioning body will be allowed.
- Starting Lineup for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Invitational Race Of Champions will be set by Group Qualifying. Drivers will draw for their qualifying position, then qualify in groups of three to four.
- Drivers will get two warmup laps, then three green flap laps to set their time. The driver with the fastest overall time in Qualifying will draw for the inversion (0, 4, 6, or 8).
Monday reserved seats are on sale at the event office in the SageNet Center, or by phone at (918) 838-3777.
The 40th annual Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink takes place January 12-17, 2026, under the giant roof of the SageNet Center in Tulsa, Okla.
Fans unable to attend the Chili Bowl Nationals can watch every lap live at http://www.floracing.com.
For continued updates on the Chili Bowl Nationals, fans can follow along on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with @CBNationals.
All official press, updates, and results on the Chili Bowl Nationals can be found online at http://www.chilibowl.com.
How To Watch Chili Bowl 2026
Watch the Chili’s Chili Bowl Pre-Race Show Live
Tune in live on FloRacing one hour before each Chili Bowl preliminary night for the Chili’s Chili Bowl Pre-Race Show,.
Coverage runs January 12–17 and streams exclusively on FloRacing and the FloSports app, as well as FREE on FloRacing 24/7 on Prime Video and Fubo.
Chili Bowl Nationals Schedule 2026
Monday, Jan. 12 – 2nd Opinion Auto Center Qualifying Night + O’Reilly Auto Parts Race of Champions
- Building Opens: 10:00 a.m. ET
- Pit Pass Booth Opens: 12:00 p.m. ET
- Hot Laps: 5:00 p.m. ET
- Racing: 6:00 p.m. ET
Monday, Jan. 13 – Warren CAT Qualifying Night
- Building Opens: 10:00 a.m. ET
- Pit Pass Booth Opens: 12:00 p.m. ET
- Hot Laps: 5:00 p.m. ET
- Racing: 6:00 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Jan. 14 – York Plumbing Qualifying Night
- Building Opens: 10:00 a.m. ET
- Pit Pass Booth Opens: 12:00 p.m. ET
- Hot Laps: 5:00 p.m. ET
- Racing: 6:00 p.m. ET
Thursday, Jan. 15 – Hasty Bake Qualifying Night
- Building Opens: 10:00 a.m. ET
- Pit Pass Booth Opens: 12:00 p.m. ET
- Hot Laps: 5:00 p.m. ET
- Racing: 6:00 p.m. ET
Friday, Jan. 16 – Hard Rock Casino Qualifying Night
- Pit Pass Booth Opens: 10:00 a.m. ET
- Hot Laps: 5:00 p.m. ET
- Racing: 6:00 p.m. ET
Saturday, Jan. 17 – QuikTrip Championship Saturday
- Pit Pass Booth & Pit Gate Open: 9:00 a.m. ET
- Feature Hot Laps: 10:00 a.m. ET
- Opening Ceremonies: 7:30 p.m. ET
Past Chili Bowl Winners
Kyle Larson won the 2025 Chili Bowl nationals. He also won in 2021 and 2020.
Here's a list of the last 16 Chili Bowl winners.
- 2025: Kyle Larson
- 2024: Logan Seavey
- 2023: Logan Seavey
- 2022: Tanner Thorson
- 2021: Kyle Larson
- 2020: Kyle Larson
- 2019: Christopher Bell
- 2018: Christopher Bell
- 2017: Christopher Bell
- 2016: Rico Abreu
- 2015: Rico Abreu
- 2014: Bryan Clauson
- 2013: Kevin Swindell
- 2012: Kevin Swindell
- 2011: Kevin Swindell
- 2010: Kevin Swindell
When Is Chili Bowl 2026?
The 2025 Chili Bowl Nationals begin on Monday, January 12, with the main feature taking place on Saturday, January 17.
Watch Every Chili Bowl Since 1987
With the help of MAVTV and Greg Stephen’s Motorsports Video, FloRacing has assembled every championship feature event replay since the inception of the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in 1987.
Fans can watch all 38 main events from the Chili Bowl Nationals (1987-2025) on FloRacing by clicking here.
Archived Footage On FloRacing
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