Chili Bowl Contender Sidelined Due To Medical Issue

Buddy Kofoid, a contender to win the 2026 Chili Bowl, will not be able to compete in this year's race due to a medical issue.

Jan 11, 2026 by FloRacing Staff

It’s only practice day at the 40th annual Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy, and drama is already brewing.

In a sudden twist, Buddy Kofoid will vacate the seat of the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Mobil1 No. 71W and sit on the sidelines this week as he focuses on a medical issue.

A perennial contender for the Golden Driller since he debuted in Tulsa in 2020, Kofoid has made five Chili Bowl Championship A-Mains in six tries with KKM. He’s a two-time preliminary night winner, locking-in on three occasions, and he finished a career-best second to Logan Seavey in 2024 – falling 0.392-seconds shy of winning it all.

Fresh off an 18-win campaign in 2025, Kofoid and his Roth Motorsports team challenged David Gravel and Big Game Motorsports for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series championship as the Penngrove, California native solidified himself as one of the best in the sport today.

The 24-year-old Kofoid had just arrived back in America after a successful Australia stretch with Trent Pigdon’s team at Perth Motorplex – winning the Boxing Day Bonanza and a preliminary of High Limit International.

Keith Kunz told FloRacing that a few different drivers were called in regards to potentially filling the seat this week, but it was too late in the game to make anything happen, so Buddy’s No. 71W will sit idle without a driver.

The action officially begins in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Monday with the first preliminary, which includes the Race of Champions. You can watch every prelim night and Saturday’s alphabet soup live on FloRacing.