The week has flown by at the 40th annual Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy. With the blink of an eye, it’s already Thursday as the penultimate preliminary goes tonight in Tulsa.

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Thursday night’s roster tentatively showcases a week-high 87 entries on the ChiliBowl.com website with all eyes on those crucial two lock-in spots available into Saturday’s 55-lap Championship A-Main. All week long, we’ll take you through some of the stars to keep your eye on as you watch on FloRacing - the official live streaming partner of the event. Coverage begins at 3 p.m. CT with the Chili’s Grill & Bar Pre-Race Show, followed by Dirt Draft Hot Laps at 4 p.m. CT.

The main focus tonight will be on the two former Chili Bowl champions in the field: Christopher Bell and Tanner Thorson.

Now in a driver/owner role, CBell has built his own equipment and he’s calling the shots on setup on top of his duties behind the wheel. It’s a brand new experience for him at the Chili Bowl with all three of his Golden Drillers (2017-19) coming when he was at Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports. The transition to his own team has gone smoothly so far this week with a Race of Champions victory on Monday followed by a strong top-10 effort for teammate Kaidon Brown on Tuesday. After snapping his streak of seven-straight prelim wins last year, the Norman, Oklahoma native is extra hungry to top Thorson on Thursday.

Speaking of Tanner Thorson, the 2022 Chili Bowl champion, he’s  the other heavy favorite this evening. A three-time preliminary winner, including last year in an epic battle with CBell and Bernal, the Minden, Nevada native has figured out the prelim process with an outstanding six lock-in finishes over the last seven years. Like CBell, Thorson builds his own cars and calls all the shots in the Expo. He’s going for his 12th consecutive Championship A-Main appearance this week as he approaches Jerry Coons Jr’s all-time record of 14 straight.

Running tonight for the steady and consistent Matt Wood Racing camp is Ryan Bernal of Hollister, California. The #87W pilot is who stole the final lock-in from CBell last year in that grand finish on Thursday night. Although the MWR boys have yet to win or lock-in this week, they’re as consistent as ever in the building with finishes of 3rd from Colby Copeland, 4th from Shane Golobic, and 5th from Landon Brooks. Their entries have finished top-five in a whopping 12 of their last 13 prelims contested at the Chili Bowl.

The focus for RMS Racing tonight is Spencer Bayston out of Lebanon, Indiana. After a down year in 2025, the team has returned to the same piece they used when he won Thursday’s preliminary in 2024 and the Race of Champions in 2023, sending Spencer into this week a renewed confidence inside the Expo. The World of Outlaws full-timer for Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing is going for his seventh Championship A-Main appearance this week.

Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports sends Jacob Denney, plus Ashton Torgerson, into battle this evening. While Torgerson wants his first Championship A-Main appearance, Denney is going for his second after making the big dance last year with KKM. Ohio’s Denney is fresh off a stellar 16-win campaign on the outdoor trail with USAC, POWRi, and Xtreme.

After Chad Boat locked-in his first car of the week last night with Daison Pursley, he’ll roll with Chris Windom tonight - another full-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series star. The Canton, Illinois native is one of only 18 drivers to start 10+ Chili Bowl Championship A-Mains, a number that he hopes to add to this week. He’s earned an incredible 10 prelim top-fives, but still chases that first prelim win.

Another already locked-in team competing tonight is Alex Bowman Racing, who ran second on Monday with Briggs Danner. Tonight, they’ve got C.J. Leary in his ninth year with the Ally Racing team. He’s going for his sixth Championship A-Main appearance this week.

The list of contenders tonight runs far beyond them. Look at these other aces that are set to run this evening…

Brady Bacon pilots the Kelly & Lora Hinck #21H after PPM ran on Tuesday

Chase Briscoe’s entry with Illinois stud Karter Sarff at the wheel

Kansas’ Andrew Deal, a former top-10 finisher in the Championship A-Main

Oklahoma’s own Frank Flud, a micro legend, who made the Chili Bowl finale last year

Kyle Cummins goes in the Swindell/Styres/Curb #39G after teammates Barnes & Axsom excelled

ASCS champion Sam Hafertepe Jr. joins the field

Danny Stratton returns to competition with Andy Bondio

All Star Circuit of Champions titlist Kalib Henry runs in the program

That’s only a sliver of the excitement in store tonight with almost 80 entries expected for the fourth of five prelims. The full tentative entry list for tonight can be found below.

Another 18 rookies are entered for Thursday’s preliminary with notables including High Limit Racing full-timer Danny Sams III, IRA Sprint Car Rookie of the Year Logan Julien, Oklahoman Brant Woods, and another sprint car regular in Joel Myers Jr. After three nights, 14-year-old Jett Barnes has emerged as the clear favorite for Rookie of the Year honors thanks to a third-place finish on Tuesday in the Swindell/Curb/Bertrand #1A - good enough to send him to the front of Saturday’s B-Main. From Monday, Jakeb Boxell and Gaige Weldon secured C-Main trips.

All of the Chili Bowl fun begins today with Thursday Heat Races beginning at 4 p.m. CT. If you can’t be here to witness the Tulsa magic yourself, you can watch every lap live all week long on FloRacing with coverage set to begin at 3 p.m. CT during the all-new Chili’s Grill & Bar Pre-Race Show.

FloRacing is the official live streaming partner of the Chili Bowl Nationals, which continues all the way through Saturday, January 17. If you’re not a FloRacing subscriber, become one today to gain full access to the Tulsa Shootout, Chili Bowl Nationals, High Limit Racing, Lucas Oil Late Model Series, USAC Racing, and so much more.