Every year the preliminary nights at the Chili Bowl Nationals at the Tulsa Expo Center help shape what is perhaps one of the most insane days of racing across the calendar year.
Alphabet Soup Day, Soupy Saturday, whatever you want to call it, the premise is still the same. Finish high enough in your race and you keep going to the next one until you can’t go any higher up the alphabet.
Many competitors are dreamers, hoping to advance a few rounds in the early part of the soup. Others are talented racers who had a bad preliminary night that dropped their placement in the Soup by several rounds. Some just had bad luck in their preliminary night feature and have to scrape and claw their way into the 40-lap A-Main on Saturday night.
Let’s go over who the main challengers are in the Alphabet Soup that makes up final day of the Chili Bowl. We’ll start with the 10 locked-in competitors from the preliminary nights and work our way down the alphabet.
A-Main
Kyle Larson: Two-time Golden Driller Winner, NASCAR Cup Series Champion, Knoxville Nationals Champion, won Monday night preliminary feature.
Shane Golobic: Finished second behind Larson on Monday night.
Landon Brooks: Won Tuesday night preliminary feature.
Brenham Crouch: Finished second behind Brooks on Tuesday night.
Emerson Axsom: Won Wednesday night preliminary feature.
Daison Pursley: Finished second behind Axsom on Wednesday night. Locked himself into 2024 Saturday A-Main after starting that day in a D-Main.
Tanner Thorson: 2022 Golden Driller Winner, won Thursday night preliminary feature.
Ryan Bernal: Finished second behind Thorson on Thursday night.
Logan Seavey: Two-time Golden Driller Winner, won Friday night preliminary feature.
Gavin Miller: Finished second behind Seavey on Friday night.
B-Main
For all notable competitors in the B-Main and lower, we will list their farthest progression on Saturdays:
Cannon McIntosh: Third in 2020, 2023
Tyler Courtney: Sixth in 2017 and 2019
Corey Day: Third in 2024
Justin Grant: Second in 2021
Kaylee Bryson: 18th in 2022
Michael “Buddy” Kofoid: Second in 2024
Christopher Bell: First in 2017, 2018 and 2019
Brent Crews: 24th in 2023
Jerry Coons Jr.: Fourth in 2009, 2010, 2016
Blake Hahn: Eighth in 2020
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Seventh in 2021
C-Main
Brady Bacon: Fourth in 2019
Chris Windom: Fifth in 2010
J.J. Yeley: Second in 2007
Kevin Thomas Jr.: Eighth in 2022
D-Main
Ryan Timms: 12th in 2024
Sammy Swindell: First in 1989, 1992, 1996, 1998 and 2009
Thomas Meseraull: Eighth in 2016
Spencer Bayston: Third in 2018
E-Main
Jason McDougal: 15th in 2020
C.J. Leary: Seventh in 2022
Brad Sweet: Third in 2013
Kody Swanson: C-Main.
F-Main
Kyle Busch: Chili Bowl Rookie
G-Main
Ty Gibbs: Chili Bowl Rookie
H-Main
Josh Bilicki: J-Main in 2023
K-Main
Santino Ferrucci: G-Main in 2023
O-Main
Katherine Legge: Chili Bowl Rookie
P-Main
Bill Balog: D-Main in 2021
Christopher DeHarde has covered IndyCar racing and the Road to Indy for various outlets since 2014. In addition to open wheel racing, DeHarde has also covered IMSA and various short track racing events around Indiana. Originally from New Orleans, DeHarde moved to the Indianapolis area in 2017 to further pursue a career as a motorsports writer.