Former NASCAR Cup Sequence champion Tony Stewart was featured in an interview with FloRacing forward of the fortieth anniversary version of the 2026 Chili Bowl Nationals. In the course of the dialog, Stewart in contrast the quick monitor midget racing pinnacle race to the Biggest American Race, the Daytona 500.
The previous Cup Sequence crew proprietor started by mentioning the a whole bunch of entries within the Chili Bowl Nationals that compete for the title. This 12 months, 404 entries have been cut up throughout 5 nights of preliminary motion earlier than the finale. However, the Daytona 500 options over 40 vehicles within the 200-lap race.
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Tony Stewart then in contrast the race size of each occasions. He claimed within the Cup Sequence occasion that drivers get 500 miles to get better from the misplaced floor or a foul begin. In the meantime, within the Chili Bowl Nationals, warmth races resolve the positions and results of the race. He additional defined [00:52 onward]:
“There’s so many good drivers and groups on the market that you just actually cannot afford to make a mistake within the Daytona 500; you possibly can have a foul pit cease. You may get a pit street dashing penalty, and you may get better from it. It is rather onerous to get better from when the state will get chilly. It’s a 380-person bar room brawl, and on the finish of it, any individual goes to take dwelling a golden driller.”
Tony Stewart has received the Chili Bowl Nationals twice in his profession, in 2002 and 2007. Final 12 months, Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson clinched the title and can intention to defend it this 12 months in opposition to three-time Chili Bowl champion and fellow Cup Sequence driver Christopher Bell.
“It’s not like what you and I have been used to”: When Tony Stewart defined the variations between NASCAR and NHRA drag racing
In October 2024, former Stewart-Haas Racing proprietor Tony Stewart appeared on the Comfortable Hour podcast hosted by Kevin Harvick. In the course of the dialog, Stewart in contrast NASCAR and NHRA. After competing in each racing collection, he highlighted the important thing variations between them.
The 54-year-old claimed the 2 collection are utterly reverse to one another. He additional identified that inventory automotive races final a median of three to 4 hours. In the meantime, the NHRA drag racing collection usually wraps inside three to 4 seconds.
Tony Stewart added:
“It’s not like what you and I have been used to, the place we’ve acquired a three-and-a-half-hour race,” Stewart mentioned. “We’ve acquired six or eight pit stops all through the day, and we’ve three, 4, or 5 hundred laps to get the job finished. If we make a mistake, we’ll repair it.”
Stewart concluded that the engines of each collection have a large distinction. He emphasised that NASCAR engines are constructed to compete on oval tracks and are restricted to 650 horsepower. Nevertheless, the drag racing engines pump round 11,000 horsepower to compete in a straight line.
Edited by Karan Yadav
