TULSA, Okla. — Each year the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl heats up Tulsa's state fairgrounds for one week. 2 News caught up with the crowd rushing in to get a look at the first day of the races.
"It's amazing how fast they go on a little bitty racetrack. They're popping wheelies down the straight-away," racing fan Jackie Dalton said.
The Chili Bowl might be all about midget cars but there's nothing small about the buzz the races generate.
"The first time I came, we just came on Saturday. Then the next year we came for two days. And it just keeps growing and growing. Now we're here monday all the way through Saturday," Dalton added.
For 24 years Dalton, a Carthage, Mo. resident, has eaten up the Chili Bowl with his friends.
"There's four of us that come every year. Just hanging out, making fun of each other more than anything. But the racing here is always good," he said.
Few know the racing better than Dirt Track Legends, a Tulsa-based retired racer group led by Shane Carson displaying classic midget cars in Expo Square's adjacent trade fair for visitors.
"You've heard of some of those stories, that people never miss it, so we catch those people and talk to them a little bit about the history of Oklahoma racing," Carson told 2 News.
Tens of thousands of fans come to Expo Square throughout the week each year. This year's edition is expected to cook up $40 million in economic impact, Mayor G.T. Bynum said during a press conference Jan. 8.
If you ask some fans, the Chili Bowl is what puts Tulsa on the map.
"It's just the excitement of indoor racing this time of the year. You can't find it anywhere else in the country," Mike Craddock said.
And there are plenty of memories for visitors young and old.
"You know, this is just something you don't get to see every day," Carson said.
"I have a lot of memories (over the years) but I can't share them," Dalton joked.
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