The aroma of gasoline and fried food hovering around the Tulsa fairgrounds right now can mean only one thing: The Chili Bowl is back in town.
Drivers have a practice session tonight, and races start tomorrow. The field this year is the biggest in the event's history, growing by about 50 cars from last year to 375.
Former NASCAR driver Tony Stewart is in charge of building the quarter-mile dirt track inside the River Spirit Expo Center. He said midget racing's lack of strict rules is why the Chili Bowl keeps growing.
"These guys that build these cars, they like having that opportunity to think outside the box and to use their talent as engineers and designers and car builders," Stewart said.
VisitTulsa President Ray Hoyt said with all the drivers, crews and fans in town, Tulsa's hotels are practically sold out.
"A lot of communities are looking for opportunities to fill up their hotels, and this one's perfect for us in January," Hoyt said. "It lifts the whole market — not just the hotel industry, but the restaurants, the attractions — I mean, these guys, all the people that come along with these guys don't watch racing 24 hours a day."
According to VisitTulsa, the most recent Chili Bowl Nationals had a direct economic impact of $14 million and an indirect impact of $24 million for the Tulsa area.
"So, it's obviously a major event. If you think of this event, you look at the Bassmaster Classic was in that range, the Arabian [horse show] is in the $30 millions, so it's one of our cornerstones when you think about major events in Tulsa," Hoyt said.
The 31st annual Chili Bowl wraps up Saturday night.
