Chili Bowl officials seem to be taking a no-nonsense approach. The inspection team has been cracking down on tire doping at the SageNet Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma with the issue becoming a big concern amongst organizers as well as competitors. Also known as ‘tire soaking’, it is a process where chemicals are put in the tire’s rubber to soften the compound, providing more grip on the dirt surface. The Chili Bowl Nationals switched to harder tires a few years ago, prompting some to take drastic measures to get an advantage on the track.

However, it seems like Chili Bowl Nationals Technical Director Cody Cordell has kicked someone out of the Tulsa Expo for tire doping. The punishment will also serve as an example to others, deterring any from resorting to such measures.

Drivers threatened with ban from the Chili Bowl Nationals

When the stakes are high, cheating becomes an inevitable reality of any sport. Known as the ‘Super Bowl of Midget Racing’, the Chili Bowl Nationals is widely considered to be the biggest event of the racing discipline, attracting fans and drivers from across the United States. The winner gets $20,000, which combined with the the annual lap money bonus becomes a significant cash prize for drivers to take home. With seven Cup Series drivers also competing in the event, others have the opportunity to brag about defeating some of the biggest NASCAR drivers, which may prompt them to resort to unfair measures.

However, technical director Cody Cordell has issued a stern warning to any driver or team resorting to tire doping. As featured on Sportsnaut, Cordell said, “Listen, if you think it’s undetectable, I’m not going to sit here and babysit all of you. I can assure you, it is detectable. Think what you want. Play the game. But if you get caught, from here on out, you will not be back next year. And it will be known, and be made a scene.” The statement comes after the Chili Bowl officials kicked out a participant who was found guilty of tire doping on Wednesday, 16th January.

The event’s staff and Cody Cordell have been taking tire samples from each car during the Tulsa Shootout and the Chili Bowl Nationals and have been sending the samples to Blue Ridge Race Lab in Lenoir, North Carolina. The organizers confirmed that samples taken from cars that competed on Monday, 13th January conformed to the benchmark set by the Chili Bowl Nationals. However, the process is time-consuming, as the samples need to be shipped and analyzed before results are given, which means the event might be over before the reports are out.

Despite the long process, Cordell has issued a warning to all teams, saying, “If anybody fails a tire test the rest of the week, you will not race next year. And that’s it. Plain and simple.” The technical inspector went on to say, “The guys from the end of the week can’t be penalized this year, so you will be penalized next year.” Will teams risk their future in the biggest Midget racing event of the year, simply to get more grip on the dirt racing track? While unlikely, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility. Time will tell if more drivers are found guilty of violating the Chili Bowl Nationals’ rules.

Tanner Thorson blames tire doping for shortened races

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The Chili Bowl Nationals’ 55-lap A-Main has faced plenty of criticism in the last few years. The majority has been directed toward the quality of races, prompting the organizers to shorten the event to just 40 laps. Driver Tanner Thorson has blamed tire doping as the root cause of the issue, saying that “the track started rubbering up and getting goofy” because the softer compound caused faster wear and tire.

Thorson, who is the 2022 Chili Bowl champion gave credit to the event’s inspectors, saying, “This is the slickest this race track has been in a long time and I think that’s because of Cody Cordell doing his job and showing people that he’s actually going to tech. He’s showed everyone that he’s going to keep the tire dope out. All the teams you see that don’t usually roll in on new tires have new tires on. The track is definitely a different kind of dirt than we’ve seen in a long time.”

However, not all drivers seem to agree with Thorson. Latest HMS recruit, Corey Day, who secured a podium finish on Wednesday said, “I don’t think the track is that different from last year.” While the dirt track might divide opinion, the majority of drivers will agree that tire doping needs to be eliminated from the Chili Bowl Nationals for good, with Thorson going as far as saying, “If you have to cheat to win, you’re chicken sh-t, basically.” Cody Cordell and the rest of the event’s inspectors seem to be doing a good job in cracking down on such problems, which will preserve the integrity of the biggest midget race event of the year in the long run.