Time for redemption! The Chili Bowl Nationals is a prestigious sprint car racing event, and any racer would wish to leave a mark there. That is why Josh Bilicki is gathering all his strength to ace it at the 2025 chapter of the Super Bowl of Midget Racing. In 2024, an unfortunate crash during qualifying crippled his chances. But now with Chase McDermand’s team, Bilicki is prepared to turn the story around. However, let us first delve into Bilicki’s background.

Who is Josh Bilicki?

One of the talented underdogs of NASCAR, Josh Bilicki has a ton of experience. He already brings a 25-year-old resume to the table ever since he began racing karts at the age of 4. Bilicki has been in NASCAR since 2016 and has dabbled in the premier levels of Xfinity and Cup. He boasts 100 Cup Series starts and 100 Xfinity Series starts, all under premier race teams like Rick Ware Racing, Spire Motorsports, and most recently, Joe Gibbs Racing.

Starting with karting, Josh Bilicki makes headway into the world of NASCAR

Born in 1995, Josh Bilicki grew up in a racing enthusiast household. His grandfather attended the Indianapolis 500 annually and took his family to the Milwaukee Mile, and his father turned a 30-year-old Ford Mustang into a race car. So Bilicki’s journey started early – he won countless karting races including the fastest Shifter Kart class. At age 16, he transitioned into full-size cars in the very competitive Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Spec Miata class, scoring many wins. In 2016, Bilicki made his IMSA Continental Sportscar Challenge at Road America.

Lack of sponsorship drove Josh Bilicki into a driver-teaching job. Then he finally got his big NASCAR break in 2016, making his NASCAR debut at Road America. Immediately followed his Cup Series debut in 2017 at Sonoma Raceway. After dabbling in part-time stints, Bilicki embarked on his first full-time Cup season in 2021 with RWR. His season highlights were a 10th-place finish at Daytona International Speedway and 17th place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Can Josh Bilicki turn the tables in the 2025 Chili Bowl Nationals?

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During the 2024 Chili Bowl, Josh Bilicki was caught in a bit of a pickle. During the D-Main preliminary race, he wrecked his RAMCO Speed Group car due to an unfortunate collision. Bilicki entered two-wide with a rival who slid up through the middle of the track. The latter squeezed into Bilicki and left him no room, thus resulting in the disaster. Bilicki was visibly rattled by this fiasco, as he claimed: “I’m really frustrated and disappointed in myself. But it’s the Chili Bowl, it’s still cool to be here.”

At present, the 29-year-old driver is focusing entirely on the 39th running of the Chili Bowl Nationals, although with little expectations. That is because last year’s debacle in the preliminary race left Josh Bilicki a bit discouraged. He told journalist Matt Weaver recently, “I would love to make the A-Main at Prelim. As crazy as that sounds, I think that will be a win for us. That would set us up decently for Saturday. Let’s be real, I’m not going to make the A-Main on Saturday. The expectations here are just for me to keep learning, keep growing.”

Can Josh Bilicki be a permanent fixture in the NASCAR series?

Driving for the winningest Xfinity team comes with a pretty privilege. Yes, Josh Bilicki drove in select Xfinity races last year for Joe Gibbs Racing which owns 214 victories on NASCAR’s second tier. He wheeled the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra at tracks like Portland International Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway. His polished road racing skills were on display in Portland – he owns years of experience in the SCCA and IMSA. Bilicki ranked 5th in practice and qualified 8th. During the main race, he was a mainstay – although a wreck on a late restart dropped him down to 12th. He has also become well versed on ovals, making starts in all three national touring series.

Josh Bilicki also has two sponsors by his side, Ditec Marine Products and Insurance King, who wanted him in a bigger team. Besides, Bilicki has another superb talent – he manages his own sponsorship deals. Besides coaching drivers, he writes his own press releases and designs his paint schemes. Bilicki put forward his noble philosophy in 2024: “It feels like a normal job for me sitting at my desk in my office looking at a computer for 10-plus hours per day, trying to find new sponsors and keep my sponsors happy. It’s still better than a normal job. I love driving racecars. The reward for me is when I get to drive the racecars and get to go out there and be competitive.”

Such a hardworking driver is sure to draw attention for a prolonged NASCAR career. Although nothing is confirmed yet, Josh Bilicki may soon see another opportunity come his way.