The Chili Bowl has earned its rightful place at the top of American dirt racing. However, that hasn’t kept it away from criticism in the past few years. Big guns of the sport, like Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell, have slammed the competition for reasons like a dissatisfactory winning purse. However, the tourney continues to attract hordes of drivers from all over America yearly.

Surprisingly, after being a proponent of dirt racing for a long time, the Chili Bowl Nationals is now facing backlash yet again from the fanbase for certain decisions. A fan took their anguish to social media and made a case for the Chili Bowl to trounce the prestigious Rolex 24 and attract a wider variety of fan bases.

Critic wants Chili Bowl as a season opener

Starting on January 7, the Chili Bowl will continue for a week of high-quality sprint car racing. While the event has held a revered spot among racing fans, some have opined that it could do better when it comes to expanding its presence. Talking about the seclusion that Chili Bowl has presumably maintained, an X user recently took a dig at the promotion, as he tweeted:

“The Chili Bowl has done everything it can to keep away a main stream audience. It’s a real shame. The event could’ve easily taken over the Rolex 24s place as the marquee “beginning of racing season” event imo, but the promoters just seem to have no desire to.”

He said moving the Chili Bowl’s schedule before the Rolex 24 would take the competition closer to the fans and that the event would easilt dominate as a season opener. While one could argue that the racing season begins from the Snow Bowl at the Talladega short track, it hasn’t drawn as much attention as the 24 Hours of Daytona in the racing schedule.

This opinion has certainly divided the racing fanbase. While one faction supports the idea that authorities should push for taking dirt racing to unprecedented exposure and success, the other has lambasted them for their inefficiency.

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The Chili Bowl is the second Golden Driller competition of the year after the Tulsa Shootout. Over the years, both competitions have experienced an increase in the number of sponsors and drivers. This implies that they have grown in stature and influence. But should that warrant a complete revamp to reach more audiences? Some people don’t think so!

For a certain fan, the racing season has traditionally begun at the Talladega Ice Bowl and should continue to do so. He wrote, “Chili bowl isn’t the beginning of the season The ice bowl at talladega short track is and always has been”

Another fan criticized Chili Bowl’s decision to strike a deal with FloRacing and commented how that impacts viewership. They wrote, “When any sport, league, or event decided to be on Flo, it decides that it no longer wants to expand its audience and punish the one it has.” FloRacing is the only official broadcaster of the competition which might make it difficult for some racing fanatics to access the event with a $150 subscription.

Another fan supported the statement with sarcasm, citing the reluctance of racing tourneys to evolve with time. “Name a more iconic combo than auto racing series and refusing to get with the times to grow the sport,” said the fan.

While a specific faction came in defence of the Chili Bowl, most lamented the stunted growth of the dirt racing circuit. While dirt racing has seen exponential growth with the rise of interest in sprint cars, it is surprising to see how fans feel otherwise.

“It’s just dirt racing have no desire to attract new fans. I think they’re genuinely scared of what change would do. So dirt will stay in the backdrop forever,” wrote a fan, concerned about the future of dirt racing.

Like many have opined, there might be some areas where the Chili Bowl could use some improvement. Apart from televising and ticketing systems, an improved cash prize, and more incentives to drivers, addressing the fanbase will perhaps have to take priority.

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