Over the last few years, the number of NASCAR drivers participating in the Chili Bowl has been increasing significantly. From a handful of drivers at one point to drivers on two digits in recent times, the Super Bowl of Midget Racing has seen exponential growth in attracting stock car racing drivers. This increase is making many question whether the presence of these high‑profile NASCAR stars is overshadowing the grassroots competitors.

Having top NASCAR talents such as Kyle Larson or Christopher Bell indeed helps with making the event and the competition more popular with each passing time. But according to fans, especially at this year’s Chili Bowl Nationals weekend at the SageNet Center in Oklahoma, this can overshadow local racers and shift the focus away from the grassroots spirit that made the Chili Bowl legendary. Addressing this issue, Mark Martin has cleared the air bluntly.

Mark Martin justified NASCAR drivers’ Chili Bowl appearance

According to Mark Martin, every driver starts from scratch, and it was no different for the likes of Larson or Bell. Addressing the same, Martin snubbed the controversial theory, and this is what he said in the Mark Martin Archive podcast.

“I think they’re short-sighted. First of all, they came from there. Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, made their name for themselves in racing in midgets and stuff. So, number one, on number two, they bring an enormous amount of recognition and legitimacy to that race.”

Veterans like Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell didn’t simply show up one day at the competition. They earned their way till there. They started from scratch in that discipline, just how any other competitor would.

In fact, it’s actually the other way around. That’s what Martin is also saying, that their presence is actually elevatating the profile of the compeition and reaching a broader audience who otherwise do not follow dirt racing.

Notably, Larson, the two-time Cup Series and three-time Golden Driller winner, started his racing journey with midgets. He was a teenager when he competed in the United States Auto Club, Silver Crown, and Sprint cars.

Larson’s involvement with Midget Racing goes beyond just participation. He received the name “Yung Money”, thanks to his talent in the USAC midget. He also competed in the World of Outlaws midget racing, making him one of the youngest drivers to do so.

Besides these, the Hendrick Motorsports driver holds the Sprint car track record from 2010. Two years later, he won six USAC midget races, making him one of the best midget racers in the world. His knack for midget racing reached a level where he set up his own team, Kyle Larson Racing, and participates under the banner.

As for Christopher Bell, he also started with midget racing as a kid. A three-time Golden Driller champion, the Joe Gibbs Racing star, has also won the 2014, 2017, and 2018 editions ofthe  Turkey Grand Prix of Midget Racing. Prior to this, he won the 2013 USAC championship.

To sum up, Bell and Larson have been spearheading dirt races for decades and have been excelling in this vertical. And this, according to Mark Martin, is tougher than NASCAR.

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Mark Martin feels Chili Bowl beats the Daytona 500

NASCAR fans might not like it, but according to Mark Martin, winning the Chili Bowl is harder than winning the Daytona 500. Supporting his statement, the former NASCAR driver stated that the sheer number of cars in the Chili Bowl heavily outnumbers that in the Daytona 500.

Therefore, this makes qualifying for the final A-main event incredibly tough, and almost ten times tougher than the crown jewel race at Daytona, which sees 40 entries at most. Addressing the same, here’s what Martin said in the same podcast:

“Most of the guys who go from NASCAR, don’t make the race. I’m sorry, don’t make to A-Main. Talking about it, there’s four hundred cars. To be able to make A-Main is obscene. For anyone, for the likes of Bowman, gosh, any of these guys that wins, did a great job, do fantastic, but to make A-main in Chili Bowl is just unbelievable.

“So, those two guys make it, they are that good. But neither one has won the race this year, although sometimes it comes down to those two. It’s just hard, it’s just hard to win that race. It has to be more difficult than to win the Daytona 500,” he further added.

Martin has his points. It’s tough for even the elite NASCAR drivers to quallify for the A-Main which sees 400 cars competing firecely.

Recently, Christopher Bell and Tony Stewart have also shared this opinion with Martin.

“The Daytona 500 is the biggest race of the NASCAR schedule. But it’s only the NASCAR guys. Whereas anybody can enter the Chili Bowl. So, it’s kind of a barometer for drivers where everybody is there. You get a lot of top drivers from different disciplines and people who don’t compete against each other all the time. It’s a great show,” Bell said.

Stewart’s point was also along the same lines as he said, “The same guys that run every week at a NASCAR track are the ones you see at the Daytona 500. The Chili Bowl is drastically different than that.”

This year, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Jesse Love, Ty Gibbs, Sheldon Creed, Corey Day, JJ Yeley, and Josh Bilicki have participated in the Chili Bowl Nationals weekend from NASCAR. But none of them finished within the top five of the A-main event. This proves all of their points. Christopher Bell, with eighth place finish, had the best statistics as a NASCAR driver.