Ricky Stenhouse Jr. latest NASCAR driver to file surprise Chili Bowl entry

Defending Daytona 500 champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has joined fellow NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson as a surprise entrant for the 2024 Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Stenhouse announced Wednesday that he will race inside the SageNet Center for the first time since 2022. The driver of the No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series will compete in Friday's preliminary night on the quarter-mile dirt oval known as Tulsa Expo Raceway as he looks to qualify for the championship feature on Saturday. RELATED: What to know about the 2024 Chili Bowl It all happened thanks to a text message exchange between Larson and Stenhouse. Larson told him to reach out to team owner Keith Kunz, whom Larson will drive for Thursday. After that, everything fell into place for Stenhouse to drive the Keith Kunz Motorsports-Curb-Agajanian/NOS Energy No. 71R. [caption id="attachment_417046" align="aligncenter" width="1300"] Ricky Stenhouse Jr. competes in the feature race during the 2022 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire at Tulsa Expo Raceway in Tulsa, Oklahoma on January 14, 2022. (Photo: Nick Oxford/NASCAR)[/caption] “I was texting with [Kyle] Larson, telling him, the same time you were trying to get your deal together, I was trying to get a deal together, and he said to call Keith [Kunz], which I’ve run for him one other time at the Chili Bowl, and I didn’t really perform the way I wanted to, so I wasn’t sure if he would let me back in one of his cars, but I shot him a text, and he said, let me get on that, so here we are," Stenhouse explained. "Obviously, Keith has the best cars out there, and they show every night, so I’m looking forward to getting back in a Midget at the Expo to see what we can do.” Stenhouse has competed at the Chili Bowl Nationals 16 times in the last 20 years, making the championship feature eight times. His best performance came in 2021, when he finished seventh in the Saturday night finale. “Really looking forward to getting back to Chili Bowl," Stenhouse said. "Obviously, took last year off and I missed it. I was sitting on the couch watching this week, and my wife looked at me and said, I can tell you really want to go; just go." All 2024 Chili Bowl racing action, including Stenhouse's preliminary night on Friday, can be seen live on FloRacing, the streaming home of all NASCAR Roots racing.