Emerson Axsom of Franklin won the 40th Annual Chili Bowl Nationals Jan. 17. He is the first driver from Indiana to win the event since Tony Stewart in 2007.
It was a dream-come-true for Emerson Axsom, the 21-year-old from Franklin parked the Kevin and Jo Swindell No. 39a in Victory Lane for the first time in the 40th annual Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink Jan. 17.
Axsom became the first Indiana driver to win the Chili Bowl since Tony Stewart in 2007.
“I won’t believe this until next year, or until I see my name on that trophy with everyone else that’s won this race,” Axsom said.
Chasing Kyle Larson through the first four laps, Axsom carried a wave of momentum into the first and second turns as the pair worked Lap 4. Into traffic with 39 laps to go, tragedy struck Larson as he found a slowed C.J. Leary at the exit of the second turn, sending Larson flipping.
Putting Swindell-backed cars first and second, Logan Seavey had company quickly with Justin Grant throwing sliders, until one nearly wrecked his night with 24 laps to go. Getting tighter among the top three with 16 go to, Seavey looked low with nothing there, but in turn opened the door for Justin Grant to take over second.
Down the final eight laps, Justin Grant was in second, and in the hunt with a massive slide through Turns 1 and 2, only to have a caution appear, and restack the field. Working through several cautions in the closing laps, the runner-up spot was again in the mix, with the caution flying for Grant getting tipped in Turn 3.
Setting up a green-white-checkered finish, the team drivers of Axsom and Seavey could not fend off the charge that was coming.
White flag and one final trip: the battle was far from over as 18th-starting Kevin Thomas rolled the inside line. Right there as the pair came to the final turns, Axsom made a quick adjustment to his line, keeping the Four-King Racing No. 14k at bay. Hank Davis slipped by for third, with Logan Seavey and Briggs Danner completing the top five.
The Chili Bowl Nationals drew a record-breaking field of 387 drivers to the SageNet Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Through five preliminary nights of action, the field settled into the Saturday soup with the first green flag flying for the O-Features, after the Q-Features were cut due to lack of entrants. Those who did make the call simply moved up.
Along with a record-breaking car count, the Saturday soup again produced legendary runs with Ohio’s Mack Leopard and Michigan’s Darin Naida each advancing through nine features. Naida’s run ended in the first G-Feature, with Leopard going into the first F-Feature.
The 2026 Chili Bowl Rookie of the Year is Jett Barnes, who was the only event rookie to make the 24-car field.
The 2027 Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink will take place Jan. 11-16, 2027, inside the SageNet Center at Expo Square.
O’Neal wins Wild West points title
The 20th edition of the Wild West Shootout miniseries concluded in a big way Sunday in the desert, when a $25,000 winner’s check was on the line at Central Arizona Raceway in Casa Grande, Arizona.
Hudson O’Neal of Hope once again earned fast time honors during time trials before securing yet another heat race triumph. The third-generation racer then led Laps 23-24 and 30, but ultimately settled for a third-place podium effort while nursing left front damage. Bobby Pierce won the finale, followed by Jonathan Davenport.
During the Wild West Shootout, O’Neal was the only two-time winner. Other feature winners included Ricky Thornton Jr., Ethan Dotson, Garrett Alberson and Pierce.
By virtue of their impressive six races during the Wild West Shootout, the K&L Rumley Enterprises team was awarded an extra $3,000 for winning the overall points championship for the miniseries.
USAC Hall of Fame inductees named for ‘26
Jack Beckley, John Cooper, Blackie Fortune, Sam Nunis, Johnny Parsons, Tom Sneva and George Snider are the newest inductees into the USAC Hall of Fame.
The induction ceremony for USAC’s 13th Hall of Fame class will take place at USAC headquarters July 1 in Speedway, presented by AME Electrical, RDI Development and Avanti Windows and Doors.
The event will be held in conjunction with the BC39 Presented by Avanti Windows & Doors at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Beckley was a winning mechanic on the USAC National Championship trail, including a pair of Indianapolis 500 victories with Bill Vukovich and Gordon Johncock, before joining USAC on its technical committee.
Cooper was among USAC’s founding fathers, and in fact, was the first employee of the United States Auto Club.
Fortune was a four-time USAC national championship car owner for drivers Ken Schrader and Rick Hood.
Longtime race organizer Nunis promoted numerous AAA and USAC Champ Car, Sprint Car, Midget and Stock Car events. Parsons earned 38 combined USAC national feature wins in his career, along with 12 Indianapolis 500 starts, which included a pair of top-fives.
The first driver to break the 200 mph hour barrier during Indianapolis 500 time trials, Sneva won the 1983 Indianapolis 500 and earned back-to-back USAC National Championships in 1977-78. Snider found success as both a driver and car owner, capturing USAC Championship Dirt/Silver Crown titles in both categories throughout his career.
James Essex writes a motorsports notebook for The Republic. Send comments to sports@therepublic.com
