Dunlap and Kunz declined to reveal a dollar figure when asked exactly what it would take to put together a Chili Bowl program if a driver came to them with funding, each noting that it’s situation-specific when it comes to making Chili Bowl rides happen for drivers.
“The way I look at it, it’s really dependent on who the driver is and the specific situation, even though it’s simple logistics,” Dunlap said. “We’ve got three cars, but the big thing, I think, is the timing. Aside from just the money, the dollar figure, I don’t want to do anything that’s not prepared to the fullest extent of our team’s abilities, because that’s something that we pride ourselves in, is putting quality cars on the race track that have a shot to be competitive each year against KKM, CMR and teams like that.
“If someone came in with $100,000 the week before the Chili Bowl and wanted me to put together a seat for them, I’d probably help find another program for someone to go and race in during the week if I didn’t feel that I had the time to put forth the effort that it takes to be in the hunt … or at the very least, to be in position to be in the hunt,” Dunlap continued. “You hate to throw a number out there as a car owner because then it gets cited, but every situation is different. It just depends on what someone is looking for.
“In a perfect scenario, if someone came to me with that in February, I’d spend all year building a car for them because that’s my love. It’s as much about time as it is about resources, at least for me, when it comes to the Chili Bowl program.”
Kunz’s timeline is somewhat non-restrictive, with some of his driver deals in recent years coming together during the weeks leading up to the event.
“With our deal, a lot of times we do have other cars available to us in our fleet, so we can put a deal together pretty late in the game if someone comes to us with the right resources,” Kunz noted. “But even then, it depends on who it is and the situation surrounding the deal, but if we think it’s the right fit, we’ll do everything we can to make it happen and give them the best opportunity possible, just like we would any of our regular drivers that we bring to the Chili Bowl.”
While their individual situations and resources may vary, one thing that is similar whether it’s a superpower team like Kunz’s or a family operation like Dunlap’s is their passion for success and the preparation it takes to meet those goals.
“Obviously, we pride ourselves in being able to bring drivers to the Chili Bowl and perform year in and year out,” Kunz said. “That comes down to having a lot of great partners, like Toyota, TRD, Mobil 1, JBL, IWX and SiriusXM, that do so much to support our team and make it possible for us to be able to get out on the track from year to year, but it’s also about the people that you surround yourself with and who work with you to generate that success. Our goal is the same every time we come to the race track of wanting to put our best foot forward and win if we have the opportunity to do so.”
Added Dunlap, “My goal every year is that when the back door of our trailer drops and our cars roll out of the trailer, that those cars are the best quality that we can possibly put onto the race track there in Tulsa.
“We work all year long toward that and I feel that each year, our program gets better. … It’s very important to me and to my father that we have a professional appearance and presentation of our program because we want it to be right and that’s all there is to it.”
Of course, the end goal each year is to be hoisting the iconic Golden Driller on the stage in front of the MAVTV television cameras on Saturday night, something Kunz hopes to do for a ninth time on Jan. 18 during the 34th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals.
“(Winning the Chili Bowl) is something that we work all year for,” Kunz said after Christopher Bell’s third straight event victory in January. “It takes a lot of things going right, but we’re fortunate to have experienced it the last five years and hope we can put ourselves in position to do so again in 2020.”
SPEED SPORT’s Chili Bowl coverage is presented by MyRacePass, the official timing and scoring app of the 2020 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. Fans can download the MyRacePass app on their phones to follow all the action during the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. For more information on MyRacePass, visit www.myracepass.com and use the hashtag #GetTheApp on Twitter!
