TULSA, Okla. – After a five-year absence from the world’s biggest midget event, Virginia’s Ryan Ellis will make his return to the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals later this month.
Ellis, 30, will pilot the No. 17d Tranter Gaerte-powered Spike for car owner Michael Koontz as he makes his first appearance since 2015 at Tulsa Expo Raceway, as well as a rare racing appearance on dirt.
Kansasland Tire – Kansas’ headquarters for tires and wheels, automotive services and commercial and farm services – will serve as Ellis’ primary backer for his Chili Bowl effort, with additional support from Audio Video Specialists, Merry Maids, Superlite Cars and Crossfit 926.
“Being able to run in this event is very special to me and my family,” Ellis said. “My grandfather, Vic Ellis, raced dirt in the 1950s before ultimately losing his life while racing in a tragic accident. I obviously went a different route with my own racing, focusing on road courses and asphalt ovals, so this is a very different experience for me, but one that I look forward to tackling for the second time.”
The Ashburn, Va., native is the public relations representative for Go Fas Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series, as well as a part-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver in his own right. He’s also driven in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series and in road racing in his career.
Ellis’ most-recent Xfinity Series appearance was at Wisconsin’s Road America road course in August, where he finished 21st driving the No. 78 Toyota Supra for B.J. McLeod Motorsports.
But none of that, he said, translates over to the dirt side, where he’s been an infrequent dabbler through the years.
“I can promise you, what I’m doing here is definitely not normal,” Ellis joked. “The first time I went to the Chili Bowl, I really just wanted to try something different, and I’ve always been open to any type of racing. I grew up racing quarter midgets, and then transitioned to Legend cars and road racing, and then came back to NASCAR … so I feel like I’ve always at least halfway understood every type of racing. Anytime you drive something a bit different, it’s going to help you in every other aspect of the sport.
“Above all else, though, what I found is that the Chili Bowl was just really a fun event, to go to or to compete in. It doesn’t matter which way you go about it,” he added. “So I was looking for an excuse to get back on track and put a Tweet out asking for some help finding sponsorship, and it all came together. I’ve actually done that in the past couple of years; I just really didn’t have much luck putting stuff together. It came together pretty easily this year, though.”
Why pick now for a return to the Chili Bowl? Ellis noted it had to do with the thinner schedule of events where he gets behind the wheel nowadays, compared to what he’s worked with in years past.
“In the past, I didn’t really want to do it because I was afraid I’d get hurt or something. When I was doing the Cup stuff and driving more regularly, I was like, ‘it’s not worth it,’ but now I can do it and not worry about it much. Now, if I break my leg or something, it doesn’t really matter,” he said with a chuckle. “I can still Tweet with a broken leg.”
Ellis drove for Koontz the last time he was at the Chili Bowl, making this year’s pairing a reunion of sorts.
Luckily, however, there’s a lot less that Ellis has to learn this time compared to his initial run in 2015.
“Man, last time he had to teach me how to start the thing and everything. And that was what I was most nervous about,” Ellis admitted. “I had never even started one up and I had a list of things I had to write down just to remember how to get the thing to fire up.
“I remember being a little bit more comfortable than I thought I would be, but slower than I thought it’d be, if that makes any sense,” Ellis added. “I knew it’d be a very competitive event, but I was definitely out to lunch as far as really understanding how to drive one of those things. But I will say it was so cool to take in how efficient that event was. I had never seen any event put cars on track, shove them off, get them started and get them back off track and move on to the next thing as quickly as they did.”
Knowing that this Chili Bowl will only be his second or third start ever on dirt, Ellis is aiming for the fun factor, more so than results on paper when he gauges his goals for the week.
“I think it’ll be a learning experience, just like the first one,” Ellis said. “When I did the one in 2015, we didn’t have iRacing for the Chili Bowl yet. Now that we do, I’ve probably spent 10 hours in the last week running lap after lap after lap on that virtual Chili Bowl track, so I feel a hundred times more confident. Just knowing what I need to do has helped my confidence a lot.
“Now I can lean on these guys through the week and get tips from them,” he added. “I want to finish in the front half of my heat. I feel like that’s a lofty goal, and it might sound funny, but everybody else there does this every week … so if I can beat some regulars, I think that’d be pretty cool.”
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!
