TULSA, Okla. – Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals officials have announced the Vacuworx Invitational Race of Champions will move to Monday, Jan. 10, so as not to interfere with NASCAR testing at Daytona Int’l Speedway.
Prior to expanding the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire to include Monday night racing, the VIROC was part of the opening night’s action. Because it had been on Tuesday for so many years, the race was left in place until now.
“With NASCAR doing testing on Tuesday and Wednesday, that takes our reigning champion out the VIROC, along with our VIROC winner, Christopher Bell, and several others, so we’ll just move it back to the opening night that way everyone can still race that is eligible, and the fans still get to see their favorite drivers,” stated Chili Bowl co-founder, Emmett Hahn.
The Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire takes place Jan. 10-15 at Tulsa Expo Raceway. The event is contested under the massive roof of the SageNet Center in Tulsa, Okla.
Practice will be held Monday morning starting at 9 a.m., with hot laps starting at 5 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m. Preliminary nights (Tuesday-Friday) get underway with hot laps at 4 p.m. with racing at 5 p.m. Saturday‘s finale hits the track at 10 a.m. with the first rounds of Soup. Opening Ceremonies fare held at 6 p.m. (CT).