Short-track racing is set for a significant commercial and visibility boost, one that points to growing confidence from corporate players in the grassroots motorsport ecosystem.

As the Chili Bowl Nationals approaches next January, developments off the track suggest the event is entering a new commercial phase. The move will inject major corporate backing into one of grassroots motorsport’s most prestigious events.

Chili Bowl Nationals Gain Momentum As Major Brands Look Beyond Top-Tier Series

In a new announcement, it has emerged that Chili’s will sponsor FloRacing’s streaming coverage of the Chili Bowl Nationals in January 2026.

A motorsports journalist first reported the development on X, revealing, “@Chilis will sponsor @FloRacing’s streaming coverage of the Chili Bowl Nationals in January as part of a new deal, with assets including ad integration during pre- and post-race and shoulder programming, along with on-site signage, jumbotron commercials and a hospitality area.”

The deal includes extensive ad integration across FloRacing’s Chili Bowl coverage. The partnership will also feature branded elements during pre- and post-race shows, shoulder programming, on-site signage, jumbotron commercials, and a dedicated hospitality area at the venue.

Chili’s is owned by Brinker International, a publicly listed restaurant company valued at approximately $6.6 billion, underlining the scale of investment now flowing into short track and dirt racing.

While the Chili Bowl has long been a fan favorite on the racing calendar, the association of a corporate company of this size with the Chili Bowl further elevates the event’s commercial credibility and fan appeal.

The Chili Bowl Nationals, held annually in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is widely regarded as the crown jewel of midget racing, drawing elite drivers from dirt racing, IndyCar, and even NASCAR disciplines. While the event has long enjoyed strong grassroots support, this sponsorship shows how close the gap between short-track racing and central corporate America is getting.

For FloRacing, the deal reinforces its strategy of pairing grassroots motorsport with blue-chip advertisers. As streaming continues to transform how fans consume motorsport, securing a nationally recognized brand like Chili’s adds credibility to FloRacing’s model and demonstrates the platform’s ability to deliver measurable value to sponsors.

At a broader level, the partnership reflects a shifting landscape within American motorsport. Short track racing, once viewed primarily as a regional niche, is increasingly attracting major corporate interest due to its authenticity and strong fan engagement.

The move could also have a ripple effect across the short track ecosystem, encouraging other major sponsors to explore similar partnerships. This will further narrow the gap between grassroots racing and top-tier motorsport in terms of commercial and media appeal.

Every new F1 season reshapes the grid, and the 2025 cars push aerodynamic complexity even further with intricate sidepods, sculpted floors, and finely tuned wings. While these features exist to win races under strict regulations, the principles behind them are already transforming how high-performance road cars cut through the air and stay planted at speed.

Just as enthusiasts compare online casinos that pay out the most to maximize return on risk, performance drivers now compare brands that deliver the greatest transfer of F1 aerodynamic knowledge into cars that occupy real garages. The models that benefit from this pipeline feel calmer at 250 km/h, corner harder on track days, and waste less fuel or battery charge at highway speeds.

From Wind Tunnels to Showrooms

F1 teams and manufacturers now work inside shared technical ecosystems, where aerodynamic research rarely remains confined to the race shop. Computational fluid dynamics and wind tunnel data feed common databases that road-car engineers interrogate when they design a new supercar or performance sedan.

Key channels that transfer F1 aero learning into road cars include:

• Shared CFD platforms that simulate similar flow conditions for race and road projects.
• Common wind tunnel facilities with interchangeable models and measuring systems.
• Track data that validates how cars behave in crosswinds and turbulent air.
• Joint technical groups that translate race concepts into street-legal solutions.

Through these mechanisms, investment in F1 development produces measurable benefits in the road division instead of existing as a pure marketing exercise.

Ground Effects and Venturi Floors in Road Cars

The 2025 F1 floors generate huge downforce through Venturi tunnels and powerful diffusers, and road-car departments have revived the same philosophy in a moderated form. Underbody tunnels, extended diffusers, and subtle vortex generators create suction without resorting to oversized wings that would look out of place in city traffic.

Examples of ground-effect DNA in current road cars include:

• Mid-engine supercars with flat floors and deep rear diffusers
• Hypercars that channel air through underbody tunnels to generate downforce
• Performance sedans that reduce high-speed lift with tuned diffusers
• Track-focused editions with removable front splitters and underbody strakes.

These solutions respect everyday ride-height constraints while retaining the stability advantages that F1 teams exploit.

Active Aero and Smart Surfaces

While F1 cars use limited movable devices, the control logic behind ride height, temperatures, and hybrid deployment inspires sophisticated active systems on road cars. High-performance models now coordinate adjustable rear wings, deployable spoilers, and intelligent grille shutters through central controllers that read speed, steering angle, and thermal load.

Common active aerodynamic components in modern performance cars include:

• Multi-position rear wings that alter angle during braking and acceleration
• Front lips that extend at higher speeds to increase front axle grip
• Adaptive grille shutters that open for cooling and close to cut drag
• Underbody flaps that direct airflow toward diffusers or brake ducts.

In practice, the car behaves as a dynamic object that reshapes itself for each phase of a drive, echoing the adaptive philosophy of race setup work.

Aero Efficiency for Everyday Driving

Although F1 teams chase maximum downforce within tight drag limits, road cars often prioritize efficiency because emissions regulations and electric range targets are strict. Designers therefore apply F1-style flow management around mirrors, wheels, and rooflines to preserve stability while minimizing wake turbulence.

Typical efficiency tricks derived from F1 thinking include:

• Air curtains that guide flow cleanly around the front wheels.
• Sculpted side sills that feed air toward the rear diffuser.
• Tapered roof and tail profiles that shrink the turbulent wake.
• Subtle rear lips that reduce lift without large wings.

Each detail may seem minor when viewed alone, yet in combination they deliver measurable improvements in drag coefficient and high-speed composure.

What This Means for Drivers and Engineers

For drivers, the influence of 2025 F1 aerodynamics appears as calmer behavior at velocities that once felt nervous. Steering remains more precise under heavy braking, crosswinds disturb the car less, and lap times on track days improve as tires operate within more consistent load windows.

For engineers, the convergence of race and road programs enforces disciplined development processes. Shared wind tunnel hours, CFD runs, and correlation tests reduce the temptation to add ineffective vents or decorative wings, because every visible feature must justify itself through quantifiable aerodynamic benefit.

The Next Aero Generation

The trajectory from 2025 indicates that future performance cars will deepen the integration between sensors, software, and active surfaces. Vehicles may adapt their aero profiles in response to real-time traffic, weather, and road-surface data, rather than relying solely on speed-based maps.

For enthusiasts who watch F1 qualifying and then drive home in high-performance coupes or sedans, the connection between what happens on Saturday and what they feel on Monday morning will continue to tighten. Each new F1 regulation cycle forces teams to reinvent the language of airflow, and that vocabulary keeps migrating into cars parked in ordinary driveways, quietly transforming everyday journeys with technology proven at racing speed.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the doctor is in!

Dr. Patrick Staropoli, a board-certified medical and surgical retina specialist, has been tapped by NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series operation Big Machine Racing to compete full-time in the second-tier division in 2026.

Staropoli will get behind the wheel of the No. 48 SYFOVRE (pegcetacoplan injection) Chevrolet, beginning with the February 14 season-opener at Daytona International Speedway.

“From the moment I buckled into a pure stock at Hialeah Speedway in 2023, my life’s goal has been to compete at the top levels of this sport,” said Staropoli. “The path has taken many unexpected turns, but after working every day for 23 years in pursuit of this dream, I now have the opportunity of a lifetime thanks to Scott Borchetta, Patrick Donahue, and Chevrolet. I am ready to do whatever it takes to put this SYFOVRE Chevy up front and raise awareness for Geographic Atrophy secondary to Age-Related Macular Degeneration by combining my passion for motorsports and medicine.”

A third-generation driver from Plantation, Florida, Staropoli first gained national attention after winning the 2013 PEAK Stock Car Dream Challenge to become a Michael Waltrip Racing development driver, emerging ahead of top talents like NASCAR Cup Series race-winner Chase Briscoe. The 36-year-old earned himself a seat with Bill McAnally Racing in the ARCA Menards Series West, where he captured a victory at Irwindale in 2014.

“We’re pleased to welcome Dr. Patrick Staropoli to the No. 48 Big Machine Racing team for the 2026 season,” said Patrick Donahue, Crew Chief and Team Manager. “He brings a rare blend of professionalism, focus, and drive that will continue to strengthen our organization. This partnership reflects our commitment to surrounding the team with individuals who share our values and vision for building long-term success.”

After nearly a decade on the sidelines, Staropoli returned to the ranks of NASCAR’s National Series in 2025, competing in four NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (Xfinity Series) events for Sam Hunt Racing and four NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events for Cook Racing Technologies — earning two top-20s in both the O’Reilly Series and Truck Series.

The hiring of Dr. Patrick Staropoli comes after the surprising news earlier this month that Nick Sanchez, who earned the team’s second victory last Summer at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta), had been released from the organization ahead of the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series campaign. Sanchez said in an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that the move was “strictly business” on the part of Big Machine Racing.

Staropoli will take on the 33-race NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series campaign in 2026 with Big Machine Racing, starting with the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway on February 14. Coverage will be at 5:30 PM ET on The CW, Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Kyle Larson is ready to go back to Daytona for the Rolex 24 Hours. 

The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion has three starts in IMSA’s season-opening crown jewel event, but none since 2016. He took overall victory with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2015, co-driving with Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, and Jamie McMurray. 

On a recently-released episode of Dinner with Racers, a podcast co-hosted by Ryan Eversley and Sean Heckman, Larson was asked about his interest in returning for the endurance classic if Chrevolet came calling. 

“I think at this stage in my career, yeah, I’d do it again,” said Larson, driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in NASCAR. “I had fun those three years I did it. I didn’t want to keep doing it every year.” 

#02 Chip Ganassi Racing Riley DP Ford: Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Larson

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

Few are as well-equipped as Larson to handle a busy racing schedule. Beyond his Cup commitments, he also competes in High Limit Racing, a Sprint Car Series he co-owns with five-time World of Outlaws champion Brad Sweet. There’s also the random Midget races, and offseason racing trips to the other side of the globe.

“The offseasons have only gotten busier,” Larson said. “There’s more races and stuff. I go to Australia now, Chili Bowl, and West Coast Midget races. It’s just a lot and I, kind of, want time off. But it’s been so long since I ran it that you almost get to the point where you forget a little bit about it, right? And I just remember having a blast doing that race, so I just want to go there and relive it.”

The 33-year-old California native would also relish the opportunity to share the experience with his family, noting his oldest of three children, Owen, is 11 but was a newborn when Larson won the event.

“To have my kids be a part of it would be cool,” said Larson, who also has two starts in the Indianapolis 500 each of the last two years.

It also helps bolster a family vacation when Disney World is roughly an hour away, too. 

“Yeah, that, too,” he said. “So yeah, I would probably do it again.”

However, Larson, who attempted to express not knowing anyone in IMSA to move the idea forward, does have one requirement: “I want to be in the best car.” 

As the subject started to fade off, Larson pressed his level of interest into more of a declaration. 

“I definitely want to do it again in the future.”

We want your opinion!

– The Motorsport.com Team

Racing With Heavy Hearts…..The KSR Crew Heads To Bradenton Motorsports Park’s Christmas Tree Drags 2025!

Dec 23, 2025Chad Reynolds1320 Event Coverage, 1320 Spotlight, 1320 Videos, BangShift 1320, DRAG RACES, Event Coverage, RACING & ACTION, Videos

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Kevin and the KSR Performance and Fab crew headed out to Bradenton for Cleetus McFarland’s Christmas Tree Drags, but like most folks in the motorsports world it was with a heavy heart after the unfortunate death of Greg Biffle and his family. He wasn’t alone, as he and many of the other racers at the Christmas Tree Race were friends with Biffle or raced with him in a variety of races at Bradenton and the Freedom Factory. But even though Greg’s death put a big of a dark cloud over the weekend, the race went on like he’d have wanted. Watch the racing action and see just how well KSR and Soccer Mom did with a Christmas tree strapped to it.

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These Railroad Speeders Got A Unique View Of The Oregon Coast While Spreading Christmas Cheer!

Illinois Puts Out A Video Every Year Of Some Of Their More Entertaining Rejected Personalized Plates And Here It Is!

 

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