Chili Bowl R Vers

The 20th Chili Bowl Nationals is going on this week at Expo Square and every year the race draws people to Tulsa from all over. Need proof? <br/><br/>News on 6 reporter Rick Wells was out at the Tulsa

Thursday, January 12th 2006, 10:16 am

By: News On 6

The 20th Chili Bowl Nationals is going on this week at Expo Square and every year the race draws people to Tulsa from all over. Need proof?

News on 6 reporter Rick Wells was out at the Tulsa County fairgrounds RV park Thursday checking license plates.

The Chili Bowl Nationals are underway and folks are in Tulsa from some far off spots and all of them are in Tulsa for the racing.

"Ft. Myers, Florida, Glendale, Arizona, Mesquite, Texas, Middleton, Ohio.â€ Jim Adams is helping check people in and those are some of the places some of the Chili Bowl race fans are from.

Larry and Pat Patterson are from Kansas City, they are Chili Bowl regulars. Larry Patterson: "we've been to all of these but one, all the Chili Bowls but one." They staked out their spot in the fairgrounds RV park, back around Christmas.

Chuck Greenway is next door, he pulled in last week a little later this year than usual. "Last year I was dusting off my motor home New Yearâ€™s Day." Why come here from Massachusetts or Iowa or Illinois? "It's just a happening."

The Chili Bowl bills itself as racingâ€™s winter answer to football's Super Bowl. Chuck Greenway: "You go down through here, there's people from all parts of the country and everything."

He's not kidding Wisconsin and New Mexico. Look the Rutherford's are here from Ontario Canada. Set up the satellite dish and Tulsa is home on the road.

Doug Miller is almost from Canada, just south of Rochester, New York. â€œWe took all two lane roads; it was about 1,300 miles for me." This is his first trip down here. Bought his tickets last February to make sure he got some.

For him and for all these RV folks, the Chili Bowl is a special event. Chuck Greenway: "This sport is the only sport, 'til you get to the big tracks, that the rich and the poor sit together because they don't know the difference."

Everybody seems to like it that way.

The Chili Bowl's been sold out for months. I found some tickets on eBay, a pair for Friday for $150 and a pair for Saturday night will cost you a little more.