Sand Spring Teen Makes Chili Bowl Debut

Day two of the Chili Bowl kicks off Tuesday, and a Sand Springs teen will be joining the 350 drivers.

Hank Davis has been racing all over the country since he was 8 years old, but the biggest race in his sport has always been right in his backyard.

Now he's 16 and eligible; so, he won't be watching this year, he will be racing.

"I always told them I wanted to race and they always thought I was kidding and then one day we went and bought a car” Hank said.

Hank Davis has spent half his life flinging mud in a race car. The Sand Springs native has been as far as Georgia to race.

"It's a lot of time. Sometimes, you've got to miss some family things here and there or just leave for a couple weeks and not see your family for a couple weeks; but it is what it is."

Hank said he started coming to the Chili Bowl when he was 7-years-old and dreamed of one day being behind the wheel.

Now, the time has come.

Chili Bowl founder Emmett Hahn said “I see Hank all over the country racing these midgets, so he’ll a factor from the get go."

Hank hasn't grown up like most kids; he's been driving a car since he was 8-years-old.

Now, he's 16 and already done with high school. This allows him to travel the country racing just about every other weekend.

Hank said "a lot of 16-year-olds are still in school, and they can't really go race because they are in school. I figured to get a head start and maybe get an opportunity to do something different early."

Hank said racing is more than just a sport to him: it's his life; it's his family.

Hank Said winning is extra sweet because he helped build this car.

"If you win it just makes it 10 times better than what it would regularly be because you put your time and effort in, skipped a lot of things, missed out on friends, you don't get to hang with friends very much but you skipped it and did good."