Drillbrush Rides with Brayton Laster, Mike Sullivan, Zach Boden Racing at the 2026 Chili Bowl Nationals

Drillbrush has followed Brayton Laster from the twists and turns of Watkins Glen to the high banks of Daytona, but this past week Drillbrush Racing was one of many supporters onboard Brayton Laster's entry for the Chili Bowl Nationals.

The annual dirt midget car event is a mecca for the motorsports elite. Over 400 drivers flocked to Tulsa, Oklahoma to try and qualify for the main event. The field was stacked with the top dirt track racers in the country, as well as stars from the ranks of NASCAR, including defending NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2025 Chili Bowl Nationals winner Kyle Larson.

It’s gonna take a lot to win it all, but driver and team have something extra on their side; Drillbrush Ultra Stiff Black 7 inch brushes!

This brush is a favorite for dirt track racers as the long, sturdy bristles help knock dirt out of tire treads, keeping them clear and ready for the next heat! So to support his Chili Bowl journey, Drillbrush stocked him with enough 7 inch brushes to carry him through the many qualifiers and hopefully to victory lane!

Brayton Laster

Drillbrush on the side of Brayton Laster’s #31 ARCA Menards Series car at DuQuoin Fairgrounds in 2023.

Brayton Laster entered in a neon green and black #06 car owned by Zach Boden backed by Kipply-Boden Ford, K.C. Arborist Tree Care, Rubber Down Rewind, Beyond The Garage, PeerlessPump.com, and O’Bryan Weld Works.

Laster is no stranger to dirt racing; running a dirt stock car regularly and making his NASCAR Crraftsman Truck Series debut on the famed Knoxville Speedway, a hallowed hall for sprint car racing.

Brayton Laster, who is coming off his first full-time ARCA Menards Series season, has established himself as an “anything with wheels” style competitor, racing everything from NASCAR, to dirt, to figure 8, to iRacing. A Chili Bowl Nationals appearance is yet another major milestone in the young driver’s impressive resume.

Drillbrush has partnered with Brayton Laster for many events over the years. We first backed him and several other drivers at the DuQuoin Fairgrounds race during the 2023 ARCA season. We have since appeared on his ARCA rides at Daytona and Watkins Glen and every time we’ve been impressed with his hard work and dedication.

The #06 Zach Boden Racing dirt midget with Drillbrush branding on the front down tube.

However, a snag occurred during the lead-up to Laster's Thursday-night qualifying effort. Laster's height posed a challenge for he and the team, as they struggled in practice to get him fitted properly in the seat. While they made some progress increasing head clearance prior to qualifying, is was ultimately decided to swap Laster out of the ride in the interest of safety. Mike Sullivan, an experienced dirt modified and midget racer, was tabbed to relieve Laster in the #06.

On qualifying night, Sullivan ranked 9th of 10 in his heat before moving on to D feature 1. Sullivan survived a high-attrition race to improve to fifth. However, with only the top 2 moving on to the C Features, the Chili Bowl run ended there. But the car looked great on track and our Drillbrush sticker got to sling around the Tulsa Expo Center in front of an excited crowd!

The eventual winner of the Chili Bowl Nationals was Emerson Axsom, a new winner for the event. He defeated second place Kevin Thomas Jr. and third place Hank Davis. Former winner Logan Seavey came home fourth with defending winner Kyle Larson finishing a disappointing 23rd.

What is the Chili Bowl?

The Chili Bowl is an indoor midget car race that takes place every January since 1987 on a small ⅕ mile dirt oval inside the Tulsa Expo Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

These cars are small single-seater open-wheeled cars with a triangular frame. They are lightweight, but generate a lot of horsepower, allowing these cars to sling around tight dirt tracks at blistering speeds.

The Chili Bowl, which gets its unusual name from an early sponsor of the event, is considered the Super Bowl of midget car racing, and drivers turn up in droves for a chance to work through the many heat races and be in the main event. 

Many winners of the Chili Bowl are dirt track racing royalty, like the Swindell family, Logan Seavey, and Rico Abreu. Others like Tony Stewart, Kyle Larson, and Christopher Bell  have seen national success as winners in the NASCAR Cup Series.

How Drillbrush Helps Dirt Racers

Jessica Powers’ dirt late model team using Drillbrush 7 inch brushes to clear tires at Utica-Rome Speedway.

Drillbrush’s 7 inch Industrial Brush in Ultra Stiff Black is a popular tool for dirt trackers to get more out of their tires. Heavy dirt build-up in the treads can hurt grip throughout the night, especially in an event with as many qualifying races as the Chili Bowl.

Teams use our 7 inch brush to knock dirt and rocks out of tire treads and keep them clear. The long bristles work their way deep into treads and their rigid construction is tough enough to send the packed dirt flying. We at Drillbrush witnessed it first hand when Jessica Powers and her team invited us out to Utica-Rome Speedway to see our brushes in action.

Drillbrush products are trusted by short trackers across the country, as well as Champion Tire and Wheel, which cleans, mounts, and prepares tires that are used in the NASCAR Cup, O’Reilly, and Truck series.