Peck Eager To Right The Ship In Chili Bowl Return

Justin Peck (Jacob Seelman photo)

TULSA, Okla. – Justin Peck will be the first driver to admit he hasn’t had the best of luck at the Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink through the years.

Of his eight prior Chili Bowl attempts, the Monrovia, Ind., native has only made the championship finale once – a 24th-place finish in 2017 – and even that was marred by a main-event crash after 15 of 55 laps.

But armed with a new team in Phil Rossi and Petty Performance Racing, as well as a fresh mindset after taking a year away from the SageNet Center, Peck is optimistic that this year’s Super Bowl of Midget Racing has a good chance to be his best ever showing.

“We’re going in loaded for bear and set on kill,” Peck told Motorsports Hotspot recently in advance of the Chili Bowl. “For going back to the Chili Bowl this year after not going (in 2024), I think I’ve got a really good opportunity to put up some really good results during the week. It’s great equipment and, even though I’m a sprint car driver for the day job now, I still love racing midgets and it’s something that’s a lot of fun when I do get to go and do it.

“Sometimes with indoor racing, you just need a mental reset once in a while, and I think now that I’ve had that after last year (competing in Australia during the offseason), I can really come back even more focused on what I need to do to be successful in Tulsa.”

Perhaps the thing that Peck is most excited about with this year’s Chili Bowl is that, despite the fact that he’s with a new organization, he’ll have his father Steve in Tulsa as his crew chief throughout the week.

It’s a relationship Peck values not only because it’s family, but also because he grew up racing a family-owned midget with his dad on the wrenches before his racing career went professional on a national scale.

“The cool thing for me is that when I was first brought up in midgets, it was always me and my dad doing it together, you know?” Peck noted. “Even when I was driving for guys like Kenny Irwin Sr., my dad was still with me and by my side for me to work with. Just being able to go through the race car with him and trying to make the thing go faster as a team is something that has always been special, so I’ve always felt comfortable with my dad on the wrenches when it comes to the big stuff.

“It’s cool to have him back in that role and we’re really hoping to have success together there.”

Justin Peck in action at Tulsa (Okla.) Expo Raceway. (Chad Warner photo)

Peck will race the Monday qualifying program, but he’ll have four teammates to lean on during the week as R.J. Johnson (Tuesday), J.J. Yeley (Wednesday), Drake Edwards (Thursday), and Cameron LaRose (Friday) also drive for Petty Performance Racing during the 39th edition of the Chili Bowl Nationals.

Among the 26-year-old’s chief competition in the opener will be two-time Chili Bowl winner Kyle Larson, as well as past Monday prelim victors Cannon McIntosh and Tanner Carrick and California sprint car ace Shane Golobic.

But while Peck is laser-focused on making the Chili Bowl’s Saturday finale and finally being able to be in position to make a run at the event’s iconic Golden Driller trophy, he tipped that he’s not forgetting to enjoy the moment and have a little bit of fun along the way as well.

“Just getting to drive for Phil and Jerry (Petty, CEO of sponsor Avanti Windows & Doors) is really neat for me,” he said. “Those are my buddies as much as they are my team, so we have a lot of fun together, especially because the Avanti brand has done so much to support my career the last few years. Whether I’m driving for them or whether we’re just having a beer at the racetrack, we always enjoy the time together.

“It’s something I’m really looking forward to. Usually I’m not all that excited going out to Chili Bowl, but I’m excited to get back there this time because I feel like I’m going to be comfortable and prepared,” Peck added. “I’ve got a good piece underneath me, a good engine from Stanton (Racing Engines), a good team, and my favorite midget crew chief onboard.

“As a driver, what more can you ask for than that?”

And in regard to winning it all this time, Peck was very matter-of-face about his plan for the event.

“You have to make the big show before you can win it, so we’re going to go out, try to be strong on our prelim night, and lock in or get as close as we can going into Saturday’s alphabet soup.

“After that, we’ll see where the chips fall and hope for a little bit of luck to go along with it.”

Every lap of the 39th Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink can be viewed live through FloRacing, the official streaming partner of the Super Bowl of Midget Racing.

Monday night’s Chili Bowl program kicks off with hot laps at 5 p.m. ET, followed by heat races, qualifiers, D, C, and B-mains, and a 30-lap feature which locks the top two finishers into the Saturday finale.