TULSA, Okla. — Behind the roar of engines at the Chili Bowl Nationals is a quiet army of workers making the iconic racing event possible.
Truck drivers like Martin Edwards have been transforming the Tulsa Expo Center from an empty building into a dirt racing paradise for two decades. The massive undertaking requires hauling hundreds of truckloads of dirt in marathon shifts.
"We store the dirt about 2-3 miles down the road. So, it's the same dirt every year. We have to add a few loads every so many years just from stuff we lose from getting stuff thrown off the racetrack and too much trash getting in it," Edwards said. "They go off the racetrack and stuck on cars and in the pits and then gets picked up and who knows where it goes. So, we have to replenish every 5-10 years. We have to get find a few loads here and there."
Edwards says most people don't realize the scope of their work. His team installs every barricade, fence post and cable for the weeklong event.
This year they broke their own record by completing the setup in just over a week. About 750-850 truckloads of dirt takes an entire day to deliver to the arena alone. This year they used over 20 trucks to help with this effort.
We went behind the scenes of the Chili Bowl Nationals to see how all of their work transforms the venue into racing paradise.
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