Kayla Martin Racing

2026 Chili Bowl Nationals Recap 🌶️

This year marked Kayla’s first-ever time in a Midget and her first Chili Bowl Nationals in a non-wing car — a big adjustment coming from winged sprint cars. It definitely took some time to get comfortable, but she improved every single time she hit the track, getting faster and more confident each session.

Sunday we had two solid rounds of practice that really helped her settle into the car and start finding speed.

Tuesday – Prelim Night
• Heat Race: Started 3rd, finished 9th after getting spun in Turn 1 on Lap 1 and sent to the back. Unfortunately couldn’t work her way back through the field to lock into a qualifier. Suffered damage from the spin, including a bent Jacob’s ladder and nerf bar, which made it a tough race — but she held her own.
• D-Main: Started 7th, finished 7th.

We went back to the drawing board, went through the car top to bottom, and made changes to better suit Kayla and her comfort level.

Saturday – P-Main

•Hot laps didn’t go as planned. Another car got into us and bent another Jacob’s ladder. No time to make the repair before the main, but we lined up and raced anyway.

• Started 9th, fell back to 12th early, then rebounded to finish 7th — just one spot out of transferring.
• Posted the 4th quickest lap of the race, doing it in traffic, which says a lot about the progress made.

Overall, it was a fun and valuable learning experience. For her first race ever in a Midget and first Chili Bowl, the improvement throughout the week was huge. No wing, tight racing, and a completely different driving style; Kayla kept adapting and getting better.

Kayla truly loves to race anything and everything. She’d absolutely love another opportunity in a Midget and is always eager to keep learning and improving. She’s also very interested in opportunities to run 410 sprint cars as she continues to grow as a driver.

Huge thank you to everyone who helped make this possible — the team, supporters, sponsors, and everyone who had a hand in getting us to Tulsa. We’re proud of the effort and excited to build on it.

Cannot thank Griffiths Motorsports and team enough!

Will post a schedule for KMR 2026 season and more exciting news soon!!

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