TULSA, Okla. – Chance Crum will tackle a new challenge next month when he heads to the River Spirit Expo Center for the 34th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals.

Crum, a seasoned micro sprint driver from Snohomish, Wash., will make his rookie appearance at the Super Bowl of Midget Racing with Kyle Beilman Racing in the No. 31b Esslinger-powered Spike.

The 22-year-old University of Washington-Bothell senior has turned laps at Tulsa Expo Raceway in the past during the Lucas Oil Tulsa Shootout, but the Chili Bowl will be his first time there in a midget.

“Man, it’s cool that we’re even talking about this,” Crum told Sprint Car & Midget by phone on Monday. “Garrett Andrews at CSI Shocks (Competition Suspension Inc.) actually helped put this together for us. We got to talking to Kyle (Beilman) about doing this deal and I couldn’t be more excited about it.

“I’m very fortunate to having some great people helping me out to make this Chili Bowl run possible,” Crum continued. “I want to give a big thank you to Cody and Rachelle Anderlini, with the Anderlini Group of Companies, for their role in making this year’s Chili Bowl a reality for me.”

Crum has spent time in 600 micros, 1200cc mini sprints, Focus midgets and 360 sprint cars on the West Coast, but the Jan. 13-18 Chili Bowl Nationals will be his first appearance in the crown jewel midget race.

Despite the intensity of coming into Tulsa as an event rookie, Crum is carrying a big smile knowing he has a chance to finally debut on one of the biggest stages in dirt-track racing.

“I’m excited for it. It’ll be my first time there and I know there’s a lot to learn … but being in a really good car and working with some really good people, I think, takes some of those nerves off,” Crum explained. “I’m going to have a really good opportunity here and there’s going to be, of course, a lot of pressure. But I’m looking forward to the chance of going up against some of the really talented drivers that’ll be there and trying to learn as much as I can along the way.”

Crum noted that he’ll have a sizable learning curve during Chili Bowl week, but hopes that his diversity of resume and experience jumping from one type of race car to another will aid him in adapting quickly.

“The biggest thing that’s different is just the additional power that the open midget has,” Crum noted. It’s a lot, requires a lot more throttle control and a lot more car control. I’m very fortunate in that I get to race a lot of different kinds of cars in open wheel, so I’m hoping that having that ability to adapt well will help out in trying to learn.

“The good news is that I’ll be racing at the Tulsa shootout two weeks before, so that will also help me with getting some track time beforehand.”

With all of that in mind, Crum knows where he’s aiming, goal-wise, in his rookie Chili Bowl appearance.

“I know I’m going to have a really good car, so it’s going to come down to how quickly I can learn and adapt,” said Crum. “An event like the Chili Bowl just takes so much luck, you know what I mean? There’s so much that goes into it to make something (great) happen. Ultimately, I’d love to try and make the A-main on my prelim night; I think that would be a high bar to set for myself. I’m going to really push myself to be able to get there.

“But I know we’re working with some great people and they’re going to be giving me everything that I need to go forward. I just going to have to learn as fast as I can and try and make some magic happen.”