Drake Troutman will make his first appearance at the Chili Bowl and he’ll be working with Shane Hmiel, Gary Chandler, and Levi Jones for G.R. Smith Motorsports Team 22INC.

Hmiel, the son of NASCAR crew chief Steve Hmiel, shared the news on Facebook. He wrote, “I’m heading to the Chili Bowl in 2026 with Drake Troutman — the 2025 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year Champion.”

“We’ve teamed up with another quadriplegic just like myself — Grady Chandler from Oklahoma City. Grady is bringing the 22* G.R. Smith Motorsports Team 22INC midget, powered by Toyota, and let me tell you… he’s been preparing some of the fastest midgets in the country,” Hmiel continued. “We’ll have 7X USAC champ Levi Jones and myself available to help Drake if needed, and Grady can bounce ideas off us anytime he wants. Or not. That’s the coolest part of this team — nobody cares who makes the car fast… we just want it FAST.”

As Hmiel noted, Troutman is fresh off of winning Rookie of the Year with the World of Outlaws in the 22* G.R. Smith Smith Motorsports Team 22INC late model. Not only did he win Rookie of the Year, but he finished sixth overall in points. Just 398 points behind champion Bobby Pierce. And he missed out on fifth place by just 20 points.

Additionally, Troutman was red hot this past weekend posting the best average finish of all competitors with three podiums during the World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. Troutman finished third on Thursday night. He improved one spot to finish second on Friday night. Finally, he finished third on Saturday night during the 50-lap feature.

Before he gets to the Chili Bowl, he’ll be at the Dome for the Gateway Dirt Nationals. Last year he competed in the modified portion of the Gateway Dirt Nationals. He finished fourth on Thursday night, but unfortunately ended his night early finishing in 16th. In 2023, Troutman finished 2nd on Friday night and then went on to win the big show on Saturday night.

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