Saturday Night’s feature at the 39th annual Chili Bowl Midget Nationals presented by NOS Energy Drink will return to its traditional distance of 40 laps.

It grew to 55 laps to honour Donnie Ray Crawford, who passed away in 2012.

But the decision to return to 40 was made to prevent the Tulsa Expo Speedway from taking rubber and prohibiting passes at the end.

“Our job is to provide the best surface for these teams to be able to race and put on a show for these fans, and I’ve been talking with Gravel the past few years about Saturday night and what needs to change, and I agree with him, it needs to be 40 laps again,” stated Chili Bowl co-founder and promoter Emmett Hahn.

The race’s director of operations, Matt Ward, devised a new plan to honor Crawford.

“We still want to make sure we honor Donnie. Being his teammate in 2012 with my cousin, Blake, was such a special moment with the history between our grandpas (Emmett Hahn and Ray Crawford),” Ward said. “Donnie was a hero in so many ways to so many people, and his legacy will live on in that building.”

The 40th edition of the Tulsa Shootout takes place December 30 through January 4 with the 39th Chili Bowl Nationals happening January 13-18 at the SageNet Center at Expo Square.