What was shaping up to be an incredible story from the Thursday prelims of the 2024 Chili Bowl Nationals, has come to a premature end, after a tumble for 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson.
Larson, who had advanced from the C-Main to the A-Main by driving through the pack, was attempting to replicate that feat in the 30-lap A-Main event on Thursday, when his No. 98K tumbled just past the start-finish line.
The Elk Grove, California-native had driven himself to 11th place at the time of the incident, which occurred with seven laps remaining in the event. However, the damage to his FloRacing-sponsored machine was
too severe, forcing him to retire from the event.
? @KyleLarsonRacin gave it his all in the #ChiliBowl prelim but his race is over!@cbnationals | @NosEnergyDrink
? https://t.co/37DKpNQBRF pic.twitter.com/rQcg26inGs
— FloRacing (@FloRacing) January 12, 2024
The 31-year-old driver found himself in this position as a result of another major tumble earlier in the evening, when in the fourth heat race, his Keith Kunz Motorsports entry made contact with Christopher Townsend, sending both vehicles tumbling.
Finishing 24th in Thursday’s A-Main, Larson will be relegated to the E-Main for Saturday’s ‘Alphabet Soup’ action, which runs significantly earlier in the afternoon than the A-Main, which will likely be difficult for the Hendrick Motorsports driver to appear at.
Of course, Larson is competing in the Wild West Shootout in New Mexico on Saturday, and was planning to fly to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the 55-lap feature event, should he lock in on his prelim night.
In 2023, the E-Main events were scheduled to roll at 2:30 pm ET, but typically the posted schedule for Saturday’s events isn’t always 100 percent accurate, due to various delays that may be encountered with events or track prep.
