On his 13th attempt, Kyle Larson has finally nabbed the elusive Golden Driller — the trophy handed out to the winner of the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma each year.
KYLE LARSON IS A CHILI BOWL CHAMPION!! pic.twitter.com/4FysUZWoWx
— Walkapedia (@Walkapedia_) January 19, 2020
Following his win in Saturday night’s 55-lap feature event, Larson — apologetic to NASCAR — called the victory the biggest in his life.
“I’m sorry NASCAR, I’m sorry Daytona, but this is the biggest effing race I’ve ever won,” Larson exclaimed in victory lane. “I hope to win Daytona in a few weeks but this is bad ass.”
Larson started third in Saturday night’s event, but with 17 laps remaining in the race, he found a way around Christopher Bell for the lead.
Larson wouldn’t look back and he held off Bell, who had won the previous three Chili Bowl Nationals.
Bell held on to finish second, while Cannon McIntosh was third, Logan Seavey was fourth and Rico Abreu rounded out the top-five.
Justin Allgaier was the other NASCAR name who made it into the big show. Allgaier would end the race in 21st-place.
So, why so much elation for a win in a 55-lap dirt race? It’s simple. Larson had come devastatingly close in his previous 12 bids to win this race, but had come up short every time. Until Saturday.
While the final box score will show that Larson bested 23 others in a 55-lap dirt race, what goes into the Chili Bowl Nationals is so much more. Larson had to battle his way through an entry list of over 350 drivers to find his way into the 24-car feature event.
Then, Larson had to go toe-to-toe with dirt racing’s finest drivers to get it done.
