Larson Lands Top Seed For Chili Bowl’s Pole Shuffle
Kyle Larson in action Monday at Tulsa Expo Raceway. (Brendon Bauman photo)
TULSA, Okla. – Kyle Larson duplicated the good fortune from his Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink preliminary night Monday into more positivity following Friday’s Hard Rock Casino Qualifying Night program.
After finding the number ‘1’ at the week’s beginning by visiting victory lane, Larson found another ‘1’ during the #DoItForGrady Chili Bowl Nationals Pole Shuffle pill draw, clinching a front-row starting spot in Saturday night’s 40-lap grand finale as a result.
Larson guaranteed himself a top-five seeding because of his prelim night score, but had the worst odds of actually pulling the best pill because he had to pick first from the Nos. 1 through 5 chips.
But the other four preliminary night winners after him – Landon Brooks, Emerson Axsom, Tanner Thorson, and Seavey – never had a chance at the No. 1 pill because Larson took it off the board.
The Format
For the second year in a row, the format for the pole shuffle will feature two-car, time-attack battles.
Two cars will be on track at the same time for each race, with the first pairing pitting the Nos. 10 and 9 seeded drivers against one another. The driver turning the best lap in each pair will advance to the next round, while the loser is eliminated and locks in their starting position for the Saturday feature.
Thus, the winner of the 10 vs. 9 matchup will move on to face the No. 8 seed, with the fastest driver in that pair advancing to battle the No. 7 seed.
The process continues until the last remaining driver faces top-seeded Larson in the pole round. The fastest competitor in that bout will be the polesitter for the Chili Bowl Nationals main event.
The Seedings
Behind Larson, Tuesday winner Brooks and Friday winner Seavey are seeded second and third, respectively. Thursday winner Thorson is the fourth seed and Axsom, who won Wednesday night’s preliminary feature, slots in as the fifth-seeded driver.
Gavin Miller, Shane Golobic, Ryan Bernal, Daison Pursley, and Brenham Crouch are the sixth through 10th seeds for Saturday night’s Pole Shuffle as the runners-up from each prelim night main event.
The #DoItForGrady Pole Shuffle traditionally begins around 6 p.m. CT during the Saturday program.
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