Larson Strikes Late To Win During Chili Bowl Kickoff

TULSA, Okla. – Kyle Larson has always found spectacular ways to reach victory lane inside the SageNet Center, and Monday during the opening preliminary night of the 39th Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink he added “overtime finish” to that list.

Larson slid past fellow Californian Shane Golobic in turn four of Tulsa Expo Raceway on the final restart of Monday’s main event, leading just the final two circuits on 2nd Opinion Auto Qualifying Night en route to the record-tying eighth prelim night win of his storied Chili Bowl career.

It wasn’t quite a sweep of the program for the two-time Golden Driller winner – who won his heat race but finished second to Ashton Torgerson in his 10-lap qualifier – but it was a strong statement that Larson is back full-bore and ready to fight for his third Chili Bowl crown.

“That was a fun race … a challenging race, because we weren’t where we needed to be, but we were able to find a way,” said Larson in victory lane. “You want to be in really good position for Saturday, and we gave ourselves that chance with this win tonight.”

A flip by 20th-running Kyler Johnson following the white flag of the 30-lapper set up the two-lap dash and pushed the race a lap beyond its scheduled distance.

Larson lined up second behind Golobic and threw a haymaker into turn one before repeating the effort on the other end of the racetrack, making the winning pass stick at that point and never looking back.

But despite the end result, Larson had to scratch and claw for success in his No. 1K FloRacing/HendrickCars.com Eagle Chassis. He started fourth but struggled on the initial start of the main, falling back as far as seventh before getting some momentum underneath him.

The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion methodically rallied back to fourth by the halfway point, but truly made his ground against the inside berm over the final 10 laps. He passed Torgerson for third before a caution with five laps left – for Gary Taylor’s upside-down car – bunched the field back up.

Larson had just caught Golobic and Cannon McIntosh – who dominated the middle portion of the feature – when the caution waved, as the lead duo furiously traded blows for the top spot.

While Golobic escaped by five car lengths during the ensuing restart, a big run past McIntosh with four laps left put Larson into second place and in position to pounce when the fourth and final yellow flag waved for Johnson. His move after that was the flourish that brought a raucous crowd to its feet.

“That definitely wasn’t pretty; it wasn’t a pretty 30 laps on my part,” Larson lamented despite the win. “Things didn’t work out early and I had to be really patient to fight my way back forward.

“Thankfully, I was just able to make it happen. I didn’t feel that great from the seat – we still have a lot to do in order to really compete on Saturday – but I’m confident that Paul (Silva, team owner) will figure it out like he always does,” added Larson. “I wanted to be smart there at the end, and I know I probably didn’t look that way on the last restart because you don’t want to give up a lock-in spot, but you always want to win.

“I tried being as clean as I could, sliding across (Golobic’s nose) on that last move.”

Golobic held serve from the pole over the first seven laps, but was furiously hounded by Alex Bowman Racing’s Briggs Danner, who started third and was challenging Golobic for the lead when disaster struck in turn three.

Danner threw a huge slide job to the inside to try and take the lead, but overcooked the apex of the corner and slammed the outside cushion as he slid back across Golobic’s front bumper. The impact sent Danner’s No. 55i into a wild flip that destroyed all four corners and left him last in the 24-car field.

McIntosh became the top dog during the next run, pitching his Keith Kunz Motorsports-prepared No. 71K to the inside in turn two to assume command on lap nine and then holding a steady, half-second lead over Golobic at the midway point.

Chili Bowl rookie Zach Wigal was the next driver to end up on his lid, leading to the second caution on lap 16, but McIntosh stayed strong through the restart until reaching the back of the field inside of 10 to go.

Traffic allowed Golobic to close up and strike, retaking the lead with seven laps left and appearing to be on his way to a long-awaited first prelim night victory after four prior runner-up finishes.

It wasn’t meant to be, however, thanks to the late efforts of one of the best ever in Tulsa lore.

“I’m tired of hearing ‘big picture,’ even though the truth is that we are here to win Saturday night,” said a dejected Golobic. “I’m just getting really, really sick of running second in this building.

“Kyle just sold out after that last restart and made it happen. That’s all there was to that.”

McIntosh completed the podium and will start at the front of a B-main Saturday in an attempt to race his way into the 40-lap championship finale.

Brent Crews had the drive of the night, charging all the way through the alphabet soup after flipping in his heat race to finish fourth in the nightcap. He won both his C- and B-main before driving forward from 17th place in the feature.

Torgerson faded to fifth, followed by Jerry Coons Jr., who made his record-extending 25th consecutive prelim night main and finished sixth.

Joe B. Miller, Justin Peck, Trey Marcham, and 22nd-starting Dillon Welch closed the top 10.

Larson, Peck, Nick Hoffman, Torgerson, Coons, Danner, Golobic, and Taylor won their heat races to kick off the night. Torgerson, Danner, and Golobic also won their A-Qualifiers, joined by Tanner Carrick.

Kade Taylor won the other C-main and Carson Bolden joined Crews as a B-main winner.

The annual flip count stood at 11 following Monday’s action. All drivers involved in incidents were OK.

Action from the Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink continues Tuesday night with Warren CAT Qualifying Night from Tulsa Expo Raceway.

Broadcast coverage begins at 4 p.m. CT, with every lap of Chili Bowl week available through FloRacing.

Race Face Digital’s Chili Bowl coverage is supported by DPC Media, home of longtime motorsports and automotive photographer Dave Campbell. To purchase DPC apparel or order photos from Chili Bowl 2025, visit www.seemymind.com for more information.

RESULTS: 2nd Opinion Auto Qualifying Night; Tulsa (Okla.) Expo Raceway; Jan. 13, 2025

OERB Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. 1K-Kyle Larson [3]; 2. 9-Emilio Hoover [2]; 3. 11G-Hayden Mabe [1]; 4. 71T-Kyler Johnson [4]; 5. 7D-Michelle Decker [9]; 6. 8L-Cooper Miller [6]; 7. 16T-Kevin Newton [7]; 8. 11J-Todd Jackson [5]; 9. K9-Jameson Spies [8].

OERB Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. 5P-Justin Peck [1]; 2. 44A-Reese Nowotarski [2]; 3. 5X-Jacob Dykstra [4]; 4. 60X-Dillon Welch [5]; 5. 20H-Noah Harris [7]; 6. 17M-Logan Prickett [9]; 7. 3V-Jim Vanzant [3]; 8. 15K-Nathan Kilwine [8]; 9. 8H-Dakota Highley [6].

OERB Heat #3 (8 laps): 1. 2H-Nick Hoffman [2]; 2. 2Z-Zach Blurton [1]; 3. 25H-Cap Henry [8]; 4. 31-Tanner Holmes [6]; 5. 2MD-Aiden Price [3]; 6. 80-Kade Taylor [5]; 7. 93-Kyle Bellm [7]; 8. 2NP-Bill Johnson [4].

OERB Heat #4 (8 laps): 1. 67K-Ashton Torgerson [1]; 2. 7E-Carson Bolden [2]; 3. 51Z-Zach Boden [3]; 4. 75-Mario Clouser [5]; 5. 8-Alex Sewell [6]; 6. 23D-Devon Dobie [4]; 7. 14K-Brandon Carr [7]; 8. 5F-Danny Frye III [8].

OERB Heat #5 (8 laps): 1. 85-Jerry Coons Jr. [1]; 2. 89-Zach Wigal [4]; 3. 55T-Trevor Cline [6]; 4. 71K-Cannon McIntosh [8]; 5. P1-Paul White [3]; 6. 71M-Brent Crews [5]; 7. 15C-Carter Chevalier [7]; 8. 68E-Eric Blumer [2].

OERB Heat #6 (8 laps): 1. 55i-Briggs Danner [2]; 2. 32T-Trey Marcham [3]; 3. 98-Tanner Carrick [7]; 4. 66J-Jayden Clay [1]; 5. 45J-Roger Crockett [6]; 6. 97X-John Barnard [4]; 7. 00-Brecken Reese [5]; 8. 71G-Bill Balog (DNS).

OERB Heat #7 (8 laps): 1. 17W-Shane Golobic [5]; 2. 40B-Josh Bilicki [2]; 3. 6B-Brylee Kilmer [1]; 4. 2W-Luke Storer [3]; 5. 86C-David Camfield Sr. [4]; 6. 15J-Jack Potter [6]; 7. 4E-Maverick Elkins (DNS); 8. P92-Alex Cogley (DNS).

OERB Heat #8 (8 laps): 1. 32-Gary Taylor [2]; 2. 51B-Joe B. Miller [3]; 3. 9B-Brian Schwabauer [1]; 4. 50-Daniel Adler [4]; 5. 94-Hayden Wise [7]; 6. 73B-Ryan Timmons [5]; 7. 42K-Kevin Battefeld [6]; 8. 33M-Charlie Louden [8].

C Feature #1 (12 laps, top four transfer): 1. 71M-Brent Crews [3]; 2. P1-Paul White [1]; 3. 23D-Devon Dobie [4]; 4. 16T-Kevin Newton [5] / 5. 14K-Brandon Carr [6]; 6. 5F-Danny Frye III [9]; 7. 3V-Jim Vanzant [8]; 8. 42K-Kevin Battefeld [7]; 9. K9-Jameson Spies [11]; 10. 15J-Jack Potter [2]; 11. 11J-Todd Jackson [10]; 12. 8H-Dakota Highley [12]; 13. 4E-Maverick Elkins (DNS).

C Feature #2 (12 laps, top four transfer): 1. 80-Kade Taylor [2]; 2. 8L-Cooper Miller [1]; 3. 97X-John Barnard [4]; 4. 93-Kyle Bellm [5] / 5. 15C-Carter Chevalier [6]; 6. 00-Brecken Reese [7]; 7. 2NP-Bill Johnson [10]; 8. 68E-Eric Blumer [9]; 9. 15K-Nathan Kilwine [8]; 10. 73B-Ryan Timmons [3]; 11. 33M-Charlie Louden (DNS); 12. 71G-Bill Balog (DNS); 13. P92-Alex Cogley (DNS).

TRD Qualifier #1 (10 laps): 1. 17W-Shane Golobic [6]; 2. 71K-Cannon McIntosh [3]; 3. 44A-Reese Nowotarski [2]; 4. 71T-Kyler Johnson [9]; 5. 2Z-Zach Blurton [1]; 6. 2H-Nick Hoffman [5]; 7. 60X-Dillon Welch [7]; 8. 45J-Roger Crockett [10]; 9. 9B-Brian Schwabauer [8]; 10. 55T-Trevor Cline [4].

TRD Qualifier #2 (10 laps): 1. 55I-Briggs Danner [5]; 2. 32T-Trey Marcham [3]; 3. 5P-Justin Peck [4]; 4. 7E-Carson Bolden [2]; 5. 25H-Cap Henry [6]; 6. 75-Mario Clouser [7]; 7. 50-Daniel Adler [9]; 8. 66J-Jayden Clay [10]; 9. 20H-Noah Harris [8]; 10. 5X-Jacob Dykstra [1].

TRD Qualifier #3 (10 laps): 1. 67K-Ashton Torgerson [4]; 2. 1K-Kyle Larson [6]; 3. 51B-Joe B. Miller [3]; 4. 32-Gary Taylor [5]; 5. 2W-Luke Storer [9]; 6. 94-Hayden Wise [8]; 7. 40B-Josh Bilicki [2]; 8. 11G-Hayden Mabe [7]; 9. 86C-David Camfield Sr. [10]; 10. 31-Tanner Holmes [1].

TRD Qualifier #4 (10 laps): 1. 98-Tanner Carrick [6]; 2. 89-Zach Wigal [5]; 3. 85-Jerry Coons Jr. [4]; 4. 8-Alex Sewell [9]; 5. 51Z-Zach Boden [1]; 6. 7D-Michelle Decker [2]; 7. 17M-Logan Prickett [8]; 8. 2MD-Aiden Price [10]; 9. 6B-Brylee Kilmer [7]; 10. 9-Emilio Hoover [3].

B Feature #1 (15 laps, top four transfer): 1. 71M-Brent Crews [13]; 2. 2W-Luke Storer [1]; 3. 45J-Roger Crockett [7]; 4. 55T-Trevor Cline [9] / 5. 20H-Noah Harris [10]; 6. 94-Hayden Wise [3]; 7. P1-Paul White [14]; 8. 50-Daniel Adler [5]; 9. 51Z-Zach Boden [4]; 10. 23D-Devon Dobie [15]; 11. 5X-Jacob Dykstra [12]; 12. 17M-Logan Prickett [6]; 13. 11G-Hayden Mabe [8]; 14. 16T-Kevin Newton [16]; 15. 86C-David Camfield Sr. [11]; 16. 2H-Nick Hoffman [2].

B Feature #2 (15 laps, top four transfer): 1. 7E-Carson Bolden [1]; 2. 75-Mario Clouser [3]; 3. 60X-Dillon Welch [6]; 4. 7D-Michelle Decker [4] / 5. 2MD-Aiden Price [8]; 6. 2Z-Zach Blurton [2]; 7. 93-Kyle Bellm [16]; 8. 31-Tanner Holmes [12]; 9. 9-Emilio Hoover [11]; 10. 9B-Brian Schwabauer [9]; 11. 40B-Josh Bilicki [5]; 12. 97X-John Barnard [15]; 13. 6B-Brylee Kilmer [10]; 14. 8L-Cooper Miller [14]; 15. 66J-Jayden Clay [7]; 16. 80-Kade Taylor [13].

A Feature (30 laps): 1. 1K-Kyle Larson [4]; 2. 17W-Shane Golobic [1]; 3. 71K-Cannon McIntosh [7]; 4. 71M-Brent Crews [17]; 5. 67K-Ashton Torgerson [5]; 6. 85-Jerry Coons Jr. [10]; 7. 51B-Joe B. Miller [13]; 8. 5P-Justin Peck [9]; 9. 32T-Trey Marcham [8]; 10. 60X-Dillon Welch [22]; 11. 98-Tanner Carrick [2]; 12. 8-Alex Sewell [15]; 13. 45J-Roger Crockett [21]; 14. 25H-Cap Henry [12]; 15. 44A-Reese Nowotarski [16]; 16. 7D-Michelle Decker [24]; 17. 55T-Trevor Cline [23]; 18. 75-Mario Clouser [20]; 19. 7E-Carson Bolden [18]; 20. 71T-Kyler Johnson [14]; 21. 32-Gary Taylor [11]; 22. 89-Zach Wigal [6]; 23. 2W-Luke Storer [19]; 24. 55I-Briggs Danner [3].

Lap Leader(s): Shane Golobic 1-8, Cannon McIntosh 9-23, Shane Golobic 24-29, Kyle Larson 30-31.

Hard Charger: 71M-Brent Crews (+13)