Pursley Proud, But Not Satisfied After Chili Bowl Lock-In

Daison Pursley in action Wednesday at Tulsa Expo Raceway. (David Campbell/DPC Media photo)

TULSA, Okla. – It wasn’t quite the prelim win that he wanted to have, but Daison Pursley took pride in the runner-up finish Wednesday at Tulsa Expo Raceway that locked him into the finale of the 39th Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink.

After earning the most passing points through heats and qualifiers and starting the 30-lap feature from the pole, Pursley settled into second after fellow front-row starter Emerson Axsom pitched a strong slide job into turn one to take the lead on lap four.

From there, the 20-year-old Locust Grove, Okla., native ran a smart race, not putting himself in tense positions and comfortably holding off Corey Day’s charge through the field to earn a guaranteed berth in his third Chili Bowl championship A-main.

In his second year driving for owner Chad Boat and CB Industries, Pursley looks primed to be a contender for his first Golden Driller trophy against the likes of NASCAR Cup Series stars Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell, as well as two-time defending Chili Bowl champion Logan Seavey.

“I led the first couple (laps) there on the bottom, and I felt good enough where I knew (Axsom) wasn’t just going to circle me (and pass around the outside). I jus decided to move up top … maybe a lap too late, and it allowed him to slide me into one and control the race,” explained Pursley. “It is what it is. I felt like we had pretty equal cars, honestly, and the pace was fast with both him and I up there pulling the field around.

“It just came down to who got to the lead first when the groove jumped up to the top, and he got there first,” Pursley added. “It’s mixed emotions, because losing from the pole is never fun, but it’s important to the team that we’re locked into the pole shuffle and we’ll start moving around in that to see if we can’t get further up the grid for the big show.

“We still have more work to do.”

In reflecting on the two restarts he had to work with at the mid-point of Wednesday’s main, Pursley admitted that there weren’t too many other options for him to try at that point to get back past Axsom, who ultimately won the race.

“I tried to run the bottom on the first restart, and then I felt like when he’d slide himself down into one and two that I could get back side-by-side with him down the back straightaway. That probably would have been my chance to try and slide him and get mixing it up one more time, but I didn’t feel like I’d be able to clear him,” Pursley noted.

“The last restart, I tried to slide him in three and four, but didn’t have enough grip to get across. I feel like I can drive it a little bit better, and that’s what we’ll work to do come Saturday night.

Pursley’s previous best in a Chili Bowl finale came last year, when he came all he way from the D-main to make the A-main, then started 20th and advanced to fourth in the 55-lap headliner.

This year’s Chili Bowl championship feature has been trimmed to 40 laps in an effort to provide a better racing surface all the way through the race.

Action from the Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink continues Thursday with Hasty-Bake Qualifying Night from Tulsa Expo Raceway, while Pursley’s next on-track activity will be Saturday’s #DoItForGrady Pole Shuffle, which sets the starting lineup for the first five rows of the 40-lap finale.

Every lap of Chili Bowl week is available to be streamed through FloRacing.

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