Christopher Bell collected his third consecutive Golden Driller trophy on Saturday night by winning the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals at Oklahoma’s Tulsa Expo Raceway. Photo: Chili Bowl Nationals/Twitter
After several years of frustration, Kyle Larson looked to have his first Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in hand at Oklahoma’s Tulsa Expo Raceway on Saturday night.
But it wasn’t to be for the NASCAR Cup Series driver, as Christopher Bell found a hole on the low line entering turn one on the final lap, making the pass and scoring his third straight Chili Bowl victory.
The win also gave Bell’s car owner, Keith Kunz, his eighth Golden Driller trophy.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be able to win the Chili Bowl,” said the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular, who is an Oklahoma native. “To do it three straight times is just unbelievable, but man, I don’t even care about three-straight. What about that race? I don’t think I’ve ever really been a part of a last lap race like that, so I’m just glad that thing came out in the end.
“To win like I did there, it’s something I’m going to cherish the rest of my life.”
After several attempts to get the race underway, Logan Seavey took the early race lead. Larson followed in his tire tracks, with Justin Grant and Bell in pursuit.
Larson closed on Seavey on lap 17, and three laps later, he used a low side pass to move to the point.
Following a lap 33 caution, Bell moved around Seavey to take second, and began closing on the leader. Following another caution on lap 35, Larson began to build an advantage over second place.
On lap 48, Larson’s advantage came under fire as slower traffic played to Bell’s advantage. Racing to the final two laps, Bell closed. Looking for room to pass, the opportunity came as the pair raced past the white flag to enter the final lap. Racing through turns one and two, Larson’s car slipped off the bottom, opening the door for Bell to make a pass. The two made contact through third and fourth turns, with Bell moving away to take the checkered flag by 0.350 seconds.
The victory puts Bell in an elite class with Kevin Swindell as the only two drivers to win three consecutive Chili Bowl titles. Swindell still stands as the only one to go four for four.
Grant finished in third, Brady Bacon in fourth and Zach Daum in fifth.
Tyler Courtney, Brad Sweet, C.J. Leary, Seavey, and Tanner Thorson rounded out the top ten.
A total of 350 drivers took part in this year’s Chili Bowl Nationals event. The week’s flip count reached 75 with the final car over being Christopher Bell. Attempting to rip victory donuts, Bell banked off the cushion and sent the car over. All drivers getting upside down during the week were able to walk away.
The 34th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals is slated to take place January 13-18, 2020. For more information, visit ChiliBowl.com.
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Tulsa Expo Raceway – Tulsa, OK
General Tire Championship Night – January 19, 2019
1. 71W-Christopher Bell
2. 01-Kyle Larson
3. 4A-Justin Grant
4. 76M-Brady Bacon
5. 5D-Zach Daum
6. 7C-Tyler Courtney
7. 1R-Brad Sweet
8. 55V-C.J. Leary
9. 67-Logan Seavey
10. 3C-Tanner Thorson
11. 47X-Danny Stratton
12. 8J-Jonathan Beason
13. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer
14. 87-Colby Copeland
15. 97-Rico Abreu
16. 31B-Michael Faccinto
17. 84X-Chad Boat
18. 76G-David Gravel
19. 57C-Cole Bodine
20. 4D-Robert Dalby
21. 3N-Jake Neuman
22. (DNF) 17S-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
23. (DNF) 17C-Shane Golobic
24. (DNF) 15S-Sean McClelland
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