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January 19, 2025

Chili Bowl results: How NASCAR drivers fared at the 2025 Nationals in Tulsa


A handful of NASCAR drivers began their racing seasons at the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma. One of those drivers, 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, bookended the week his name atop the 2025 Chili Bowl results pages.

Larson won the A-Main on his Chili Bowl qualifying night Monday, locking him into Saturday night’s championship feature. Larson proceeded to win the main event in dramatic fashion to earn his third Golden Driller trophy.

More NASCAR drivers, including Kyle Busch, Ty Gibbs and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., among others, competed at the 2025 Chili Bowl in hopes of etching their names into the history books of dirt midget car racing’s biggest event.

Below are how those drivers fared at the 2025 Chili Bowl. The complete Chili Bowl results can be found here.

Kyle Larson
Kyle Larson (Photo: Shane Bevel/NASCAR)

Kyle Larson

Larson began his 2025 Chili Bowl run with a bang Monday night, winning the first of five preliminary features to lock himself into Saturday’s dirt midget car championship feature.

Larson’s victory did not come easy. He started fourth in the 25-lap preliminary event and faded as far back as seventh in the opening laps. Utilizing patience and timely cautions, he worked his way into contention late in the race.

With eight laps remaining, Larson moved to third. A caution with five laps to go allowed him to close the gap to leaders Shane Golobic and Cannon McIntosh.

Larson dispatched McIntosh shortly thereafter and looked to be setting up Golobic for a last-lap pass, but a caution for a flipped car in Turn 3 stopped the action and set up a green-white-checkered restart.

“The yellows definitely helped,” Larson told FloRacing. “I think it just kind of brings the pace down. People get kind of moving around, track is a litter dirtier, you get out of your rhythm. So yeah, it helped me.

“We just found a way, which was nice, but we’ve still got to get a lot better for Saturday.”

Spoiler alert: They did.

Larson started on the pole for Saturday night’s feature thanks to his draw in the Pole Shuffle. He led all 40 laps of Saturday night’s main event, but the win did not come without drama. With 17 laps to go, he made contact with a lapped car. With a few laps to go, he hit the outside wall on the fronstrestch but was saved by an immediate caution that allowed him to keep the lead.

Larson ultimately held off a charging Daison Pursley to seal the win.

“All three (Chili Bowl wins) are different,” Larson said. “The first one was just a big hurdle to get over mentally I feel like to get a win in here finally. Then the next year meant a lot because we didn’t have the best car that race but we played defense really well.

“Tonight, the track was challenging to make a lap by yourself, so when you can win a 40-lap race on a track that challenging, it’s pretty cool.”

Christopher Bell

The driver of Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota Camry in the Cup Series was in action during Monday night’s Chili Bowl Race of Champions, an invite-only event featuring a variety of drivers from across the dirt racing spectrum.

Bell had no trouble scoring his third victory in the Race of Champions. He started from the pole after an invert and was not challenged throughout the race.

“I freaking love this place, man. It is the greatest,” Bell said. “I’m just glad I get to be here with all you great race fans. This is just so much fun, so much fun to come back and run these dirt cars.”

Bell picked up where he left off Monday during his qualifying night Thursday, winning his heat race after starting fourth. He started fifth in his qualifier and worked his way up to a second-place finish, allowing him to start fourth in the evening’s A Main.

Bell slipped past polesitter Tanner Thorson to take the lead on Lap 9 of 30, and he held that position until Thorson rocketed back around him on the outside with eight laps left. It looked like Bell would finish second, but a late caution and subsequent green-white-checkered restart opened the door for Ryan Bernal to slip by finish line and drop Bell to third.

As for Saturday night’s A Main, Bell started 12th, but he was only able to make his way up to 10th by the time the 40-lap feature was complete.

Josh Bilicki

Bilicki began his qualifying night Monday with a strong run in his heat race, finishing second to Shane Golobic. He followed that effort with a seventh-place run in his qualifier, which placed him in the second of two B-Features.

Bilicki finished 11th in his B Main.

Bilicki began championship Saturday by starting from the pole of the second H-Feature, which he parlayed into a victory to move on to the second G-Feature. His Chili Bowl came to an end there after he finished seventh, two sports short of a transfer spot.

Brent Crews

Crews had an eventful Monday night at the Chili Bowl, as he flipped during his heat race.

However, Crews won the first of two C-Features to advance to a B-Feature, which he won to lock himself into Monday night’s A Main. Crews delivered yet another strong run in the feature, finishing fourth after starting 17th.

On Saturday, Crews started third in the second of two B-Features, but an accident relegated him to a DNF and ended his Chili Bowl bid.

Ty Gibbs
Ty Gibbs (Photo: Shane Bevel/NASCAR)

Ty Gibbs

Gibbs kicked off his maiden Chili Bowl attempt on Tuesday’s qualifying night. He started last in his heat race and marched to fifth, which was enough to secure him a place in one of four qualifiers later in the evening.

An eighth-place effort in his qualifier allowed him to start eighth in one of the B-Features, where he ultimately finished ninth.

Gibbs began his championship Saturday from the pole of the second G-Feature, which he easily won to advance to the second F-Feature. Charging through the field, Gibbs finished sixth and narrowly missed out on advancing to an E-Feature.

J.J. Yeley

Yeley began his qualifying night competition with a fifth-place run in his heat race after starting sixth. That lined him up ninth for his qualifier, and the veteran racer was able to drive his way up to fourth in the span of 10 laps.

The fourth-place finish in his qualifier locked Yeley into the evening’s A Main. He started 16th and finished 12th.

On Saturday, Yeley started and finished 10th in the second of two C-Features.

Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)

Kyle Busch

Things started off well for Busch during his qualifying night after he went from seventh to second in his heat race. That strong run was enough to put him sixth for his qualifier, but he fell one position during the race to seventh, which put him on the pole for the first B Main.

Needing to finish fourth or better to advance to Friday’s A Main, Busch struggled mightily and ultimately finished seventh.

Beginning championship Saturday from the second F-Feature, Busch was able to finish third to move on to the second E-Feature. Starting from the back of the pack, Busch was only able to advance to 14th and was eliminated from contention.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Seeking to make the Chili Bowl main event for the ninth time in his career, Stenhouse raced from third to first to win his heat race. He lined up fourth for his qualifier and finished fifth, which was just enough for him to qualify for Friday’s A Main.

Starting the 30-lap feature from the 15th position, Stenhouse methodically worked his way through the field to finish eighth.

On Saturday, Stenhouse started 14th in the second of two B-Features and was able to drive up to eighth. But the finish was not enough for him to advance to the evening’s A Main.

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