The biggest midget car racing event in the world, the Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink in Tulsa, Oklahoma, always attracts some of NASCAR’s top stars. Which means millions of eyes this week were focused on the 2026 Chili Bowl results.
Among those who competed in the 2026 Chili Bowl was reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, who won the event in 2025. He was joined by three-time Chili Bowl winner Christopher Bell, 2025 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion Jesse Love, Ty Gibbs, Sheldon Creed, Corey Day, J.J. Yeley and Josh Bilicki. The NASCAR Regional level was also represented with competitors like Gavan Boschele, Jake Johnson and Ryan Roulette.
Below is more about each driver and how they fared at the 2026 Chili Bowl.
Chili Bowl results: How NASCAR drivers fared at the 2026 Nationals in Tulsa
Complete Chili Bowl results: Saturday
Kyle Larson
Qualifying Night: Victory in Monday’s preliminary feature
Saturday: DNF in A Main
Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson is making his 18th Chili Bowl Nationals attempt this year. A three-time (2020-21, 2025) Chili Bowl Nationals champion, Larson has made the Saturday championship feature 12 times.
He got off to a great start in 2026.
After finishing seventh in Monday night’s Race of Champions (won by Christopher Bell), Larson returned to form with a convincing victory in the Monday preliminary feature. He started fourth in the 30-lap A Main and was leading by the 10th circuit, though he faced constant pressure from Briggs Danner and Cannon McIntosh.
A few mid-race cautions, including one that was the result of contact between Larson and the lapped car of Gaige Weldon, provided Larson with the clean race track he needed to punch his ticket directly into Saturday’s championship feature.
“My car felt good, and I was making decent decisions in traffic,” Larson said. “Then one lapper (Weldon) tried to rip back around me and then lane changed into (Turn) 3 and I tagged him. It kind of calmed the race down.
“It’s good to be back in position for Saturday.”
Saturday, though, turned out to be a bit of a bummer.
Larson started the A-Main championship race from the pole position, but his bid for a third Chili Bowl title ended after just 15 laps – with a flip that took him out of the event.
Christopher Bell
Qualifying Night: Victory in Thursday’s preliminary feature
Saturday: Eighth in A Main
Christopher Bell this year is making his 13th Chili Bowl attempt. The nearby Norman, Oklahoma, native won three consecutive Chili Bowl championships from 2017-19. Last year, he returned to the Chili Bowl after a two-year hiatus, finishing 10th in the Saturday finale.
Bell on Monday night began his 2026 Chili Bowl week with a flag-to-flag victory in the annual running of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Race of Champions, an invite-only event featuring racing champions from across the motorsports world.
The driver of the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series qualified first and started from the pole for the 25-lap feature after drawing a 0 for the invert. He dominated the event despite brief challenges from eventual runner-up Shane Golobic to secure his fourth Race of Champions victory and first as an owner-driver.
🏁 New car, no problem. @CBellRacing wins the #ChiliBowl Race of Champions for the first time as a car owner. Interview presented by @TjForged. pic.twitter.com/rsh3yXg3jh
– FloRacing (@FloRacing) January 13, 2026
“This makes everything a whole lot more stressful,” Bell said after securing his first Midget car win inside the SageNet Center in his own equipment. “I was about ready to puke before the race. I was like, ‘Is it right? Is it wrong? What are we doing?’
“I think it just makes the triumph so much more rewarding.”
On Thursday, he was arguably even more dominant. Bell won both his heat race and his qualifier. He started the evening’s A Main in eighth and was struggling to reach the front before a late caution changed everything. Bell over the final seven laps of the race worked his way to the lead for his ninth preliminary night victory at the Chili Bowl.
On Saturday, he ran top five late in the race and went on to finish eighth in the championship event.
Jesse Love
Qualifying Night: Sixth-place finish in A Main on Friday
Reigning NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion Jesse Love is making his return to the Chili Bowl after last competing in 2024. He’s driving a car owned by Blake Harris, crew chief for Alex Bowman in the NASCAR Cup Series. Of his three previous Chili Bowl attempts, Love’s best finish came in 2021, when he finished 13th in a B-Main on championship Saturday.
Love competed in Monday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Race of Champions and finished 16th. On his qualifying night Thursday, he finished second in his heat race and fifth in his qualifier to line him up for a B Main.
Love won that B Main to advance to the evening’s feature. On the last lap of the A Main, he flipped crossing the finish line in sixth place. As a result of the incident, Love’s team opted to withdraw from competition on Saturday night.
Ty Gibbs
Qualifying Night: 14th-place finish in A Main on Tuesday
Saturday: DNF in C Main
Ty Gibbs, the 2022 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion, is making his return to the Chili Bowl Nationals after making his debut in the event one season ago. In his first Chili Bowl attempt last year, he finished sixth in an F Main on championship Saturday.
Gibbs began his Chili Bowl week Tuesday with a second-place run in his heat race after starting ninth. He then finished fifth in his qualifier. He finished 14th in the evening’s A Main after starting seventh.
Gibbs attempted to race his way into Saturday’s championship feature from a C Main, but was collected in an incident and failed to advance.
J.J. Yeley
Qualifying Night: 10th-place finish in A Main on Tuesday
Saturday: 16th in B Main
A legend inside the SageNet Center, veteran NASCAR star J.J. Yeley returns to the Chili Bowl Nationals for his 30th attempt to capture the prestigious Golden Driller trophy. In his 29 previous attempts, Yeley has made the championship feature eight times, including a runner-up finish in 2007.
Yeley made history during the 2004 running of the event, advancing a stunning 69 positions from his F Main to finish third in the Chili Bowl championship race.
Yeley on Tuesday night finished fifth in his heat and second in his qualifier, allowing him to start the A Main on the front row. However, he faded to 10th in the feature.
He made an attempt to race his way to the Chili Bowl championship feature on Saturday, finishing fourth in a C Main to advance to a B Main. However, after a spin early in the B Main, Yeley was unable to make up any ground and was eliminated following a 16th-place finish.
Sheldon Creed
Qualifying Night: 24th-place finish in A Main on Tuesday
Saturday: 14th in E Main
Sheldon Creed, who races in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for the Haas Factory Team, is making his Chili Bowl Nationals debut this year. No stranger to dirt racing, he’s been a regular competitor at North Carolina’s Millbridge Speedway for years and previously competed in the Tulsa Shootout, the annual precursor to the Chili Bowl inside the SageNet Center.
Creed on Tuesday finished fourth in his heat and fifth in his qualifier. He won a B Main to advance himself to the evening’s main event, but he didn’t finish the A Main.
‼️ @sheldoncreed wins B-Main #2 to get into the Prelim A-Main in his Chili Bowl debut!#ChiliBowl | @NosEnergyDrink pic.twitter.com/UnOVdNBflr
– FloRacing (@FloRacing) January 14, 2026
Creed attempted to race his way through the alphabet soup on Saturday at the Chili Bowl, but was eliminated from competition in an E Main.
Corey Day
Qualifying Night: Sixth-place finish in A Main on Wednesday
Saturday: 19th in B Main
Corey Day, who was recently confirmed for his first full NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season with Hendrick Motorsports, is back for his fifth attempt at the Chili Bowl Nationals in 2026.
In four previous attempts inside the SageNet Center, Day has made the championship feature three times. His best effort came in 2024, when he finished third in the Saturday night main event behind winner Logan Seavey and runner-up Buddy Kofoid.
Day competed in Monday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Race of Champions but did not finish. On his preliminary night, he won his heat race and finished fourth in his qualifier. That set him up for a seventh-place start in the A Main, and he finished sixth.
Day had a good chance to race his way into Saturday’s championship feature after starting ninth in a B Main, but was collected in a crash not of his making and finished 19th to end his Chili Bowl run.
Gavan Boschele
Qualifying Night: Eighth-place finish in A Main on Tuesday
Saturday: 14th in A Main
Gavan Boschele, who is joining Nitro Motorsports this year for most of the ARCA Menards Series schedule, is returning to Tulsa for his fourth Chili Bowl attempt, this time aboard a Midget car owned by two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch. His best effort inside the SageNet Center came in his debut in 2022, when he finished 14th in a B-Main on championship Saturday.
Boschele began his week Tuesday with a victory in his heat race followed by a sixth-place run in his qualifier. His fourth-place run in a B Main barely advanced him to the A Main, and he ran eighth in the feature after starting last.
On Saturday night, Boschele finished seventh in a B Main to narrowly advance to his first Chili Bowl championship feature. Starting 23rd, he raced his way to 14th at the conclusion of the 55-lap finale.
Jake Johnson
Qualifying Night: 10th-place finish in C Main on Thursday
Saturday: Ninth in M Main
A NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour winner during the 2024 season, Jake Johnson is making Chili Bowl debut this week driving for Cory Kruseman, a two-time Chili Bowl champion driver.
Johnson on Thursday gained a spot in his heat race to finish seventh but wasn’t able to make a qualifier. He finished 10th in his C Main.
On Saturday morning Johnson started eighth and finished ninth in an M Main to bring his Chili Bowl debut to a close.
Ryan Roulette
Qualifying Night: Eighth-place finish in C Main on Thursday
Saturday: 10th in L Main
U.S. Air Force pilot Ryan Roulette is going from flying planes to piloting a midget car during the Chili Bowl this week. The ARCA Menards Series competitor is making his Chili Bowl debut aboard a car owned by Brian Buckwalter.
On Thursday, Roulette finished fourth in his heat race and eighth in a C Main. Roulette wrapped up his first Chili Bowl by starting eighth and finishing 10th in an L Main Saturday morning.