LARSON WINS CHILI BOWL

Kyle Larson Wins Chili Bowl – Photo: Brendon Bauman

Kyle Larson competes this week in Australia and the hype around the most diverse motor-racing driver is sitting at next level after his weekend win in the biggest Midget race in the world – the 2020 Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

By GEOFF ROUNDS

The event has been a Speedway race Larson has been desperate to win and he’s now scored the biggest and most elusive win of his motorsport career.

He passed fellow NASCAR Cup Series racer and three-time Chili Bowl champion Christopher Bell on lap 39 of the 55-lap A-Feature, avenging a bitter defeat to Bell in last year’s race.

A year ago, Larson lost this race on the last lap to Bell adding to a list of disappointments in the prestigious Dirt Midget event. Larson missed the A-Feature entirely in 2017, and suffered engine issues while leading the race in 2018.

“Its a pretty different range of emotions 365 days later,” Larson said on the MavTV broadcast. “

“I feel like I’m going to pass out. It’s a pretty different range of emotions; it’s been thirteen years. That’s almost half my age I’ve been coming here. Thirteen years trying to win this race, and it feels better than I can imagine.”

While Larson competes on the biggest stage in American motorsport for Chip Ganassi Racing and will soon be competing in his seventh Daytona 500, he did not hesitate to place the Chili Bowl win atop his list of accomplishments.

“I’m sorry, NASCAR, I’m sorry, Daytona, but this is the biggest f’ing race I’ve ever won. I hope to win Daytona in a few weeks, but this is badass,” Larson said.

Larson will strap into the Dyson Motorsport Sprintcar on Wednesday night at Avalon Raceway for five straight nights of racing including Mount Gambier and Warrnambool speedways.

Four drivers represented Australia and the best of those was past national Speedcar champion Kaidon Brown.

The NSW driver finished 16th in the B-Main in a tough field of 360 entries while Mike Griffiths was third in the N-Main but became the 61st car to roll during the five days of racing. Queensland’s Barrie Valentino came home eighth in the M- Main just ahead of James Davison in ninth.

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