Christopher Bell wins Chili Bowl Nationals; Kyle Larson suffers heartbreak

Capitalizing on Kyle Larson’s misfortune, Christopher Bell won the Chili Bowl Nationals for a second straight year Saturday night at the River Spirit Expo Center at Tulsa’s Expo Square.

Larson started on the pole and was leading with 13 laps remaining when the engine in his car expired. The mechanical failure ended the night for the driver who competes fulltime in the NASCAR Cup Series, and was seeking his first win in the prestigious midget race, a race he said he wants to win more than the Daytona 500. Larson finished 19th in the 24-car field.

With his biggest competitor sidelined, Bell was never challenged the rest of the way and the native Oklahoman drove away for his second Chili Bowl win by a three-second margin over runner-up Rico Abreu, the 2015-16 race winner. Bell is the defending NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion and is advancing fulltime to the Xfinity Series in 2018.

“To win the Chili Bowl last year was something I’ll never forget,” Bell said on the MavTV broadcast. “To do it back-to-back I’m just speechless. I’m just bummed about Kyle. I thought we were going to have a great race there.”

NASCAR drivers Justin Allgaier, Chase Briscoe, Kasey Kahne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were among the 300-plus entrants contesting this year’s Chili Bowl, though none of the four earned a spot in the feature. Stenhouse flipped in his heat race Saturday but was uninjured.