Christopher Bell took the lead from Kyle Larson on lap 42 and drove his Keith Kunz Motorsports (KKM) Toyota to his second consecutive Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals victory at the Tulsa Expo Raceway Saturday. KKM teammates Rico Abreu and Spencer Bayston finished second and third to give Toyota a sweep of the victory podium.
The victory is the fourth in a row for a Toyota-powered car at the biggest event in midget car racing after victories by Rico Abreu in 2015 and 2016, and Bell’s win a year ago.
Larson jumped out to the early lead before Bell moved past on the outside on lap 10. Bell would maintain the point position until he was caught up in heavy lapped traffic with Larson slipping by for the top spot on lap 26 with Bell in second and Abreu in third.
Bell started to close back in on Larson after a caution on Lap 35 and the race turned for good when Larson suffered mechanical problems on lap 42 and was forced to retire as Bell went to the lead with Abreu and Bayston in tow. From that point on, it was all Bell as he went on to win by nearly three seconds.
“Last year was so special and every year that I got closer and closer to winning the Chili Bowl, I could feel the atmosphere pick up and the intensity pick up every time they announced my name,” said Bell, who earned his 46th career national midget feature win. “For an Oklahoma guy to not win for so long and then to get it last year was pretty special, but going back to back means even more. I’ve got the best race cars out there and I just try to get the most out of them and I’ve been able to do that the last couple of times here.”
Chad Boat gained 14 positions to finish tenth and give Toyota four top-10 finishers on the night.
Ryan Robinson was caught up in an incident after two cars spun in front of him, but recovered to place 11th. Logan Seavey brought his car home in 14th, while Larson finished 19th and Tracy Hines was 22nd.
For the second year in a row, Toyota driver Holly Shelton advanced to the C Main. She is just one of five women in Chili Bowl history to advance as far as the C Main.
The 2018 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals featured more than 350 entries, including 28 Toyota-powered drivers.
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Quotes:
Christopher Bell
What was it like trying to chase down Kyle Larson early in the race?
“At that time I was just trying to pace myself and not make a mistake and not run too hard. Then I got to lapped traffic and I drove in too hard and he (Kyle Larson) got by me. He was getting through lapped traffic great. It seemed like every time I got stuck behind somebody a lap down and he was able to get around them. I just hate it for Kyle, I wanted to race him heads up.”
What does it mean to go back-to-back as the Chili Bowl champion?
“Last year was so special and every year that I got closer and closer to winning the Chili Bowl, I could feel the atmosphere pick up and the intensity pick up every time they announced my name. For an Oklahoma guy to not win for so long and then to get it last year was pretty special, but going back to back means even more. I’ve got the best race cars out there and I just try to get the most out of them and I’ve been able to do that the last couple of times here.”
Rico Abreu
What was the difference tonight?
“It was just a matter of who made the least amount of mistakes and I struggled a little bit in traffic and they were able to get away. It was a good night. I’ll take second-place at the Chili Bowl. Sometimes it’s just not meant to be.”
Spencer Bayston:
You seemed to start off slow, but come on strong at the end, what was the difference?
“After last night, I knew once the track got blown off and became slicker I knew we’d have a pretty good race car. But up to that point, i didn’t really feel that strong and I fell back to seventh or eighth. Once it got slick, I got to my comfort zone and was able to work through some traffic. I was able to get by a couple of the Clauson cars and everything just fell into place to get into the top three. On the last restart, I got to battling with Rico and it really slowed both of us down and it took us both out of contention.
What are your overall thoughts of this year’s Chili Bowl?
“Overall, a really, really good night and a good night for this team and Toyota Racing. I’m honored to be a part of it and I’m already looking forward to next year.”
Keith Kunz:
What does it mean to win the Chili Bowl now four consecutive years?
“It’s just crazy, it’s so hard to win this race. Just very fortunate to have the drivers that we have. They’re the best and that’s why they are where they are. (Kyle) Larson, (Christopher) Bell and Rico (Abreu) – that’s why they’re in NASCAR because they’re the best and they proved it again here tonight.
How special is it to see Christopher Bell, an Oklahoma-native, win back-to-back Chili Bowl titles?
“It’s so cool and so special with especially Christopher, but even Kyle to see them come along from five or six years ago and to bring Christopher in after Kyle went on and to see him come from us and move up to the Trucks (NASCAR Camping World Truck Series) and be as good as good as he has – win the championship and now have a chance in a Gibbs car – we’re proud dads is what we are.”
What does it mean to work with Toyota and TRD on the driver development program?
“What we’ve done with Toyota and TRD — and how far it’s come, we’re honored that David Wilson and Tyler Gibbs put the faith in us. Anything that we need, they’ve gone above anything we could ever ask for and they always over-deliver. We couldn’t ask for anything else for what those guys do for us.”
Notes:
– Tonight’s victory was the fourth consecutive Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals victory for Keith Kunz and Toyota with Rico Abreu winning in 2015 and 2016, and Christopher Bell winning in 2017 and 2018.
– Christopher Bell’s win is his 46th national midget feature victory – all coming with Toyota and KKM. His 46 wins are the most by any Toyota driver, 20 more than the next highest driver.
– Christopher Bell has three podium finishes since 2014 and has qualified for the A Main in each of the past five seasons.
– The eight Toyota-powered A Main qualifiers were the most in the manufacturer’s history and comprised 33 percent of the feature field.
Toyota Powered Drivers Saturday Results
Car # | Driver | Hometown | |
71W | Christopher Bell | Norman, OK | A Main – 1st |
97 | Rico Abreu | Rutherford, CA | A Main – 2nd |
97K | Spencer Bayston | Lebanon, IN | A Main – 3rd |
84X | Chad Boat | Phoenix, AZ | A Main – 10th |
71 | Ryan Robinson | Foresthill, CA | A Main – 11th |
67 | Logan Seavey | Sutter, CA | A Main – 14th |
01 | Kyle Larson | Elk Grove, CA | A Main – 19th |
24 | Tracy Hines | Wilkinson, IN | A Main – 22nd |
76M | Brady Bacon | Broken Arrow, OK | B Main |
2S | J.J. Yeley | Charlotte, NC | B Main |
25 | Dave Darland | Lincoln, IN | B Main |
#76G | David Gravel | Watertown, CT | B Main |
5D | Zach Daum | Pocahontas, IL | B Main |
7A | Justin Allgaier | Riverton, IL | B Main |
15J | Kyle Jones | Kennedale, TX | C Main |
5S | Chase Stockton | Fort Branch, IN | C Main |
67K | Holly Shelton | Gold River, CA | C Main |
71K | Tucker Klaasmeyer | Paola, KS | D Main |
7F | Michael Faccinto | Hanford, CA | D Main |
52 | Blake Hahn | Sapulpa, OK | D Main |
4P | Paul McMahon | Nashville, TN | E Main |
24S | Landon Simon | Brownsburg, IN | F Main |
47W | Dylan Westbrook | Scotland, Ont., Canada | F Main |
5T | Presley Truedson | Kennedy, MN | H Main |
15X | Frankie Guerini | San Rafael, CA | I Main |
17B | Tanner Berryhill | Bixby, OK | J Main |
5H | Jack Hawley | Menifee, CA | J Main |
56X | Mark Chisholm | Cheyenne, WY | K Main |
Toyota Racing PR
