“I bombed Kyle Larson”: Dirt racer Clinton Boyles reviews Tulsa Shootout battle with NASCAR champ

The driver of the 71S, Clinton Boyles recalled racing against NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson in the Non-Wing Outlaw Qualifier 1 of the 2025 Tulsa Shootout. In the words of the veteran racer from Missouri, he and Larson exchanged "bombs."

Boyles finished ahead of Larson, who ended up third whereas Jake Nail, driver of the 14R, took away the win. However, as reported by Speed Sport, Boyles emerged victorious in the WFO Outlaw, the Hyper Non-Wing Outlaw, and the EVO Fuel Injection A-Class.

On the other hand, Larson is expected to compete in three of the four premier divisions. Most recently, he won the stock Non-Wing heat by 0.048 seconds. Speaking of his battle with Larson during the concluding laps of the Non-Wing Outlaw Qualifier, Boyles posted:

“We threw bombs. And by that I mean I bombed Kyle…😬”

Facing off a rival as competitive as Larson is a task in itself. In NASCAR, the Elk Grove native drives the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports, a championship-winning NASCAR Cup Series team.

Notably, Hendrick Motorsports has been home to NASCAR legends Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the past. Larson’s most recent win for the Chevy team came at Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on October 13, 2024.

“He‘s like a kid”- Kyle Larson’s brother-in-law and World of Outlaws veteran shares his take on Larson’s racing presence

Kyle Larson loves racing, so much so that he races even when his full-time job at NASCAR doesn’t need him to. As per Brad Sweet, co-founder of High Limit Racing, who also happens to be Larson’s brother-in-law, the 32-year-old Chevy star is addicted to racing.

“Kyle is such a great ambassador for sprint car racing,” Sweet said of Kyle Larson (via Yahoo News) “Sometimes I don‘t think he knows exactly how much he brings to the sport. He‘s like a kid… he‘s an addict to racing. He‘s turned into a global star.”

Before setting out for the 2025 Tulsa Shootout, Larson won the inaugural High Limit International Sprint Car race at Perth Motorplex, Western Australia, and claimed a whopping $100,000 prize money; reportedly the richest prize in the history of American Sprint Car racing.

“Kyle‘s just so captivating–the fact that he does all the forms of racing he does and so competitively. He takes a car he‘s never driven, and in three nights he wins the race from the third or fourth row,” Sweet added.

Kyle Larson’s NASCAR duties resume from February 2 onwards with the season-opening clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. For the Cup Series, this will mark its first visit to the historic racetrack in Winston-Salem since 1971. The Clash used to be held previously at California’s Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.