Kyle Larson wins Driver of the Year award, matches Donny Schatz as only consecutive winners

Kyle Larson continues to add to his already impressive resume. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion was named the Eastern Motorsport Press Association's Al Holbert Memorial National Driver of the Year for the second year in a row.

Larson is now just the second driver to win back-to-back EMPA Driver of the Year awards, sharing that accomplishment with World of Outlaws driver Donny Schatz. Regarding the achievement, he said:

“It’s a really cool honor to win this award in back-to-back seasons. The past two years I’ve been fortunate to win a lot of races and my first Cup championship in 2021.”

Other candidates considered for the award included late model driver Kyle Overton, IndyCar driver Alex Palou, and World of Outlaw driver Brad Sweet.

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Kyle Larson headlines 2022 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl

The 36th run of the Chili Bowl Nationals kicks off today, and Larson is hunting down his third consecutive Golden Driller Trophy.

Joining Larson in Tulsa, Oklahoma is 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott. Elliott, who made his Chili Bowl debut last year, and Larson will be teammates at the event, with the former driving the #9E for Kyle Larson Motorsports.

Other notable drivers in the Chili Bowl include Christopher Bell driving the #71 iRacing/Mobil1, the #2G driven by JJ Yeley, and Ryan Newman driving the #75B.

Larson took down the 55-lap A-main last year, leading from start to finish. Christopher Bell, who won the event for three consecutive years from 2017 to 2019, challenged Larson for most of the race before he'd jump the cushion and flip several times, ending his Chili Bowl chances.

This year's Chili Bowl hit a new record of entries with 395 drivers, so Larson will have his work cut out for him if he wants to win his third straight trophy.