“One of the hardest races”: Christopher Bell makes his feelings known on ‘one of a kind’ racing events

Christopher Bell is back to being a dirt racer. Following Joe Gibbs Racing’s new stance on its drivers running dirt races, the Toyota driver announced that he would be competing in the 2025 Tulsa Shootout. Bell named it one of the hardest races out there.

The annual tradition also happens to be the largest micro-sprint event in the world. Speaking of the event with ATYL Media, the 2017 Truck Series champion said,

"It's truly one of a kind. We have the Chili Bowl but the Chili Bowl...you only race against your prelim night competitors. So, out of the 350 entries, you're only racing against whatever it is 70, 80..."

"Here at the shootout, it's arguably one of the hardest races to make and win just because you're racing against so many different competitors. I don't even know how many entries we have, but I know it's probably north of 400 right? It's a very very tough event,” Christopher Bell added. (0:20)

As per Fox23, this year’s event will feature more than 1600 contestants, with drivers from over 40 states and three countries. Fans can watch any race over the week by purchasing a 15-dollar weekday or a 20-dollar weekend ticket. Pit passes are available at $30.

Besides his dirt car return, Bell will also run this year’s DIRTcar Nationals. The Oklahoma native will pilot the 69K 410 sprint car for Kreitz Racing.

Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson talk about racing each other

Kyle Larson has been dirt racing since 2012. To this day, the Elk Grove native has won prestigious events like the Chili Bowl Nationals, Knoxville Nationals, the Kings Royal, and the Prairie Dirt Classic.

Whereas, the last time Christopher Bell raced a dirt car was in 2022. According to Bell, Larson, who won the inaugural High Limit Racing International finale at Perth Motorplex in Western Australia just yesterday, has an upper hand on him.

"He’s going to have the upper hand for a little bit; he’s got a two-year headstart on me, so I’m going to have to get my dirt shoes underneath me again and get back up to speed,” Bell told Dustin Long of NBC Sports. “Hopefully, it’s like riding a bike. We’re about to find out.”

While speaking of Bell’s entry, Larson, who is well aware of his rival’s racing prowess, told Long,

“He’s still Christopher Bell. I wouldn’t be surprised whenever his first race is if he goes and wins. Hopefully, we’ll get to race and battle up front and have some duels like we used to. Hopefully, I’ll come out on top more often because he beat me all the time for a long time!”

The Tulsa Shootout will start on December 31 and will continue till January 4. All events will be covered by FloRacing.