“Smoking that C Bell pack”: Fans react as Kyle Larson triumphs over JGR star in World of Outlaws showdown

Kyle Larson triumphed at Volusia Speedway Park last Friday, February 7, beating his longtime rival Christopher Bell to claim his first gator trophy at the half-mile oval. Leading from start to finish, Larson delivered a clinical performance to secure his 36th career World of Outlaws victory.

After securing a podium finish on Wednesday, Larson came agonizingly close to victory on Thursday night, finishing just 0.005 seconds behind Bell in a thrilling showdown. The intense battle reignited the rivalry between the two NASCAR stars as they dueled on the dirt.

On Friday night, Larson turned the tables, dominating the 25-lap Feature from start to finish to claim victory over Bell. The JGR driver was denied back-to-back wins at Volusia and had to settle for second place. Bell insisted that without the late-race caution, he could have challenged Larson and also regretted losing second place at the start.

The showdown between the two dirt racing superstars delivered plenty of excitement for both dirt racing and NASCAR fans ahead of the new season. Following Larson’s narrow defeat on Thursday night, ‘Yung Money’ supporters celebrated his victory on Friday, declaring that he had decisively beaten Bell on the track.

"YUNG MONEY!!!! ,smokin that c.bell pack" One X (formerly Twitter) user wrote.

Another dirt racing fan praised both NASCAR drivers, writing:

"If Larson and Bell ran full time they would win 75% of the races."

Here are a few other comments on the thrilling Larson-Bell rivalry:

"Kyle Larson gets one back on Christopher Bell at Volusia tonight...Seems like the biggest season kickoff I've seen in my time in the sport, and it's delivering." a dirt racing fan wrote about the sensational start to the year.

"This era of Larson/Bell is going to be unreal" one X user wrote.

"To be honest, Larson and Bell running sprint cars or whatever else makes nascar more palatable these days." another X user opined.

"The world needs Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell full time with the Outlaws when they're done in NASCAR...This is a non-negotiable certainty of life." a third user wrote.

---

Kyle Larson comments on Christopher Bell's return to Sprint car racing

Ever since Coach Gibbs allowed Christopher Bell to return to dirt racing, he has gone head-to-head with his NASCAR rival, Kyle Larson, despite his time away from the dirt scene. Larson remains impressed by the JGR driver’s ability to shake off the rust and immediately contend for victories.

Larson also highlighted that he and Bell were tied for first place in the World of Outlaw sprint car standings. He took pride in beating Bell on Friday, who was driving the #69K for Kreitz Racing — an extremely quick combination.

"How good we both are, especially [with] Bell not racing this stuff for a long time so. It's pretty neat that two Cup guys on Sunday are tied for the points lead in the Outlaw tour. I think that's really awesome. Obviously him going to the 69K, you knew he would extremely fast. It's fun to have him back and good to win one in front of him," he told Matt Weaver.

Larson and Bell will battle for one final feature win at Volusia Speedway on Saturday, February 8, with the Big Gator Championship trophy on the line. The two drivers are currently tied at 386 points.