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As the NASCAR off-season nears its end, Christopher Bell showcased his talent at the 2025 Chili Bowl Nationals, starting with a dominant performance in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Race of Champions. Bell, who led the race from pole position, secured a decisive victory at the SageNet Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The event also featured a head-to-head battle with Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson, echoing their on-track rivalry during the NASCAR season. Reflecting on his win, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver described the experience as "pretty normal" and shared being "fairly happy" with his performance. (via Matt Weaver on X)
"That felt pretty normal. I had been making a lot of changes to the car and I felt good. I don't know what else to say. I felt really good. It drove like I needed it to. Track was awesome. You could run low, run high. So, yeah, I was fairly happy there."
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On being asked how his dirt midget car felt, the former Camping World Truck Series champion said:
"Yeah, and just being able to move around and run different lines. It was a good test because the bottom was good early. The top came in, the bottom got really hard to hit, so I had to get practice running up on the berm and making sure I was in the right core of the racetrack. It was fun."
Larson finished the Race of Champions in P7, but the former Cup Series champion won the first prelim feature of the 2025 Chili Bowl nationals.
Christopher Bell drives the #20 Toyota Camry XSR for Joe Gibbs Racing, competing full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. Over his six-year career, Bell has secured 35 victories across NASCAR's top three divisions. HMS' #5 driver Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell both qualified for the 2024 NASCAR playoffs but saw their championship hopes dashed after failing to advance to Championship 4.
"I live for moments like that": Christopher Bell reflects on Tulsa shootout triumph
Before the Chili Bowl Nationals, Christopher Bell competed in a few events of the esteemed Tulsa Shootout, where he secured a victory in the Non-winged Outlaw event. Following his win, Bell thanked his NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs for the opportunity, who was known to have a strict policy against racing in any non-NASCAR events.
In a post-race interview with FloRacing, Bell said:
"Oh my gosh man, I live for moments like that, driving these racecars, especially here in Tulsa. There's nothing else like it." [00:29 owards]
"I wasn't running the most pretty line. All weekend long, I was just struggling to get in the corner the way I needed to and fortunately, I was able to find something comfortable for me," Bell added
This was the first time Bell defeated Larson on a dirt track in 2025, before doing it again in the Chili Bowl Nationals. Moreover, Larson also said that it's "great" for him to be allowed to compete in dirt midgets by Joe Gibbs, and hopefully, the pair can find more of such opportunities.
Meanwhile, the 2025 Cup Series season kicks off with the Daytona 500 on February 16 at 2:30 PM ET. Fans can catch the action live on FOX, MRN, and SiriusXM.
