"The rivalry we've all been looking for": NASCAR veteran thrilled with Christopher Bell's photo finish against Kyle Larson 

Christopher Bell recently won a thriller of a race against Kyle Larson in a photo finish. The two NASCAR stars, who both have competed against each other in dirt racing as young racecar drivers, put up a show in Saturday's non-wing outlaw feature of the Tulsa Shootout.

Bell, who began the 55-lap feature on the front row, found himself being challenged by Larson, who started the race way back in 14th place. But after last-minute advances in turn 3 by the Hendrick Motorsports driver, it was the JGR driver who won the big race with a big run off of turn 4 amid his return to dirt racing.

This was a finish on which veteran NASCAR driver, Kenny Wallace, shared his thoughts. He said:

"Bell vs. Larson. Oh my God, it did not disappoint. These are the two greatest NASCAR drivers of our era, it's Kyle Larson vs. C Bell. Did I tell you that Kyle Larson started 14th? Is that fair? Is that fair? Christopher Bell started on the front row outside and we got Kyle Larson coming all the way back from 14th. Is that fair?"

Wallace added that in dirt racing, one starts isn't as important as where one finishes because of the lack of control. He then touched on the post-race interviews of the two NASCAR stars, in which Larson's comments on Bell made Wallace realize something important.

"That's the rivalry we've all been looking for. It ain't that they hate each other. They both are from the same type of motorsports, they're both open-wheel guys and they're both really talented. Kyle Larson just admits it and we all love it and everybody quotes it all over social media. Kyle Larson says, 'I don't like running second', to Christopher Bell, and we all love it," Wallace added.

Christopher Bell thanked his NASCAR owner Joe Gibbs following his big win against Kyle Larson in Tulsa

After winning the 55-lap feature in Tulsa on Saturday, Christopher Bell had a four-word message for his NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs. Bell simply said:

“I’ve got four words: Thank you, Joe Gibbs!” Bell said in his post-race interview.

It's worth mentioning that until recently, Joe Gibbs didn't allow his drivers to take part in any form of racing apart from NASCAR. On the other hand, Bell's longtime dirt rival Kyle Larson and his team, Hendrick Motorsports, have an opposite policy, where the HMS drivers can race in other forms and disciplines of racing.

But towards the end of last year, the JGR boss also made some changes in his organization and finally allowed his drivers to race in disciplines other than NASCAR. Speaking about that, Joe Gibbs said that while he always preferred his drivers focus on stock car racing, he now found it 'fair' to come up with a process for other racing opportunities.

Gibbs revealed that the team now has a process in which after everyone's approval on the competition side, the drivers can request to run certain races, including dirt and other forms.