In a surprising turn of events this week, Kyle Larson announced that he would be returning to race in the 38th Chili Bowl Nationals after a one-year hiatus. What has the fandom surprised further than his decision is the schedule that he has drawn for himself over the weekend because of it. Larson already had a late-model race in the Wild West Shootout scheduled on Saturday. Putting that together with the Chili Bowl Nationals’s main race on the same day, he is set for a shot at a Dirt Double.
Advertisement
Despite the extreme efforts in logistics that this ambitious effort is going to take, Larson remains confident of pulling it off. He talked to FloRacing and revealed how he has chartered a plane to carry him to and fro the location of the races. The weekend will begin early as his participation in Saturday’s Chili Bowl race depends on whether he can finish in the top 2 at the prelims on Thursday.
He said, “If I lock in on Thursday, I’ll come back here [Vado Speedway Park, New Mexico] Friday… Stay here, stick ground, race here Saturday night, and then jam out of here as quickly as possible. Get to the airport as quickly as we can and hopefully be wheels up and on the ground in time to make it to the building [SageNet Center, Tulsa] to strap in for the future.”
Larson was also wary of the weather and track conditions in New Mexico that could potentially cause racing delays, and hoped that things were rushed along for him to make it in time to Tulsa.
However, considering that his first commitment was to the Wild West Shootout, the star underlined that he wouldn’t miss the late-model race no matter what.
Kyle Larson enjoys the idea of getting to win the Chili Bowl with Keith Kunz
Though the former Cup Series champion has won the Chili Bowl Nationals twice before in 2020 and 2021, he hasn’t done so driving a car of his former team owner Keith Kunz. Kunz was one of the racing icons who supported Larson much during his younger days by giving him midgets to drive in. In a large part, Larson’s affinity for dirt racing stemmed from Kunz’s interventions.
Talking about how he could use the weekend to pay his former benefactor back, Larson said, “It was bittersweet winning that first one because I’d been so close so many times to win with Keith. So, it would be pretty neat if we could get back together and kind of have a crazy week lead to me finally getting a Chili Bowl Driller with him.”
Unsurprisingly, Kunz is eagerly looking forward to winning a championship with Kyle Larson too. Hopefully, the duo will be able to achieve the feat that they so long for.
