Despite Kyle Larson Boycott, Annual Event Gets Shot in the Arm as Hendrick Motorsports Star Joins Tony Stewart’s Driver in Participation

For any racing series to be successful, the best drivers have to participate. With the kind of pull that Kyle Larson generates, the organizers of Chili Bowl Nationals, Emmett Hahn and Lanny Edwards would’ve been concerned when he announced his decision to not participate. But things seem to be looking up as they announced lineups for the event.

Kyle Larson’s love story with the Chili Bowl Nationals is well documented. The Hendrick Motorsports driver participated in the event for 15 consecutive years. He has also won it twice on the trot (2020 and 2021). But all that changed in a shocking turn of events in 2022.

Having cited an insignificant purse as a reason, Larson planned to forego participation in the 2023 event. His protest for an increase in prize money was reiterated in an interview last month when he revealed his plans for the off-season. However, if there was any belief that other drivers, his teammates even, would back him up on the boycott—that is not going to happen. The organizers released their roster of 19 drivers for an invitational event.

The 15th Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Invitational Race of Champions, as the event is called, includes names such as Larson’s teammate at HMS, Alex Bowman, Tony Stewart’s driver, Chase Briscoe, and the 2022 winner Tanner Thorson. Notably, the former two are invitees of the organization and are not included based on their past performances in the event.

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The invitational event offers a barometer as to what the popular feeling is concerning the Chili Bowl, and the participation of drivers from HMS and Stewart-Haas Racing is good PR for the event.

What is the Chili Bowl cooking?

The Chili Bowl is set to begin on the 9th of January and will go on until the 14th. The six days at the Tulsa track constitute one of the most exciting races of the dirt track circuit.

The Invitational Race of Champions will be held on Monday, i.e. January 9th, and will be 25 laps long. As per the rules released by the organizers, invitees must fulfill certain criteria to participate.

These include: “Drivers finishing in the Top 3 of Saturday night’s A-Feature during the previous five Chili Bowls,” “Drivers finishing in the Top 2 of the past five Race of Champions events,” and “Preliminary Night Winners from the most recent Chili Bowl.”

They have intentionally kept some open-ended clauses to facilitate entries of drivers like Bowman and Briscoe. The rules read: “Series Champions from the most recent calendar year in the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars, American Sprint Car Series National Tour, [etc.,] will be invited to compete.” Additionally, “Champions and Drivers of other Tours and Series may be added at the Chili Bowl’s discretion.”

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Things are certainly looking up for the Chili Bowl and its followers. Barring any surprises between now and the start of the event, Larson’s boycott might not have as big an effect as earlier presumed.