The 39th running of the Chili Bowl had mixed results for NASCAR drivers. Ty Gibbs struggled through his debut, trying to make head or tail of dirt racing. On the other hand, Kyle Larson made up for not cracking the Cup Series Championship 4. The Hendrick Motorsports driver set an example at the A-Main preliminary event and is now hungry for the ultimate crown.

Larson is on familiar ground – the legendary speedster has clinched two Chili Bowl Nationals crowns before, in 2020 and 2021. He thundered back with enthusiasm to the 2025 event, hoping to beat his close rival Christopher Bell’s three-peat record. However, a few things concern him.

Kyle Larson hopes to weather the challenges

Both Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson are graduates of Keith Kunz Motorsports, the premier dirt racing springboard for future NASCAR stars. Both have extraordinary resumes in the Cup Series, being the front-runners in achieving trophies. However, Bell is a notch above Larson in the Chili Bowl, having won the prestigious midget event consecutively for three years (2017, 2018, 2019). During the O’Reilly Race of Champions, Bell soared to victory even after a 2-year break from dirt racing. In the meantime, Larson and his teammate Tyler Courtney struggled during the same race.

So Kyle Larson wants to be at his A-game. Ahead of the much-awaited Chili Bowl final event, the driver confessed his thoughts on a good yet not-so-satisfying qualifying run. Larson told journalist Matt Weaver: “I’d rather start in first or second. Yeah I mean, I obviously caught a big break there. I was surprised and pleased by that. But it’s still tough; there’s a lot of good cars behind us. We’ll have to execute a good 40 laps…But yeah, I’d rather start at the pole.”

In his eagerness to showcase his best performance, Kyle Larson also could not help but criticize the Super Bowl of Midget Racing. He said that his earlier experiences were better, as they had a stronger filter of the drivers. “I really liked the format that I had a few years ago when we would do 4 cars in time and then the top two advanced. I thought that was more exciting for the fans, but maybe less of a…less easy for the guy to go from 10 to 3, or on days you would probably have to go from 10 to 1. I think it’s more exciting.” He added an optimistic touch: “There’s good qualifying cars and then there’s not. So yeah, I feel like if we can race for it, it’s better, more fair.”

Kyle Larson’s optimism also stems from working with a team he trusts.

Working and thriving together

When Kyle Larson makes a move in the dirt racing world, it is usually with Paul Silva. While one of the best racers in the world takes the wheel, the sport’s most intriguing mind turns the wrenches. Larson made a last-ditch attempt at the Chili Bowl in 2024 under Keith Kunz, but that team did not have the same fire in it. Now that he is reunited with Paul Silva, the journey is only forward and upward. Tyler Courtney, Larson’s close friend, is also in the Silva Motorsports camp. During Larson’s spectacular A-Main Prelim win, he knew that one faulty adjustment or miscommunication could have deprived him.

Kyle Larson confessed that working with both Courtney and Silva helped him. “I think it’s ultimately a good thing…I thought ‘Sunshine’ [Courtney] and I had similar styles but I think we’re quite a bit different driving styles.”

He added, “I told Paul man, sometimes it might just be better for my mind to just have us.” Now Larson is looking forward to a solid attempt at the Chili Bowl Nationals final event. Although the A-Main felt off at times, Larson is confident in Silva’s expertise. “Things didn’t work out early, and kind of had to methodically work my way back forward, and just was able to make it happen really. I didn’t feel that good, we still have a lot of work to do to compete on Saturday but I’m confident Paul will figure it out like he always does.”

Evidently, Kyle Larson is gearing up fiercely for D-Day. Let us wait and look for his name on the leaderboard of the 2025 Chili Bowl Nationals.