2025 has kicked off with a bang for Christopher Bell, who’s been on an absolute tear! With two major victories: the Chili Bowl Nationals Race of Champions and the Non-Wing Outlaw main event at the Tulsa Shootout. While leaving Kyle Larson to still find his groove,  it’s a tough pill for him to swallow once again, after coming so close as the 30-year-old Bell stole the show with a margin of 0.005 seconds! 

Only a few lucky fans witnessed the clash of the giants at the World of Outlaws points opener at the Volusia Speedway Park. The HMS star pulled up with all the tricks he had in his bag to clinch a thrilling victory. But, Bell came prepared to counter his rival’s tactics in a side-by-side action during the final restart. The JGR driver is making notes of his previous encounter with Larson and this was evident from his post-race interview.

Here’s how Christopher Bell outclassed Kyle Larson

Bell started the race on the pole position alongside Emerson Axsom. Emerson initially took the lead from Bell on lap 6 but spun out on lap 22, handing the lead back to Bell. On lap 24, Larson made contact with Bell’s bumper at the white flag, causing Bell to slide up to the cushion. In the final turn, Bell dropped to the bottom while Larson remained on the cushion. He gained a speed advantage at exiting turn 2 due to his high line, but Bell hugged the bottom lane to take the checkered flag. He wasn’t going to let his bitter rival get one up on him, especially after the bitter pill he took at Chili Bowl. 

“I mean, I look, you’re going under yellow. I had so much time to think about what I’m gonna do. And I knew whatever I did, he was going to do opposite. And I knew that if I went up, he was gonna go down. If I went down, he was gonna go up. And just as the race went on, I started struggling more and more on the finishing, and my car felt really good on the bottom. So I said, you know what? I’m gonna try and run the bottom.” Christopher Bell explained in an interview with Matt Weaver.

Explaining the situation, he further stated, “In one or two, that was really comfortable, confident in hitting the bottom. In one and two. The last thing I wanted to do was miss and make a mistake. And then whenever I did that, I committed myself to sliding across the drain floor because I felt like if I went to the bottom one and two, it opened up my entry into three. He would have certainly wanted to and had a big run to slide to get my inside into three. And whenever you slide across, you’re never gonna shoot off the corner as well. But, you know, I knew it was only a couple laps. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be able to get his momentum built up in time. And it was close.”

For the fans present inside the arena, this finish was like a carbon copy of the Tulsa Shootout race. The only minor difference here was that Bell didn’t repeat his tactics from the last encounter. Rather than running the high line, he chose the bottom lane and this trick certainly worked out for him. The victorious night didn’t just bring the Bell the Gator trophy, but also the purse of $12000. This win had been on his bucket list ever since he first competed in this WoO event back in 2014.

Larson, meanwhile just couldn’t convert on his good runs from Wednesday and Thursday. Reflecting on the last restart and the battle with Bell, he added, “I thought I did a pretty good job on that last restart of staying with him on the frontstretch and thought I was going to be able to build enough of a run,” Larson said. “But this place is so wide. To run the top is a long ways around. It was difficult, but I thought I could get enough grip and speed to the center of (Turns) 3 and 4 that maybe I could get lucky enough to catch some traction as I diamonded and get a little bit of a run to get by him into (Turn) 1. Just came up a little bit short.”

While being a full-time driver in the Cup Series, Christopher Bell is set to wet his feet in dirt racing, marking his return in 2025, after almost three years. Looks like a busy year on his schedule.

A glimpse at Christopher Bell’s new commitment amidst the challenging Cup Series.

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Christopher Bell had a blast in the 2024 season, finishing 5th in the drivers’ point standings. Although he couldn’t make it to the Championship 4, he was close to winning, which got chaotic as the Martinsville race came under NASCAR’s scrutiny for race manipulation, leaving him feeling cheated. However, this didn’t stop him from showcasing his ability on dirt tracks as he reunited with his roots.

The Oklahoma native had a stellar season in the winged outlaw and non-winged outlaw divisions from December 31 to January 4. He then participated in the Chili Bowl Nationals between January 12 to January 18. In February, after six years, he marked his victory once again in the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park. Moreover, he plans to participate in the March 13th Kubota High Limit Racing Season Opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. 

With Bell constantly active in extracurricular racing events and a power-packed last year in the NASCAR Cup Series, this year could see him finishing the season on a high note. And who knows his entry back on dirt just might reward JGR with more victories on the NASCAR side of things.