Can you imagine 10- and 12-year-old dirt racers advising NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson on how to race at the Tulsa Shootout? The thing is, Larson isn’t new to racing in midgets on the dirt track; after all, he has two Chili Bowl wins to his name. But, despite all the experience and accolades, the HMS star certainly made the most of the advice shared by the young talents at the SageNet Center.

Yung Money didn’t have the best of starts in his Tulsa Shootout campaign and barely made it through the heat races. But, once he cleared the qualifiers, he was dialed in and ready to add more Golden Driller wins to his tally. And this is where the mentorship from the young dirt racers surprisingly helped Larson.

Kyle Larson goes back-to-back at the Tulsa Shootout

The HMS star, living up to his name as one of the best dirt racers, set out to add more trophies to his cabinet in the main events. He started his winning run by clinching the 30-lap Winged Outlaw race. Then he followed this up by winning a wild-winged A-Class race. These were his first two wins at the Tulsa Shootout in 2025 and notched up his Golden Driller tally to five.

In NASCAR, Larson relies on his crew chief Cliff Daniels to provide him with the best ideas and tactics to win races. Although Daniels wasn’t present at the SageNet Center, the HMS star didn’t feel alone with the young mentors feeding him with the information he needed to bag the victories. He even coined a term to describe them. “When you’re leading, it’s difficult. I’m relying on the turn 2 toddler rowdies, or whatever you wanna call them. A bunch of 8 to 12-year-olds telling me where to run, and I’m putting a lot of faith in them.” Larson said after his second win of the night. The 2021 Cup Series champion and 6-time race winner in 2024 credited the young guns for their help during his dominant Tulsa run.

With 3 laps to go in the Outlaw Wing division race, Larson traded paint with his on-track rival driving the #14 entry. Going on the backstretch, the two drivers came wheel-to-wheel, and this is where Yung Money made use of the advice from toddler rowdies and switched to the inside lane. Taking the white flag, the win was all but assured for Larson, but the lapped cars certainly made things tense for him.

“When we caught traffic, I moved back to the bottom and got by those two guys, and then the one lapper just came by and shut my lane off and really got me in trouble. So I knew they were close and just had to go racing. Yeah, fortunate to hold onto the win there; it feels good. So we got two more to try to get it done from back.” He added. His focus then shifted to making it three wins in a row with the Outlaw Non-wing event. This is where the fans at the venue were treated to an absolute thriller, seeing Kyle Larson trade blows against Christopher Bell.

Christopher Bell reigns supreme on the dirt against his NASCAR rival

The Clash of the Titans is exactly what the fans at the SageNet Center were waiting for. Two prolific dirt racers go against each other at the Tulsa Shootout non-winged class. This race also had the feeling of a JGR vs. HMS rivalry from NASCAR. And guess what? It all came down to the final few laps of the race with Kyle Larson desperately trying to snatch the win from Bell.

With 2 laps to go, Kyle Larson pulled off a hail melon and hugged the outside lane to try and cut off Bell’s run on the corner exit. He did come really close to the back bumper of the #21 car. On the final lap, coming off Turns 3 and 4, Larson switched his lane in hopes of catching Bell by surprise. However, the JGR star driver was wary of this and stepped on the gas on the high side and took the checkered flag by the slightest of margins. The announcers calling the race on Flo Racing couldn’t contain their excitement as the fans in the stands were up on their feet to applaud the winner.

Taking home the win, Christopher Bell’s first reaction was to thank his team owner, Joe Gibbs, for allowing him to compete in non-NASCAR races. “I’ve got four words. Thank you, Joe Gibbs! live for moments like that.” Notably, Joe Gibbs had banned Joe Gibbs Racing drivers from competing in events outside NASCAR for 2 years. However, going into 2025 with Bell, newly signed Chase Briscoe, and Gibbs’ grandson Ty Gibbs all into sprint or dirt racing, Gibbs eased on his decision.

Bell added, “Man, driving these race cars, especially here at Tulsa, there’s nothing else like it. Maybe after today Kyle will actually like micros and might wanna come back. He made a hell of a corner down there on the bottom that last corner to make it scary coming to the checkered.” Bell said this in the post-race interview. Kyle Larson first competed in the Tulsa shootout 15 years back, and a quite literal version of ‘Yung Money’ earned a Silver Driller at the event. So after a successful 2025, claiming two golden drillers, along with his son Owen Larson, Bell hopes to see more of Larson at Tulsa. However, the focus shifts to the Chili Bowl now, where the two drivers have a fiercer rivalry.

This defeat tonight for Larson sets up the stage for a Chili Bowl redemption. Bell is a three-time Chili Bowl champion, the most of any current Cup series driver, while Larson has two titles to himself. Will Bell extend his lead in 2025, will Larson draw level, or will someone else stamp their authority at the iconic event? Make sure you tune in, as the Larson vs. Bell dirt track rivalry is going to deliver more thrilling race action.