"I've got four words — Thank you, Joe Gibbs," Christopher Bell yelled into the microphone after delivering a photo finish win over Kyle Larson in the Tulsa Shootout late Saturday night.
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The Joe Gibbs Racing driver made his long-awaited return to dirt racing after a policy change by Gibbs, and he used the opportunity to reignite his once-dormant friendly dirt rivalry with Larson. The two drivers particularly put on a show during the Non-Wing Outlaw main event.
Bell was in the lead in the closing laps, but Larson continued to make aggressive moves while inching closer and closer. The 2021 NASCAR champion would go up and over the cushion on the outside of the track while bouncing off the outside wall. He would then rocket forward and close the gap to Bell, who moved from the bottom to the top of the track in the turns.
Vintage @CBellRacing 🆚 @KyleLarsonRacin
— 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗞𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗔 (@Walkapedia_) January 5, 2025
Larson gained enough ground with his aggressive strategy to make his move in the final turns. He dove to the bottom of the track in Turns 3 and 4 and took the lead. However, Bell raced back by at the finish line to take the win by 0.188 seconds.
This battle between Bell and Larson delivered for the raucous fans at the SageNet Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They were on their feet screaming during the closing laps of the race, and they continued after Bell won the prestigious Golden Driller Trophy.
"I live for moments like that," Bell said in his post-race interview. "Driving these race cars, especially here at Tulsa, there's nothing else like it."
The fans in attendance were not the only people fired up after watching Bell and Larson go wheel-to-wheel. Bubba Wallace called his fellow drivers "badasses" while Kenny Wallace could only say, "HOLY MOLY."
Larson may have fallen short of the win against Bell, but he did not leave Tulsa empty-handed. He added two Golden Driller Trophies to his collection earlier in the night in different divisions. He won the Winged Outlaw main event and the Winged A-Class main event.
