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Kyle Larson has reversed his decision to boycott the Chili Bowl Nationals and will compete Thursday night in the unofficial kick off of open wheel dirt track racing. If all goes according to plan, he will complete a dirt double and race in both the Wild West Shootout in Late Model competition at Vado (New Mexico) Speedway Park and the 38th annual Chili Bowl Nationals, Saturday, January 13 at the Tulsa Expo Raceway.
The decision to compete came early Tuesday morning, when Larson called former midget car owner Keith Kunz to congratulate him on Tanner Carrick’s Monday night win, which locked that driver into Saturday night’s Main event.
Larson won the Chili Bowl in 2020 and 2021 racing for his self-owned team. He failed in his attempt to score a third consecutive victory in 2022 with a seventh-place finish before boycotting the race in 2023 over concerns about the size of the purse. This year, the purse has been doubled.
Thursday is an off day for the Wild West Tour, which opens the door for Larson to attempt the double.
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The attempt has the best chance of working if Larson locks into Saturday’s A-Main through Thursday night’s show. To do so, he will need to finish either first or second in the Thursday’s A-Main, something Larson has done eight times previously.
The current plans are for Larson to run the Wild West Tour Saturday morning, weather permitting, and then head to Tulsa, Oklahoma to compete in the Chili Bowl. It will be Larson’s 16th Chili Bowl attempt. In addition to his two victories, Larson has three other top-fives, including a second-place finish to fellow NASCAR veteran Christopher Bell in 2019.
IndyCar driver Santino Ferrucci was another late entry. He will race on Friday.
