TULSA, OK (January 16, 2025): After regaining the lead from Christopher Bell with five laps to go, Tanner Thorson had to survive a frantic two-lap dash to the finish with Bell and Ryan Bernal to capture the fourth preliminary night victory at the Chili Bowl.

“I felt good there that last bit kind of tracking down Bell and then the yellow came out and Bell is the last person I wanted behind me on a restart. I’m looking for my guys to tell me where to go. I didn’t know where to go, I about gave it away. I thought it was going to be Bell on my inside, and it’s Bernal, I’m like, ‘Holy Crap,’ we’re about to get our doors blown off.”

Bernal made the most of the last caution and the final restart. He explained, “the white flag came up and those two (C.J. Leary and Parker Jones) got together and (I) literally did monster truck() over both of them. I was like “well, we’re in third now,’ and now green, white, checkered and I’m looking up at Shane (Golobic) and he (was) telling me to be smart, and come around again he says be smart again and just go to the bottom because I didn’t run a consistent lap all night on the top. It worked out great. I missed the bottom miserably coming to the checkered but we are locked in.”

Bell became the odd man out in the final two laps. He took the green in second–a transfer spot–but could not hold on to it. One might have thought that he would be disappointed with the outcome. But, surprisingly, he was enthused. “The last green, white, checkered was just cat and mouse. (It) was wherever Tanner went I was going to go opposite, and I felt like I was really in a good spot coming off turn two, he ran the bottom I ran the up and I had momentum on him. Bernal plugged the bottom and blocked my line. Once Bernal blocked the bottom, it was pretty . . . I (thought) I was going to be OK and Bernal snuck by on the bottom and made us three wide and it was a great race!”

Thorson started the feature from the pole position. His running mate was Karter Sharff. C.J. Leary and Christopher Bell were in row two, followed by Ryan Bernal and Parker Jones. Shane Cottle and Matt Westfall made up row four, with Matt Sherrell and Kyle Spence in row five. Jacob Denney and Bradley Fezard were next in line.

Thorson took the lead at the drop of the green, but on lap three, Sharff executed a slider in turn four to take the lead. Leary, Bell, and Bernal were looking on.

On the next trip around, there was a six-car tangle in turn three.

After the race resumed, Sharff was still the leader, but Thorson regained the lead one lap later. He held control for a couple of laps, but he was being challenged by Sharff and Bell. Bell got the inside line working, and he made a bid for the lead in turn one on lap seven. He could not pull off the pass, but he persisted. He went two-for-one in turn four to take the point on lap ten.

Bell continued to lead through the next caution, on lap twenty-one. During his time out front, he began searching for a quicker line, as Thorson was pressing him for the lead. Bell moved to the top and he seemed to be comfortable up there.

However, on the restart, Bell went back to the bottom. That worked for several laps. But the outside line was open for Thorson. He went upstairs and passed Bell with five laps to go. Thorson explained that he was able to adjust his shocks under the caution.

Soon thereafter, a caution was displayed for a flip by Casey Shuman.

When the green light flashed on again, Bell was chasing Thorson. Behind them, the action was heating up. Things boiled over on lap twenty-nine, when three cars running in the top five got together in turn two. Eliminated from the race were Leary and Sharff. Jones was able to continue. The biggest beneficiary of this development was Bernal, who drove through the carnage and moved into third for the restart.

This incident set up a green-white-checkered finish. On the restart, Thorson and Bell went high into turn one. Bernal got a great restart, and he entered turn one on the bottom.

The three-car battle for the lead intensified after the white flag came out. The contestants were three abreast! Bernal was on the bottom, Bell was in the middle, and Thorson was on the cushion. Bernal and Thorson got a slight advantage on Bell coming through turn two. Bell got a good run into turn three, and he tried the high line. Thorson came off the top to try to thwart Bernal’s inside charge. Bell was charging on the outside, but his car faltered coming off turn four.

At the checkers, it was Thorson over Bernal by less than a car length. Bell was a close third. Westfall and Denney completed the top five. Frank Flud, Spence, Shane Cottle, Brody Fuson, and Brady Bacon were sixth through tenth.

There were nine heat races. Bradley Fezard, Jeff Stasa, Cottle, Sharff, Bacon, Thorson, Bell, Chris Windom, and Bernal were the victors. Thorson, Sharff, Sherrell, and Bernal won the qualifiers. The pair of D Mains went to Elijah Gile and Jeffrey Newell. C Main wins belonged to Cade Morton and Spencer Bayston. Drake Edwards and Casey Shuman split the B Main honors.

TULSA, OK (January 15, 2025): It was inevitable that Keith Kunz Motorsports would win a preliminary night feature during the Chili Bowl. After all, the juggernaut team entered sixteen cars with some of the most prolific drivers ever seen in the Expo building. Until Wednesday, the team’s best run was turned in by Buddy Kofoid, who overcame some misfortune to get a third, which will put him in the front of a B Main on Saturday night. Christopher Bell’s win for KKM in the Race of Champions makes him a favorite for Thursday night, but let us not get ahead of ourselves. So, the first KKM driver to win a preliminary night was Emerson Axsom.

A pair of young lions, Daison Pursley and Axsom, occupied the front row for the thirty lap affair. Tim Buckwalter and Mitchel Moles were behind them. K.J. Snow and Steven Snyder, Jr.claimed row three. Jett Yantis and Corey Day were in row four, with Kale Drake and Colby Copeland next in line. Jake Swanson and Taylor Reimer made up row six.

Daison Pursley led Tim Buckwalter as the inside line had the advantage on the initial start. A crash at the end of the first lap nullified that and claimed both of the third row starters, one of whom was Snyder.

On the second attempt, Axsom was better prepared. He used the outside line to fall in behind Pursley and keep Buckwalter at bay. “Thankfully, they did a double file restart because I fell back to third,” Axsom said. “It worked out that we were able to run the top in a couple of laps and then get a restart, and kind of work in the top and give me a shot.”

The top three–Pursley, Axsom, and Buckwalter–used the top line to pull away from the rest of the field, which was fighting side by side for positions.

Four laps into the affair, Axsom slid past Pursley for the lead, and he returned to the top line. Axsom explained, “I knew Daison (Pursley) would be good on the bottom. Their stuff is good on the bottom here, it makes a lot of grip anywhere he goes. I was just trying to build momentum so that when he did jump up I was able to counter his move and throw a slider. Our stuff was really good, (I) was just thankful to get out front.”

Pursley’s account of the lead change was consistent with Axsom’s. “I felt like I had to run a couple of laps there on the bottom like we did, it was just a matter of time before we jumped up. I felt like I was just making good speed on the bottom and not losing any grip. I was honestly just going to go up there and see how it felt. Emerson (Axsom) was just close enough to get by me and start racing with us there.”

Axsom continued to be the locomotive that led the train around the high side of the tight oval. Moles soon became the caboose.

On lap thirteen, an incident involving Chelby Hinton and Sammy Swindell in turn four brought the train back to the rest of the racers. Things remained unchanged for two more laps, when Alex Bright and Reimer tangled in turn two. In that brief run, Day maneuvered past Buckwalter for third.

On the ensuing restart, Axsom and Pursley got away cleanly. Day and Buckwalter resumed their battle for third, but within a few laps, Day prevailed. Now, the train around the top of the track consisted of five cars: Axsom, Pursley, Day, Buckwalter, and Moles.

The final half of the race was run without any interruptions. Pursley had no opportunities to make a move on Axsom. Pursley noted, “once he kind of got the lead it was just a cat and mouse game after that, just trying to chase him down. Anytime I got to his bumper I just felt like I started making mistakes and getting tight on the curb, and allowed him to get away a little bit more.”

In the final stage of the race, Kale Drake and Blake Hahn battled past Moles, who was no longer able to keep pace with the four lead cars of Axsom, Pursley, Day, and Buckwalter. Yantis, Kyle Cummins, and Jake Swanson completed the top ten. Snyder brought his damaged mount home in eleventh.

The eight heat winners were Day, Drake, Brandon Waelti, Tim Buckwalter, Pursley, Jake Swanson, Copeland, and Moles. Jake Swanson, Snow, Snyder, and Axsom won the qualifiers. C Main honors belonged to Shawn Jackson and Logan Mitchell. Rylan Gray and Hinton copped the B Mains.

TULSA, OK (January 15, 2024) – Sye Lynch is planning on competing full-time in the Kubota High Limit Racing Series in 2025 the Apollo, PA native announced Wednesday night at the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa.

“This is all I’ve ever grown up knowing,” Lynch told the FloRacing broadcast in Tulsa.  “I’ve gotten some good advice from some good people.  A lot of thought has been into what it takes to become a national team.”

Lynch, a third-generation driver, is the son of Ed Lynch Jr and grandson of the late Ed Lynch Sr. and started out on Friday night’s at Lernerville Speedway.  The past few years has seen Lynch running events sanctioned by the World of Outlaws and the All Star Circuit of Champions, which has become High Limit.

“For my operation, being a local, homegrown operation with my main partner since I’ve had since day one, we’ve really just looked at our goal from three years ago, which was to become a full time All Star (Circuit of Champions) team,” explained Lynch.  “Then with it transitioning into High Limit, it obviously caught out attention”.

Lynch ran 25 High Limit races in 2024, scoring two podium finishes to go along with his 2023 podium in 23-race.  All of that running was exactly what Lynch needed to confirm the next step in his plans.

“Running with those guys night-in and night-out was obviously only the top of the iceberg as far as seeing if we could do it.”

Next up for Lynch is trying to qualify for the 2025 Chili Bowl, which he will attempt to do Thursday night at Tulsa Expo Raceway.