Untimely caution flags took the lead away from him twice in Thursday night’s Chili Bowl Prelim A-Main, but Christopher Bell still managed to make things look easy.
The Norman, Oklahoma native pulled away from the field to take his sixth-straight Thursday night win in the event and seventh of his career.
Aside from a multitude of cautions, there was no catching Bell.
“That was a fun one,” Bell said on the FloRacing broadcast. “The straightaways got super slick and made it really technical. You had to be way down on the straightaway to catch the grip or you had to carry momentum around the top. You’ve got to search and you’ve got to go wherever your car is best at. Luckily, my car was pretty good everywhere I went.”
Bell continued his winning ways this week after winning Tuesday’s Chili Bowl Race of Champions and looks to try for another Golden Driller Trophy on Saturday night.
Behind him was the young up-and-comer of Buddy Kofoid in the Keith Kunz Motorsports entry.
Kofoid started in seventh and gradually moved up the field as the race went on, before making the pass for second midway through the race.
His second-place finish locks him into the A-Main on Saturday.
“We were just too soft on the right rears,” Kofoid said on the broadcast. “I figured I was staying with (Bell) for about three quarters of the straightaway so I figured that third would be about the same distance back. I’m very proud of where I am and very thankful to be in this position driving a really good car. I’m just glad to be locked in.”
Brady Bacon made a late pass on Spencer Bayston to capture the third podium position, but ultimately couldn’t hold second after starting on the outside of the front row.
The final night of prelims kicks off on Friday night, as always streaming live on FloRacing with hot laps starting things out at 4:00 p.m. CT.
Chili Bowl Thursday Night Preliminary Results
1. Christopher Bell
2. Buddy Kofoid
3. Brady Bacon
4. Spencer Bayston
5. Joe B. Miller
6. Logan Seavey
7. Tim Buckwalter
8. Trey Gropp
9. Andrew Deal
10. Matt Sherrell
11. Kaylee Bryson
12. Frankie Guerrini
13. Carson Garrett
14. Andrew Felker
15. Chance Crum
16. Sam Hafertepe Jr.
17. Noah Gass
18. Kyle Bellm
19. Don Droud Jr.
20. Brody Roa
21. Steve Buckwalter
22. Cody Ledger
23. Zeb Wise
24. Austin Prock
Locked In
Below we will continue to update the drivers who are locked in to each of the final five feature races on Saturday night in Tulsa – determined by their respective finishing positions in their preliminary nights.
Saturday’s Chili Bowl A-Main (Prelim Top 2 Finishers)
– Cannon McIntosh
– Tyler Courtney
– Kyle Larson
– Thomas Meseraull
– Brad Sweet
– Alex Bright
– Christopher Bell
– Buddy Kofoid
B-Mains (Prelim P3-P8 Finishers)
– Blake Hahn
– Chris Windom
– David Gravel
– Jacob Denny
– Chase Briscoe
– Tim McCreadie
– Zach Daum
– Cole Bodine
– Danny Stratton
– Derek Hagar
– Chase Johnson
– Hank Davis
– Brad Sweet
– Jake Neuman
– Colby Copeland
– Kevin Thomas Jr.
– Jake Swanson
– Daniel Robinson
– Spencer Bayston
– Brady Bacon
– Joe B. Miller
– Logan Seavey
– Tim Buckwalter
– Trey Gropp
C-Main (Prelim P9-P14 Finishers)
– Trey Marcham
– Carson Macedo
– Alex Sewell
– Gary Taylor
– Stephen Schnapf
– Kory Schudy
– Daison Pursley
– Frank Flud
– Kyle Jones
– Nick Drake
– Michael Faccinto
– Jonathan Beason
– Parker Price-Miller
– Gio Scelzi
– Sammy Swindell
– Brian Carber
– Brandon Waelti
– Emerson Axsom
– Andrew Deal
– Matt Sherrell
– Kaylee Bryson
– Frankie Guerrini
– Carson Garrett
– Andrew Felker
D-Main (Prelim P15-P20 Finishers)
– Roger Crockett
– CJ Leary
– Steven Russell
– Kade Morton
– Riley Kreisel
– Mitchel Moles
– Noah Harris
– Anton Hernandez
– Mitchell Davis
– Tanner Carrick
– Aiden Purdue
– Shane Cottle
– Tyler Thomas
– Colten Cottle
– Steven Shebaster
– Brett Moffitt
– Max Adams
– Jeff Stasa
– Chance Crum
– Sam Hafertepe Jr.
– Noah Gass
– Kyle Bellm
– Don Droud Jr.
– Brody Roa
E-Main (Prelim P21-P24 Finishers)
– Clinton Boyles
– Jerry Coons Jr
– Ryan Bernal
– Kevin Bayer
– Carson Kvapil
– Shane Golobic
– Brody Fuson
– Curtis Jones
– Robert Dalby
– Chase Randall
– Kameron Key
– A.J. Hopkins
– Steve Buckwalter
– Cody Ledger
– Zeb Wise
– Austin Prock
