Christopher Bell Puts on a Tulsa Clinic: Secures Another Chili Bowl Finale Berth
The atmosphere inside the SageNet Center in Tulsa is unlike anything else in motorsports. It’s loud, the fumes hang heavy in the air, and for a dirt racer, there is no greater prize than the Golden Driller. Christopher Bell, a driver who has already claimed that trophy three times between 2017 and 2019, came into the 2026 Chili Bowl Nationals looking to remind everyone why he owns the dirt.
On Thursday night, during the preliminary feature, Bell did exactly that. But it wasn’t a wire-to-wire domination. It was a calculated, methodical, and frankly heart-stopping theft of a race that Ryan Bernal thought he had in the bag.
Bell Overcomes Early Struggles to contend
Starting from the eighth position in a 30-lap A-Main is a tall order for anyone, even a driver of Bell’s caliber. In the early stages of the race, it looked like the No. 20 entry just didn’t have the setup to challenge the frontrunners. Bell was mired in traffic, struggling to find the grip needed to propel himself forward, while the leaders checked out.
Up front, it was the C.J. Leary and Ryan Bernal show. They had established a comfortable rhythm, putting distance between themselves and the pack. For the first 20 laps or so, Bell was an afterthought to the lead battle. He later admitted he was struggling in the middle of the race, watching the guys ahead drive away as he searched for a line that worked.
The Restart That Changed Everything
Dirt track racing is often defined by momentum, and nothing kills it or creates it like a caution flag. Just as Bernal looked poised to cruise to victory, the yellow flags started flying. This “rash of yellows” in the closing laps erased the comfortable gap the leaders had built and bunched the field back up.
For Bernal, the caution was a nightmare. He felt he was in total control alongside Leary. For Bell, it was a lifeline. He knew he had to try something different. When the green flag dropped for the final restart, the driver of the No. 20 found a gear that nobody else on the track knew existed.
With three laps to go, Bell threw a massive slide job on Bernal. It was the kind of aggressive, all-or-nothing move that defines the Chili Bowl. He pitched the car sideways, slid up in front of Bernal, and made it stick. From there, he never looked back, crossing the finish line first to secure his spot in Saturday’s main event.
Bernal: “He Caught Us With Our Pants Down”
The locker room atmosphere of dirt racing often leads to some brutally honest quotes, and Ryan Bernal didn’t disappoint. After leading laps and feeling like the win was his, settling for third place behind Bell and Spenser Bayston was a bitter pill to swallow.
Bernal described the humiliation of those final laps with seven simple words: “He caught us with our pants down.”According to Bernal, he was focused on hitting his marks and maintaining consistency on the restart, assuming he had the speed to hold off the field.
He didn’t expect Bell to have that kind of launch. Bernal gave credit where it was due, admitting that Bell essentially had the field at a standstill in the final five laps. It was a harsh lesson: never get comfortable until the checkered flag waves.
Freedom in Ownership for Christopher Bell
While the win was spectacular, the context behind Bell’s run this year adds a different layer of emotion to the victory. For the 2026 Chili Bowl, Bell isn’t just a driver; he is a team owner. He has five active NASCAR Cup Series drivers entered as owners this year, including heavy hitters like Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch, but Bell seems to be relishing the role the most.
Speaking after the race, Bell highlighted the difference in pressure. When he drives for Keith Kunz or Joe Gibbs, he is a hired gun. There is an expectation of performance, a corporate responsibility, and a boss to answer to. Running his own car? That’s just racing.
“Here I don’t have anybody to answer to,” Bell explained. He noted that if he performs poorly, the only person mad at him is himself. But if he wins, the celebration is that much sweeter because he’s doing it alongside friends and family who are turning the wrenches.
He is even fielding a car for Australian racer Kaidon Brown. This sense of autonomy seems to have unlocked a relaxed, dangerous version of Christopher Bell, one who can start eighth, struggle for 20 laps, and still find a way to park it in victory lane.
What This Means for Saturday
Christopher Bell locking himself into Saturday’s main event is the headline, but the way he did it is the story. He proved that he doesn’t need a perfect starting position or a dominant car to win; he just needs a sliver of opportunity. For the rest of the field, this is a terrifying prospect.
Bell is racing without the weight of corporate pressure, operating his own equipment, and making moves that border on disrespectful to his competition. If Thursday night was any indication, the road to the Golden Driller runs through Christopher Bell, and he doesn’t plan to make it easy for anyone.
