By T.J. Buffenbarger
(January 13, 2026) — The opening night of the 40th Chili Bowl Nationals from the Tulsa Expo Raceway is in the books. After a full night of racing, here are my takeaways from the opener.
• If you pay attention to what happened on the racetrack and some of Kyle Larson’s comments after the race, it could be a long week for the rest of the competitors at the 40th Annual Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink.
Briggs Danner and Cannon McIntosh stayed close enough to Kyle Larson to keep him honest on Monday. Each time Larson appeared to be threatened, he managed to get away and open just enough distance to maintain his lead.
After the race when Larson made comments about “backing my pace down” and “trying to play it safe”, it’s going to give the rest of the field something to think about for the next four nights before Larson hits the race track again.
The only time Larson appeared to be vulnerable during the preliminary main event was just before the first caution flag as the leaders were approaching slower traffic when Larson and Gaige Weldon touched with Weldon ending up backwards in turn four.
Would Larson have faded in a longer run? Based on the way Monday night’s feature? Based on what we saw the second half of the main event it seems unlikely, but we will all have to see if another challenger emerges through the next four nights of racing.
• The feel-good story of the night went to Briggs Danner gaining redemption from last year when he was in position to lock into Saturday’s finale before crashing.
Danner ran a smart race at the end not trying to do anything crazy to challenge Larson for the lead. Having to trade second position with Cannon McIntosh through the middle stages of the feature, Danner was up for the challenge eventually securing the position.
For fans that have watched Danner in the multitude of different race cars he drives throughout the summer, it’s just the continuation of the progress we have seen over the past several years, showing that Danner has far from reached the ceiling of his potential.
The next step for Danner at the Chili Bowl is putting together a solid effort in Saturday’s A-Main.
• One of the key moments of the night took place in the Race of Champions. Christopher Bell not only secured some extra track time for his first Chili Bowl effort as a car owner but won the race in the process.
While it might have been better to get more time in traffic during the race, Bell looked strong up front as if he was still running a high number of sprint and midget car races every season.
While extra track time is good for anyone at the Chili Bowl, having that time for a new effort like Bell’s could be the difference between a mid-pack and up front run in Saturday’s finale, if Bell can secure one of those valued positions on his preliminary night or set himself up well in one of the B-Mains for Saturday.