Fourteen-year-old Parker Perry of North Vernon finished second to NASCAR champion Kyle Larson in his division at the Tulsa Shootout Jan. 4 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Perry will be making his crate late model debut this spring.
Submitted photo
Kyle Larson picked up his second Golden Driller of the day in fine fashion with a charge from 12th to the front in EVO Fuel Injection A-Class competition at the 40th annual Smiley’s Racing Products Tulsa Shootout powered by NOS Energy Drink on Jan. 4 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
There were five leaders over the 30 laps of racing. The start saw Parker Perry of North Vernon shooting to the point from the right of the front row to lead the opening seven laps. Back into the mix after slipping to second from the pole, Emerson Axsom of Franklin rolled to first on Lap 8 with insanity brewing as Daison Pursley and Clinton Boyles took their battle to the front.
The advantage on Lap 9 was for Boyles, lines swapped in every turn as Pursley shot by on Lap 11. Coming around the complete Lap 12, Boyles slid back to the lead, but contact between the two sent both crashing off the fourth turn, and in doing so, advanced the charging car of Larson to the front of the field.
Keeping hold of the lead from the restart on, Larson would pull to a 1.484-second advantage at the checkered flag. Perry, a 14-year-old racer, settled for second, with Jett Yantis third after rolling forward 18 positions and nearly grabbing second off the final turn. Cole Schroeder and Christopher Bell made up the top five.
A record setting 404 drivers entered to compete in EVO Fuel Injection A-Class competition at the 40th annual Tulsa Shootout.
Larson takes WFO Outlaw Golden Driller
If you’re going to bring your son to compete in his first Tulsa Shootout, you might as well race, and that’s what Kyle Larson did on Jan. 4, and in doing so, added the WFO Outlaw Golden Driller to his shelf.
It had been 15 years since his last appearance in the Tulsa Shootout competition, a then-very young Larson earned a Silver Driller in the 25th running of the event.
Getting the lead from the onset, Larson was originally set to drag race Frank Flud into the first two turns. However, a fueling issue sidelined Flud before the green. Putting T.J. Smith to the pole instead, a misstep on the bottom allowed the CB Industries entry room to run.
Pacing start to finish, the win was not without contest as the closing laps saw traffic enter the fold. Allowing Smith and seventh-starting Emerson Axsom to run down Larson, the final two laps saw both take their shot, but they would not be able to overtake the NASCAR Cup Series Champion for the win.
Axsom held on for second, with Daison Pursley making the late race charge to third from 11th. Thomas Kunsman Jr. crossed fourth. Making one last effort through the final two turns, T.J. Smith ended up slipping to fifth.
A record-setting field of 275 drivers made up the WFO Outlaw field at the Tulsa Shootout.
Bell beats Larson in Tulsa Shootout finale
Christopher Bell wasted no time in his return to dirt, putting on a thriller Jan. 4 at the Tulsa Expo Square to beat Kyle Larson in a photo finish to win the non-wing outlaw feature in the Tulsa Shootout.
The pair of NASCAR Cup Series stars returned to their roots on the Oklahoma 0.2-mile dirt track, fighting for another chance of glory inside the famed exhibition center. Both Bell and Larson are past winners of the Chili Bowl held at the same facility driving dirt midget cars, but the Tulsa Shootout features an array of micro sprint cars with winged and non-winged divisions.
The 55-lap feature came down to a nail-biting finish between the veteran racers. Though Bell established the lead in the closing laps, Larson stormed to second in the final handful of circuits. On the final lap, Larson used the outer cushion to his advantage in Turns 1 and 2 and rocketed to Bell’s rear bumper down the backstretch. Bell sent his car high into Turn 3, with Larson around the bottom, but Bell maintained the advantage with an enormous run off Turn 4 to score the Golden Driller trophy.
Bell, a three-time Chili Bowl winner, drives for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Cup Series. The JGR organization previously prohibited its drivers from competing in extracurricular dirt races for a number of years. However, the team reversed its policy in November 2024, allowing Bell to return to his old stomping grounds. Bell made good use of his newfound opportunity.
“I’ve got four words: Thank you, Joe Gibbs!” Bell said in his post-race interview.
A native of Oklahoma, Bell’s heart has always had a home in dirt racing. To battle and beat the best all over again in Larson only added significance to his triumphant return.
“Oh my gosh, man. I live for moments like that,” Bell said. “Driving these race cars, especially here at Tulsa, there’s nothing else like it.”
Though Larson lost to Bell in this head-to-head, he didn’t go home empty-handed. Larson scored two Golden Drillers on Jan. 4, winning the outlaw winged feature in addition to the winged micro sprint A-main.
James Essex writes a motorsports notebook for The Republic. Send comments to sports@therepublic.com
