The Left Turn
By: Ron Burt
The SageNet Center, TULSA, Okla. (January 17, 2026) The Chili Bowl Nationals, never disappoint and this year 387 drivers went to Tulsa to compete in the 40th annual Chili Bowl. Twenty one year old Franklin Indiana’s Emerson Axsom, the 21-year-old from parked the Kevin and Jo Swindell No. 39a in Victory Lane for the first time at the Bowl.
He chased pole sitter, Kyle Larson, through the first four laps, Axsom carried a wave of momentum into the first and second turns as the pair worked Lap 4. Into traffic with 39 laps to go, tragedy struck Larson as he came up on a slowed C.J. Leary at the exit of the second turn, the contact sent race leader Larson flipping.
This caution and restart put Swindell-backed cars first and second, Logan Seavey had company quickly with Justin Grant throwing sliders, until one nearly wrecked his night with 24 laps to go. Getting tighter among the top three with 16 go to, Seavey looked low with nothing there, but this opened the door for Justin Grant to take over second.
Down the final eight laps, Justin Grant was in second, and in the hunt with a massive slide through turns one and two, only to have a caution appear, and reset the field. Working through several cautions in the closing laps, the runner-up spot was again in the mix, with the caution flying for Grant getting toppled in Turn 3. This caution set up a white, checkered finish, but the team drivers Axsom and Seavey could not fend off the charge that was coming. The wave of the white flag and one lap to go, the battle was far from over as 18th-starting Kevin Thomas rolled the inside line. Right there as the pair came to the final turns, Axsom made a quick adjustment to block the No. 14k and this let Hank Davis slip by for third, with Logan Seavey and Briggs Danner completing the top five.
Jett Barnes was named the 2026 Chili Bowl Rookie of the Year. He was the only event rookie to make the 24-car field.
The 2027 Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink will take place January 11-16, 2027, inside the SageNet Center at Expo Square. Tulsa, Okla. If you’ve never been and like racing this needs to be on your bucket list. Drivers in every type of racing show up Asphalt, Dirt, World of Outs Laws, Dirt Late Models, NASCAR, Midgets, Modifieds, they all want Driller bragging rights.
I just received a press release that Cale Coons will compete for Rookie of the Year honors with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship in 2026. The 17-year-old will pilot the Dooling / Curb-Agajanian #63 on the full 55-race tour. Locally he competed in the USAC D2 Midwest Thunder Midgets.
Two Time World of Outlaws Late Model Champion, Bobby Pirece won the 50 lap Wild West Shootout at Central Arizona Raceway and took home $25,000.00. The was the final race in the mini-series and his only feature win. Next stop will be Florida. The 2026 racing season has started.
The 2026 World of Outlaws Late Model season, featuring 61 races across 19 states, kicked off in January at Volusia Speedway Park and runs through November, highlighting big purses at major events like the USA Nationals at Cedar Lake Speedway (July 30-Aug 1) and the season finale at The Dirt Track at Charlotte (Nov 4-7). Key stops include Fairbury (July 24-25) and Boothill Speedway (Oct 2-3) with $50k+ payouts, plus new venues and returning favorites, aiming for nearly $5 million in Feature purses. Until next week, keep your wheels down. Ron out!
