Winning Moment: The first two spots in the Chili Bowl A-main Saturday were decided in dramatic fashion, with Cannon McIntosh winning Monday’s preliminary (Jan. 9) on a flat tire as Shane Golobic beat Chris Windom to the line behind him.
🏁 Mr. Monday Night does it again! @Cannon_mac08 WINS while @WindomChris and @ShaneGolobic battled for the final lock-in for Saturday’s @Lucas_Oil @cbnationals finale!
Presented by @Lucas_Oil pic.twitter.com/tZpdbrQIYe
— FloRacing (@FloRacing) January 10, 2023
Dramatic Moment: See above. The last lap three laps Monday night had more drama that many Cup races do in three hours.
Also, the Big One made an unwelcome appearance at the end of Monday’s first B-main.
🚨 The battle for the final transfer boils over in Lucas Oil @cbnationals night one B-Main #1! All drivers okay!
Presented by @Lucas_Oil pic.twitter.com/UarHO4NAJU
— FloRacing (@FloRacing) January 10, 2023
In a Nutshell: The Chili Bowl’s opening night had few surprises but an absolutely stellar racing surface that bodes well for the rest of the week.
What They’ll Be Group Chatting About This Morning
It’s hard to say which was more impressive, McIntosh managing to keep just enough air pressure in a deflating tire to run three laps and win a feature race, or the duel that both Windom and Golobic staged for the final transfer spot. And given how midget racing resembled wrestling for much of 2022, to see such a big-time race decided in clean fashion was a breath of fresh air.
Admit it, pretty much everyone watching the Race of Champions on Monday night would have loved to see this happen.
.@KyleLarsonRacin should have flown in for the Race of Champions and then peace’d out 🤣
— Less Disgruntled NASCAR Observer; Dirt Race Fan (@stegall97) January 10, 2023
Speaking of Larson, Matt Weaver wrote a provocative feature Monday demonstrating apparent animosity between Kyle Larson and Chili Bowl promoter Emmett Hahn that has been percolating since Larson announced last fall he’d skip the Chili Bowl, in large part due to a winner’s purse that has remained stagnant for over a decade. Said Hahn, “he (Larson) bought himself a jet plane, a two and a half million-dollar motorhome, and if he really wanted to help those back of the field guys, he would.”
Sorry, but I’m all team Larson on this one. Demonizing a racecar driver for being successful while using every interview…
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