Christopher Bell passes Kyle Larson on last lap to win third straight Chili Bowl

Kyle Larson was a lap away from the Golden Driller trophy and couldn’t get it.

The Cup Series star got passed by Christopher Bell in turns 1 and 2 on the final lap of the Chili Bowl Nationals A Main late Saturday night.

The win is Bell’s third straight Chili Bowl victory. Larson finished second. He’s still looking for a Chili Bowl win. He appeared to lead for much of the race, though we can’t say that for sure. The TV broadcast of the Chili Bowl was awful and showed drivers outside the top two for much of the race. With two laps to go, the race’s play-by-play announcer said Larson was a half-second ahead of Bell and when the feed cut to the two drivers Bell was right behind him.

Here’s how dejected Larson was after the race. Finishing second on Saturday night continued a theme of finishing second in his Cup Series career. Larson finished second six times and had 12 top-five finishes in 2018 but didn’t win.

The Chili Bowl is one of the most prestigious midget sprint car races a driver can win and the winners’ list is a who’s-who in the sprint car world. Sammy and Kevin Swindell have each won multiple Chili Bowls. So has Tony Stewart.

Bell is now third among drivers with his three Chili Bowl wins. Only Sammy Swindell (five) and Kevin Swindell (four) have more victories in Tulsa. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver finished fourth in the Xfinity Series in 2018 despite having seven wins and is set to return to the No. 2 NASCAR series in 2019 and race for the championship again.

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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.

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